Well, this evening my wife was getting ready to make a left turn into a parking lot and some asshat decided it'd be cool to rear-end her 2002 Sunfire. The totally crazy thing is that the cop didn't actually cite anyone for the accident, however he DID cite my wife for "driving left of center" because when he got there her car was sitting just slightly over the double yellow line (where she was turning, it was a 4 lane road with a center turn lane about to start, she was hit right where the center lane was starting but there was still a double yellow line instead of a single yellow and a broken yellow line). Anyways, the other driver was driving on a suspended license, we know he was cited for something, but what, we're not sure (I'd assume driving on a suspended license...duh). Unbelieveably the cop didn't even take a statement about the accident from my wife and ended up leaving for another call not too long afterwards, and before I got there (I didn't get there until an hour and a half after the accident because I was at work and really didn't know what was going on). How the cop came to the decision to cite my wife for left of center, I don't know, because she could easily have been pushed across the line (she was mostly hit on the passenger's side of the rear bumper and fender). Tomorrow morning we're going to the police station and pretty much telling them that since the cop obviously mishandled the investigation of the accident, we're asking that the citation be waived or else we will get a lawyer and fight it. As for the accident investigation, pictures were at least taken by the cop so there should be some record and everything, and insurance will, I'm sure, investigate as well. We have Nationwide (as, luck would have it, supposedly the other driver has as well...I guess he also has an SR-22 to prove he has coverage...his girlfriend was in the truck with him and she'd recently been in an accident herself and couldn't drive because she had her leg in some kind of brace...just what the world needs, white trash with suspended licenses and SR-22's out driving around in trucks...). After someone hit my car in a parking lot they (Nationwide) did a hell of a lot of work to try to track the other guy down and get their side and possibly go after them to pay for the repair (cops were never called but I had the other driver's number), so I've got faith in them.

Cliffs notes on the accident - Cop was a retard with the investigation, but you don't usually get rear ended and then have it end up your fault, unless you're slamming on the brakes suddenly for no reason (which she didn't). We figure insurance will determine the other guy was at fault and pin the responsibility on his policy.

So anyways, the situation. Her car is definitely going to need a new rear bumper and passenger's side rear fender, probably a new wheel as well because it seems to be bent (I hope we can get a replacement for that still...), but everything else seems fine - well, a rear side marker light as well but that's just a couple bucks. I've heard people talk before about having an aftermarket bumper (from a body kit) bought by insurance and installed after an accident, as long as the cost is the same or less than the stock replacement. How does that work exactly...and how much is a stock '02 Sunfire rear bumper, list price (not an online discount sort of place)? I can't find one anywhere. Can you just find a different bumper you want and tell the repair place and have them get the bumper? Also, are there clear corner (side marker) lights made for the Sunfires? I haven't found them anywhere - they'd probably be the same or cheaper than the stock red ones that are in the rear bumper though if they exist.

And as for which bumper, I/we can't really ever seem to find what she really wants. She'd like something a little different than stock but wants something that will keep the round clear lights in the bumper (near the corners). There's only a couple we've seen that have them, and it seems they're all fugly. Any suggestions that do keep those lights?

You have to wait to get the estimate back from the insurance company first. Second, talk to the body shop and see if they will swap it out for what you want. The insurance company more than likely wont do it.

Well, no, if you go to the insurance company and ask them, I wouldn't expect they would do it. However the shop itself generally doesn't care what they're working with as long as they get paid, so they'd just charge $X for a new bumper - maybe it's the stock one, maybe it isn't...you know? At least that's how it seemed to me that people worked it out. I know I've heard of people doing such things when there was some kind of accident at least...

I'd especially not see the insurance company having a problem with it if the aftermarket bumper turned out to be cheaper than the stock one

Kinda related to what happened when I got hit in that parking lot myself - one of my tires somehow popped off my wheel, and scraped the lip on the wheel a bit. Well, my estimate included ~$225 or so for a new wheel. The guy at the shop pointed out to me that I could *not* get the new wheel and they'd just subtract that amount from the deductable. With an inflated tire it's barely noticeable so I didn't have them replace the wheel, and instead of writing a check for a $500 deductable, I wrote one for $275. Insurance company didn't care one bit, as it was less they had to pay. Then again...maybe they never even knew...because my check was written to the shop itself...

Well, 100% responsibility was put on the other driver so we won't be paying anything ourselves to get it fixed. That's definitely a good thing.

Anyways, regardless whether or not anyone's had experience doing this sort of thing, another question...we've found two rear bumpers for the RK Sport kit - one of them is ~$150, the other is ~$300. I think somewhere I'd seen the $150 one described as a "rear bumper skirt," does that mean it just attaches to a stock bumper? If so it wouldn't be an option, as there's no good rear bumper available. Unless we could find a used one somewhere cheap and then have them tack the skirt on it...