Rear Ended – what to think about

[Dave Tidman]

Question for all you body gurus out there..

I was in the front of a chain reaction crash yesterday. I’m fine, unfortunately the guy in the car behind me was transported and the nutjob who started all this went for DUI (really, drunk at 11:00 AM?). The damage does not seem too bad, rear bumper and mounting brackets are toast and will need to be replaced. Fortunately, Mr. DUI is insured so I guess I will find out how good the “Good Neighbor” folks are. BTW, the truck is a 2003 Nissan Frontier XE with 120,000 on the clock.

Here is what I thought of so far:

1. I really want OEM parts, expecting a big battle on that one, but my contention is this is a safety system.
2. I want the alignment checked, it seems OK, but I think that is necessary given the bumper brackets bolt to the frame.
3. Working to figure the acceptable amount for a diminished value claim.

Questions so far:

1. No airbag deployment, but the seat belts did lock. Should they be examined/replaced?
2. In PIC2 attached, do the bolts that mount the bracket to the frame need to be replaced? I’m going to ask that be done, given they have taken a hit and have been subjected to a lateral force.

Is there anything else I need to think about?

Attachments:

• pic3.jpg
• pic2.jpg

Topic

[Fernando cunha]

howdy where is the damage?
can’t tell in pic all i see is rust!
air bags dont deploy by rear only side & front.
thats if you have side airbags.
best advice i can give you .
make sure guy has insurance.
cause with insurance you be able to claim new bar.
if he don’t all i can say is good luck.
if you have insurance them go throw your insurance
and let your insurance chase him for money.
all the best

[Brian]

I’ve done autobody for over 20 years and somehow ended up working for an insurance company for a few years recently.
I will give.you my honest opinion and hope that you get what you want, but I don’t think it’s likely.
The bumper and bumper mounts are needing to be replaced for sure. Can’t tell from the pics if the bed steel is damaged, but it may be. The age and value of your truck means that an insurance company is not likely to see a need for OEM parts. The bolts may or may not be changed, but that’s a very low dollar item. The body shop you go to will likely replace them if you ask them to.
As for lowered value of the truck, unless the frame was bent, then there isn’t much to do about that. The good news is that your truck will instantly look way nicer and this repair shouldn’t take more than a day unless the shop you use is backed up.

[Dave Tidman]

just posting an update.

Truck is fixed and looking good. OEM parts were used and the bolts were replaced. Actually, the body shop found some very small scratches on the body from the accident and convinced the insurance to paint the entire bed.

Thanks all

[Brian]

That’s really cool! Thanks for the update and enjoy driving man!

[Author]

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