backed into a parking meter.. how bad is it?

backed into a parking meter while parking one night on a dark street.. how bad do you think it is and how much $$ do you think it will be to fix? Looks like in addition to the bumper the side panel was damaged a little because the tail gate doesn't come down all the way...

 

Where you drag racing backwards? That's a big dent for just 'backing up'..

 

i think if i were drag racing the car would be totaled.. i wasnt going that fast..

 

Well it's totaled I'll give you $1500 for it. I backed into a pylon and the trailer hitch saved the body work the chrome bumper was $225 but you have a little bit of body work to deal with. There is a heavy bar inside but the rest of the thing is pretty cheaply made it's most likely bent underneath interfering with the tail gate.

 

wow you guys kind of sound crass..you want me to get a part at a junk yard.. lol really? there was no harm to the parking meter.. it was an awkward angle to hit.. mebbe it looks bad because the resolution is so crisp in the image... i have really good high rate insurance and wouldn't mind putting a claim in if it was worth the charge...

 

add one more zero and thats about how much i paid for the truck last july.. you can have it for that price lol

 

My wife backed up her civic into a meter once and the damage was a lot less than this. You can pretty much fart on a civic bumper and crack them. I'm just shocked this much damage comes from backing up. Maybe I back my truck up a lot slower than everyone.

 

You got something against junk yards OP?

 

there is i am assuming as indicated by the image..
i kind of was hoping for some insight into what was damaged but i feel like im being given a hard time for something i already beat myself up for...

 

I can relate... backed into a steel pole a week after I got my truck. Pole was lower than my bed. Learned to use the backup camera after that.

Your tailgate has a folded corner, likely preventing it from sitting flat. Get a few quotes from collision shops on straightening the tailgate and removing the rear fender dent. Then get a plate bumper, something like this:

 

In the north east we do everything faster and it doesnt always have the best results

 

You bumper is damaged. Minor body work. As stated before. Without taking the bumper off we cannot see what else has been damaged if anything.

 

not directly but the spirit in which junk yard was used sounded like i'd be half assing the repair job from the start.. the amount of the repair isn't essential to me.. i'd just like it done right

 

Yes but seeing that it already has surface rust I figured it has been there a while.

 

Look again.. is it really that serious...

 

its been there just a couple months... i tried best to keep the salt off

 

Well I don't have to worry about salt because it doesn't snow a lot down here and I don't live near the ocean so I can't say how fast/slow the rust is going to spread. Since you said it has been this way for a couple of months it might be worse than surface rust now. Like I said, I am not 100% sure, but you will want to get that looked at pretty soon.

 

Only wishing that yellow thing was a yellow parking meter instead.

You were almost killed with all that blood you lost from your head. You know...I think of you every time I get into my Tacoma and pray that it protects me like yours protected you. Soo glad that you are alive ((hugs)).

 

Just because you go to a junkyard and pick up a rear bumper for cheap, and do the repairs yourself, doesnt mean you are doing a half-assed job.

And like Nate(nmcqueen) said, if money doesnt matter, take it to a repair shop and pay at least double what you would doing it yourself.

Good luck with gettong it fixed!