Parking lot fender damage today not Apri Fools for me

Got a call from the wife and kid telling me my 2015 Tacoma got hit while they were in the store today.Thinking this is an April fools joke I kept calm till they got back,but it wasnt a joke..No witnesses and driver never cared to to let any one know of course (my luck).

Just wondering if anyone knows which way I should go on getting this fixed?Insurance is full coverage $500 deductible,but probably will go up after the claim.Thinking just get a quote and pay out of pocket,if it isnt that much.Any help on cost/repairs or what to do would be greatly appreciated!

 

Take it to a PDR guy in the area first for an estimate. There are no hard creases so it should pop right out.

 

I would pay out of pocket versus insurance, maybe you can find the same color fender in a junkyard or ebay.

 

Get the estimate first, then make the decision once you have a number to work with.

 

Where were they when it was hit? Maybe a nearby stores camera saw something. Long shot I know.

 

Ouch!!!

 

Time for fiberglass

 

Depending on your insurance - usually your rate should not change if the accident was not your fault, especially parking lot type accidents.

 

I already thought that but she left with no cops called,not like they would of investigated anyway imo.Was thinking like Driver said,just have a PDR pop it out.Then what would they do mud it and paint it?Im not picky just want it to look half way decent without insurance involved.

My last car had an incident and my buddy who knew a buddy that worked at a PDR fixed it on his own time,and I saved alot of money (no full coverage then).But no mudding was involved,just a hammer/new plastic bumper and spray paint.

 

I don't think that is a candidate for PDR, looks like a hard crease in the middle. Been there man, and it sucks.

 

File it on Insurance, get a new fender and be happy Your rates shouldn't go up with a comprehensive claim.

 

PDR.....that's funny.

 

What is PDR?

 

Paint less dent removal

 

They will file it as collision...tried the same thing with my wife's car when it was hit while parked. They refused stating a collision with any object whether you are in the vehicle or not falls under collision coverage.I even tried to argue vandalism because they hit it and left...no dice!

 

I'd call your insurance and ask about the claim. I got rear-ended lightly awhile back and got it covered with no problem...and no increase to my insurance. I was speaking with the agent and she said that generally, for claims under $1000 do not trigger premium increases...for either party. Which makes it even more dumb to leave the scene without owning up to it. Anyway, it doesn't hurt to call and ask about it...they'll tell you right there.

As for PDR, I've done that too with some amazing results. I walked out to my vehicle after work one evening and someone had put a dent in a door panel as if they slammed a rock the size of a grapefruit on it...and at the same time put a crease in the panel from the upper left to the lower right of the grapefruit sized dent. The PDR guy charged me $275 and worked the whole thing out...to about 95% perfection. The crease made it impossible for him to make it completely flat. If you look at it from a sharp angle, you can see some imperfection, but since the scratch didn't go deeper than the clear-coat, he was able to buff out most of it. It is hard to find even when knowing where it is. Your dent looks a little worse, but if you find a PDR guy with lots of experience and a good reputation, he should be completely upfront about expectations. I think yours, if doable, could be more that $275 though...but likely less than $500.

 

At least...have a good PDR guy look at it...definitely worth the extra time to check into their services.

 

Definitely go fiberglass and slowly earn your cash back with those mpg gains

 

Look,I'm a PDR tech. I wouldn't touch that at all. Now,if a body shop wanted the "big chunks " taken out,yes I've done that.

 

Well in my case where I was damaged in a parking lot, Geico filed it as a comprehensive claim and I paid the 200 deductible and all was well in the world once again.

So ALL of them will not file it as a collision.