BeanBR

I'm out of the country. Left my car with a friend who was visiting. During a parking maneuver he got into a fender bender with another car.

He called me to see I wanted to do. I told him to take it straight to the dealership for an estimate. They gave him a quote for US$ 500,00 to "fix it". I haven't seen the damage in person. All I have to go on is the attached picture. Looks like some fairly deep damage to bumper and possibly scratched/cracked headlight cover. He will be taking the car in tomorrow and I want to be able to make the best decision possible with the info I have. I'll talk to the service advisor over the phone and see what his final opinion is. The day of the accident he basically did a visual inspection and from the amount quoted my guess is he is talking about repairing the bumper only.

My insurance deductible is US$2000 and although my friend will be paying for the repair or deductible, there is the issue of my premium going up. At least I renewed my policy a just a few days ago so any increase would only take effect on my next renewal.

So, here are my questions:

- Considering the US$ 2000 deductible, would you guys consider filing a claim and getting a new bumper and whatever else is needed?

- Would a cosmetic repair without bumper replacement look decent?

- In case there was damage to the headlight cover, is that part sold separetely or is it one of those cases where I would have to get a new headlight assembly?

Thank you in advance for any help

Andre

bishop64

1. A premium raise is highly unavoidable. Maybe just do not file a claim and have your friend to pay all the repair expense? But then, this also depends on how you value your friendship. That is something that I cannot comment on.

2. Yes, cosmetic repair can look very decent, if done professionally. You will not be able to tell it visually. However, long term reliability might be a problem, if done improperly of the fill-send-paint-buff process. The damaged/cracked area might open up.

3. As far as I know, modern MB headlight unit is a complete unit and the cover cannot be replaced individually. If the unit is not cracked but very slightly scratched, it might be removed. It might not be aesthetically pleasing but can be functionally satisfactorily. Discuss with your MB dealer.

BeanBR

He just sent me better pics and video. No damage whatsoever to headlight. Great because I just checked and that assembly alone is over 3.5k

The cosmetic repair should be around US$500 as I mentioned and I'll have that done at the dealer. My friend will cover that. Worth mentioning that I am using his car here in Brazil for the same two weeks he is using mine in the US so it could very well have been me at the other end of this

My main concern was insurance related as I have never filed a claim so I have no experience with that. Hope to keep it this way. No interest in having my premium go up over this.

vinflouen

Your insurance will go up whether you file a claim or not, that's just the law of insurance.
for $500 and below deductible I would just pay cash to fix it.

bishop64

I suppose, if both parties do not file a claim, then the 2 respective insurance companies would not know the incident and, therefore, there will be no future premium raise.
Frankly, the damage of OP's car is so small and the other car's damage should be equally small, I think the best way for both parties is to resolve this privately, saving everyone's time (a very precious commodity).

BenzV12

Sorry to hear about that mishap . I also agree all said above , your insurance might be affected if you file a claim even if there's no replacement required to fix it .
A decent body shop can fix it as if there's nothing happened there

BeanBR

Thanks guys!

Will post results in about a week

JohnLane

Making an insurance claim will pop up in a Carfax report down the road so a nick to resale value.

Much better to fix out of pocket and be done with it.

Mitch Alsup

There is a guy who does part out work for my Ferrari mechanic that could fix that for ~$500±

BenzV12

He was not greedy at all, appreciate that

SW20S

Thats very minor.

BUT, I just had a cosmetic repair done on our Pacifica from a very highly rated person and the result is nothing I would accept on the S560. It needs to go to a real body shop and have the bumper removed, the damaged area repaired and properly painted, expect to pay $1,000-$1,500 for that.

The repair I had done for $350 was fine for the Pacifica, but I would never repair the Benz that way.

As for insurance, its still less than your deductible so you're paying out of pocket. If the other driver submits a claim you won't pay a deductible but you will to repair your car.