Today while fumbling around with my cellphone I pulled out (with my 93 RX7) of my school parking lot and was smacked hard from behind by a schoolgirl driving a beaten up 93 Maxima.

The impact was extremely hard and I shuddered at the expected sight of seeing my backend completely smashed up. I exited my car to only find minor, MINOR white scratches (from her paint) on the bottom left of my oh-so-sexy rexy.

HELL ******* YES!

Unfortunately her bumper was a bit bent and lowered on the left side of her car, though it wasn't smashed up at all either.

2 questions:

1) I told her I didn't want to report to insurance and that I would like to have her get an estimate on what her bumper is going to take to fix... I am hoping to pay this in cash to her! Anyone have any idea how much this is going to be? Her car is beaten up and dirty looking.

2) These white paint marks on my rear bumper (though SMALL) are killing me. How the hell do I get these off? Intensive soap, water, and scrub? Are they there for good? Should I get it repainted? My girlfriend managed to flake off some of it with her nails.

 

Just go to your local "Pull-It-Yourself" automobile salvage yard this weekend and get the 93 Maxima bumper for probably $75 or less, then install it on her car yourself!

 

You shouldn't pay her at all. She hit you from behind, so she's at fault.

 

she hit me from behind, but I would guess that she was going about 35-45mph and I pulled out when she was about 25 feet from me...

who is at fault?

 

It's your fault, she didnt have to slow down for you because you were pulling out into her way.

 

I would bet 35-45 mph is well above the parking lots' speed limit, putting her at fault...try some rubbing compound for your bumper, and remember, lots of light pressure passes instead of a couple high pressure ones...

 

Are you sure the white marks are paint? I believe that the rear bumper is made from white plastic... maybe they are gouges?

B

 

If you were pulling out, and she hit you, it's her fault. It's every driver's responsibility to avoid an accident. If she'd honked her horn to alert you to her presence the incident might not have happened. If she'd hit the brakes and not continued on like any other moron out there the incident might not have happened. Either way, she hit you, not the other way around. Unless you pulled out and hit the side of her car with your FD, it was an avoidable thing, so I'd put my money on it being her fault. Only one way to find out though...get the cops involved.

If you still dont want to do that, then I guess you're stuck. Car accidents suck

 

The only way a rear impact is your fault is if you are backing up into traffic... Don't pay her ****.

 

 

if she's cute, ... but if not...
haha err anyway, check under the bumper though, where it attaches to the rest of the car
i tried left foot braking in my taurus (yea yea im stupid) on mountain roads and hit the side of the mountain, but after it washed off, there weren't any dents, and scratchX took away the scratches, but underneat, a lil piece of plastic thing is cracked, so be sure to check those things, it will weaken your rear end if you have another collision later

 

I think if someone pulls out in front of you and you hit them, it's your fault regardless of what side they hit you on. When I was young I pulled out in front of a car and he hit my left rear wheel. My fault. I don't think that if I'd cut the wheel hard right to turn the car right before impact (so I was hit in the rear) it'd change that at all. And if you were pulling out of a parking lot (presumably onto the street) 35-45 mph impact is not unbelivable.
Now... removing the paint... I'd use a fine compound to polish it out. Be careful, however, as you will be removing your own paint as well, and you can make some small scratches into a large area of discoloration if you happen to burn through the paint. It may be the color of the underlying plastic. If you were honest, and you believe it is your fault (pulling out in front of someone while fumbling the phone), you would pay to have her car fixed by a professional. Sometimes there is damage that you can't see.
Don.