Someone hit us, would you replace the seats?

thepeach80 · Jul 28, 2008

We were stopped at a red light and someone hit us today. It felt like a decent whack to me, my head definitely flew backwards into the headrest. There is no visible damage to my bumper, but we're off to the appraisal (just to check) as soon as I switch out all the seats (just to be safe for now). I was at a stand still and I have no idea how fast she was going, but I know she was slowing down. If there is no damage, I'm inclined to not replace the seats. Thoughts? Ilana was asleep and slept through the whole thing. FTR, we had the 2 Uptowns and our Nautilus in the van. The cop who showed up was absolutely no help at all and didn't even want to fill out a police report, but I made him. If anything is wrong, I didn't want to be stuck w/ the bill! He also tried arguing w/ me when I mentioned I might have to replace my seats. He actually asked me 'who told you that'. Um, I'm a carseat technician, I think I know. He didn't have much to say after that so he just said 'that doesn't make any sense'. Now you see why I don't call people in here for no seats, they don't care...

CTPDMom · Jul 28, 2008

Glad no one was injured!

If there is NO damage to the vehicle then I think you're going to be very hard-pressed to get her insurance company to pay for new seats. Of course, you could replace them on your own.

Me personally...I wouldn't replace them if I was in a fender bender and there was no damage...especially if the accident wasn't even enough force to wake my sleeping child. The way I see it, you car could be struck in any parking lot with the same amount of force and if there was no damage you'd never know it. (And therefore not replace the seats.) I *did* replace my son's seat when my vehicle was struck while parked; but there was significant damange to the vehicle (over $6k worth) and the C post was bent. I felt that was enough force to make me not take any chances, whether they were going to pay for the seat or not.

emandbri · Jul 28, 2008

Doesn't sound like you need to replace them to me.

Glad no one was hurt!

Unregistered · Jul 28, 2008

We have been hit twice in the last three months. The first time, the lady made a left turn out of the right lane and hit the passenger side where the front of the door connects with the wheel well. No airbags deployed and it was not a fast collision so we didn't replace our seat. July 1st we got hit again, guy ran a stop sign and hit the driver's side, same spot. Again, no airbags deployed and he hardly had any damage on his car. We decided the collisions were not significant enough to cause any damage. We have a Britax Marathon, but we just purchased a Frontier as our daughter has outgrown it.
Hope that helps.

thepeach80 · Jul 28, 2008

Well, there was enough damage to get a new bumper if we want one. I hate to spend $ unneedlessly so this of course carries over to my thoughts on this.

DH otoh feels we should get a new bumper for the cya factor (he says that why people have insurance), so it can't bite us in the butt later for whatever reason. He's also really pushing for us to replace our seats, but I'm still trying to decide. I guess ultimately if he really feels that we should I will go w/ him on it. I guess I should be thankful that we had the 'cheap' seats in the car, lol. It'll only be $350 to replace all 3 seats instead of what, $650? The bumper is less than $500 so it's not like this is a huge amount we're claiming on the other lady's insurance, but I just feel weird about it. I hate insurance and car crashes and everything related to either of those!

crunchierthanthou · Jul 28, 2008

Don't Graco and Dorel both say to replace after any crash? I'd push for the other driver's insurance to cover them.

thepeach80 · Jul 28, 2008

crunchierthanthou said:
Don't Graco and Dorel both say to replace after any crash? I'd push for the other driver's insurance to cover them.

I know Graco does, and I'm pretty sure Dorel does too. I just looked at the Nautilus manual and it said to replace after ANY accident. Ugh. Thankfully Target carries it now, but no one carries the Uptown here. We may get something else.

crunchierthanthou · Jul 28, 2008

thepeach80 said:
I know Graco does, and I'm pretty sure Dorel does too. I just looked at the Nautilus manual and it said to replace after ANY accident. Ugh. Thankfully Target carries it now, but no one carries the Uptown here. We may get something else.

does your sears have the Avenue? It's supposed to be based on the same shell.

thepeach80 · Jul 28, 2008

I have no idea, I've never even heard of that seat. I can get an EFTA for $98 right now at Target which is how much it would be if I got an Uptown online from WM, minus the shipping time. I've always had the hardest time installing that seat though (dumb knobs) so I'm not sure it would even work.

snowbird25ca · Jul 28, 2008

I'd absolutely have the bumper replaced too for 2 reasons - bumpers are designed to absorb some of the force, so it's done it's job once - I'd worry as to if it would have reduced effectiveness if you were in another collision.

My other concern is more along the lines that if you don't have it done now, and were in another collision, if it couldn't be proven what damage was from what collision, the other person's insurance company could refuse to pay for damage to the bumper because of it having pre-existing damage.

So I'd replace the bumper and the seats and don't feel guilty about the insurance. A $1000 claim is really only a drop in the bucket for an insurance company and since both manufacturers state to replace after any collision, and your bumper needs to be replaced anyways, I'd replace the seats too.

(And yep, Avenue is same shell as Uptown just not quite as padded.)

thepeach80 · Jul 28, 2008

My other concern is more along the lines that if you don't have it done now, and were in another collision, if it couldn't be proven what damage was from what collision, the other person's insurance company could refuse to pay for damage to the bumper because of it having pre-existing damage.

I feel better now. That's exactly what DH said so it makes me feel better knowing someone agrees w/ this.

I know nothing about any of this stuff, I truly am a girly girl when it comes to my van, DH is in charge of all that stuff.

Melizerd · Jul 28, 2008

All other seats beside Britax require replacement after ANY accident so I would not blink and replace those seats. The Britax seats, I don't know...

geth · Jul 28, 2008

if the other guy pays for it to be replaced then go for it!!! if you end up having to pay for it....you could talk to the auto body shop and they may be able to get you an after market or a used one alot cheaper. most insurance companies do that anyhow. the bumper may be cheaper than your deductable.

snowbird25ca · Jul 29, 2008

thepeach80 said:
I feel better now. That's exactly what DH said so it makes me feel better knowing someone agrees w/ this. I know nothing about any of this stuff, I truly am a girly girl when it comes to my van, DH is in charge of all that stuff.

Glad to help.

I used to underwrite home and auto insurance - in other words I asked questions about the vehicle and driving history and decided whether or not to issue an insurance policy. One of the things that we always had to ask was pre-existing damage - if there was already a crack in the windshield, we wouldn't offer glass coverage - body damage, same deal. Insurance companies care a huge deal that they're not paying for something someone else should've paid for. $1000 for something they're responsible for? They could care less, but the moment it could be from another incident, they care tons.

geth said:
if the other guy pays for it to be replaced then go for it!!! if you end up having to pay for it....you could talk to the auto body shop and they may be able to get you an after market or a used one alot cheaper. most insurance companies do that anyhow. the bumper may be cheaper than your deductable.

I would not buy an after market bumper - who knows how it would hold up in a crash... The bumper is an integral part of the rear crash protection of a vehicle. It would be like deciding to put another carseat's adjuster strap into your carseat - you might find one that fit, but just because it fit wouldn't mean that it would work and keep the harness fixed at the length it was set at in the event of a collision. Ditto for a used bumper unless you know the vehicle hadn't been in a crash.

Bumpers may seem like all they do is look pretty, but they are important to the overall crash performance of the vehicle. :thumbsup:

thepeach80 · Jul 29, 2008

I now know who to come to w/ crash/insurance questions, lol. I really like the look of the Avenue so I'm going to check our Sears. I really liked how light and slim our Uptowns were, they were great for travelling. An EFTA just wouldn't work as well.

geth · Jul 29, 2008

i understand. i used to work at a collision center and most insurances wouldn't pay for new anything unless there weren't any used or after market parts and sometimes they would when it was asked for new. it varies on the insurance company and the collision center i'm sure. plus some people don't pay attention and just assume everything is new parts.
i hope it gets fixed right!

skaterbabs · Jul 29, 2008

crunchierthanthou said:
Don't Graco and Dorel both say to replace after any crash? I'd push for the other driver's insurance to cover them.

Yes, they do.

Melizerd said:
All other seats beside Britax require replacement after ANY accident so I would not blink and replace those seats. The Britax seats, I don't know...

I totally agree.

flipper68 · Jul 29, 2008

snowbird25ca said:
I'd absolutely have the bumper replaced too for 2 reasons - bumpers are designed to absorb some of the force, so it's done it's job once - I'd worry as to if it would have reduced effectiveness if you were in another collision.

My other concern is more along the lines that if you don't have it done now, and were in another collision, if it couldn't be proven what damage was from what collision, the other person's insurance company could refuse to pay for damage to the bumper because of it having pre-existing damage.

So I'd replace the bumper and the seats and don't feel guilty about the insurance. A $1000 claim is really only a drop in the bucket for an insurance company and since both manufacturers state to replace after any collision, and your bumper needs to be replaced anyways, I'd replace the seats too.

(And yep, Avenue is same shell as Uptown just not quite as padded.)

Exactly! If the bumper is damaged, it might not "work right" in another collision.

Good for you for insisting the police file the report! (I learned that lesson the hard way.)

SusanMae · Jul 29, 2008

Get the van fixed properly and replace your seats....it's worth the peace of mind alone.

Susan

thepeach80 · Jul 29, 2008

SusanMae said:
Get the van fixed properly and replace your seats....it's worth the peace of mind alone.

Susan

Yeah, I just have to laugh inside on the funny role switching DH and I seem to be doing on this. I'm generally the over 'paranoid' one and I'm the one this time more willing to let it slide. He's the safety manager at his job though and deals w/ insurance a lot from crashes so I know he feels strongly on this and I should be happy he cares that much about the kids.

I think we're going to head to the mall tonight since Evan spilled oj all over Ilana's seat today and I have no spare! I have a spare for Evan, but he has to be ffing. I'm just hoping the Apex will actually fit next to a BV...

Someone hit us, would you replace the seats?

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