[ZXCamaro]

Well this was not a great day. I decided to take a ride. Car has 300 miles on it. I was just out putting some breakin miles on it when out of the blue I got bumped while I was stopped. A car behind the car behind me hit the car behind me enough that it pushed him into me. So it was three cars involved. Heres the thing. The two other cars have ZERO damage. Luckily the cop reported the accident correctly in his report.

So Im not at fault as expected. Oh and 1LE ZL1 people RUN YOUR PDRs all the time. This would have been a huge help for me to show the officer that I was telling the truth. The two others were kids and they were trying to say I panic stopped.

Well anyway, heres what I am dealing with. My car has damage not to the rear bumper cover, but the lower semi gloss black diffuser. Its cracked and there are white chunks of something coming out from behind it. There is also a metal support behind there that looks like its bent.

Im wondering a few things,

1. Can the diffuser be replaced on its own, independent of the rear bumper cover?

2. Is the white stuff, like the styrofoam that sits behind the diffuser?

3. Since this was not my fault, am I responsible to pay my deductible?

4. Can I ask for diminished value compensation on this accident since I was not at fault, even thought the other drivers were not cited? Im in IL.

Any help would be appreciated. There is no point to post pics. The damage is in the grooves on the diffuser just under the plate. Its there, but you need to be at certain angles to see it. Thanks.

[devnull]

I am sorry man... THAT STINKS. Car INS laws differ state to state, but I would not be paying the deductible, and would certainly look for diminished value. Best way to do that is to get a value from a dealer with and without an accident on it.

I run my PDR every time I get in the car now. Just habit. I'd avoid a body shop to keep this off of Carfax (which devalues it). THANK God it was minor...

[ZXCamaro]

Anyone know if the lower diffuser can be replaced without replacing the whole bumper??

[Jastone]

Originally Posted by devnull

I'd avoid a body shop to keep this off of Carfax (which devalues it).

Won't just making a claim through insurance cause it to show up on a car fax report?

And as for the rear diffuser question, I'm not sure.

[Gilley]

Sorry that happened. It may take some time for the insurance companies for the cars behind you to determine which one is at fault, if they are able to do so. All should be well if all drivers give consistent statements.

Your insurance company may or may not waive your deductible if you go thru them. Each company is different and some do not waive the deductible regardless of fault.

The diffuser should be a separate part from the bumper cover. They are separate on the SS.

The white stuff is likely a styrofoam energy absorber behind the bumper cover.

You can ask for diminished value. If the diffuser and styrofoam energy absorber are all that are replaced, there won't be much diminishment of value. Sheet metal and structural repairs would warrant more diminished value.

Even if you do not report the claim to your insurance company, both of the other insurance companies will likely report that your vehicle was in an accident. But not all claims are picked up by Carfax.

[glamcem]

Yikes, sorry to hear that. I think this is the second HBM that got rear ended on this forums. I will be more careful now since it may sound like the blue is cursed :/

I try to remember to record with my PDR (and got 2x64gb SD cars to do that) but sometimes I just forget.

[Vintage]

Remember, you should claim on their insurance - NOT yours. That way, you do not pay a deductible, they do, and you do not have an assessment against your insurance (i.e. think future rate hike).

[Tomiboy]

My insurance, State Farm, you pay the deductible to the body shop when you pick it up and then State Farm goes after their insurance for the whole bill and rental car. They then send you your deductible after receiving the payout. My guess is this is standard procedure. I've done it both ways (rear ended twice in the last 6 months in my other car) and I prefer to work with my carrier not theirs.

[Egon]

Originally Posted by ZXCamaro

Well this was not a great day. I decided to take a ride. Car has 300 miles on it. I was just out putting some breakin miles on it when out of the blue I got bumped while I was stopped. A car behind the car behind me hit the car behind me enough that it pushed him into me. So it was three cars involved. Heres the thing. The two other cars have ZERO damage. Luckily the cop reported the accident correctly in his report.

So Im not at fault as expected. Oh and 1LE ZL1 people RUN YOUR PDRs all the time. This would have been a huge help for me to show the officer that I was telling the truth. The two others were kids and they were trying to say I panic stopped.

Well anyway, heres what I am dealing with. My car has damage not to the rear bumper cover, but the lower semi gloss black diffuser. Its cracked and there are white chunks of something coming out from behind it. There is also a metal support behind there that looks like its bent.

Im wondering a few things,

1. Can the diffuser be replaced on its own, independent of the rear bumper cover?

2. Is the white stuff, like the styrofoam that sits behind the diffuser?

3. Since this was not my fault, am I responsible to pay my deductible?

4. Can I ask for diminished value compensation on this accident since I was not at fault, even thought the other drivers were not cited? Im in IL.

Any help would be appreciated. There is no point to post pics. The damage is in the grooves on the diffuser just under the plate. Its there, but you need to be at certain angles to see it. Thanks.

I am sorry your new car got hit, but at least you have a police report to back you up on what happened. Hopefully it won't be too much of a pain to repair.

Please do not rely on something you can forget to turn on when you start driving like the PDR. Invest the ~$100 on a dedicated dash cam and hard wire it into the vehicle's electrical so that it turns on every time you start the car. They are so cheap and easy to install and they have the ability to save you from very expensive insurance settlements. Just take a few minutes to read over what this poor guy went through with his totaled 6th Gen http://www.camaro6.com/forums/showthread.php?t=491087 If not for the camera footage from the city bus he would be screwed.

Personal rant, I absolutely HATE it when people say that they hit someone because the car in front panic stopped. If that happened they were following them too closely to begin with and left themselves no time to react. Tailgating is a really big problem, and automakers are addressing this with those automated braking systems because people are too dumb to learn. Unfortunately you had to pay the price for someone being too close, this applies to being stopped at a stoplight too, if they had left enough room they wouldn't have been bumped into you and damaged your new car. :(

[SSSHYBOY]

I know the feeling... Brand new Boxster 15 +/- years ago.. Less than 200 miles... Stopped at a light and the same deal.. A city truck hit the car in back of me and that car was bumped into me.. Similar minor damage.. you will love your car in spite of the incident..

Sorry it happened.

[ZXCamaro]

Thanks guys. Im just worried there is more hidden damage behind the bumper like the impact bar is pushed in and where it bolts to is damaged.

[FlashBang23]

Lower diffuser can be replaced without the whole bumper, make sure they get the correct color for the 1LE. I believe there are a few different versions out there. My car was rear ended after 5 short days of ownership, minor collision to the driver side rear bumper. Luckily the damage was very minor (bumper cover/diffuser/exhaust only) and took a few days to repair. I would be very sour about the experience but my stock exhaust was damaged so insurance gave me $2100 for a new factory exhaust........wound up with a Borla S type catback for free lol. All in all it turned out okay for me. Good luck with your situation. You can try to file for diminished value but from what I have read online that can be tricky to be successful with as it will have to come from the other persons insurance company. May be worth a try however.

[ZXCamaro]

Originally Posted by FlashBang23

Lower diffuser can be replaced without the whole bumper, make sure they get the correct color for the 1LE. I believe there are a few different versions out there. My car was rear ended after 5 short days of ownership, minor collision to the driver side rear bumper. Luckily the damage was very minor (bumper cover/diffuser/exhaust only) and took a few days to repair. I would be very sour about the experience but my stock exhaust was damaged so insurance gave me $2100 for a new factory exhaust........wound up with a Borla S type catback for free lol. All in all it turned out okay for me. Good luck with your situation. You can try to file for diminished value but from what I have read online that can be tricky to be successful with as it will have to come from the other persons insurance company. May be worth a try however.

Thanks for your advice/experiences. I plan on fully going after them for diminished value. When I traded in my 17 Charger 392 on this 1LE, the dealer asked me several times if my charger had been in an accident. It was a big deal. Even the finance guy asked me at the last minute when I was doing paperwork... Sounds like its a big deal.

[ZXCamaro]

Well my car just went to the body shop today. As expected the insurance co lowballed the the estimate for just a replacement diffuser. Just looking at it from underneath you can see it needs the absorber and impact bar replaced.

Plus now I find out that the 1LE semigloss diffuser is painted, and only comes from the factory in primer. So the shop will have the burden to match the stock one. SUCKS!! I thought it would all be just bolt on, didnt think that it would need to be painted.

So it gets torn down tomorrow. We will see if there is anything else found. Should have the car by the end of the week. It will be brand new looking. No body work or paint needed for the rear bumper cover thank god. Just that diffuser was damaged on the bottom.