Pulled into a parking lot and . . . WHAM!!!

[GasSavers_GasUser]

Originally Posted by JanGeo

Yeah the bumper is the problem since the upper part is one piece and goes under the hatch all the way to the other side - they claim they can fix and repaint it. The quarter panel is another issue since it is double wall and is part of the interior containing the wiring for the lights and the fuel venting system. You can't tell from this angle but the whole area around the gas cap door is buckled in a couple of inches - concave instead of convex and the lines of that area would be really hard to reform to the exact shape - lots of compound curves. The paint actually cracked off the metal even along the front lower edge of the gas door. The rear driver side door gap is just about perfect maybe a little tighter than it is supposed to be to the wheel well. The tail light actually scuffed the rear hatch as it was pushed in but the hatch should only require a little touch up. That area is structural so it has to be properly repaired - the shock tower is right on the inside of the gas door plus the tow hook is behind that side of the bumper. Just hoping that the rear side window glue is not affected - wouldn't want that baby popping out. As it is right now there is an inner wall seal that is broken so the cabin is venting out into the hole and as it is raining I have to be concerned about water getting into the trunk area too.
I had a second quote from a really good body shop and it was $2800 and they only charge $65 an hour basically the same parts price and quoting system just a slightly higher hourly rate than the dealer?? Sort of unexpected. Hey have to support the local Scion dealer - wish that they were there when I purchased it - loaners are given from the purchased dealer.

Ok, if that's the case, you better have it fixed. If they find additional damage that was not apparent when they looked at it, then they (the estimating ins co. is required to pay for it.

Just a thought.

[R.I.D.E.]

Cut the quarter out a replace it, if your shop actually replaced the whole panel would compromise the factory sealing in that area way beyond any straightening repair.

The window is glued with a structural adhesive, the same type that holds the windshield in. Its so tough to keep the windshield from being blown out of the car by the airbags.

My bud whose family owns the body shop would fix that for $500 + parts. Looks like the tailight is what you need.

If you do not owe any money on the car, you don't have to repair it. Another option is to get it basically aligned resealed and replace the tail light and pocket a nice chunk of non taxed cash. If you owe money on the car that is usually not an option.

As far as trade in value I took my daughters CRV to Car Max and they could tell the quarter had been replaced and deducted value for that. The total damage to her Honda was over 8K.

In Virginia there is a law that allows the car owner to sue the insurance company for diminished value, even though the vehicle has been repaired. Check your state laws to see if that applies to your situation. The insurance company will fight you tooth and nail on that suit, but you can use it as leverage for a higher claim settlement.

regards
gary

[JanGeo]

It is paid for so that is not the issue - it still is basically a new car and still has the new car smell in it with just over 25k miles on it and only ONE OIL CHANGE ha ha.
Getting the paint to match up again would be a lot of work and it is under and around the gas cap so any paint there is exposed to gas overflow and acetone etc so best of baked on by the dealer. you can't tell from the photo but it is a very complex curved surface. No one will repair it for less and do a good job. The paint alone was almost $300 on the estimate. There is just a lot of work to do to that area and like I said there is an inner chamber for the tail light wiring. The Tail Light assembly is $56 and marker is something like $24 and IS an LED light - which I didn't realize. The critical thing is there is NO seams to paint a line to so it has to be properly blended and I don't know how they are going to do it but that's why they are the experts.
Good to know about the window glue I wondered about that - the rear window is the same way on the hatch looks cool but scary that it hold onto it that well.

[theholycow]

Originally Posted by JanGeo

Getting the paint to match up again would be a lot of work and it is under and around the gas cap so any paint there is exposed to gas overflow and acetone etc so best of baked on by the dealer.

The only way to perfectly match the color is custom-blended by the body shop. A pre-painted factory-baked part isn't sun/salt/age-faded like yours is. (I thought that they don't sell pre-painted parts anyway). I guess if you're saying that the dealer can custom-match it and bake it manufacturer-style...

[JanGeo]

Yeah they can and Polar White doesn't fade . . . not the way I take care of it. The touchup paint I got last year was such a exact match I could not see where I put it on other then the bump from the pit that I filled. Hey if they buff the entire car and take out some scratches here and there it may be worth it. I will try to get them to push out the dent in the front fender that has been bugging me for 2 years now too. Be great if the repaint the rear bumper too since that takes a beating from the dirt that lands on the top surface.

[JanGeo]

Well so much for renting a Prius while my xB is in the shop, not going to happen - only a Yaris...

Got some gas today and opened the gas door and wow it was close . . . the hole is squished a little from the hit - lucky the opening around the filler is a big rubber membrain with a lot of give to it. You can't tell from the photo but the whole side is pushed in about 2 inches...

[JanGeo]

Ok dropped the baby off this past Monday and drove away with a Suzuki SX4 with only 278 miles on the clock - talk about a new car smell. GOD automatics are so different to drive. I started with 1 line over half a tank and by Thursday I had the low gas light coming on after only driving it very gently for 125 miles and was down to the last line above E... it is a 13.2 gallon tank and it needs it.

My xB has the rear quarter panel already replaced as of yesterday afternoon but they leave the car open in the dusty body shop so they are going to have to do some really serious cleaning in there - hope they don't screw up the plastics with the wrong cleaners. They joked about the new car smell being replaced with the spray paint body shop smell - I was not amused. Darn phone camera didn't record the photo I took of it - stupid display acting up going blank and the memory card not able to record a photo maybe because it had too many photos in it to deal with it properly. It looks good but they DO use puddy to blend in the seams so it is NOT the all one piece of metal that it was from the factory. They took apart the interior in the rear left side including the left back of the rear seat and molding all around the left rear window. It reallly looks ugly without the rear bumper body molding too. Not a lot of metal under that to handle any amount of impact either.

I should have her back by next Wednesday. Hopefully my upgraded ScanGaugeII should return by then!!! Have not heard from them yet.

[JanGeo]

Well I got my baby back tonight and it looks ok but from a distance the RejeX Polished trunk lid is a bit yellower than the new paint on the rear bumper and the left side - they painted the left side rear door to match the rear quarter panel . . . not sure it was really necessary. The finish inside the hatch area is not quite right and the left taillight is a little softly mounted with a noticable gap at the top which doesn't match the other side the same but all in all it is looking good. I don't care for the chemical cleaner they used inside the car however - really stinks - hope it clears out quickly.

[JanGeo]

Well after all that work they did to match the color of the paint is sure looks different because of the RejeX polish on the older parts that were not painted turning the white color a little more yellow. The new tail light assembly is not installed far enough into the body and they hopefully only took off the left rear wheel because it took a 1/4 turn with the breaker bar to get the nuts to start turning easier - no way could I remove them with the stock lug wrench. Other than that it is making me sick with the smell of the cleaner they used.