Yesterday my poor Prius got rear-ended. Then the guy sped off. I got his plate number tho'. The speed of impact was very low. Maybe 5mph. Just a guess. When I looked at the bumper I was ready to see a disaster area. However, I only found 2 scratch marks. One about 1 1/2 inches long and 1/2 inch wide and the other about 1/2 inch long. I'm tempted to ignore it. I'm sure my insurance would cover it if I went that route. But is it worth it for those scratch marks which, luck would have it, may be replaced any moment by a careless parallel parker? Also, does anyone think there is a reasonable chance of internal bumper damage? Maybe to that crushable foam thing on the inside of it? Does it have to be disaassbled by a body shop to determine if there is that type of damage? Thanks for any advice.
if it's only scratch marks, i wouldn't worry too much about any further damage. you're right, some other moron will probably just replace those scratches and it's best not to even make the insurance claim. at least it was only those scratch marks! sorry to hear someone hit you and took off! i got my car shortly before you did and i worry about the day some idiot hits mine...
My 2005 Prius was rear-ended on the highway yesterday. It felt like quite a wack, but there was no damage to the bumper. It seems the foam bumper is pretty good at aborbing minor impacts. I got the insurance information just in case. The worst thing is the danger of stopping on the highway. Anyway, I am glad the car can take minor impacts without damage.
I have the same scratches on my rear bumper. One deep enough that it dug into the rubber. Got 3 estimates all $400 to $500 to fix. Bumper cover must come off and complete repaint. Carsmedics said $250 for a spot in. No insurance claim as I have a $500 deduct.
This season I picked up some vertical scratches on the rear bumper, as far as I know, not from an impact. My vote is for a bit of touch up paint.
so... your bumper consist of a bumper bar, Styrofoam, and the plastic outer shell.. if you get bumped, it gets slowed by the Styrofoam and then absorbed by the tubular bumper bar behind it.... yes... it could be damaged.
Make sure you check for other damage under the car. I've read some horror stories of people thinking there was only minor bumper damage but then they find things under the car have been shifted forward.
That's a good point, it's probably a good idea to have your vehicle checked out for other damage because you could have other problems there. It's best to keep your own safety in mind. If the damage is minor though, the bumper probably will just get hit again, in which case it's hardly worth having it repaired.
Bummer, I really feel for you. I have had my 2005 rear ended 2 times now, and it really sucks. My recommendation is to have it looked at by a good body shop. It may only be scratches but, it may also be the impact foam & you will want that fixed since it absorbs impact forces in a crash. Chances are you do not have damage to the metal bumper. That sucker can take a pretty big hit. If your worried about this not exceeding your deductable don't worry it will. A Prius is not a cheap fix, and good job getting the Plate number. Nail that idiot for hit & run if its more than a grand.
This is kind of a 'depends' situation. If the car is still new, and your still making payments on it, I would get it checked out just in case (it's the banks car after all). I had an older car that got hit at very low speed and maybe one tiny chip. I didn't bother filing a claim on that.
