850 Front Bumper Accident Topic is solved

WhatAmIDoing · Post by **WhatAmIDoing** » 13 Dec 2018, 18:25

I would avoid going the route of buying your car back as salvage. If the insurance company wants to total your car, try to get them to cut you a "repair check" for your cars value. You will end up with more money then buying it back and your car won't show up as being totaled in a history report.

Hopefully they value your car something reasonable. When mine got hit in a parking lot hard enough to pop the lower rad hose off and crack the bumper, their insurance appraiser (Progressive) refused to value my T5M over $300USD. I guess they thought I would take the money and run back to Canada instead of taking them to court. I probably would have taken the money and walked away if the other driver and his insurance company weren't so nasty to me.

Post by **abscate** » 13 Dec 2018, 20:23

ksdst1 wrote: ↑13 Dec 2018, 14:19 Good point! Filed a claim with their Co. We'll see if they value the repair at or above the value of the car (KBB shows btw $1141 and $1722). Such a shame b/c it could be an easy fix (find and replace bumper assembly, special rivets, wheel well plastic, and small plastic strip under the light wiper blade from junkyard). But real life is that I can't easily pursue that w/ my limited time right now and can't propose a solid $$ amount to settle on for an out of pocket payment at the moment. Haven't hear back from my agent officially about an insurance increase if it's considered totaled, but there would need to be a re-evaluation of the car value after a new salvage title, the repairs, re-inspection, and a new reconstruction title. I expect there will be a good chance though. Anyway, thanks for all the good input!

The insurance company number will be something like 1/2 of KBB and if it is within 80% of that they will likely total it. If you need help getting a cover moved I can get it to Buffalo easily on a loose schedule.

Post by **abscate** » 17 Dec 2018, 07:10

It usually doesn't make sense to carry collision on any 'daily driver' car over 10 years old - the deductible will be higher than the loss value - unless you pay crazy premiums for $500 deductibles - we never have lower than $2000 on any car.

ksdst1 · Post by **ksdst1** » 18 Dec 2018, 07:09

: bumperCover.jpg (88.24 KiB) Viewed 850 times

Revisiting this conversation with a followup. It seems that these 850 front bumpers have a "cover" (see attachment, part #4) which looks like the top black part that fastens to the bumper frame. I have not been able to take my bad bumper off yet but was wondering if it is practical to just buy the cover and swap that out. Looking at the parts diagram, the bumper assembly looks like it is modular but I don't know how practical it would be to try to disassemble it and reassemble with a new bumper cover. Wondering if anyone has experience with this.
Tnx

Post by **scot850** » 18 Dec 2018, 08:04

I have not done this with an 850 but have with a V70. So it should be do-able. The one point that was made was that it looks like the metal part of the bumper has been either crushed or pushed back on the driver's side. You will have to remove the full assembly to check what damage has been done to the bumper mounts at the front of the frame rails and possibly the rails themselves.

With this all removed you will find it easier to swap the cover over.

Neil.

Post by **abscate** » 18 Dec 2018, 08:52

I think I would take anything over $500 to make this go away and then get a used cover. That would make it worth my while to avoid the Feds getting involved. (hyperbole)

ksdst1 · Post by **ksdst1** » 18 Dec 2018, 09:12

Good points all! Good to know Neil that if you did this on an V70, it probably is similar with the 850s. I guess the only way to know for sure is to detach the bumper and see how it comes apart. I was hesitant to take the bumper off before the claims rep/adjuster could examine the car, but not sure when/if that will happen and they said they just need to see the damaged parts. Of course I have the pictures.

Forgot about the earlier front rail comment, but I could see it fully exposed and it seems to have the correct symmetrical bends on both sides (if we are talking about #2 diagram above and there is no other reinforcement rail behind that which could be slightly bent).
Tnx..

Post by **scot850** » 18 Dec 2018, 11:28

The bumper if I recall is held on by a couple of long bolts through a bracket on the end of the rails. These need to be removed to be able to slide the whole assembly forward to remove it. The brackets are possibly rotted/bent as well as the bolts. Behind all that there are mounting plates on the ends of the frame rails that can easily be bent, but possibly straightened again.

Good Luck

Neil.

greg850r · Post by **greg850r** » 20 Dec 2018, 07:52

Is yours green or blue? I can give you one free but shipping could be prohibitive. Near St. Louis.

They're easy to swap.

ksdst1 · Post by **ksdst1** » 20 Dec 2018, 10:07

Thanks you Greg. I currently have a line on a bumper but if it doesn't pan out, I will reach out to you here.
kevin

850 Front Bumper Accident Topic is solved

Re: 850 Front Bumper Accident