Using car insurance vs paying for the repair outright?

[Kitsune]

A rock hit the spot between my windshield and the top of the car, which means that the paint on the top of the car is chipped (hello, rust), and the windshield has a nice spiderweb effect (hello, 500$).

This is something I CAN claim insurance for.

My question, having never done this: how does one evaluate whether it's better to pay the repair outright (which I can, obv) vs claiming it from the insurance (cheaper upfront, but rising rates...?)

[PoutineLover]

I wouldn't claim anything on my insurance if I didn't have to. I'm not sure how much it would go up exactly, but with the deductible and making a claim, I bet you'd come out ahead just paying it yourself. My insurance is for catastrophic only, stuff I can't afford to cover myself. You could try doing an online quote and put in 1 claim or 2 claims (since any incident after this would bump you up to 2) vs no claims to see how much it changes the rate you'd get.

[JLee]

Do you have glass coverage?

[Blueberries]

Some policies have free windshield replacement where it won't impact your rates.  I'd look into that first.  Otherwise, I wouldn't use my insurance for these issues.

If the above doesn't apply to you, several years ago we had to replace a windshield and went through Costco (I think they used Safelite?) and it was pretty painless.

[FIRE 20/20]

If you tell the glass company you will be paying out of pocket rather than going through insurance the cost can come down dramatically.  I had a to replace a windshield a few years ago, and the cost was ~$600.  When I said I'd be paying cash it dropped to ~$350.  That was the largest drop I've experienced, but with auto glass I've always paid somewhat less by skipping insurance.  Call around - replacing auto glass isn't difficult. 

[wolderiii]

I replaced a windshield last year for around 225.  a lot of places will come to you next day and install it.  if you are paying for glass coverage on your insurance than i would use it.  what's the point of paying for it if you aren't going to use it? something like this shouldn't impact your rates.

paint chip you can possibly just get touch up paint for at auto zone, etc...  should be around 15.00

[Kitsune]

Thanks for the advice!

I don't have glass coverage specifically, so the deductible applies (but thanks for reminding me to check!), so at that point I'm just going to pay cash.

I called 3 different garages, and the prices were all similar, if outrageous... so, ok. And for the dent, I am in fact getting sand paper and paint and fuck the dent, because I got a 700$ quote to repair a minor chip, and whoa people PAY that??

Full disclosure: I just want my nice reliable affordable Prius to keep running reliably for years and years. A barely noticeable dent that isn't rusting is FINE. A cracked windshield is not.mso I'm fixing accordingly.