2012 Camry bumper replacement

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Long story short; my wife's sister (Erica) who is visiting from Dallas for Thanksgiving, was going to drive our car, the Camry, to get some drinks for our dinner. She was reversing out of my parents driveway and *crunch!*

Backed right into MY sister's (Jenifer) 2014 Chrysler 300 despite the backup camera and my warning to "watch Jenifer's car behind you" before she left.

From the looks of it, both cars will need new rear bumpers. It's a long driveway so she gained some momentum by the time the actual driveway ended, which is where Jenifer's car was parked.

This is my question; Erica has Geico. Will I be able to choose where I get our Camry fixed at? Same for my sister and her 300?

I STRONGLY prefer it to be fixed at the Toyota dealership for paint matching purposes, plus I trust my dealer and have had great service there.
 
Depends on the laws in your state plus how the policy is written.
Geico allows you to choose any repair shop. But don't expect to get it repaired just anywhere for the estimate or the given cut check.
Example would be a shop in Beverley Hills.
Some policies dictate used parts or aftermarket whenever possible.

My dad had a Z28 Iroc when I was growing up. He wrecked it driving it on snow and the front bumper cover needed replaced. State Farm wouldn't pay the extra $40 for a genuine GM one. He ponied up the extra money to the shop repairing it, wanting an OEM part.

My dad is a retired attorney.
 
Suspect (Texas is "special" so there could something odd there) this will be your insurance since Erica was a permissive user of your vehicle.

You can always have your car repaired wherever you wish, but if the insurance and the shop don't agree on price or scope of repair you will have to pay the diffrence.
 
doubt the Toyota dealer is best in paint matching.
also my 94 Camry in Beige/gold had about 5 different colors on it all close but not exact, bumpers, door handles, side panels all 5% different from each other - is the 21012 like that?
 
Ok great. That's a starting point for me as far as looking at her policy and how it is written. My wife called Erica's insurance co. last night because we wondered how it would work since she was driving our car with our consent, but according to the Geico rep on the phone, Erica's insurance will cover both vehicles (ours and Jen's) with only one deductible paid.

As far as paint matching, the reason I trust the dealer for this is because of the experience my mom had. She hit 2 dogs within 4 months back in 2007 when she also had a Camry, and the reputable body shop did a fine job replacing the bumper, but the paint color was way off. Next doggy victim, the Toyota dealership matched exactly to the naked eye. That's the reasoning behind wanting to go to the dealer.

Edward, I haven't noticed any color differences in the 2012 Camry, but who really knows.

Thanks for the info so far guys.
 
And DuckRyder let's edit your comment to say ERICA will pay the difference! lol
I'm not mad, just frustrated with her carelessness being that I told her 30 seconds before she got in the car to watch the car behind her.

This isn't the first car of ours she's damaged. I take pride in how my vehicles look and the condition they are in. Last year before I got my Tundra we had an Altima that she curbed the wheel on BAD. We sold that car to my wife's mom, so Erica has left her mark on all the family's cars lol

Needless to say, she will NEVER step butt in one of my vehicles again.
 
How much dos it matter? I think when my Jetta was four or so an elderly family member backed into it, making a nice dent. Still has it, and it isn't the bit that reduces value. I don't think my wife's car was even two when someone did a hit and run on it, damaged a headlamp and front bumper. Decided I wasn't paying the deductible so I patched best I could. Couple more years and it too won't matter much.

But we drive a lot, so our cars lose value like crazy.
 
If you are aware of someone having good results on a similar repair by all means take it there. Geico may have an online repair facility search, you could see if the dealer shows up in their search if so.

Is the dealer part of Park Place by chance?
 
Originally Posted By: RN89
And DuckRyder let's edit your comment to say ERICA will pay the difference! lol
....


LOL right you are...

I'm surprised they agreed so readily to cover it, lets hope that holds...
 
I don't believe it's park of Park Place. The dealer is Fort Bend Toyota.

And Supton, it matters. The car is only 2 years old with 46k miles and is otherwise flawless. And like I said, I take pride in how my vehicles look and their condition, and we plan on keeping this car for a while so id like to get the gash in the bumper fixed. And my sister, Jenifer's car, is brand new. It's a 2014 with 4k miles.
 
How much is the bumper to get replaced? I had a chrome bumper dented on my pickup and I have a $500 deductible and am wondering if its worth calling the insurance company. If I could get $800 I could get a new one on RockAuto for under $300.
 
I'm surprised that it is her policy covering the damage to both vehicles, that is unusual as the insurance typically follows the vehicle.

I'd check to see what shops Geico has in their repair program and if there's one you have heard decent things about, go that route. That way, if you are unhappy with the repairs you'll have more recourse than just using a random shop of your choosing.

Lastly, most urethane bumper covers don't match the rest of the car from the factory. Take a really close look at yours now and you can probably see a slight difference.
 
You're legally allowed to choose whatever shop you want, you just might end up paying more out of pocket in the end depending on how much your insurance company determines to be "fair and reasonable" costs. It may also be more of a hassle if that shop isn't one of the preferred shops that Geico uses (not sure exactly how they do it), and you may or may not get that work warrantied aside from what that dealership says they cover. For example, your insurance company may require you to get pictures and estimates before covering the work, etc.
 
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