Fender Bender...

My Prius was less than a month old -- 400 miles on it -- when my husband hit the side of a Honda Civic going less than 5 mph.

One small dent on the corner of the Prius bumper. No bigger than a dinner plate....$924. The Honda was like $2,400.

I would suggest, since there is no damage to the other car, that you ask your mechanic, if you have a good one, where to go if you want the work done and plan on paying for it yourself.

One bodyshop around me (well 45 miles away, but that's considered close), does great work cheap, but is bare bones, no frills, no "free loaners."

That's where you go if you pay for it yourself. If insurance is paying the "other shop," offers "free coffee, soft drinks, snacks, free loaners, etc, but the price is about 25 to 30 percent higher...

From what I have read, if your out of pocket is less than $1200 to $1500 and you can afford to pay yourself, you should. Otherwise, insurance records, etc. will come back to haunt you.

 

It depends on your dealer. I'm sure your dealer could recommend someone and it would not hurt to ask them, but if you have some friends, etc., ask them too.

The thing is, if you take it around to three or so bodyshops and the price is looking like it will be higher than you want to handle yourself, you can still call your insurance company....just don't wait a long time, because I bet that they would tend to get a bit fussy about that little clause in the policy about reporting accidents to them in a timely manner.

 

Hi there... my 2007 Prius is in the shop right now for a small parking lot fender bender. While parked, the car next to mine pulled out but wasn't paying attention. She ended up 'kissing' the passenger door and slightly onto the front panel with her front corner as she turned the wheel before she should have. Seriously, it looked like just paint had been scraped off, but if you looked closely, you could see that there was a very small line on the door hinting of a crease, and if the light caught it right, you could see the damage extended onto the front quarter panel.

I thought (as did the owner of the car that did the damage) that the damage would come to a couple of hundred dollars and that we would avoid insurance.

Hahaha... the body shop (of the insurance company of the person that hit my car) just called me today and told me that they will need to replace the front door because it will be cheaper than fixing the panel... something about the crease being too deep (I wouldn't have called the damage there a crease, but oh well). The estimate to fix it went from $1700 to $2200 and is going to take another week.

Thank goodness the person owned up to their mistake and sought me out because I wasn't even present when the accident happened. And thank goodness they have quality insurance. I had never heard of SafeCo until now, but wow, it has been a really pleasant and easy experience... so far anyway.

 

Just get more than one estimate unless you know the folks well....when my husband smacked his Camry awhile back, one shop gave him $2300, another $2100 and the "no frills shop" was $890.

He went the $890 route and has never had a problem....of course, why he is still allowed to drive is up for discussion.

 

For the hood, it will cost about $240 for a new one, and another $25 for the emblem. I would guess a couple of hundred to paint it also, so somewhere around $500.

When I got hit last year (hadn't even paid the 2nd payment on the car) it cost $702 to repair and repaint the rear bumper.

 

If it doesn't look too bad and the latch still functions properly can you just live with it? If you owe money on the car the lienholder will want the car fixed. I believe you are looking at a replacement hood. Ask for the damaged one so you can at least sell it for scrap yourself.

 

I found the prices here:

http://www.toyotapartscheap.com/

Click on Parts Catalog > Body Parts and fill in the year, make, model

The list price is what a typical dealer would charge, the discounted price is what the website charges, but you would have to add shipping (and possibly sales tax). The part will not be painted, so you would still need a body shop to prep and paint.

The body shop may be able to purchase for a lower price than the list price.

 

theres a lot of sites, they offer dealer parts at pretty cheap prices.
if you google

site:trademotion.com toyota
you will find many dealers who offer parts, and possibly compare prices.

i found that toyota of pyallup offered some real cheap parts.
ToyotaPartsPeople.com - Genuine Toyota Parts and Toyota Accessories

 

Also, the body shop should ask you if it is to be paid out of pocket or by insurance. I believe that the "paid by insurance" prices are quite a bit higher.

 

I don't think this is possible because Toyota would have to stock different hoods, bumpers, etc for all of the available colors, both past and present. Plus, you may not get an exact color match due to fading of the original paint on the rest of your car.

If a body shop paints it, they will be able to get the paint to match so that you won't be able to tell that it wasn't the original hood. (if its a good body shop).

 

Not necessarily. While we were still thinking that the damage was only going to be a couple of hundred dollars, I went to my local body shop and had them do an estimate. They came back just under $2,000 WITHOUT insurance... no break there. Then we decided to go through their insurance, and their insurance's shop was cheaper than the independent shop at about $1700.

I'm sure a door is much more complicated with all the controls, window, etc. than the hood, so your price will probably be cheaper, but like the other poster said, get a couple of estimates for your own peace of mind.

 

Sorry to hear about your accident, yesman. I suggest to go through your insurance. The total bill will most likely be over your deductible. I should also be concerned with the paint job that you may need on the hood.

Good Luck.