Fender Bender - repair cost?
 

Had a lady pull out in front of me, I had the choice of running of the road over a curb at 25 mph or hitting the side of her SUV. I chose body damage over suspension damage.

That said, I have a busted parking light, the little side marker, and needs a front bumper cover. The little trim piece below the headlight also needs replaced as it's broken and the parking light mounts to it on one side.

The driver's side fender is slightly pushed in at the front, but I suspect it could be pulled out quite easily. Paint has some white streaks which could very well just be paint from her vehicle; it was white, mine is forest green.

On a side note, the black fender flares on my rig (unpainted as it's an SD trim) did a NUMBER on her newish Ford Explorer. Her whole side is crinkled, though my fender flares need a good buffing to get all the white paint off.

I'd like to work out a deal with these folks instead of getting ins companies involved, and these people are of the same mindset. They gave me five hundred cash on the spot, both in agreement that the repairs will cost more than that. I took down plate numbers from all parties (her husband and daughter arrived in separate vehicles) in case they get stupid.

The husband owns a body shop and offered to fix my ride or make up the difference in cash once he gets quotes on parts. He had a business card on him, thus seems legit. Ideally, I'd like cash and repair myself in hopes of pocketing a few bucks.

What do you guys think? I can buff out the scratches, so no need for paint. What do you folks think a reasonable repair cost would be. Any input or suggestions on how you'd handle this would be appreciated!

Sue them take away the body shop and make your own repairs.

Seriously though. I wish there were more people like you in this world. Some folks out there would jump at the chance to file an unethical claim. It's because of A-holes like that we have higher premiums.

I would take the man up on his word check out his shop, see what kind of work he does and let him make the repairs if you feel comfortable with the quality of his work.

Post a picture of the damage for a quote.

There are a few members on this forum that run a very successful business parting out Rovers. Maybe, contact them for parts.

Took me thirty minutes to post a Damn picture on this stupid phone. Ugh. I'll see if I can post a couple others. ..

http://s2.postimg.org/o7nteibop/20140311_183456.jpg

That's really all there is to see. It's really minor. On ordinary cars it'd be 700-800$ repair done professionally, but I don't know how Rover parts cost stacks up. I've heard good used bumper covers are hard to find, and new ones prohibitively expensive. That's the only thing that really worries me, the rest is no biggie imo, but I'm no expert, hence deferring to you guys :)

We had our 2003 Discovery hit in the same area. $1,650 for the front bumper cover and main bumper cover, the headlight trim and fender work. Debated getting the ARB bumper but I am not ready to reduce my gas mileage another 2 MPG.

2003 Discovery 144K

Take it to a couple of body shops for estimates on the repair cost... Shops in Indiana will write estimates for free in hopes of getting the job.

Compare their estimates to what the guy is willing to do in terms of repairs plus cash...

Will any Disco II bumper cover fit my 2000? Or does it have to be 99-02?

Ideally I'd like to find one that has front fogs...