Today I hit a Cotton tail on my way to work....I didn't think it was that big of a deal, but I did almost cry over the death of the bunny (what can I say? I am such a girl!) I went on to work, and when I can out this evening, I saw this! If you look close you can still see the bunny hair in the bumper. I am so sad and don't even know how to start looking for a body shop or what questions to ask, or how much I should expect to pay to get it fixed....she's only four months old! It's so sad to me!!! Anyhow, thanks for letting me whine...Any advice on body shops, and cost estimates are appreciated!
wow.. that's a lot of bugs.... I did not think a bunny would break the lowest "bumper" ( for lack of better wording)... I'm not surprised that the black plastic is pushed back.. it simply snaps in and out of place.
Should be an easy but slightly costly fix. Like the bunny, your bar cover and grill are buggered. Any good crash shop should be able to handle it. Ask you friends or neighbours if they can recommend anyone local. This will most likely be best handled with an insurance claim as far as costs go. Don't be talked into a cheap patch up, you will regret it until and especially when you on sell it. Most bumper repairs are terrible, get a new one.
Girl, your car is a mess! If you keep it like that all the time, does it really matter if you get the damage repaired? Looks like you're gonna need a bottom grill and a repair job on the bumper cover. Replacement of the bumper cover is expensive, not to mention that when it's painted it will probably never really match the rest of the car. Bumper covers can be mended, most repair jobs on them will never come close to new. Find some recipes for rabbit/hasenpfeffer: http://www.rabbithuntingonline.com/recipes/ http://www.gameandfishrecipes.com/rabbit.html
i had the front end of my car get pushed in once. they had to replace the bumper cover and front passenger light assembly. It's really not all that bad. I can tell.. but no one else can ( the panel gaps are off by a couple hundredths of an inch) the color matches.
The damage to your car should be covered under the Comprehensive portion of your auto insurance. The deductible for Comprehensive is typically much lower than for Collision. Check your policy and contact your insurance agent. As for repair locations, you might want to ask friends, dealer & insurance agent for recommendations. Good luck with the repair.....
I'm in So.Idaho aka bunnyland and theres a lot of other things to run over out here.. weeds , rocks ,parts of roads missing..ice & snow too....I know for me it's ust a matter of time ....what we need is a bunny bashing bar that either goes on the inside of the lower grill skin or on the outside like a grill guard as I'm sure it will happen again ....let me know if I can help....m.... Witness everyday ...if necessary use words .....<><
Thanks for all of the sympathy...as soon as I saw the pictures I realized I was going to get comments on the bugs. Please understand, if I lived in the city I would keep it clean. I live in the most isolated town in the lower 48. I commute 67 miles on way to work on a RURAL road with no cell service, NO businesses, and very few houses. No matter how many times I wash my car, I make one commute and the bugs are back. The deductable on my insurance is 250.00 so I think I'll go that route. The deputy said it looked like $1,000.00 worth of damage or so. The hardest part is going to be living without my car for so long....I'm sure the nearest body shop is 87 miles away! I'm just glad it was a bunny and not an antelope, jack rabbit, or deer. a couple days ago I almost hit a porccupine (sp?). That would have been BAAADD! Thanks again for all the advice and kind words!
don't worry about paint.. a good body shop can easily match the paint perfectly.., a new bumper cover, maybe part of the grill, and underspoiler and some paint.. I'd say less than 1k
Have them get a bumper skin ...then have them paint it ...that can all be done before you take it to the shop....then bring it in to them ..go eat lunch and when you get back it should be done as it only takes about an hour to change a skin ....I know, I have rebuilt 4 of these ...m
PS ...bumper skin $150 ,paint $50(1/2quart), change skin & paint labor $300, and if you want the grill center $48....m
Ask your body shop to get in the bumper cover and grill while you keep driving, then ask if you can bring the car in for colour matching then return a day or two later to leave the car for a day to have the bar cover fitted. Some will some wont but if they do you are only without the car for a day and a half. There is no need for your car to be clogging their workshop while waiting for parts and you will be sure you get a new bar cover. I should have read post #11 before I wrote this.
I don't understand this. You heartlessly murder thousands of poor defenseless bugs, yet grieve over one small insignificant bunny? :der: I do have a serious suggestion: If you don't already have it, I would suggest looking into having a clear 3-M type bra installed (on the car!). This won't protect you from suicidal bunnies, deer or cantaloupe (oops, meant "antelope" ), but will help against those dastardly bugs. :spider: Down in Florida, we have bugs (love bugs) that emit an acid that will utterly destroy any paint job if the remains are not removed within a day.
not sure how much that would cost, but 1000 bucks seems high. I would clean the bumper up real good and buya car bra to cover up the damage. Or have it fixed
Also see about getting a little bunny graphic painted on you driver door. Four more and you're an ACE. Rod
Don't be too critical of the OP's "buggy" Prius. Montana is a beautiful state, but driving across eastern Montana in 1980 was one of the buggiest experiences in my life. We had to get out & clean our windshield by hand at least twice! (Fiona was not the car subjected to that experience; it was - - a GM X-car - remember those???)
I agree with the bra. Even if you get it fixed, you still have the bugs. If money is an issue right now, just get the bra, wash the car and put it on. Then you can get if fixed when you can better afford it. But keep using the bra.
