I don't know about ripping him a new one? He's upset already that it happened, so why add to the unnecessary stress. He didn't crash into the trash truck on purpose. When I was 16, I rear ended a Volvo wagon on the fwy at about 15 mph with my family in the car because I was not paying attention in traffic. No damage to the Volvo but some minor scratches to the bumper and the plastic grill of my father's Ford was busted. I was so piss at myself that I caused his insurance to go up and screwed up his new car. He told me it was ok and assured me that it can be fixed and no one was hurt. These were his exact words, "Next time, you need to pay attention. it can get expensive as we do not have the money to pay for stuff like that." I learned something that day. He is a much bigger man then most. My friend got so upset at his wife for backing her new Benz (thinking that's in drive instead, it was in reverse) neighbor's truck that he refuse to talk to her for a week. I had to tell his this exact story to calm down him dumb ass.

I totaled three cars before I turned 18. My solution was a, except I had no money so I had to pay them back. At one point I drove around in a 1985 Dodge Ram with a bashed in passenger side, I think I drove that one door truck for 6 months before I could swing a new vehicle.

Personally I would say slap the tag back on and let him drive it that way for a few weeks for public shame. Then help him try and re-install it as best as possible. Any real repair is on his dime.

Oh, just slap some winters on the Targa and let him drive that to school! ;)

I would take the car and the cover to a nearby body shop and re install it if you cannot do it yourself.
Some of the chrome shops do bumper cover repairs now so that might be another avenue to check out.

Fix together on the cheap, as for ripping him a new one--I am sure that he won't forget and will always look behind him before backing up in the future, sometimes kids need this type of rebuke. Having him share in the responsibility of repairing something which he caused helps build character.

I will stay with my first answer.

No major drama about the episode. We all make stupid mistakes at that age (and older) but it is likely to happen again.

Tape on the tag, and let him drive it as is.

My dad gave me an interest free loan and paid for my insurance for my first car. I paid 100% of all costs. If I wanted a car, I had to work my ass off to earn the money to buy it myself. I paid for 100% of all costs except the insurance, interest and room & board and laundry service from mom.

All maintenance was on me. All gas, oil and everything else was on me.

And like a typical 16 year old male I was busy looking at a girl in a short skirt (remember the mini skirts of the early 70s, wow) and fool some old man decided to stop at the red light and obey the law. I crunched the front end of my 1960 VW Bug. I had to replace the hood with a junk yard special and drive it that way.

I have not had a accident that was my fault since that one in 1972. I did have a lady run a stop sign and nail me in my 914. I learned after that one to not trust other drivers to stop at a stop sign. That was 1978 and I have avoided all accidents since. I guess I learned my lesson. Dad was right.

No pain no gain. Why not just drive it as it is until he can afford to fix it? If you make it OK he will never learn. My wife is like your wife and that is why my son turned out the way he did.

If you are going with option B, make sure you fix it so it is safe for now. If part of the bumper absorber material is damaged or compressed, I would go ahead and replace it. It is around $50 on-line.

We were all young once and accidents happen. I think he probably had a really good learning experience. Nothing seems to have been harmed here but a young man's ego and a replaceable item.

I have a confession to make...

Last winter I creamed my sons car with my truck.

He is usually out very early. He was parked behind me and had slept in.

D'oh!

Man was I pissed at him...

If it were me and my kid, I'd fix the car myself.
Then I'd remind him that I'll help out while he's going to school full time, but one of these days he will be out of school and on his own so the sooner he grows up the better it will end up for him.

Beat me to it!

But seriously, I would just pay to fix his car... as said he already feels bad about it and there may be a safety issue with the crush zone blah-blah.
If money is tight just get the parts yourself and skip the paint job.
Gotta admit I mangled my fair share of cars growing up and dad always helped me out.

and your son may be picking your retirement home some day ;)

e) duct tape and sell 'as is'

Yes coddle him. Make sure he wears a bike helmet when he is driving his car as well.

Holy crap, is this Oprah? He wrecked his car, he got chewed for it as he should for not looking behind him when backing up.

Good on your son Scott!

The car is his but the insurance is in my wife's name, though we won't be claiming this one...not worth it!

As far as him getting up to speed backing up out of the garage? I've caught him just peel out of there on many occasions.....AND given him schitt for it too!:mad:

Hey, how did you get into my garage?:p

NOT AN EFFEN CHANCE OF THAT!;).............and he knows it!

My dad had a very strict rule WRT us getting our drivers licence....if you can't pay for the insurance, you're not getting your licence! So since I had plans to attend Univ, which I had to fund all on my own, I couldn't afford to pay the insurance as well. So, hard to believe with this crowd, I didn't start driving until I was 21..:(! Ya! I took the bus!:(:(

On a good note, since I didn't drive until I was half-way mature, I've never had an (KNOCK-ON-WOOD) at-fault accident like some of you teens (Matt f....3 cars wrecked?..holy shyte!) did!

BUT...I also never had any dates in HS....cause I couldn't them to a bus stop!:rolleyes:

That's probably why I really gave my son schitt....I was acting like my father would have to me if I had done the same thing!

!
 

Hey, I spy a porsche with some cool side script... How bout some pics of that!:D

Here ya go leaky!


http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1423788213.jpg

I've had the car since '91 but....dumbass me....I sold the original Fuchs for $400 back in '93....infact, I know who I sold them to and I see him at our PCA Wildrose events!....AND HE WON'T GIVE THEM BACK!!!

Yah, FUCH me!:mad:

(PORSCHE script courtesy of Joe Bob here on PP, aka No Bad Days Graphics)

They came out nice!

Patz, JB and I were a little concerned that it would look too "busy" there with the stone guards but I think it turned out well!

Hey, how is JB doing btw?

Sorry for the OT babble here guys!

I would just do a homeboy repair and if he doesn't like it he can fix it himself. He should concentrate on university and getting good grades, not trying to scrounge up money to fix a car.

Young and dumb, just a bumper cover, NBD. Apologize for yelling at him, because mostly you were angry with yourself for not giving him a warning. Help him do a temp fix, then have him save money for a permanent fix. And you earn points with your wife this way.

Actually SamC, I didn't rip into him in front of the gentleman. It was when he came back in shortly after the collision. But I agree, that would not have been a classy move on my part.

The nice thing about vinyl, it's not permanent.

He needs to pay to fix and learn responsibility. Otherwise you'll risk cleaning up his mistakes for life. He will thank you later for the advanced lesson.

Ultimately, the responsability of safety belongs to the driver who backed up without looking. I always check my mirrors and look for any thing behind me before I back down our driveway. If I hit something....it's my fault. Figure out a way to re-attach the bumper securely and trade the car in to a dealership.

This.
-Work hard and do well in college. Make enough to pay others, or you'll be doing it all yourself (which is not usually physically possible).
-Learn everything dad knows in the meantime.

Update: (b) We did end up re-attaching the bumper over the weekend, so all is good! SmileWavy


Basically that's what we did!


http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1424197948.jpg

Actually he prefers it this way as opposed to getting a new bumper installed. The four holes you see to the right of the licence plate are where the front right hub of the one ton truck became embedded into the plastic bumper upon impact.


http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1424198371.jpg

He says they look like bullet holes...cool!:cool:

Kids!:rolleyes:

Thanks once again for all your input guys!