New car repair insurance question

Had a little mishap in a Flemington, NJ parking lot on Saturday. Not involving another car, and no damage to property. Lamp post was in the wagon's corner blind spot as I backed and turned out of a spot. The car has "eyesight" in front, back and side, but for some reason the rear sensor did not pick it up and "beep" to alert me. (Maybe it only does this for moving objects?) Unfortunately I was looking out the back window as I backed up, and not at the back-up view screen. The old "good" habits have turned bad in the new cars with decreased rear visibility, I guess.

I just want to say --thank god it was not a human being!

ANYWAY, for this kind of thing, which will involve replacement of the whole rear bumper, should I take to dealer or to the local body shop I like? I think the prices are the same for labor, right? Seems like dealer get the parts faster, but I'm not sure about that.. Also, I was just planning to call the insurance company when I take it in. I certainly don't want to be fraudulent, so I was planning to say it was entirely my fault. But is it okay to wait a little bit, or do I need to contact them now?

One last thing: One of the rear brake lights is about 1/3 broken off. Do I need to get that red tape to cover the hole until its replaced?

I am very sad about this... my new car! And, what's worse, my excellent driving reputation is now tarnished.

Call your insurance company now. They probably have an agreement with a local body shop that will do the work and the insurance company will guarantee the work for life if you use their approved shop. You'll be responsible for your deductible and they will pay the rest.

Thanks for this advice!

On something like this, I believe you'll find almost no difference in price from one shop to another. Replacing a bumper and taillight doesn't involve metal work, per se. I did something similar not long ago, and the dealer was the best option. They didn't try and "pad" the bill (like some other often mentioned shops here on MOL did), and their labor rate was the insurance rate.

I think the best thing about going to the dealer is that they have an incentive to keep you as a customer - for all the service your car needs and for your next car!

Since your car is new, if you don't go to the dealer, do not accept after market replacement parts. Either insist on original manufacturer parts or pay the difference (generally not that much). I don't recall if you leased or purchased, but on a lease, that's even more important.

Sorry for the accident -- it'll get fixed soon I'm sure. And yes, very thankful it was just the car and no one hurt.

Call the insurance company before you contact a repair service.

Unde nj law, you can take the car to any licensed repair place and have it covered.

if its less than your deductible + $750 you might just want to pay cash.....otherwise your insurance rates will likely be hiked up more than that over the next few years

for example, you have a 500 deductible and its 1000..in the long run it may be cheaper just to pay cash..

even if you have accident forgiveness....if you have a 2nd accident...then they will know about the 1st and hike your rates.

I've replaced a couple rear lights myself...i paid about $50 for the part..the 1st time the lens had been loose and someone actually pulled it off and stole it (it had been there when I parked and gone when I went back to the car..with no glass on the ground)....and the other time it just malfunctioned....i was told there is a place in Newark that carries them in stock..but couldn't find it anywhere else and just did 2 day shipping from amazon..i had looked for OEM, but had trouble finding it....i don't remember what exactly i ended up with...it did have some type of certification