So, yeah, I'm behind a cab at a stop sign and he decides to basically throw it into reverse and back into me (that's the basic gist of the story).

Front bumper is essentially cracked in half and my left quarter panel has a scratch on the front of it. Taking the car in tomorrow to my body shop so that my guy can take a look at it and give me an estimate and then hopefully his insurance will send me a check for that much and I'll be able to replace/paint my bumper.

Now, my question is, I KNOW that going through Honda will get me an OEM bumper for a crazy amount of money. What I would really like to do, would be to get the check and purchase an aftermarket bumper/paint which should basically be the same cost as an OEM one/paint. What do you guys think/recommend? TYIA!

 

Personally...i'd just go with factory replacement so that your car doesnt depreciate much from the accident...

 

get oem replacements, the cab's insurance will pay for it

 

yeah get stock, it looks just fine and I doubt his insurance will give you a check to pay for aftermarket products. and If you do, im sure theres legality problems there.

 

^^^ If an insurance company cuts a check, you can use it for whatever you want, doesnt matter if its for repairs to your car or a new dog for your wife...when they cut checks, that is a release of liability, once you cash that check, you are saying that the whole claim is done and that you are settling for the amount on the check. They could give a **** if you buy aftermarket stuff with it...problem with that is in order sometimes to get the full amount of true OEM replacement material, companies will ONLY release the check to the collision shop doing the work, and then if something is wrong, you can just say "No, this isnt right" and the insurance company has to fork over more cash to the shop...if you take the check, they can give you the minimum amount of money it would take to repair the car with whatever the cheapest parts available are.

But using an insurance check for something else besides repairing your car is not illegal, technically, its just like a settlement in court, you can sue for mental anguish, but you dont have to spend your $500,000 on Shrink visits...so yeah.