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Hit from behind? Get it repaired?

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by MikeR5, Mar 19, 2012.

  1. MikeR5

    MikeR5 New Member

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    Last week my 2011 Prius got hit from behind at a light by a woman who told me "oops, I was changing my radio channels, you know how that is."

    It was a pretty hard hit by somehow there is barely a scratch on the bumper. There is an imprint from her license plate though including the 2 screws.

    Her insurance called me and is covering the repairs.

    I took it to the shop, they said they will take the bumper off, repair the imprint and then repaint the entire bumper.

    My question is, is it worth it? I'd almost have a little tiny ding than have the entire bumper repainted.

    Which is worse for the value of the car in the future? Two little marks on it from screws or the car's rear bumper being entirely re-painted?

    Any thoughts?
     
  2. spiderman

    spiderman wretched

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    Oh, it is just a plastic cover that is the bumper... unless there is damage underneath, it should be a quick fix. I would have it fixed.
     
  3. Fore

    Fore Don't look back!

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    Pocket the insurance settlement and touch it up yourself perhaps with a Prius sticker of some kind and use the rest for future MOD's.
     
  4. MikeR5

    MikeR5 New Member

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    Spider, I was thinking that too. Plus the fact if I get this repair done they will check to be sure there isn't damage under the bumper.

    Fore- the place the insurance co. sent me quoted $450 for repairs. Can I tell the insurance I'll take the money instead of repairs?
     
  5. Joe166

    Joe166 New Member

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    If you are financing the car you will probably be violating the contract with the source of your funds by doing this, not to mention that it might also be insurance fraud. If you own the car outright, no harm, no foul, but it will still probably show up on Car Fax, so a prospective purchaser might assume two incidents.

    Not worth it, in my opinion, either get it fixed or not, but don't get paid to get it fixed and then leave it.

    I would get it fixed.
     
  6. ItsNotAboutTheMoney

    ItsNotAboutTheMoney EditProfOptInfoCustomUser Title

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    Hmm. I'd be tempted to say that a small ding might be better since it's evidence that the collision wasn't very forceful, whereas a bumper replacement leaves some unknowns (e.g. our Prius was hit from behind by a parked car ;) although my mileage log says it's not been affected). But if you're planning to keep it a long time the long life should make the bumper replacement less relevant and you just go for full restitution. And yes, you don't know what's going on underneath the bumper.
     
  7. rrolff

    rrolff Prius Surgeon

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    From someone who's taken the bumper cover off - there's nothing really to damage under it - there is a piece of Styrofoam that may have gotten dented - but who cares. Even if the metal under that is bent - if you cannot see an issue as it is, there's no damage that you would fix under the cover.
     
  8. The Electric Me

    The Electric Me Go Speed Go!

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    About 2 months into owning my brand new Honda Fit, I had a very, very similar rear end collision. From your description? Almost the exact same level of damage.

    It appeared to be nothing. Barely the imprint of her licence plate screws in the bumper...no real dent. If you weren't looking for the damage, you wouldn't notice it.

    Since the car was new, and the other person was paying, I went ahead and had the damage repaired. And I was glad I did. First of all? Even though the damage wasn't very noticeable, I would of noticed it constantly.

    Secondly, once the body shop took the bumper off? They noticed the mounts were slightly bent. So even with a slight impact, there can be hidden damage.

    If the accident was somehow your fault, and you were paying? I might recommend ingnoring it. But if the other persons insurance is paying, I'd really have the damage repaired. It might be more extensive than it appears.

    I think when I was all done, the cost was just under a $1000 to repair all the damage.
     
  9. revhigh

    revhigh MPG Enthusiast

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    For that little amoung the insurance company will most likely just send a check made out to you ... not you AND your lienholder.

    Take the check and do whatever you want to with the funds. There;s no fraud involved. She did the damage, let her ins co pay the bill. If they DO make the check out to you AND the lienholder, just get it fixed.

    Doubtful carfax will have it ... just ask the repairer not to report it. No big issue there ... it's purely cosmetic.

    REV
     
  10. MikeR5

    MikeR5 New Member

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    Thanks. Insurance company just called- they said they can send me a check and I can get it fixed or they can pay directly. So I guess I am allowed to keep it. I guess the question now is worth getting it fixed or not. Getting an entirely new paint job on one part of a car always does worry me. Almost thinking of having the bumper taken off and if there is no internal damage simply getting it put back on without repainting it.
     
  11. MikeR5

    MikeR5 New Member

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    I don't own the car outright- making payments- didn't even realize this could effect what I do.
     
  12. zebelkhan

    zebelkhan Member in good standing

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    There no insurance fraud here. You can fix it now or keep the money for now (as if you are electing to pay for it later when you turn in the vehicle if it is leased). However, I would be careful with any hidden damage there might be. I would at least spend a bit of the money having a shop take the bumper off and look underneath.
     
  13. MikeR5

    MikeR5 New Member

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    I'm actually not leasing. I bought it- just making payments.

    My issues isn't even keeping the money- it's simply I don't want to repaint the entire bumper. I'm sure its good paint- but isn't keeping it original paint better with a little bit of damage?

    When I went to trade an older car of mine a few years back- Car Max was able to do some test where they could tell part of my car was repainted. They assumed it was a bad accident and took off money because of it.
     
  14. Mike500

    Mike500 Senior Member

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    If it's just two small indentaions on the bumper, I'd just forget it and keep the check.

    the bumper is aluminum and fastened to two box beams with a square fange on each end.

    If there is any damage internally, it would be the sheet metal on the body. If it is dented inward, it will obviously show.

    Then, again, if everything appears ok, except the the two indentations, I'd leave it alone.

    Even if the bumper mounts in the steel sheet metal were pushed in and dented, repairing by banging out the dents will not make the sheet metal as strong as the original. It might make it weaker, since new metal might be "brazed" in and Bondo added. It might be more likely to corrode, since nothing beats the original factory anti-corrosion finish. There's no telling. All the body shop is interested in is how the bumper looks on the outside.

    Even then, I might leave it alone. It depends on how the bumper looks on the car from a distance and close up. If it looks OK, leave it alone.
     
  15. seilerts

    seilerts Battery Curmudgeon

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    If a report of this made it to CarFax, you are probably screwed on the resale value whether you get the repair or not. I'd keep the money, leave the damage, so that when a prospective buyer asks, you can show them exactly how inconsequential the damage is.
     
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  16. DumbMike

    DumbMike Active Member

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    Regarding insurance fraud: As many have already said, it wouldn't (necessarily) be insurance fraud to pocket the money. An over-simplification why it isn't insurance fraud is that the OP didn't say anything to his insurance company that he would use the money to fix his car. Don't forget, fraud requires that you make a statement. The reason most people get caught in insurance fraud is when they sign a statement of how the accident happened (the tree fell on my car), and that statement isn't true (I ran into the tree then it fell on my car).

    From what I can tell, the OP never said anything to his insurance company. How he deals with the situation with the other guy's insurance company is his business.

    A possible different situation is if the OP has a contract with the finance company that says any and all money received by the insured for repairs to the car due to any accident, etc., shall be used to repair the car. If the OP pockets the money, it could be a breach of contract, but not a fraud. I don't recall seeing such a clause. (There are exceptions to this rule, too, but not worth dealing with.)

    Mike
     
  17. Mike500

    Mike500 Senior Member

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    Over the past 10years, I have had a couple of people back into my car in a praking lot. The other parties admitted fault, because I was at a dead stop, and the sriations coud be seen on my vehicle, where the other car kept going.

    Each time, their insurer was State Farm. Each time State Farm made an inquiry to my credit reports.

    After that, all my credit reports have always been frozen to new inquiries.
     
  18. fuzzy1

    fuzzy1 Senior Member

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    A week ago my car came back from repairs for the same thing. Before repair, the cosmetic damage was minor but it was very obvious in certain light that the car had been hit. Since, in overcast light, the repair looks good, but it hasn't yet been through the gauntlets of all other lighting conditions or aging.

    For the car's owner, I don't see any insurance fraud in keeping the money without repairing it. You are being compensated for lost value, how you make use of that compensation is up to you. Of course, a leasee is not the owner, the leasing agency can expect to have the car returned in repaired condition.
     
  19. El Pollo Diablo

    El Pollo Diablo Junior Member

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    This happened to me last month too. Not a hard hit but put two screw marks on the bumper, just cosmetic damage. They just repainted the spots but had to put new clear coat on the entire bumper, cost $223 for the same-day repair.
     
  20. 32kcolors

    32kcolors Senior Member

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    Just imagine how we won't have that problem with screw marks if states didn't require front license plates. So that requirement is costing the insurance companies and eventually all of us, as we're the ones paying the premiums.