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New Prius, new crash - BANG!

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Main Forum' started by cyberprius, Feb 5, 2008.

  1. cyberprius

    cyberprius Mtn Bikes don't need foglights

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    Hi all:

    My new Prius has 400-some miles on it. My husband took it for a drive and managed to smash into another car. I think he was probably looking at a blonde walking by at the time.:eek:

    Anyway, minor crash at about 3-4mph in a parking lot. He pushed in the exact corner of the driver-side front bumper, leaving about a dinner plate sized indention, a bit of scratched-off paint and a scraped driver's side front headlight.

    Body shop wants $925 to fix/paint bumper, and replace the headlight -- they say some part under the bumper also needs replacing, which is included....Anything I should be careful of here.

    Other than the price, which seems high to my husband, it sounds pretty straight-forward
     
    #1 cyberprius, Feb 5, 2008
  2. Flying White Dutchman

    Flying White Dutchman Senior Member

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    picture's?

    i think its a bit pricy
     
    #2 Flying White Dutchman, Feb 5, 2008
  3. cyberprius

    cyberprius Mtn Bikes don't need foglights

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    I only have hardcopy pix from a kodak disposable that he took at the time of the crash and I have no way to scan them:(

    Main Prices are:

    Teardown $12

    Replace and paint bumper cover $500

    Replace headlamp assembly and aim headlamp $206

    Repair/paint apron panel $72

    Tinting $24

    and there is some internal part that they called about later, that sits inside the bumper that needs replacing at $125 or so...
     
    #3 cyberprius, Feb 5, 2008
  4. Flying White Dutchman

    Flying White Dutchman Senior Member

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    500 for the bumper is a lot
    but you already have it at the repaire shop.......
     
    #4 Flying White Dutchman, Feb 5, 2008
  5. cyberprius

    cyberprius Mtn Bikes don't need foglights

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    Well, my husband knocked a small dent in his 03 camry bumper back in 2004 running into a rock. At the time, the pricey shops wanted $500-$600 and the discount shop he ended up taking it to -- recommended by some mechanic friends wanted $470, so I was thinking $500 wasn't so much, but like you, his complaining about the $500 today.

    He grew up in LA and drives very aggressively...too much so really...I mean come on...expecting a rock to move out of the way....
     
    #5 cyberprius, Feb 5, 2008
  6. subarutoo

    subarutoo New Member

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    When mine was 2 weeks old I hit a truck tire on the freeway, and needed a new bumper, foglight and lower grill. The passenger door was also damaged. It was over $1300 for that. I only needed the bumper cover replaced, if anything behind the bumper needs repair, it could account for the difference.
     
    #6 subarutoo, Feb 5, 2008
  7. richard schumacher

    richard schumacher shortbus driver

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    I gather that making him buy you a new one is not an option?
     
    #7 richard schumacher, Feb 5, 2008
  8. Qlara

    Qlara New Member

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    It does get expensive for a minor hit like this, a bang for a grant!
    Will you claim insurance or simply paid it full on your own? (Not much insurance dollars after the standard $500?)
     
    #8 Qlara, Feb 5, 2008
  9. donee

    donee New Member

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    Hi Cyberprius,

    Yea, the part under the driver's side fender is the thermos bottle for the coolant heat recovery system. Hot coolant is pumped into it when you shut the car down, and back into the engine when you restart. That way the coolant does not loose heat nearly as fast. And the engine warms up faster, too.

    So the repair intails a flush, refill and air purge of the engine coolant system, which is an extensive proceedure and should be caried out by an experienced Prius mechanic.
     
    #9 donee, Feb 5, 2008
  10. JimN

    JimN Let the games begin!

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    Pix would help. How much ego is involved? Is the headlight lens so bad it has to be replaced? Can the dimple in the bumper cover be pushed out at a significant savings? Are used parts an option?
     
    #10 JimN, Feb 5, 2008
  11. cyberprius

    cyberprius Mtn Bikes don't need foglights

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    I don't think the part under the bumper is a coolant thing....they said something about being some sort of bumper support. We've driven a couple of hundred miles since the smack and no problems with overheating.

    If it were my husband's Camry, or even my old Toyota, I wouldn't bother replacing the headlight. It's scratched, but it is purely cosmetic. But this is MY first new car in 20 years.....so it is getting replaced.

    We just upped our insurance deductible to somewhere around $1200 about six months ago, so all out of pocket:rolleyes:
     
    #11 cyberprius, Feb 5, 2008
  12. cyberprius

    cyberprius Mtn Bikes don't need foglights

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    BTW, thanks for all the help. The main reason for the post was to try to find out if there was anything special with the Prius we should be aware of in this case...Sounds like the coolant tank was one thing, but I guess we lucked out with it in this case.

    The body shop says they have worked on dozens and dozens of Prius models, which is why I insisted on going to the "premier shop" rather than the cut-rate shop that hubby wanted to run to.

    My mechanic said that for the Prius, he wouldn't recommend the cheaper shop, although for "regular" cars, he usually directs folks to the discount shop.
     
    #12 cyberprius, Feb 5, 2008
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