Fender Bender - should I go to insurance?

[zolotiyeruki]

Last night, DD got into a minor car accident.  Not her fault--the other driver was pulling out of a parking lot, didn't see her coming, and DD's left front fender clipped the other driver's rear wheel arch.

Damage:
Other car: a gouge (maybe 1/4" x 1") in the plastic of the rear wheel arch.
Our car:  smashed parking/side marker/turn signal lens, chip out of the bumper cover (which was already cracked), larger dent in the front fender

For context, our car is a '97 Geo Prizm (Toyota Corolla under the hood, we call it "Geota") with 160k miles and a fair amount of rust on the back end.

Question: Should I take our car in to a body shop, get an estimate, and submit it to insurance, or just pound out the dent, glue the bumper back together, get a replacement marker light from a salvage yard, and let the other driver off the hook?  Or is there a third option?

Reasons to pursue a claim:
--Our car gets fixed!
--There's a decent chance that the minor damage will still total it, due to its age and low value (we paid $1750).  If it got totalled, we'd definitely buy it back from the insurance company, pound out the dent, replace the light, and pocket the cash

Reasons not to file a claim:
--It's our beater, the one the teens drive.  It's already rusty, the opposite fender is dented, and there's a good chance this car will see more such damage in its life.
--The damage appears to be purely aesthetic, although I would definitely replace the side marker light.
--Paying it forward, i.e. the Golden Rule.  Several months ago, one of our teens had a minor bump in a parking lot, and the other driver decided to let it go.  We were super grateful for their generosity.
--It's a hassle.  Our lives are already super busy, and being down a car while it's getting repaired would be rather inconvenient.
--Philosophically speaking, it's economically silly. The cost to process the claim and get the car repaired far exceeds any practical "loss" we are incurring due to the damage.

What suggestions do you all have?

[Sibley]

Is the other driver going through insurance? Might make a difference.

[GuitarStv]

To me, this kind of thing depends entirely on the damage.  I've been in a couple no-fault accidents.  One required some body work and damaged the crumple thingie under the rear bumper.  This didn't look bad but ended up being pretty expensive (and would reduce the ability of the car to deal with a future collision), so I went through insurance and got it properly repaired.  One was just a scrape/ding on the rear passenger door.  It was just cosmetic, so I just let it go.

[ChpBstrd]

My suggestion is to enjoy the bliss and luxury of driving a '97 prism. Order a new lens off Ebay and go about your life not having to worry about parking lot dings. Teach DD how to fix things themselves.

That said, if the other driver is filing a claim and the accident was reported to police, you're in for some paperwork, so you might as well pursue payment. In this scenario you get hundreds of dollars in exchange for signing papers, and you can apply this to the next beater someday. Hey, that's fancy living too, isn't it!

[reeshau]

Is the other driver going through insurance? Might make a difference.

To this point: how new was the other car?  If it was leased, the lease may require them to file an insurance claim.

[merula]

Do you have an independent insurance agent, or did you go direct to your insurance carrier? (State Farm, Allstate, Farmers, etc. are all agents that work for the carrier, so I would group them in with the second one.)

If you have an independent agent, I would ask them. This does NOT require making a claim, but the "do you think this is worth pursuing a claim" is exactly the kind of question you're paying them for, and they can answer knowing your state, the kinds of rate increases that are going out with and without claims history, and how this impacts young drivers specifically.

If you don't have an independent agent, what's your deductible? If it's under $500 or if you have one of those deductible forgiveness thingies, that might sway me to make a claim despite the headache. On the other hand, I also generally say that people should have as high of a deductible as they can afford.

[seattlecyclone]

If it's the other person's fault it would be their insurance paying out, right? Might start by asking the driver to make you an offer to compensate you for the damage outside the insurance system so it doesn't go on their record. Given the value of the car I'd consider a pretty low offer to be reasonable.

Awesome that you're still driving a '97 Prizm! That was my first car, only gave it up because keeping a second car was more trouble than it was worth after moving to Seattle, my wife's car was newer, and she can't drive a stick anyway.

[terran]

I might try to get some money either from the other driver or their insurance (if from them personally then how much depends how nice you feel like being), but wouldn't fix a car that old beyond what's needed to make it drivable and pass inspections. I wouldn't be worrying about how it looks and would pocket the difference.

[zolotiyeruki]

To clarify, it's totally the other driver's fault, so any claim would be against their insurance, not ours. 

Awesome that you're still driving a '97 Prizm! That was my first car, only gave it up because keeping a second car was more trouble than it was worth after moving to Seattle, my wife's car was newer, and she can't drive a stick anyway.

We've only had the Prizm for under two years.  It was purchased to replace my '95 Corolla that got totalled, and I miss my old car :(

My suggestion is to enjoy the bliss and luxury of driving a '97 prism. Order a new lens off Ebay and go about your life not having to worry about parking lot dings. Teach DD how to fix things themselves.

That said, if the other driver is filing a claim and the accident was reported to police, you're in for some paperwork, so you might as well pursue payment. In this scenario you get hundreds of dollars in exchange for signing papers, and you can apply this to the next beater someday. Hey, that's fancy living too, isn't it!

Oh, believe me, I LOVE the bliss that comes from driving older cars.  If it were just a matter of a dented fender, I wouldn't have even brought it up.  Just pound it back out and go on our merry way.  The strongest negative emotion I'm feeling is slight annoyance at having to replace that side marker light.

And DD *is* learning how to fix things herself.  She's hit the garbage can twice while backing out of the driveway.  The first incident took out a side mirror, the second broke a tail light.  I took her with me to the salvage yard for replacements, and worked with her to make the repair.  She rolls her eyes at me now, but she'll thank me later.  I hope.

I might try to get some money either from the other driver or their insurance (if from them personally then how much depends how nice you feel like being), but wouldn't fix a car that old beyond what's needed to make it drivable and pass inspections. I wouldn't be worrying about how it looks and would pocket the difference.

My inclination is to reach out to the driver, and basically say "hey, we don't think it's worth the hassle of body shops and insurance companies, will you pay for a new light and we'll forget the whole thing?"  What do you think would be an appropriate way to word it?

It looks like I can get a replacement corner light for about $25 on eBay.  Another $35 gets me a plastic welder from Amazon for fixing up the bumper.

[BlueHouse]

To clarify, it's totally the other driver's fault, so any claim would be against their insurance, not ours. 

Not her fault--the other driver was pulling out of a parking lot, didn't see her coming, and DD's left front fender clipped the other driver's rear wheel arch.

Are you positive that insurance/police wouldn't put your DD at fault?  I always heard that if the front of your car hit another car, you're found at fault.  Even based just on your statement, couldn't the same situation be framed as your DD didn't see the other driver pulling out? 

[zolotiyeruki]

The other driver was pulling out of a parking lot. At least according to DD, she slammed on the brakes but there wasn't enough time to stop.

Are you positive that insurance/police wouldn't put your DD at fault?  I always heard that if the front of your car hit another car, you're found at fault.  Even based just on your statement, couldn't the same situation be framed as your DD didn't see the other driver pulling out? 

I think that's generally true if you're following someone, because you should always leave sufficient following distance.  If everyone drove in such a way that they could stop if someone unexpectedly pulled out in front of them, we'd all be driving at 15 mph.

[Loren Ver]

I drive a 2003 miata that other people like to hit while it is parked.  My vote is if i can still drive is safely and legally then no problem. 

It now has a big dent in the door where someone backed into it, and bolts holding on the bumper where someone nearly tore it off.  Poor girl :(.  She looks less classy and more mad max every year.

Loren

[zolotiyeruki]

My sister, who lives in the DC area, likes to drive around a beater, because it's intimidating to other drivers in their nice, pristine luxury cars.  I.e. "it won't bug me if we happen to swap paint, so it's YOU who has to be careful!"

[ChpBstrd]

My sister, who lives in the DC area, likes to drive around a beater, because it's intimidating to other drivers in their nice, pristine luxury cars.  I.e. "it won't bug me if we happen to swap paint, so it's YOU who has to be careful!"

This is another reason to buy cars with existing body damage and not fix it. You want to look like the bad driver everyone else on the road should look out for. And if somebody hits you in the already damaged spot, it's free money.

[Adventine]

My sister, who lives in the DC area, likes to drive around a beater, because it's intimidating to other drivers in their nice, pristine luxury cars.  I.e. "it won't bug me if we happen to swap paint, so it's YOU who has to be careful!"

This is another reason to buy cars with existing body damage and not fix it. You want to look like the bad driver everyone else on the road should look out for. And if somebody hits you in the already damaged spot, it's free money.

Plus your car is a low-value target to anyone thinking of breaking in a window and stealing your stuff (or the car itself!). This is one of the main reasons we drive an old dusty manual transmission car.

@zolotiyeruki
let us know what solution you eventually choose!

[Taran Wanderer]

I like the settle it without insurance and pay it forward idea, especially if the other driver has been nice and pleasant throughout the process.