Here's what I would do. First, take it to the body shop for an estimate. You might not like that price (but if it's low enough, go with it). Once you get the estimate tell them that you'd like to try to fix it yourself and if it doesn't come out very well, you'll bring it in. See if their price changes. When fixing it yourself, you might want to use some bondo first. Just a real small layer to almost even out the damage. Sand it down (get yourself some 220 and 400 grit sandpaper). Then put on the paint and clearcoat. I don't think you'll notice the damage as it's pretty smal. And if you don't like what you did, take it to the body shop. I think they'll paint the entire door. Mike
OP, it's a good thing that there is no dent. Try the touch up paint before taking it to get repainted. There's something odd with this picture. The other car looks totally thrashed, but your Prius has nothing more than a mean scuff on the bumper.
That is too big of a hole for Dr. Colorchip or any touch-up. Professional fix is a must in your area or else it will rust...eventually.
The girl in the nissan was texting and ran the stop sign. Luckily I was paying attention and managed to stop, and reverse the car a few inches before she hit. She glanced off the front of my car, lost control and hit the silver jeep. She hit the jeep so hard she pushed it up a 6 inch granite curb onto the sidewalk, and the force of the impact spun her car 180 degrees facing oncoming traffic. Miraculously there were no injuries and there was less than $1000 in damage to my prius. Took the hit like a champ. If yoh look at the photo closely, you can see my license plate sticking out of the front passenger door of her car.
I know exactly what did that, because I had about 20 of them on my last car! Our garage is a very small 2 car garage, and every time the kids would open the door to our big car, WHACK, they would hit our other car door. It would make those horrible little gouges in our paint, and eventually they covered that whole side of our car. I took mine to a body shop just on a lark one day, and I think he said they would cost about $50 each to repair. Needless to say, we didn't do it. I so paranoid about it now, that we park one car in the driveway, and my brand new black prius in the garage
After talking to a couple of pros, guess I'm going with self-applied touch up paint after all. Because of the location and the light color of the paint, both wanted way more than I am willing to pay. Oh well. At least it won't be so noticeable.
The lowest bid was about $450. The highest was over $1000. There were a couple of bids in between. If it weren't right in the middle of the door, then it might have been less. I love my car, but... A bottle of touch-up paint seems like the way to go.
Deductible is $300, with the no-claim discount that I get. It might be covered. But then I might pay later in higher rates and I'd lose the no-claim discount. I just don't think it's worth it.
With quotes like that I would go with the most reputable shop and turn the claim in to the insurance company. Watch for the next renewal bill. If they jack your rates - drop them and shop for a new insurance company. John
my car is officially broken in now as well. had it about two months and just the other night I backed into a large stone next to the parking spot i was in. wasnt bad, just scrapped the underside of the bumper a bit and bent the black plastic part a tad. im going to get an estimate to repair it, but it's not bad enough I can't live without fixing it if it costs too much.
