Prius bodywork due to gravel shower

[joy2000]

Bought my white Prius 2005 in May and premium insurance. Experienced a gravel shower on freeway from Arizona to Georgia. After washing the car in Atlanta I found out there are various little scratches on windshield and hood (paint scratched off, metal exposed).

With $250 deductible, Should I claim insurance and go to bodywork shop, or buy reparing kit at Walmart to fix them myself? Which choice is more economic? Thank you!

[Desdemona]

I had something similar happen to me with my last vehicle. I called a body shop to get a quote & they told me not to even bother with small things like that because the entire section of the car would have to be painted for color consistency. If you're worried about the scratches rusting, I say go for it with the body shop, but call a few before you make a decision. Personally, I would avoid the do-it-yourself in this situation unless you have experience.

[jdfoster]

Sorry about your car . With insurance companys cancelling policys I would not turn it in. You only get so many claims before they will drop you. Try takeing the car to a good body shop and see what they would charge you to fix it. Maybe they would fix it for the 250.00 dollars. Good luck Jim

[Desdemona]

Jim brought up a good point about the insurance company. I have been with the same insurance company for almost 13 years & I made my first claim last year. Before deciding to make a claim, I called them & asked if my premium would go up if I did (they didn't) & what it would take for my premium to rise. So my advice is to call your insurance agent & ask about rising premiums & being dropped.