Need some help from my viper friends....accident :(

[Martin2000GTS]

Hey guys,
I dont post much but Im reading everyday. And I was just wondering if you guys that have some experience could help me with this accident issue i have. It was such a minor accident, nothing even broke or cracked. just some paint sctuff marks on my front left bumper, left fender (which i know is i guess considered the hood cause its all one piece) and my driver door. I rubber most of the paint off but when you look real real close you can see very small scrapes in the clear coat. And some paint I havent been able to get off. I was just entering an intersection with the right of way and a green light when a guy on the left started to cross (he has a stop sign) I slammed on my brakes and locked up the brakes and slidlike 25 feet ( i wish i had abs)and his front right bumper scraped my whole left side of my car. But the damage on my car is so minor that if you were to just look at it you would barly notice anything. But the door fender and bumber all do have very small scrapes through the clearcoat, no paint came off from what I can tell yet.
Anyways heres my dilema. If we go through insurance and they find him 100% at fault then thats great but now it shows that my car has been in an accident on my car fax report right? Even though the damage is so minor you cant even see it. But then my problem is how do I convince the insurance adjuster that this car needs a quality job done cause its a VIPER not a neon!!!! The other guys car probally just needs to get his bumber repainted which will probally not even cost $500 on his 2001 stratus (nothing broke on his car either) (just a 1 foot by 1 foot scuff mark). Another problem is what if the insurance company somehow finds us both at fault then i get a carfax history for something so minor! and my insurance goes up!.
All in all I was hoping to just talk to the guy and tell him forget it ever happened, Im such a mess and so upset! Any advice? I havent even reported the accident yet its been like 40 hours since the incedent. Also since we were in the middle of a very busy intersection we drove to the closet gas station and changed papers there. We called a police officer and he just made sure we were ok and he left. He didnt take down any information. Please help me guys with you opinions on what I should do
Thanks
Martin

 

[Tom F&L GoR]

Look into brakes. Talk to Jeff Torrey or Tim Cloutier.

 

[AviP]

Looks like it might just buff out. Seriously!

If not, just get it painted out of your own pocket. Between deductible and insurance increases and insurance record, you will probably get hit harder over time.

But now everyone on this board knows!

 

[Martin2000GTS]

Ha I dont mind if everyone on this board knows. I would be honest with the person I sold it to and I would tell them how minor the accident was. I just dont want the future buyer (if i were to ever sell the car) to see a carfax and think there was a major accident when it fact it was something so minor.
As far as repainting....would I have to repaint the whole door, bumper, and hood/fender just beacuse of some minor scuff marks? Or would a body shop just do the small areas. I wanna know this information so I look like I know what im talking about when I fight with the adjuster/ insurance company. Because I know their gonna say "heres $500 for a body shop to use some touch up paint on that dodge car you have" ha well i dont know if their gonna actually say that but who knows!

 

[OKViper]

The best way to find out what the repair is:

1) Don't ask a forum (esp. without pictures) what it will take to fix.

2) Go to a good bodyshop and get a quote.

Good luck.

 

[kcobean]

Honestly, here's what I'd do....

Take LOTS of hi-resolution pictures of the accident for your historical records. Then let the guys insurance take care of repairing your car. When it comes time to sell, it won't be hard to find a buyer that's reasonable enough to look at your pictures and realize that "accident" was a strong word for what happened despite the carfax record.

It's going to be an expensive repair if any painting is involved, and you shouldn't have to pay for it out of pocket. You should also talk to your insurance comany about a diminished value claim.

 

[Martin2000GTS]

Thanks for the info guys, i didnt even know there was such thing as a dimminshed value claim thats interesting. I talked to the other guy that I got into the accident with and he seems to think I should have been able to stop, I was goin a little fast for traffic situation bla bla bla. So we decided to just forget it happened and not go through insurance. Im not gonna give him anything and he isisnt going to give me anything.
The reason I did this was because I didnt want to take a chance that my insurance could possibly go up and I would get more points added to my record if we were found somehow both at fault. Im paying $4300 a year for insurance (23 year old single mail with a more than avg. amount of moving violations....and I guess I wont have the carfax issue to worry about either. I plan on keeping the viper for at leant another 5 years, so by that time the few scratches may not make that big of a difference on the value of the car.

Thanks for the advice guys! And I will take pictures of the scratches and save them for the future buyer regardless.

 

[kcobean]

Im paying $4300 a year for insurance (23 year old single mail with a more than avg. amount of moving violations....

Ouch....That is all.

 

[2 VENOMOUS]

Martin, here are some tips about the repairs....any panel that needs paint will have to be refinished completely with clear but color only were it needs..... bumper needs to come off to paint and flex added in.....mouldings, trim, (etc) removed and then reinstalled.

when finished you dont want to see dirt or fine scratches, orange peel should match factory paint, wet sanded and buffed if needed...

hope this hepls, goog luck
george