REAR ENDED! (I must be cursed)

[pir8magnum]

So, after getting into a near-miss fender bender, having my mag broken into, and getting KEYED, I can now add being rear-ended to my list of woes.

Last night I was sitting at a light, first in line, waiting for the light to change. I remember thinking it was about to turn green when WHAM! I had the sensation that something had hit me in the back of the head (which I guess was the headrest, most likely), and I realized what had happened when I saw the car behind me.

The driver was a young girl, and she had a small child (restrained in a child seat in the back of the car, thank goodness). We pulled over and established that the child wasn't injured. She had already called 911 so police were on the way.

She was ticketed with the accident - she was driving a Toyota Echo, so the damage is minimal, but still needs to be repaired. Basically the rear butt-cap on the magnum is torn in places, so it needs to be replaced.

Heres what I'm wondering though. Does anyone know where to get a price on this part? If you can order it painted, I could probably replace it myself. There doesn't appear to be any structural damage or damage to the exhaust, so its really just a cosmetic issue.

The only reason I'm even thinking about it is because this girl probably doesnt need the claim on her insurance, and I've made so many claims this year already, Im worried my rates will go up.

Anyone know a good source for replacement body parts? Or even maybe just a pull-off rear cap for an 06 magnum R/T in brilliant black?

Thanks as always for any assistance. Drive safe!

[chance6384]

Dont know how hard she hit you but it may be to your advantage to at least get your mag checked out ... sometimes the eye cant see damage done. I mean .... after your sure thats the only damage... pursue it anyway you like but I would make sure there is no unseen damage... you would never feel the same about the mag on down the road.

[pir8magnum]

Yeah, I appreciate that.

I worry about long term damage, unseen damage, etc, but I comfort myself with the fact that the magnum is a 4000+ pound vehicle, and the Echo weighs about half that - the bumper behind the fascia might be dented a bit, but Im pretty sure its just cosmetic damage.

Dont know how hard she hit you but it may be to your advantage to at least get your mag checked out ... sometimes the eye cant see damage done. I mean .... after your sure thats the only damage... pursue it anyway you like but I would make sure there is no unseen damage... you would never feel the same about the mag on down the road.

[super charger lt]

damn i feel for you, wish you good luck

[pir8magnum]

So - anyone know a good source to get that rear bumper cover? Do any of our vendors have those parts? Or is that only something the dealer can order?

[442&Magnum]

Dude, I know how you feel. Last year I went through a similar ordeal. I bought my new cover from the dealer. If I remember right the cover is about 250 bux. It comes in basic black. If you have an SE or SXT and are thinking of duals, the RT cover is the same price. There is a Styrofoam filler inside the cover that might get broken when hit (mine was ok) The actual bumper is mounted to car and does not require removal to change out cover. From my experience the hit would have to be really hard to mess it up. Hopefully this is some help to you, good luck.

[Todd RT]

Dude.. that sux man.

Hope to see you with your new Butt Cover at Quaker Steak and Lube sometime soon man!!

[LtlDad]

BE CAREFUL, I had been rear-ended and the core support was BENT and needed to be replaced. Be sure to 'tear down' to ensure all is okay and make sure NOTHING is bent, as that now becomes a 'stress/weak' point on the car.

[jmckenzie]

look at www.newdodgeparts.com, they have a rear bumper cover with dual exhaust listed for 208.00, but I'm not sure whether that's painted or not

[pir8magnum]

Ah, yeah - but thats the non dual exhaust one. I got an R/T and I have duals. Looks like the one with duals (non SRT8) is $260.

EDIT: I see you're right - I was looking at the non-discounted price.

I dont think they probably come painted at all. If they flex much in shipping the paint would probably come off.

Anyone know if they would try to blend paint from a rubber part to metal? Or would they just paint it off the car and then attach it?

look at www.newdodgeparts.com, they have a rear bumper cover with dual exhaust listed for 208.00, but I'm not sure whether that's painted or not

[toxico]

Might check with Cleveland Pick-a-Part if you haven't yet.

[pir8magnum]

I did - no magnum stuff that I could see.

A tip for cleveland pick-a-part. The body of your default ad that you use on ebay contains the words 'dodge','magnum','charger', etc, even if the ad isnt for that specific make or model.

Its impossible to search for parts for specific makes of vehicles if you include other makes in the body text of all your ads.

A better option might be to make an image that displays that text and include that instead.

My point is simply that I had to click through 13+ pages of ads to see if they had any parts for a DODGE MAGNUM, because all the ads have the words DODGE MAGNUM in them, even if its for a corvette, or a GTO, or whatever.

Just my 2 cents.

Might check with Cleveland Pick-a-Part if you haven't yet.

[MagnumRT05]

Cleveland's got a red SRT8 one for $500 w/foam and metal reinforcement. They are 15 minutes from me and I would highly recommend them to everyone. Too bad they dont have a black one though...ill keep my eyes open when I go up there cuz im in need of some stuff too.

EDIT: Not sure about the Unique Customs place that is selling an RT one painted any color for $500...

[pir8magnum]

Welp - I just got off the phone with Progressive (which is who the other driver had - I have USAA).

They did a 3-way call with my local dealer who has done all my other repair work and we set up an appointment to drop it off on Monday.

They're taking care of the rental car and everything else, so I guess I don't have to futz around with it.

Thanks everyone for your comments and advice.

[MikeE]

sorry to hear about that.