# My Xtrail got hit



## sanj101ca (Aug 4, 2006)

This guy driving a corrolla hits the rear of my x-trail while reversing and talking to his wife at the same time..As I was reversing I saw the car reversing in my rear view and immediately stopped and I was honking hopeing this dude would stop....but no he hits my rear bumper....the dude and his wife get out of the car she appoligizes...all of sudden the dude gives his wife the evil stare she goes in the car and he starts saying I hit him!!!!

The only damage to my x-trail is the shitty blue paint from his corrolla rubbed onto my rear bumper....his corrolla has a massive imprint of my bummper on his trunk.

we went down to the poice collison reporting station the cop was cool...he didn't really believe the other driver just how the guy was acting and actually cut him up a couple of times!!!! The cop loved my X-trail too 

Anyways got the report trying to figure out my next move with insurance...I'm sure a body shop can rub out the crappy paint....but that guy looks like he's going to claim for the sky...please advise

Thanks,
Sanj


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## Lukasz (Oct 14, 2004)

sanj101ca said:


> This guy driving a corrolla hits the rear of my x-trail while reversing and talking to his wife at the same time..As I was reversing I saw the car reversing in my rear view and immediately stopped and I was honking hopeing this dude would stop....but no he hits my rear bumper....the dude and his wife get out of the car she appoligizes...all of sudden the dude gives his wife the evil stare she goes in the car and he starts saying I hit him!!!!
> 
> The only damage to my x-trail is the shitty blue paint from his corrolla rubbed onto my rear bumper....his corrolla has a massive imprint of my bummper on his trunk.
> 
> ...


I will assume that you are from Canada, and within Ontario. Easiest reply: depends on your insurance policy. Consider that placing a claim, regardless of the minimality of the damage has the potential of increasing your premium, or at least increasing the chance of you getting an even higher premium jump with your next claim.


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## Lukasz (Oct 14, 2004)

Another thing that matters is where your accident happened. If it occured in a parking lot, I heard _many_ times that insurance companies will always consider the accident as being 50/50 fault.


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## Ice512 (Oct 16, 2006)

you shud have just ripped some cash off that guy, rubbed off the paint urself, and you will be on ur merry way to xmas shoppin sponsored by him....


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## evjm (Jan 11, 2006)

Lukasz said:


> Another thing that matters is where your accident happened. If it occured in a parking lot, I heard _many_ times that insurance companies will always consider the accident as being 50/50 fault.


It's only 50/50 if you are both moving. As long as you were parked you're clear.


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## babber (Sep 3, 2006)

Not to hi-jack but I got my first ticket ever last Sunday, I was doing 86 in a 60. Power down the window the cop lokos in and says, wow never seen one like this! he liked the compartment behind the steering wheel. He gave me a break 75 in a 60. fine is 50.50$
But as the cop liked yours as did the cop stopping me.


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## sanj101ca (Aug 4, 2006)

Hi All,

This happend in Brampton parking lot steels/hwy 10.

My SUV was stopped...he moved into my rear..but is trying to scam and say I was moving...I thought it was just paint damage...I took some photos this morning there is gapping on the right rear bumper pannel and the rear door is not flush on the right side of the SUV....anyways insurance agent believes me and she is going to fight...but I'm guessing it's a 50/50....if you guy's know of some people...that can ********* guy....

Just had this SUV since August  oh well atleast no one got hurt.


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## ERBell (Aug 7, 2005)

Same thing happened to me in a parking lot. Only We were both moving. I was backing out and he drove into the side of the rear of the truck I was in. 

The trucks bumper was all he hit and there was no damage. He was in an old corvette maybe 70-71, nice car. There was lots of damage to his car due to the fact that fiberglass isn't known to hold up well against steel. The fold up headlight was ruined and hood was cracked pretty good.

The reason this reminded me of your incident was because the guy came out of his car absolutely furious. He was screaming and said I drove into him. It was clear that this was not the case. He said I was going to pay for this and he wanted cash. I laughed at him and told him this would be 50/50 because we were both moving in a parking lot. 

After he demanded cash I became very unhappy and in my own sick way I started to purposly get him angry. for example he said that this was going to screw up his insurance. I told him I didn't care and that I had no problem covering my part of the damage. After we exchanged info he started to take pictures with his camera phone so I did the same. 

The following is what was said word for word as we were getting into our cars.

Me-> "Excuse me, those are collector plates right?"

Him-> ....No response....

Me-> " I don't think Corvette made a 19" wheel way back then."

Him-> "[email protected]#k you."

Me-> "Thanks for the pictures."


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## sanj101ca (Aug 4, 2006)

Well just a quick follow up...my insurance company found the other party 100% at fault...so I got the repairs and rental no charge or deduct..

My rental is a 2006 honda crv exl....not bad


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## babber (Sep 3, 2006)

sanj101ca said:


> Well just a quick follow up...my insurance company found the other party 100% at fault...so I got the repairs and rental no charge or deduct..
> 
> My rental is a 2006 honda crv exl....not bad


Glad it all worked out for you !


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## uk_owner (Jul 3, 2006)

You where lucky, before I owned my X-Trail, I had a Ford Mondeo and I was hit by a BMW on a dual carrageway. He changed lanes and drove streight into my drivers side rear door and quater panel. First thing he said was "it was your fault, you where speeding", just for the record, I was towing a trailer and had just come off a round about.

The insurance didn't care a hoot, said that they would go 50/50 and I argued that I would not authorise that as I was not in the wrong, I had done nothing wrong and I was not prepaired to take any respoinsibility.

The thing is in the UK, the insurance don't care wether an acident was your fault or not, I was told that my insurance would go up from £325 nearly £600 even if I won the claim and I didn't loose any no claims bonus's as I have had an accident "regardless of fault".

As my Mondeo was only worth about £500, I felt that I had no choise but to drop the claim. 

I guess he got away with that, if there had been any whitness's, there would have been no problem but my insurance would have gone up anyway as I had an accident "regardless of fault". It's so damn unfair here.

On the up-side, I sold the Mondeo on E-bay for £475 with damage (even though it had 197,000 miles on it) and brought my nice shiny X-Trail


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## aussietrail (Sep 24, 2004)

That accident "regardless of fault" thing sucks big time!

In Australia you don't loose any of your no claim bonus if the accident was not your fault AND with most insurance companies if you have a clean driving record (i.e. no claims or accidents) for 2-3 continues years, you get the no claim bonus for live and you don't loose any of it even if you had accident that was your fault.


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## flynn (Jun 23, 2006)

Most companies in the UK offer similar non-claims bonus protection Jalal, I've got it on mine. Usually needs 5+ years no claims before they offer it. If you don't have it and the company has any costs then you'll normally lose your discount. Some companies handle claims more generously but you usually pay top rate for it. 

Knew someone who had his parked car hit in the street 3 times in less than a year. His insurance company decided he was accident-prone and refused to insure him again. He wasn't in the car when he was hit. Irony was that he worked for the insurance company and for that reason only they relented. 

I'm told that UK motor insurance is around the lowest in Europe. Mine's around 200UKP for "fully comprehensive" including 60% NCB though when I checked some companies were asking almost double that. Don't know how that compares with the rest of the world.


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## sanj101ca (Aug 4, 2006)

Curious what do other canadian members pay for insurance yearly for their X-trail?

I think mine is around $1600/year


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## sanj101ca (Aug 4, 2006)

Btw I'm I feeling guilty...I'm really enjoying the CRV.......feels like I'm cheating on the wife


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## ERBell (Aug 7, 2005)

sanj101ca said:


> Curious what do other canadian members pay for insurance yearly for their X-trail?
> 
> I think mine is around $1600/year



I live in BC and there is an insurance company called ICBC that has a total monopoly on auto insurance. Needless to say our rates are through the roof. I pay about $2000 per year to insure my X Trail. That is with a 43% safe driver discount. 

I thought monopolies were illegal in canada.


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## the_drifter (Sep 17, 2006)

You are lucky. Someone backed on to my 3 month old parked X-Trail and I am left holding the tag for a hit and run. The damage is more than 1000 $ and I need to pay the 500$ deductible... The front bumper has a dent and the side panel on top of the front tire broke . Thought that buying a new car means no more repairs... alas money always knows its way out. sigh!!!


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## babber (Sep 3, 2006)

sanj101ca said:


> Curious what do other canadian members pay for insurance yearly for their X-trail?
> 
> I think mine is around $1600/year



We pay 115$ month for ours linving in Ottawa.


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## schauret (Nov 3, 2006)

babber said:


> We pay 115$ month for ours linving in Ottawa.


$59.00 + tax across the river from you babber...


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## uk_owner (Jul 3, 2006)

I pay about £360 per year fully comp with my partner as second driver, I have not made a claim since I was about 18 (I'm now 32) but they only take upto six years no claims into account!!
I think it will go up next year, my partner claimed on her insurance and I am sure that my insurance company will want to take that into account as she is on my insurance (she drove into our garage in her Mazda, shhhhh, I didn't tell you)


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## sanj101ca (Aug 4, 2006)

That is so funny...my buddy's wife she has a mazda 3 drove into their garage as well!


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## uk_owner (Jul 3, 2006)

I would say great minds think alike but when you drive into a bright yellow double garage and scrap two doors and a wing, I don't think 'great minds' quite fits somehow....


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## aussietrail (Sep 24, 2004)

sanj101ca said:


> That is so funny...my buddy's wife she has a mazda 3 drove into their garage as well!


Well guys, my wife must have decided to show some solidarity with your wives and decided to reverse into a wall in her Mazda yesterday. hahahahaha


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## babber (Sep 3, 2006)

any clue on how much it will cost to have the rear bumper replced? ours on the right hand corner got dented and looks like crap. Not sure if they can hammer it back into shape or if a new one will be required ?


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## wasabi4ever (Aug 27, 2005)

Hey, I was involved with a similar accident. I was very upset when my insurance company did not go into battle for me and settling for 50/50. So I decided to join the insurance industry to understand it more and preventing this kind of things happening again to me.
I can tell u what I know.
From what you stated it sounds like it will be settle for 50/50 for sure since the other party denied fault. When in a parking lot while both vehs are not in the stall or are moving both will be at fault, unless u are in your stall, and did not backed out... otherwise it will be his words against yours.
There is a way to bypass that stupid rule, if u can find a witness to say that you stopped and the third party still moving and backed into u.
Insurance agent can't do anything for you even if he/she believe you 100%, the company will base on a fault chart, for example: both backed into eacher, or side by side collision like while someone changing lane will be automatic 50/50. The reason they do this is, its cheaper for them to pay out these type of claim instead of spending more than they should to go to battle for you and may not even win because it is harder to prove who's at fault when there is no witness. However insurance company also very careful on when to decide to do that, because if the accident is obvious that their insured is not at fault but refused to spend to go to battle for them, they are risking a bigger payout due to a lawsuit from their client for breach the contract to defend them.


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## flynn (Jun 23, 2006)

babber said:


> any clue on how much it will cost to have the rear bumper replced? ours on the right hand corner got dented and looks like crap. Not sure if they can hammer it back into shape or if a new one will be required ?


Is that an X-trail? Someone put a dent in mine when it was 3 weeks old but it pushed out easily. Just needed to warm the plastic a little first.


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## babber (Sep 3, 2006)

flynn said:


> Is that an X-trail? Someone put a dent in mine when it was 3 weeks old but it pushed out easily. Just needed to warm the plastic a little first.



yes it is an X. How would I go about pushing it back out. It's the far right hand corner if you're looking at it from the back.


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## flynn (Jun 23, 2006)

babber said:


> yes it is an X. How would I go about pushing it back out. It's the far right hand corner if you're looking at it from the back.


Mine was in the same place. Was hit by a daffy woman in a BMW getting out of a parking space. Looked like she'd hit it at least three times. I was in a shop across the road and saw her getting out but didn't see she'd hit me. 

I took the bumper off, it's just held by a few bolts and clips. Then poured some hot water into the bowl shape it makes on the inside. Could also use a hairdryer or heatgun but hot water is enough and can't overheat. Then used my fist and a big rubber mallet to gently push it out. Heat too much or push too hard and it would probably stretch. I put a piece of old carpet underneath to give a surface to push against without damaging the paint. The bump left a couple of small scatches in the paint but the shape is about perfect.


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## ValBoo (May 19, 2003)

flynn said:


> ..........
> I took the bumper off, it's just held by a few bolts and clips.
> ..............


Flynn / Babber,
thanks for sharing useful information.... it can come in handy some day 

Babber,
let us know how it turns out...
I dearly hope you have a heated garage to work in because your bumper won't flex too much this morning...... as I type this message the current temperature in your neighborhood is -15 deg C..... bbrrrrrr 


Here is some handy info you can use to get to the root of your problem


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## flynn (Jun 23, 2006)

Hmm, -15 deg, definitely a job for a warm garage. Pics:

After BMW lady did her stuff









After hot water therapy


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## babber (Sep 3, 2006)

Wow nice job ! even our little reflector is in part of the damage still on there and no cracks to it.
No heated garage. So looks like I wait till next week so it can warm up a tad. If not I'll try fixing it in my dad's garage. Hey at least he has one it's not heated but....I'll be sure to take before and after pics. Thanks for all the info..all of you !


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## flynn (Jun 23, 2006)

I've bought the touch-in paint to cover the scratches but haven't got round to doing it yet. They're less noticeable than in the pics and unless you get down on your knees they hardly show. If your bumper hasn't been broken or cracked it should be fine if you take it slow and easy with not too much heat. Good luck with it.

(BTW, I was told a new bumper is about 350UKP, about 700CND, and getting it sprayed and hoping it matches almost as much again.)


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## LEONGSTER (Apr 9, 2006)

flynn said:


> Hmm, -15 deg, definitely a job for a warm garage. Pics:
> 
> 
> Flynn, thanks for the pics and directions - tremendous! I've done similar fixes with a hot air gun and thick gardening gloves - but will have to try the hot-water technique you've described sometime - it seems to produce a much better result (hot air can stretch the plastic).
> ...


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## flynn (Jun 23, 2006)

Hope you don't need repairs _too_ soon L. 

Yes, could have been a lot worse. The bit that needed most care was getting the ridge that goes round it right. Needed to be spot on or it showed. Was pleasantly surprised when I bought the touch-in paint that it was only 3 UKP for bottle each of paint and lacquer. Not often that bits from dealers seem cheap. 

Would think if it was hit close to those "bumper stay" things like coke cans the bumper would just rip through. Was wondering if anyone had done anything to make it more resistant. Maybe beefing it up using expanded polystyrene or would that would cause more problems? 

And Happy New Year.


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## LEONGSTER (Apr 9, 2006)

Happy 2007!

Have often wondered too why the bumpers don't come with foam inlays but if they did, the car makers wouldn't make all that money on spares I'd reckon.

I used to inject polyurethane foam into my old cars' pillars and side sills- it did wonders for the car's rigidity and handling without adding much weight, but could be messy to apply.
A lot of luxury cars have it in the A, B and C pillars.

Haven't thought of using this for the inside of the bumpers yet as it can be really messy to apply.


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## flynn (Jun 23, 2006)

Something to beef them up a bit would be useful. At the moment they don't seem to do anything. Obviously needs to be something that could absorb the impact rather transfer it to the body. I've never used polyurethan foam but will have a look out for it. Otherwise I've a few bits of foam packaging I might try a bodge with.


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## LEONGSTER (Apr 9, 2006)

flynn said:


> Something to beef them up a bit would be useful. At the moment they don't seem to do anything. Obviously needs to be something that could absorb the impact rather transfer it to the body. I've never used polyurethan foam but will have a look out for it. Otherwise I've a few bits of foam packaging I might try a bodge with.


A couple good alternatives - if you can get your hands on one or the other - is ethafoam (expensive, but good impact resistance) or much cheaper low-density polyethylene foam (LDPE). 

I obtain the latter in dark grey 4x8' , 3-inch thick planks for use in my flight cases, but they often come as packing with electronic goods.

I think it'll make a superb bumper-inlay. Perhaps I'll also use some scraps for that purpose one of these days.


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## flynn (Jun 23, 2006)

Thanks for the tips L, I'll have a look around. When I had the bumper off it looked if it took even a minor shunt close to one of those pointy bumper stays they'd go straight through. Definitely needs something to give a little more resistance.


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## babber (Sep 3, 2006)

So we just got our X back from it's first oil change and asked them for a quote to fix our dent......ready...hold on tight !....$830 cad. Something to do with the paint since it's black it takes longer and you just can't touch it up..... so the bumper itself was baout 250$ paint was about 400$ including the labour! I think I will try the warm water trick in early spring. and take my chances with the touch up paint.


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## LEONGSTER (Apr 9, 2006)

babber said:


> So we just got our X back from it's first oil change and asked them for a quote to fix our dent......ready...hold on tight !....$830 cad. Something to do with the paint since it's black it takes longer and you just can't touch it up..... so the bumper itself was baout 250$ paint was about 400$ including the labour! I think I will try the warm water trick in early spring. and take my chances with the touch up paint.


If it needs filling or resurfacing you may need a plastic bumper repair kit. And a plastic primer before the top coat of paint. 400 smackeroos for paint is a bit steep though.

Google is full of plastic repair kits but the ones by 3M or Duramix are good.

Otherwise, Flynn's hot water method is the way to go. Tried it on a dented Samsonite suitcase recently and it worked!


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## flynn (Jun 23, 2006)

babber said:


> So we just got our X back from it's first oil change and asked them for a quote to fix our dent......ready...hold on tight !....$830 cad.


Gulp, that's a lot for a minor dent. Do you have Chipsaway or similar in Canada Babber? Would they be worth a try for the touch in after you reshape the bumper yourself? If it's just dented should push out fine.

In the UK, dealers and garages tend to be the most expensive way to go for body repairs as they usually just sub-contract the work to a specialist paintshop and add their slice on top.


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