Last Friday after Thanksgiving, I was driving back from my in-laws to work a night shift for a colleague who had OOT family visiting. I was in my GMC 2500 PU truck on the interstate. About 20 miles from my destination (I had already covered about 200), I had an accident of sorts. A reasonably large black bear (estimated about 200 lbs.) crossed over the oncoming lanes of traffic, hurdled the concrete barrier between the lanes and landed about two feet in front of my truck which was going about 60 mph. Since it was dark, there was nothing I could do to avoid the collision with the animal. I was in the passing lane with a large number of vehicles behind me, so it was impossible to safely stop at that exact time. In my rearview, I saw the bear still airborne flying over the emergency lane. It did not appear that it hit any other cars in the other two lanes to the right of mine, but I have a hard time thinking it survived this impact. At the next exit, I surveyed the damage and the only thing I could see is that my front bumper took a large impact in the right frontal area and has a large dent in it. The fairing underneath also was damaged but the painted area and grill above are fine (not a scratch) and the truck drives just fine (no damage to the steering or front suspension). Aside from feeling bad for the bear, I also felt bad about my truck as I have tried to take tip-top care of it (I love it--not quite as much as my wife, but close) and it has had nary a scratch on it.
My question, after all that, is that our insurance adjuster came by today and has made a claim estimate to replace my bumper, needed moulding and brackets, and license bracket. It appears there will be no other parts needed unless something else turns up. He said that his company approved the use of "aftermarket replacement parts" for my bumper/brackets. Thankfully, never having had to have repairs before, I am not familiar with exactly what this means. I told our adjuster and repair person that I wanted to use factory OEM parts, but how does one tell?? According to the adjuster, the GM factory parts have a 90 day warranty, but some aftermarket replacement parts have a lifetime warranty and he implied many came from the same supplier that supplied to GM itself. Aside from inspecting the bumper/mounting parts when they come in, how can I be assured that the level of part being placed on the truck is "factory level??" The adjuster indicated to me that many replacement parts are better than the originals, but that did not sound correct to me--as in general I have found it tough to beat the factory spec. This stated, he did seem both honest and helpful so I did not have the impression that he was misleading me. I just want my truck repaired, but have seen some highly suspect replacement parts in the past and do not want to get burned. Realizing this is a small deal relative to a vehicle with a more-serious crash I still appreciate the insight and advice. In the end, I spent the $$ made working extra to pay for the deductible on the claim.
John M
