Accident damage... What would you do?

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Skippy722

Skippy722

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I'm torn between just letting insurance handle it, but I really don't want my rates to go up, slapping some paint so the metal doesn't rust and fixing the tail light myself while leaving the dent, or sucking it up and paying out of pocket. Which would you do? There are some scrape marks on the bumper, which I honestly don't care about.


Part of me is like "welp... there's a dent now, oh well" and honestly, it's kind of relieving in a weird sort of way. If I leave it, I won't be too worried if my kids accidentally ram a bike or a scooter into it. On the other... it's a nice car and I'd like to get it fixed, but then I'd be back to worrying about future dents and scrapes. But whatever I do, the tail light will be fixed.

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Do you have a bunch of claims already? Most insurance companies will forgive you every once in a while....
 
I wouldn't put a claim in on that. The bumper will snap right back in, touch the paint up and buy a replacement taillight on eBay.
 
Originally Posted by montero1
Do you have a bunch of claims already? Most insurance companies will forgive you every once in a while....


Wife sideswiped a pole at a gas station exactly a year ago ...…

Originally Posted by JohnnyJohnson
If the accident wasn't your fault its very unlikely you will see a rate adjustment.


I definitely backed into a telephone pole... no damage to the pole, just my ego and car.
 
Do what you think is right. This is on the 2016? IMO too new to not make it right but you're the guy who owns it. It's been obvious you really like the car and it's a shame to start down the beater car path so young.

Last May I had the hood replaced on the 14 RAV4 due to an minor incident involving a deer so I vote fix it.
 
The logic of "I want a beater car so kids can ding it up and I won't care" were over bought the nice car. A DIY job will be more expensive in sweat equity than just filing in claim and letting the bodyshop fix it.

In sweat equity I include all of the internet research needed to match the paint. How apply the paint so it doesn't look like crap, or peel off after a few months. Where to find the exact part number for the tail light.

Bend back the tail light mounting screw brackets that are no misaligned due to the bent metal. etc etc etc. Then it will still look like a DIY job with imperfections that may be small if you do a good repair, but your eyes will immediately go to when you look at that spot.

What is your deductable? If its not $500 or $1000 and your are fretting something like this you should raise them to lower your bill.
 
2016 is way too new to go the beater/DIY route (both are the same as anyone will be able to see the paint mismatch and body gaps when you DIY).

Get it fixed professionally.

If you're worried about insurance rates and deductible, take it to a body shop and ask them to do up an estimate.

You can always pay cash for a repair and not report it.

But I think you'll find it's more expensive to get this done than you imagine...
 
2016 is way too new to go the beater/DIY route (both are the same as anyone will be able to see the paint mismatch and body gaps when you DIY).

Get it fixed professionally.

If you're worried about insurance rates and deductible, take it to a body shop and ask them to do up an estimate.

You can always pay cash for a repair and not report it.

But I think you'll find it's more expensive to get this done than you imagine...
 
The metal is damaged in photo. Touch paint will only cover up the rust that will pop/bubble out in the next year or two if the minor body work is not addressed correctly.
 
I would have to have that fixed. Would drive me nuts.
 
Originally Posted by JohnnyJohnson
If the accident wasn't your fault its very unlikely you will see a rate adjustment.


Unfortunately this is not true anymore. Insurance companies see you as a higher risk for payouts, and your rates go up, although probably not right away. I've seen this many times when I worked for insurance. This is the same thing as your rates going up because you move to a higher risk area.
 
I notice you like your car a lot - I'd get it fixed. Check out OEM/Ebay/junkyard/used taillights and rear bumper and what a body shop can do for you before you contact insurance first. Maybe you'll get lucky without going through insurnace and all you need is the PDR the dent, buy a used tail light, and pop in the bumper back onto the clips and get a shop to buff/respray the rear bumper (maybe it'll be cheaper than paying your deductible?)
 
Get it fixed. Too new to be a beater as others have said.

There may of may not be some clips that hold the bumper and they may be broken.

You can always repair it yourself and have a pro paint it.

While most insurance companies will forgive one accident, if you try and switch companies with 48 months, the new company will give you higher rates most likely. The forgiveness is only on the part of the current company.
 
You don't have enough information. You gotta go to a couple of body shops and tell them you aren't gonna use insurance and that you will be paying out of your own pocket. In our area, they will give you a better price. You may find out (as I did) that you cannot simply press the plastic bumper back in place. I tried to press it back in and it kept popping out. Body shop guy said the plastic bumper was bent to where it was deformed and I would never get in to stay but that he would try a few things before getting a new bumper. Once you get their estimates you will be more able to make a wise decision.

My body shop guy retired and I didn't have any other place in mind as he has been my guy for 20 years. What I did was go to our main auto upholstery guy and ask him where to take my cars for wreck repairs. He as seen so many paint jobs as he does the interior after the paint has been done. It was so easy. He gave me 3 choices. Good, Better and Best. And when he told me where he takes his cars, I was sold. Just a thought if you don't know which auto body repair shops are good in your area. Oh, and what was most interesting is the the Best shop is operated out of the guys home. Go figure.....

oh, I would get it fixed no matter what.
 
A friend pulled his Camaro out of a restaurant driveway into bumper-to-bumper traffic and nudged the car ahead with his right-front corner. Dented the fender, popped the bumper out of place. I removed the wheel & fender liner, pushed the dent out to the best of my abilities (those fenders are SUPER thin), loosened the bumper mounting point, put the bumper back in position, and tightened the attachment point back down. Used the orbital buffer on the scrapes, touched up what wouldn't buff out, and off he went. Not perfect, but no comprehensive claim, no time in the body shop.

Try it before getting insurance involved. You may come up with a resolution you can live with.
 
Going to head to a body shop my pastor recommended after a hair cut (the mop has GOT to go!) and see what they say. Tried pushing the bumper back in to no avail... part of the metal had bent down from what I can see.
 
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