Collision repair advice

I would take it to a Toyota or lexus dealer assuming its collision shop is well reviewed.
Based on your description I don't think you have to worry about any electrical problems.

 

The insurance company of the person who rear ended me let me pick my body shop. My dealership didn't do body work but had a body shop they recommended. They did a great job.

 

^ My experience is very similar. Went to dealership first time around, they referred me to a nearby bodyshop that did a lot of work for them. Small place, got to know the owner, they do good work, even improved over the years. Decades later, still using them.

Up here some shops (this place included) are authorized to do the assessment as well, so it's basically one stop, no separate trip to the insurance assessor and they get you into a loaner for duration of the repair.

 

You hit on the nail..."was a perfect car". Once the repairs are done - even if flawlessly - your car will have a Carfax record of being in an accident. Be sure to get the offending party's insurance to pay for diminished value.

 

Usually an insurance company has contract body shops they use. I have used them. I would not worry about it. I am not anywhere near an expert on a Prius but where your's has the damage I would not be too concerned about damaging sensitive hybrid components. I think it will come out fine for you.

 

I was involved unfortunately in a very slow speed collision. OK...it was my fault..technically...long story. But I BARELY rear ended a vehicle.
IMO their rear bumper suffered no damage..and my front barely any at all.

But the person I hit, was claiming damage...even though I could see none, so it resulted in a claim. I really felt I could just get a new front licence plate bracket and be good to go. The damage seemed that minimal.

However, when I had my vehicle checked out, that fabled Styrofoam had evidently been dented, which pretty much meant the whole bumper needed to be removed, repaired and repainted.

I guess my question or feeling is....why do automakers use Styrofoam?

Since it's a material that will dent almost with any impact, and NOT rebound, all Styrofoam does is almost guarantee you will "technically" need repair or replacement with almost any impact.

Just seems to me a material could be used with more durable "rebound" characteristics...that instead of guaranteeing you will need your bumper removed and the Styrofoam replaced..just might allow you to survive a low, low speed collision without any damage.

Todays bumpers seemed designed to guarantee you will need costly repair...with even the slightest of impacts. They seemed to be designed to be singular impact event bumpers, regardless almost of how minimal that impact might be.

To the OP...good advice about seeking diminished value. Looks very repairable.

You will probably be shocked at the cost.

 

I was stationed at Kadena AFB in 1977 and 1978. It was nice there. Our outfit moved from Japan to Kadena. Japan was even nicer. We have to remember that was a long time ago. I haven't been back to either place since then but like everywhere, it would not be the same in either place. I would recognize nothing if I went back.

 

I think your opinion is correct. If you hit anything, no matter how small, if you can feel or hear it, figure on going to the body shop for an expensive repair. I have a little experience with that. It may look very minor but the repair bill will be big. It is very disgusting.

 

Wholehearted agreement! The expression "glass jaw" comes to mind.

 

I think the shortest distance back to sense would be to legislate some cap on bumper damage costs, force manufacturers to address the problem.

I appreciate they're intended to be sort of collapsible, but there's gotta be room for improvement.

 

Maybe they are designed for job security for the automakers, body shops, parts people, etc. And to drain our wallets. Sure doing a good job at all of the above.

 

One thing that might help is if we all lower our expectations regarding a car's "looks".

 

There were bumper damage reduction laws passed as early as the 1970s:
Bumper (automobile) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

It will probably come as no surprise to learn that the auto makers persuaded the Reagan administration to roll back the standards in 1982.

From the Wikipedia article linked above:

Consumer and insurance groups have decried the weakened bumper standard, saying it has increased consumer costs without any attendant benefits except to automakers.

In 1986, Consumers Union petitioned NHTSA to return to the Phase II standard and disclose bumper strength information to consumers. In 1990, NHTSA rejected that petition.

The weakened regulations permitted automakers to design bumpers with emphasis on style and low cost; protection dropped substantially and repair costs rose. In 1990, IIHS conducted four crash tests on three different-year examples of the Plymouth Horizon. The results illustrated the effect of the changes to the US bumper regulations (repair costs quoted in 1990 United States dollars):
1983 Horizon with Phase-II 5-mph bumpers: $287
1983 Horizon with Phase-I 2.5-mph bumpers: $918
1990 Horizon: $1,476​

 

That is exactly what we are going to have to do. Let's say you have a $38,000 luxury car that you like a lot, which I do. You get a very little curb damage to the front bumper. What do you do? Have it fixed for X amount of dollars. Then you get an little dent in the rear bumper. Another repair bill for X amount of dollars to repair all this plastic junk. It just puts you in a quandary. It will put you in the poor house quick. No matter how particular we are with cars and I am one of those, we are just going to have to lower our expectations regarding a cars "looks" as you mentioned. Anyone who wants to comment that I am an idiot for buying a luxury car to start with, I agree with you in advance but when you are in your last years you kind of want something nice.

 

Well yeah, to ignore the occasional ding. But also, ugly up the bumper a bit? Revise the material of the bumpers? Make them out of more flexible, solid colour plastic. Not glossy? Increased body gaps? More durable, universal fasteners?

It's a tough sell though. Like trying to sell air bags. There's another item that pretty much cause a car to be written off. Once those puppies go off, even if the body damage isn't too bad the replacement cost of the bags can be the coupe de grace.

 

The automakers could do better than they do. When the government mandates higher mileage vehicles, the automakers have to use weight reducing materials but it probably gives them a good excuse to make cars out of crap and keeping increasing the cost of vehicles and we, the consumer, are left holding the bag. That's what I think.