Rear ended and they want to use aftermarket parts to repair...

Hey Guys,

I got rear ended in February and sustained damage to my bumper and bed. The other guys insurance wants to replace my bumper with some aftermarket parts not Toyota parts ( bumper caps and top plate of rear bumper).

I guess this is legal but is there anyway to get OEM parts?

What about diminished value?

Any help is appreciated!

 

Contact your insurance company and see if they are willing to let you claim it through them for OEM parts, and then they can seek repayment from the other insurance company. Part of the reason you have insurance is so you don't have to deal with the other person's insurance company.

Given the amount of time that has passed, you might not be able to, but your company might still be able to give you some advice on how to get it fixed properly.

 

Yeah they are no help... I filed a claim on the same day but between work and corona virus they were only able to get me quoted in the pay few days, so no time penalties.

 

Sorry to hear about your troubles. Not sure if it helps any...are you able to just take the payout? Would that cover a good portion of an aftermarket HD bumper? Assuming you wanted an aftermarket bumper this may be a good time to upgrade?

 

I thought of that. I’m not sure yet!! I tow regularly and not sure if a high clearance bumper is worth it since the hitch has to stay. I like my chrome bumper but would be willing to upgrade. I don’t like the look of the big huge metal bumpers. I like the n fab but I think it would look silly with the hitch on there. He damaged my bed so some of the money is for that.

The difference in parts is about 200 dollars and they want me to pay it or they will use CAPA parts.

Really sucks.

 

I had the same on my wife's car. It is in their policy that they can do it so you don't have much of a say in what you want. Since it is the other guy's insurance, if your policy states different, your insurance company might be able to assist, but otherwise it is what it is.
They did allow me the option to do OEM used parts instead of the new aftermarket parts. But that is a risk also since you do not know what you are getting.
Their reasoning is that they have to repair your car to "same or better" condition. Your car is 4 years old so they don't have to put new parts on it.
It sucks, but that is the world we live in.

 

Did you get diminished value?

 

Other guys car was toast. So happy I was in my truck. I was at a stop light rocking out, waiting for green and he hit me at around 30 mph. No brakes, he was asleep he said. Truck didn’t break footprint. Bent bumper, bedside,body support, scratched both sides of bed, and also cracked my hitch safe cover. The safe still works!! His car was on fire and he used his jacket to put it out .

That lift in the rear allowed his car to go under my car. The spare tire was on his hood!

 

No. I actually took the check and ran. The damage was minimal and the van had 160,000 miles on it. They offered me a $2,000 check instead of replacing the rear bumper and pull a small dent from the fender and replace a rear tail light. I bought an aftermarket tail light for $75 on e-bay and lived with the rest of the scratches and small dent. I was able to buff most of the scratches out.

 

Bumper Parts total almost 1700 dollars. Maybe I’ll surf the aftermarket bumper threads. I could almost get a front AND rear bumper for that. Been looking at that SSO slimline but the wife has our bank account locked down right now for our house down payment. Would be nice to do another MoD and not have to pay too much...

 

Yeah, I'd take that cash if possible and just let them repair the bed and any other damage. Get yourself a different bumper of your choice and/or some other mods with the cash.

 

On another note, those TRD stickers are 85 bucks a pop. Don’t need those anymore... more money for mods!

 

or just pick up a used rear bumper from someone on here in good condition and pocket the rest.

 

Now there's an idea. Pretty sure I saw one in the market place too. Not sure where though.

 

I came here worried and now I have some hope and perspective. Thanks y’all!

 

It is in the best interest of the insurance company to payout as little as possible.

You'll need to haggle with the other party's insurance company to use OE bumper if you want a bigger payout. Otherwise, sounds like the other party is taking the liability, so just bring it to the shop of your choice and insist they use OE parts.

I was involved in a accident and initial estimate was $1,000. After bringing it to a certified repair shop using OE bumper, the repair cost jumped up to $4,000.

 

Yeah, if you like the stock one as you mentioned I'm sure someone in S Cal is swapping their new rear bumper for an aftermarket one. I'm sure you can pick up a near new one at a good price.

 

sue sue sue in small claims take their money don't sign anything put tundra parts on sue for difference

 

I’m not sure it’s worth my time. We’re talking a difference of around 250.00 dollars. I considered it though. Spoke with an attorney and the numbers just don’t make it worth it at this point.

 

sorry to hear, but nice that you did check it out

 

You’d have to file a diminished value claim; insurance doesn’t give it up voluntarily. You either try and sell/ trade your truck then use the buyer dealership’s written offer to show the value of your truck was diminished because of the collision... or you can hire a firm that does this... they’ll do that footwork for you. In CA you have years from date fo collision to file.

 

Did they take anything off when they did that initial estimate? That's what happen to me, they just did a visual inspection on the surface and based the estimate on that. Once at the body shop of my choice, they took off the rear bumper and was able to see the underlying pieces have also been cracked so they had to be replaced as well.

 

Take the check and go aftermarket.

 

Hope your ok... you got rights.
Get three estimates. Pick one. Have your truck fixed, if you go through Ins. You may have a deductible payment due.

if you fix it on your own with insurance check you might be able to get an aftermarket bumper.
If it gets reported it will be on a Carfax. So be advised of that.
I delt with that several years ago on a ford I owned.

Call your insurance, get a police report. Protect your self. You never know who may come back and try to say it wasn’t my fault.
Just a thought Sir.

 

No it was a visual estimate. Noted.

 

Ok Everbody, here it goes. So as far as using aftermarket parts...the insurance is allowed to do this as long as they can prove that the parts are up to Par. There is a CAPA certification that basically certifies the part as good as OEM except corrosion protection. I hired an appraisal firm and they provided the following documentation. I am claiming this against the insurance company as lost value in my vehicle. There will most likely be negotiations but I'm hoping for the best. I also had to retain a lawyer which for me was easy as we have a law firm perk in my firms benefit package. The fee for the appraisal is included in the amount for the claim. Ill keep y'all posted.

 

Tell them you are having trouble thinking about it due to this neck pain that popped up.

Joking aside, I got rear ended one time with my wife and infant son and their insurance was quick to offer a check and send papers for me to sign. Didn’t do anything til I took it to my shop and told them I wanted it like new. The shop dealt with the insurance then they sent me another $1000 to waive injury claims. No one was hurt so I did it.

Will your shop fight it out with the insurance?

 

What year is the truck. My experience is that is the truck is "new" or a few years old, you can request Toyota parts. After that, they seem to use aftermarket.

 

2016. Apparently it doesn’t matter as long as they certify them. Varies from state to state but CA they can do it.

 

Sometimes aftermarket could be better, just sayin.