cyruspura

Hey Everyone,

I recently had a little accident in a parking lot that involved my JK's rear bumper hitting the rear quarter panel of a 2007 Toyota Prius.

Apparently I'm automatically at fault because I was backing up, and the driver has quoted me $1,299.00 to fix it. Just looking for some input.

Does this seem appropriate, or is it too high of a cost to repair the dent and scratches?

Thanks for the help, I'll have pictures up soon.

RedneckJeep

Sounds high, but without pics...who knows? I wasn't thinkin a prius was even worth that much.

cyruspura

Just checked car-parts.com and the rear quarter panel for a Prius is around $500. Anyone know how easy these are to install? If that's the final cost, I could live with that.

Of course it figures that my huge jk did that much damage in such a little collision. People need tougher cars... and we're still trying to figure out who was at fault.

RATM

They don't bolt on!

I can tell you for a fact $1300 is NOT to remove and replace the old quarter panel with a new quarter panel! Usually at least the rear windshield on any car has to be R/R'd, R/R inner-trunk carpet/panels, R/R the back seat, probably R/R the the rear deck under the back window, remove the inner fender liner or the like BEFORE you can even get to the spot welds that you would have to drill out before you could even remove the old quarter. Then one would MIG weld the new quarter in, grind the spot welds down, seam seal, finish the spot welds out with filler, sand, prime.......the lists just goes on. Not to mention paint and blend time onto the roof, decklid and probably the adjacent door.

In other words you aren't paying to R/R a quarter panel. You might be paying for a new bumper, body work on the quarter and paint and blend time.

Why not ask to see the estimate?

tx-skydiver

Body work done correctly - especially a qtr panel will not e cheap. There is alot of work involved. Even if you buy th epanel for 300-500, you must also consider the painting and prep. That will be at least 500 so it sounds fair to me.

If it were a front fender, then I would imagine it could be a little cheaper as it is just bold on.

SaharaBlackNo1

I don't know what your deductible is, but you might want to go through your insurance. As for you still don't know who's at fault, no offense, but unless he was doing 50 through the parking lot or cutting through the lanes, I've never heard of someone in reverse not being at fault.

jeepin08

I just watched a video segment the other day about all these "mini" cars being the worst when it comes to low speed collisions. They compared multiple cars at about 3mph will all of them if I remember correctly having over $1000 in damage! Some as much as like 6 or 7 thousand! Enough to probably effectively total some of them.

I would ask to see the estimate but body shops always over estimate so it is usually best to go through your insurance imo.

09rubicon

Wel you know the 800lbs of HAZARDOUS and TOXIC lead acid batteries those little green cars carry are pretty expensive!!

cyruspura

LOL. That's pretty funny, but god this whole thing is a pain. Thanks for all the help and info folks, I might just have to bite the bullet on this one.

cyruspura

Luckily my deductible is only $500, but I just used my insurance to replace my engine... even with that $8,000 claim, my rates didn't go up, that was the first claim we've made in 30 years. So I don't really want to use them, but I do see your point.

Regarding the liability, I know that almost anyone backing up is always at fault. But there are several mitigating factors: the driver (who is a distant family friend, which complicates matters) was drinking wine at our tasting room, is legally blind in her left eye, and has a history of numerous parking lot fender-benders.

The first two clearly could have contributed to the accident. I exercised the appropriate level of caution when backing out and I think she tried to scoot past me and get by.

Not sure if there are any lawyers here, but that has to make her atleast partially culpable, right?