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Fender Bender

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by CitizenjaQ, May 15, 2005.

  1. CitizenjaQ

    CitizenjaQ New Member

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    Had my first accident in the Prius yesterday. Very minor - as I was backing out of a parking space, a woman in a white across from me backed out too and dinged my rear bumper.

    I had a bunch of stuff in the trunk so my visibility was very slightly impeded, but I'm pretty sure I was at least half out of my space before she could possibly have started moving. We sort of settled on "no one's fault" as we exchanged info.

    It looks like only my bumper cover was dented. I should be able to pop that back out, right? There are some scratches, but they're pretty minor. Anyone have experience with this kind of damage?
     
    #1 CitizenjaQ, May 15, 2005
  2. clubmedic

    clubmedic New Member

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    My collision last week (a potential T-Bone at 30 that I managed to turn into a glancing blow) had similar damage (scraped bumper cover, perhaps a damaged bracket)... insurance estimates <$400 if they just touch & paint the bumper & replace the clips.
     
    #2 clubmedic, May 15, 2005
  3. DanMan32

    DanMan32 Senior Member

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    You might want to check the impact absorbing styrofoam inside, but it is probably OK. Looks like you have some nasty creases in the plastic.
     
    #3 DanMan32, May 15, 2005
  4. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    They should be able to hammer it out nicely
     
    #4 Tideland Prius, May 15, 2005
  5. DanMan32

    DanMan32 Senior Member

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    Hammer out ABS plastic?
     
    #5 DanMan32, May 15, 2005
  6. CitizenjaQ

    CitizenjaQ New Member

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    I was figuring I'd do it myself. My collision deductible is fairly high, and if it's just taking the bumper cover off and banging the dent out, shoot, I can do that.

    Right?
     
    #6 CitizenjaQ, May 15, 2005
  7. engunneer

    engunneer Member

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    I just got into a fender bender two weeks ago on the highway. $1800! They actually replaced the front left fender, since they couldn't pop out the dent. (They were worried about they boy line around the front wheel.)

    My dent looked a lot easier to pop out than yours. I hope it doesn't cost you too much.
     
    #7 engunneer, May 15, 2005
  8. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    Hmm, how else would they fix it? Use the professional version of pop-a-dent? I guess that could work but I don't know about that crumpled part near the top (below the left corner of the reflector)
     
    #8 Tideland Prius, May 15, 2005
  9. CitizenjaQ

    CitizenjaQ New Member

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    Well, I managed to push out the biggest dent. Two small dimples and some minor scratches remain, but I'm inclined to count my blessings here and move on. I'm just not seeing damage that's worth a $500 deductible to repair. The scratches won't rust (right?) and the dimples are barely noticeable more than a meter away. I've never made a collision claim before; do I *have* to report this to my insurance company?

    I didn't see any foam at all. I was able to reach up behind the actual metal bumper from underneath and push out the dent in the plastic bumper cover without taking any parts off. As far as I can tell, the dent in the bumper cover never even touched anything else, but of course I could be wrong.
     
    #9 CitizenjaQ, May 16, 2005
  10. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    Ah ha, so you could've technically hammer out the bumper :)

    not bad. If the scratches are small, use some touch-up paint to patch them up
     
    #10 Tideland Prius, May 17, 2005
  11. bobc

    bobc New Member

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    Following up on Tideland's response and touching up with some paint:

    www.paintscratch.com

    Have your VIN available when you order as they use this to match the paint to your car.

    Nice job of pulling the worst of it out!

    May want to just swing by a body shop and ask them what they think and maybe they could give you a few pointers for taking the small bumps out on your own....

    Cheers,
     
    #11 bobc, May 17, 2005
  12. popsrcr

    popsrcr New Member

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    #12 popsrcr, May 17, 2005
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