Someone hit my Prius.....

it would help if you could post photos of the damage, but no matter what, you gotta realize that you own a BRAND NEW PRIUS. insurance company or not, i would say, i'm sorry, but my car was perfect and i want it perfect!

you didnt' post the color of your car, maybe get a touch up paint from the dealer, blend, wax, etc,,,,,

if it were me, i would get it done again, sometimes that unfortunately includes to sand, primer, paint and clear coat the entire rear bumper or to blend that area.

good luck

 

If you know the person who hit the car, why don't you ask him to pay for it? Take the car to a auto body shop, get an estimate and let him pay for the damage. Don't expect things to be minor when it comes to vehicle damages. Same thing happened to me once (there is a thread in PC about it), I thought I could get it done for $100 by looking at it, but it cost $1100. It's your vehicle, it's his fault, so get it properly fixed.

 

Amen to what the others have said. You apparently know who did it and what I'd do is tell him/her that you're going to get it fixed, and it will be a "back to new" fix even if that means a new bumper, and he/she can pay for it or turn it over to their insurance company as they see fit. I had a situation like this once, a woman hit a new vehicle (not my Prius) and it was very minor damage and she said she didn't want her insurance company to pay as they'd raise her rates. At the time of the accident I got her insurance information, however. I agreed, then got an estimate. It was higher (aren't they always?) than she had thought, so she asked me if she could "make payments." I said "sure, I'll give you the bill and you can pay it." She then got hostile and so I simply called her insurance company, reported the accident to them, and they took care of it.

 

Totally agreed! However OP, please post a pic so the group can see the damage. If it can be buffed out with a polishing/rubbing compound, you may not have to do any repairs. That would be better than repainting your new steed.

Good luck!

... Brad

 

It isn't your responsibility to make the repairs. It is the responsibility of the person who hit you. So he pays the bill. Whether he uses his insurance or not is his business, but he pays for the repair. Even if it involves a new bumper cover $500-$750.

I hope you got his name, phone number, license, Driver's license, Insurance etc.

You should report it to your insurance company anyway, just in case you end up in small claims court.

 

Ditto what everybody else said.

Get the car fixed right, to your satisfaction and make him pay for it, regardless of whether or not he wants to go through his insurance.

I hope you got his information...

 

Besides the fixup responsibility, my first impulse would be to
retrain that person on proper backing technique, so that they
not only never do that again but can pass the knowledge on to
anyone else within their influence. There's really very little
excuse for allowing a vehicle to move toward somewhere or
something that can't be seen. The truckers have a motto from
their training classes -- GOAL, get out and look.
.
_H*

 

Thats all well and good, sympathy that is, but he still has a responsibility to repair the damage he caused to your property.

 

I scratched my back bumper good too. 2 very thin lines about 3 inches long right into the rubber. If its into the rubber a buff out won't fix it. You have paint...primer..then rubber.Toy dealer quoted $600...Ford Dealer (friend ref) quoted $500....local body shop feather in job $250.Whole bumper cover has to come off and be 3M Automixed repair for the scratched rubber..then the whole cover has to primed then painted with lots of sanding in between.

 

You might be able to hide that with a good detailer with an airbrush job, but the thing to do is have it completely repainted. Touch-up paint wont work right there.

 

That definately needs to be refinish by the body shop to look right. You can go the cheap route, but will not look right. You can also look for a shop that will do touch-up painting. Most body shops will not do that because the job is not as nice and the profit is less. By touchup I don't mean to take a thin brush and wipe it on. It is a process to clean, then color match as close as possible, then mix with a light filler and pushed into the scratch. After drying the tech will wipe off with a liquid grit/cleaner/wax and rag, just like a very light sand job and buffed. If you can find someone to do it, it will run about $50-75. It will not look perfect, but is an option if barely visible. Otherwise, it will cost significantly more at the body shop in the $500+ range to do it right. They need to fix the bumper and most likely will need to blend the paint on adjacent panels and the costs add up.

I just got my car repaired and used to work in this line of work, it is very labor intensive.

My advice is to get a body shop estimate to understand what it would cost to do it right. Tell them you are paying cash and you don't have insurance and ask them for discounts. Shops are generally compelled to help you out, but not the insurance company. Mention that someone hit you and that they too off, that will save you (and the other guy) money, trust me.

Look forward to hear the rest of the story. Best wishes.

 

the guy that does this thing for my used car lot charges about 150 for this sort of thing. of course, he'd probably double that for any normal consumer.