MrCjolsen

I know I smashed the rear window with my head. I think I also dented the trunk lid.

But the damage estimate was $3900. On a 2001 Honda Civic. (Trade in value $3300)

Would it have also been enough force to bend the bumper? That's what they're claiming.

How much damage can a bike possibly do to a car?

jrich179

Jesus. Are they insisting you buy yourself a brand new bike as part of that estimate?!

Mos6502

No. It's not correct. If it is suggest they have their insurance company total the car.

The total for repair could easily reach $1000 or more, realistically (depending on who's doing the work) - but there's no way it'd get up to $3000+

All cars sold in the U.S. have 5mph bumpers - which means that it would be practically impossible for you to do anything more than scruff up the paint (a couple hundred of dollars right there) with your bicycles.

thirdgenbird

i'm in the midwest so labor may be different but here goes my best guess:

if bumper cover needs painted remove, paint, install runs about $500

worst case senario the trunk dent cant be pulled, on a car like this they will locate a junk yard lid, paint it to match, and install maybe $1200

back window is dual compound with defrost new maybe $400

that gives you $2100

if the bumper cover and inner support are damaged beyond repair (possible i guess but not likely) that could easily add another $1000

now we are at $3100 the extra price difference may just be the higher labor cost in CA

keep in mind i'm no adjuster and im just guessing high on parts cost. i did have a 1991 firebird that had had minor bumper/hood damage from a co worker and the bill for a new hood, bumper, and paint was $2900

I-Like-To-Bike

$3,900.

MrCjolsen

Since it was difficult to get a good look at the car from inside the ambulance, I just want to make sure I'm not paying for anything I didn't break. Not sure how to go about doing that, though.

thirdgenbird

5mph bumpers are a joke. with the exorbitant price of parts like headlight and the push for better fuel milage (lighter plastic bumper covers with complex curves for aerodynamics) 5mph collisions can cost a fortune. 5mph bumpers just prevent "structural damage"

oh my, are you alright? have a helmet on?

Doohickie

There is foam under the bumper cover which may or may not be an integral part of the bumper. If that is damaged, it could be that yes, you damaged the bumper beyond repair.

Do you have insurance?

electrik

No you didn't break the bumper, like somebody stated they're designed to deflect a 5mph impact from a car. Obtain the evidence from the police collision report which should include photographs of the damages.

You have the right to shop the repairs yourself if you are paying and are found at fault.

Act in haste repent at leisure.

Wogster

It would depend on how fast you were going, and how you hit. I doubt you could do much damage to a car bumper though. most likely a car hit the bumper earlier in a parking lot and they never noticed before. Brand new original Honda parts can be expensive, on a 9 year old car, a used trunk lid and bumper shouldn't be that expensive, those cars are pretty common. Painted to match the original, and the new window although if you find a junker with an intact trunk lid and bumper the rear window should be good too, as long as the defroster wires are not damaged. Should be under $1,000.

thirdgenbird

5mph bumpers dont prevent damage!!!

Most small cars aren't economical for crash repairs:
Ford Focus performs the best; Rabbit
& Prius are the worst in bumper tests

First results of new crash tests: most car bumpers don't work in low-speed crashes; 3 cars sustain $4,500 damage in 6 mph test while old Ford Escort sustains little damage



"In a series of crash tests, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety recently assessed how well the bumpers of 20 small car models would protect the vehicles from damage in low-speed collisions. The worst performers are the Hyundai Elantra, Toyota Prius, and Volkswagen Rabbit, each sustaining about $4,000 damage or more in a single test. The Ford Focus performed the best, with about one-third that amount of damage in its worst test.

"Small cars are supposed to be economical, but there's nothing economical about three or four thousand dollars in repairs after a low-speed collision," says Institute senior vice president Joe Nolan. "Ford did the best job of putting bumpers on a small car that largely do what they're supposed to do. In 3 of the 4 tests, the bumpers on the Focus protected sheet metal and most other expensive parts from damage."

"Bumpers on most cars aren't worthy of the term," Nolan says. "Even the best bumper in this group still allowed more than a thousand dollars damage in one 3 mph crash test. Some simple changes could prevent a lot of damage to cars, and expense and headaches for consumers."

Insurance Institute for Highway Safety Sept 4, 2008

edit: maybe your laws are different, but here in iowa, the vehicle owner has full right to decide what body shop is doing the repairs. it does not manner who eats the cost.

Mos6502

9___ 9

I'll bet you $3000 that if you go outside and rear end your own car with a bicycle at 10mph you're not going to inflict $3000 worth of damage to your car.

Heck, I'll let you run into mine.

thirdgenbird

where did you get 10mph? the poor guy went through the back window, dented the trunk lid and took a ride in an ambulance. he had to have hit it pretty hard. Like i already said, my guess is about $2000 damage for the described damage and we dont have to test this theory, the OP already did. both my cars have real bumpers anyway:

MrCjolsen

My guess is 10-15. It was at the very start of my commute home, across the street the school where I teach. It was exactly 100 yards from where I had just made a u-turn. I wasn't warmed up. I was accelerating, but not that aggressively.

Mos6502

10mph is pretty hard.

If you don't mind my asking, just how did you manage to run into a parked car anyway?

thirdgenbird

apparently hard enough to do a number on a civic.

do you have any pictures of the bike? what were you riding anyway?

MrCjolsen

I think I was either looking down at something or fiddling with my computer. I may have moved over to let a car go by. I hit just on the outside.

I bent the frame of my Surly Crosscheck. But the front wheel didn't even go out of true. The frame took the worst, the fork almost seems straight. Barys may have been tweaked. One brake lever was pushed sideways.

thirdgenbird

that doesnt seem all that bad.

if you can, i would try and get pictures of the car like already stated.

Digital_Cowboy

Given how heavy my bike is most days, and that I can easily maintain a 15 - 20 MPH speed, coupled with the fact that I have a front pannier rack mounted to it. I can see that IF I were run into either the rear-end or side of a car that I could do some damage to it.

dobber

Sorry to be a party pooper, but if somebody damages my vehicle I'm not settling for used parts.

You should probably request a copy of the body shop estimate.

Mos6502

If your car was 9 years old, you might have to when it comes to something like a trunk lid.

electrik

Yes, our laws are very different. We have no fault insurance. 5mph bumpers do prevent most damage though can be scrapped/chipped in the process. Our standard again was for a higher speed(not anymore due to political pressure from u know who) and we actually fail cars(Mitsubishi lancer sporty thing was a popular failure) that don't pass it. Not sure why your gov't lets cars be imported and licensed which don't pass safety tests.

Anyways, i doubt he totaled the bumper... but who knows - he doesn't.

CB HI

Do you have auto insurance? If yes, they may be obligated to cover you as a driver; regardless of the vehicle you were driving.

What do you mean by (Trade in value $3300)? If that is the blue book value of the car, tell the owner that you consider the car totaled, you will only pay the blue book value in exchange for the title. Then you can sell the car to recover as much of your pay out as possible.

Wogster

New parts are sometimes hard to come by, for older vehicles, and that can make them much more expensive. Car companies are notorious for making changes so that parts from one year do not fit on another of the same model, even though they look identical. Body panels are large, and older cars that are involved in collisions are often not repaired, because the cost of the repair exceeds the value of the car, so for the car company these parts will be discontinued first. Many cars that have air bags are written off, even though the collision damage is much less then the value of the car, because the airbags deployed and it costs thousands of dollars to replace each one. The car companies know this, and they stock parts accordingly, so finding a trunk lid and bumper for a 2001, in new OEM parts may actually be very difficult. Used parts in good to excellent condition, may actually be very easy to find and fairly inexpensive. New non-OEM parts may be available, but a good used part with no rust will probably be a better repair.

I-Like-To-Bike

The OP can "tell" the car owner anything he wants about "value" and "title exchange", that doesn't mean the owner has any legal or contractual obligation to accept such an offer.