not so good door ding repair -- need advice!

Crap job, contact your insurance company about the crap repair. There must be half a pound of filler in your door which will in time crack and fall out.

Where is the intrusion bar?

It is always worth getting a recommendation from a trusted friend before getting a repair. What I did was ask a mate who is a spare parts seller for a Toyota dealer which crash repairer uses the most genuine Toyota parts. The guy he sent me to, Des Higgins Motor Bodies does not use any fillers, he metal finishes everything and uses only genuine parts. The down side is, there is a 2 month waiting list. I'm booked in for 15th June for an accident that happened before easter.

I only have a little dent in my door.

 

Did you lean against it? :madgrin:

 

Ouch! Bad dog.

 

:evil:

 

So the pictures above are the INSIDE of the door panel?

What does it look like on the OUTSIDE? If it looks fine, don't worry about it. No one will care or ever see what it looks like on the inside.

It is pretty tough getting that sheet metal 100% perfect after it's been pretty well dented out of shape. It'll never look like nothing ever happened to it from every side, but only the side you commonly see is what matters.

 

Ugh! All I can do is add my opinion that you are indeed correct that the repair is substandard.

As far as what to do, contacting your insurance company probably is the best idea as far as potential happy outcomes.

I have to ask, you obviously care a lot about how your Prius is handled. Did you discuss before the repairs were attempted the method the shop planned to use? Whatever shop you used probably employs this poor standard routinely, which is sad because how many people are going to go to the trouble of pulling off a door panel to check a repair? For a lot of people discovery of the substandard repair probably doesn't manifest until years later and once damage becomes even more costly. Good luck, and I suppose the bright side, is that you have discovered it, and you have the chance to remedy now, before you have to replace the entire door in about two years.

 

Not a specific comment on your repair, zeeman, but related: Last time I had my car in for bodywork, the adjuster revealed that repair estimates for Prius are bumped up into the 'luxury' category. Apparently the owners tend to be fussier, and extra time is often required. Sure enough, they screwed up, and I had to take it back a couple of times. It's still not as good as new. :rant:

 

Its never as good as new. That's why I try to avoid accidents at all costs - its not the fear of getting hurt, its the fear of having to deal with the insurance company and body shop.

 

Yep, that was it. Smart arse!!

A feral bitch with no licence and no insurance reversed into me as I drove past in a shopping centre car park.

 

Until the bog (plasic putty) cracks or falls out because it is so thick. I'm not a panel beater and I wouldn't accept that repair on my sons mid 80s Corolla even if I did it myself.

 

Parking lots are the scariest places to drive if you value your car.

Don't they have uninsured motorist coverage in Australia? My policy automatically adds it. However, I did get hit once by an uninsured guy driving on a suspended license (he smashed into my rear bumper while I was stopped at a red light). That was about one month before the uninsured coverage took affect, so I had to buy the new bumper myself.