Cars, Crashes and Checks

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So my work car, a 1998 Camry with almost 200,000 miles got backed into in a parking lot. Minor damage. Like, it cracked a part of the bumper. No dents, just a nice 8 inch crack.
This car has gotten 4 new bumpers since I've had it (10 years). All 4 times got rear ended so I've never paid for it. This guys ins. company wants to give me a check for 700 some odd dollars to fix it and replace the bumper.

I am sorely tempted to not fix the bumper and keep the check. However, not knowing much about cars I worry the damage will cause problems down the line? But then I figure someone else will run into it by then so...

The car itself is a beast, the thing runs great, still blue books at over 3 or 4 thousand and my mechanic promises it will run forever if I treat it decently, which I do.

So what should I do Halforums? Keep the cash or fix the bumper?
 
Make sure the "cell" that actually absorbs the impacts is not damaged first. If that has been crushed, replace it. I would not be worried about the cosmetics of the bumper though.
 
crawl under your bumper, there is a large honeycomb like plastic damage absorber. usually it will be between two large shock absorbers. if any of those are permanently crunched replace the bumper.
 
As long as the shock absorbing parts are undamaged (as sixpackshaker has been discussing) I would just take the money and do a simple fix with bondo, sandpaper and some automotive spraypaint.
 
I chose to take the cash when someone sideswiped my car. I replaced a window and mirror myself, and left the huge dents in the side because the doors worked fine and the car was otherwise functionally ok. The check was $1,800 though, which was pretty much the value of the car - at that point we took off collision insurance and just had the bare minimum state required insurance.

As far as I was concerned, someone paid me for the car and let me keep it.

More recently I bumped someone (maybe it was you!) a few years ago with my relatively new car and ended up with a scratched front bumper. It would have been over $1,000 to fix since the car was less than a year old, and my deductable was more than I wanted to swallow, so I left it alone. It'd probably be cheaper to fix now with more available replacement parts.

The scratch simply isn't worth fixing in my opinion.

Your car is probably worth between $1,500 and $2,500 if you tried to sell it, but I generally run my vehicles into the ground rather than selling them because the value for me just keeps going up - my cars costs me less than 10 cents a mile to buy and maintain (ie, not including fuel), but a new or used car would push me back up to 20 to 30 cents per mile. So the possible sell value isn't really important - what's the car worth to me, and what's the cost for the repair going to do to my per mile cost?

If you think you might sell the car in the future, fix the bumper.

If you plan on driving the car until it costs more to repair than it's worth, then keep the cash.
 
Oh, I plan on running this car into the ground. It's just my work car, so I use it to haul stuff around, etc. It's in really good shape so I plan to keep it going for a long time and my mechanic agrees it should keep on trucking for another 100,000 miles if I treat it well.

You guys were supposed to tell me to be responsible and fix it but now I'm really leaning towards making sure it's not gonna fall off and keeping the cash...
 
as long as the damage is cosmetic, keep the money. But if the shocks and foam beneath are cracked, REPLACE THOSE! especially if you ever put your kids in the back seat.
 
You guys were supposed to tell me to be responsible and fix it but now I'm really leaning towards making sure it's not gonna fall off and keeping the cash...
Money is tight pretty much everywhere, it's the holiday season and everyone could use an extra $700, we all know you've got a pretty new kid around; and you want us to tell you to spend $700 fixing cosmetic damage? I'm with the rest of 'em. Make sure there's no structural damage, and if not, throw that money in the bank.
 
I'm gonna have my mechanic check it out and if he thinks it's just cosmetic then Ima gonna keep the cash and blow it on hookers and blow. Or maybe diapers and Christmas presents. Probably that.
 
So I'm going to be the voice of dissent and tell you to fix your bumper. If it was more cosmetic, like a scratch or some paint rubbed off, I'd feel differently. But you're saying the plastic (or whatever material it is) has an 8 inch crack which, IMO, is something that should be fixed. Go get a few quotes. See how much of the $700 it would cost you to fix the bumper. It can't hurt.
 
I have a '98 Camry and I love it. Other than the weird stalling problem which occurs every once in a great while, it is an excellent car.

I have a dent in my bumper (from my wife's aunt, whom I bought the car from) and haven't bothered to fix it. Hell, it makes it easier to find the car in parking lots.
 
So I'm going to be the voice of dissent and tell you to fix your bumper. If it was more cosmetic, like a scratch or some paint rubbed off, I'd feel differently. But you're saying the plastic (or whatever material it is) has an 8 inch crack which, IMO, is something that should be fixed. Go get a few quotes. See how much of the $700 it would cost you to fix the bumper. It can't hurt.
I'm gonna have my mechanic check it out. See what he thinks. He's great and I trust him. If he really thinks it's a problem then I'll probably fix it. If he doesn't? Weeeeeeell who knows what may happen...


I have a '98 Camry and I love it. Other than the weird stalling problem which occurs every once in a great while, it is an excellent car.

I have a dent in my bumper (from my wife's aunt, whom I bought the car from) and haven't bothered to fix it. Hell, it makes it easier to find the car in parking lots.
Man, I used to have a big dent and it made it WAY easier to find the car. These things blend like no other.


Really the crack isn't that bad, so don't worry Wasabi, I'm not gonna do anything if it's risky or could cause the bumper to fall off, etc :)
 
Halforums:

Medical question? CONSULT DOCTOR!

Legal question? CONSULT LAWYER!

Relationship question? CONSULT THERAPIST!

Question about your 2,000 pound mechanized machine? I GOT THE HOOK-UP BRAH, HERE'S WHAT YOU DO.
 
Halforums:

Medical question? CONSULT DOCTOR!

Legal question? CONSULT LAWYER!

Relationship question? CONSULT THERAPIST!

Question about your 2,000 pound mechanized machine? I GOT THE HOOK-UP BRAH, HERE'S WHAT YOU DO.
To be fair, that's a lot better than the other way around. If he ends up destroying his car (seems difficult given the amount of scratches, breaks and dents in my bumper :p), it's $2.000 down the drain. If he goes by our relationship or medical advice, chances are either he'll kill himself, or his sex life :p
 
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