I think a neighbor did this, though I have no proof (the footprint left could be useful in determining this), just circumstantial supposition. My insurance deductible is $1000, and there's no way in heck I'd want to pay that much for the damage anyway. I'm hoping someone can tell me this is no more than $300 worth of damage (already more than I have available, but I can't let this deteriorate further) and that the entire bumper panel won't need replacing. Left unchecked, I fear the crack will continue upward. This simply puts me in a more precarious position in terms of being upside down on the loan.
I think you need more than kick to break bumper plastic? Still, not nice, there is always jealous people out there...
Unless they used some serious force? It certainly looks like a shoe imprint if you examine carefully. My supposition is this was done out of anger unrelated to the car (due to missing out on a few piddly items totaling $10 in our patio sale that they were expecting us to hold for 4 days without any word on when they'd pay), but again I have no proof. The timing is certainly suspect.
Sad, really sad... It's really disheartening that people have that much disrespect for other people's property. I only hope whoever did it twisted their ankle in the process...
Someone on here replaced their bumper skin for around $300. The process sounded pretty easy. Call your parts shop and see what the skin costs.
Bummer--not only in the sense of your car and the monetary damage but also the sad commentary on human behavior. I know next to nothing on this, but it might be worth giving a body shop (probably not Toyota) a call to see if it can be repaired rather than replaced (an outside chance, but worth a call). Depends on how 'perfect' you want it to look. On the plus side, since it was a kick (as opposed to being rear-ended), it's unlikely you'll find hidden damage underneath. Also, at least it was the bumper and not sheet metal. Still sucks, though. Good luck. ~T
Drilling a hole at the top of the crack should help to keep it from spreading further. In theory, you could remove the bumper cover and add some fibreglass on the back for strength.
Must be an epidemic. Had someone kick the side of my car for no apparent reason. Luckily I was inside it at the time, and there was a police witness so he got the book thrown at him. People are just idiotic. It is the upside of having a car that is silent when it is "on" is seeing all the things people do to cars nobody is in when you are actually in it. Got quotes for various prices. Still in legal proceedings over that, but will post once all is cleared.
It doesn't suprise me that things like this happen. But it does sadden me and make me greatly disappointed in humanity. Good luck. Listen, I know you just want answers and support, but I might recommend a more agressive car alarm... Because what would worry me, is if you have a neighbor who is "A" hole enough to do this in the first place? They might even delight in doing it again.... It's criminal behavior and property damage. Anyway, sorry....good luck with the repairs and here's hoping your neighbor isn't your neighbor for long....
Thanks, all. If my suspicions are correct, there may have been some motive (see my second post above), but it was very childish and was nowhere NEAR the loss they suffered by missing out on 2 piddly patio sale items. The alarm recommendation is a good one...though it happened on a day when I was selling speakers and had various other distractions. I got various quotes, from $375 for repair all the way to $700 for bumper replacement. I settled for the low end (at $435 after taxes)...taking it in the pants and going into worse debt, but that's the way of the world. The good news is I'm considering a move (the bad is the area where I'm headed has a rocky, gravel-laden 5-mile road to the property with one irksome ravine....one which I hope to personally improve with PVC pipes for drainage and pouring a base to smooth out the most offensive section).
If you pull the tow-hook plug off or the whole skin, you might be able to get the bumper to snap back flush (or from behind). Then if you polish the section out you should barely be able to tell it happened and won't cost you more than a bit of elbow grease and some polish if you don't have some already. Bumpers are pretty tough - I doubt the crack will get worse unless there is more external force applied to it.
I question how tough it is, if a single kick caused this kind of crack. It's already in the body shop now. Super glue might have taken care of the risk of further cracking, but with only 5000 miles, I'm not interested in these half measures.
What a dick move. There are plenty of people out there who hate us just for owning this car. Most of them are gas guzzling "global warming is a conspiracy" people, and some are just angry psycho kids. Either way, feast your eyes on this... I HATE THE TOYOTA PRIUS | Facebook Good luck with the fix. That really sucks!
haha, well, I'm actually skeptical of anthropogenic global warming, but that doesn't mean I can't see the writing on the wall for oil (the reserves are reportedly declining). However, this is all OT talk for a different thread. ;-) I think it was more of a vendetta and not necessarily politically motivated (again, see above ). That Facebook page is a riot, though (and immature). Of course this won't take care of the chipped paint from the debris (pebbles and rocks) that have riddled the bumper. I half debated gluing this one together and just adding a bra and calling it a day, but my mind won't rest knowing the visible defect is there, especially with how upside down on the loan I am.
File a small court claim on Judge Judy . Measure the footprint and see if your neighbor wears that size shoes. Did this person have a motive - exchanged words with you?
no eye witnesses, no court case. Even in small claims where it is just by the preponderance of the evidence, this situation is unfortunately unprovable unless you get him/her/them to admit it. Perhaps wear a wire and ask him/her why they kicked your car. Maybe they'll say "because blah" instead of just denying it in the heat of the moment. But I would just forget about it and park in a garage.
^haha, nice suggestion on the wire. It would have to be totally and wholly impromptu to catch her off-guard and would be sweet revenge when the bitch doesn't show up in court. She has friends, though (she's fairly big herself), and I don't really want to stir up a hornet's nest (I need some self-defense weaponry and training before I get too brazen). There's no available garage, but there is a well-lit hospital parking lot across the street (and out of direct view of this apartment) that is surveyed in the evenings at least. That is where I intend to park nonchalantly until the move. Blueumbrella, well, I didn't want to get into the tale of drama here (perfect Judge Judy material in fact), but...we've had some junk out on the patio for sale for the past week plus. She knocked a week ago today asking me about 2 items in particular. I said $8-10. She had to tend to her baby...later she came back and had us store them inside (apparently not saying WHEN she would have the cash)...after not hearing anything for a day we put them back outside the following evening. Then, we noticed a blanket mysteriously being placed on the items each morning (never hearing any knocks on the door or offers to pay up) as if to conceal/hide them for herself. This went on for 4 days without any communication between us. Finally, we gave these items away to a worthy family friend on Friday evening and on the following day (Saturday midafternoon), she asked me about them and I told her since we hadn't heard anything from her all week, that they went to a deserving family friend. She claimed she knocked 4 times over the course of the week...yet we never heard it. I apologized but made the honest claim that we never heard those knocks. Saturday evening just before 6:00 p.m, I needed to run an errand, only to find the shoeprint and bumper damage. I could only think, "What a coinkydink!" There was obviously a communication breakdown here, but the revenge allegedly and apparently enacted was far more costly than the loss they incurred by not procuring those 2 piddly items.
You should make a couple copies of your repair invoice and pin them to her front door daily for a couple days. When she comes over to ask Wth?! you can nonchalantly say, "well I knocked each day for the last 4 days but you never answered. you wouldn't happen to have seen who did this to my car would you?"
lmao, you guys have some excellent ideas. And I agree I would end up spending more than what I would receive back filing a small claim. Thanks for listening to my sordid tale of drama, destruction and debased human nature.
