lazerdude

Hello everyone ,
So I'm looking for a little advice . Recently I was driving my 2012 grandsport home on the freeway when a chunk of tire appeared out of nowhere and I unfortunately couldn't dodge it. Needless to say I ate it ! It tore off lower left deflector , pushed the lower grill in and cracked the energy absorber on the driver side , and finally right at the tip of the lower nose the paint is spidered in 5 in area.
So my question is, should I not worry about the small area of spidered paint and repair the grill , deflector , and energy absorber myself or just claim it on my insurance and have that piece repainted and the other stuff fixed at a body shop ? I'm worried about depreciating the value of my baby. Thanks

Steve_R

You pay for insurance. Use it and get it fixed right. Why pay for insurance if you won't use it?

pewter99

and carry a low deductible

Turbo6TA

Damage from road debris is covered under your Comp part of your insurance.

That type of claim should not increase your rates such as would an 'at-fault' accident claim covered under your collision coverage.

Of course, they will only pay for repairs [minus] your Comp deductible.

The only time I would not make this type of claim is if the damage is just slightly more than your deductible.

LuckySam

I think he's worried it will show up on car fax. The question is do you think it will depreciate more than what your out of pocket costs would be?
It gets expensive to fix, I'd claim it.

Corvette Junkie

I would think that spidered paint would depreciate it nearly as much as something showing on car fax.

Turbo6TA

I know more than 1 person that have had accident damage to there cars that were fixed at a GM dealership and paid by an insurance company, that [did not] ever get reported to Carfax.

chance deal

lazerdude

Thanks for all your input on this , I'm going to call my insurance company tomorrow to get it all sorted out. I was pretty bummed about it but I'm feeling much better now .

Tide Will Roll!

Seems like I have read on here that the insurance claim will be more favorable to you if the tire debris was airborne and struck your vehicle than if you ran over the debris lying in the road.

Steve_R

I can't imagine why that would make any difference.

BigJoe

Because, it least with St. Farm in Texas, if it is still moving it is a comprehensive claim. If it is just sitting there it is a collision claim. BTDT. Wiped out the fascia and driver side fender of my 2005 hitting a 'gater. St. Farm made it a collision claim because "I should have avoided it."

whiteboy

I think you will find that to be a collision claim. Animals are a comp claim.

RocketDawg

Not sure if you're serious or not, but in case you are ... the tire debris, generally coming off overheated truck tires that disintegrate, are called "gators".

Personally I think that retreaded/recapped tires for large trucks should be illegal. And do they ever get cited for endangering the public? Not that I know of.

phileaglesfan

Just remember that if you hit a stationary piece of anything, it is collision (insurance rates may go up and it may get reported). If it is moving then it is comprehensive, such as an animal is a good example, or a piece of tire tread that gets flicked up by another vehicle and you couldn't avoid it.

Some colors are not forgiving to being "touched up" though. I can tell you Atomic Orange is definitely not for example. Make sure you look at it in all light conditions when you pick it up.

Shawn S

I hit a “road gator” with my 2006 coupe a couple of weeks ago while doing about 75 on the PA Turnpike.
Ripped off the ends of the lower air dam and cracked the inner liners.
I checked with my insurance and they said it would be considered a collision claim because it was a “non animal” strike.
Luckily, all the pieces damaged were unpainted plastic so I fixed it myself.
Everything from the dealer including screws and clips came to about 250 bucks.

Shawn S

These are all the parts that I replaced:

Bill Dearborn

If you hit an object on the road it won't be covered under comprehensive insurance unless it was moving. I hit a painter's bucket that was blowing across the road. Since it was moving comp covered it. $200 deductible Vs $500 deductible.

Bill