Small Fender Bender

[Ngkgb]

I accidentally backed up into another car this afternoon. Nobody was hurt and almost no damage to the other car and they didn’t want to exchange any info. I’ve included pictures and as you can see there is a small dent below the rear tail light, a scratch to the tail light, and some scuffs to the bumper. My friend who is an insurance agent says I shouldn’t file a claim since my rates will go way up. He referred me to a local body shop he sends a lot of clients to. Without actually seeing the car in person, do you think this is an appropriate course of action? I called Rivian and they gave me two certified Rivian repair shops but they’re a bit far away. Do you guys have any clue how much this might cost without going through insurance? Should I just file the claim and let insurance deal with it?

Thanks

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[SANZC02]

I would look for a decent paint less dent repair guy, looks like they could probably get that out.

 

[AdamsFan1983]

I accidentally backed up into another car this afternoon. Nobody was hurt and almost no damage to the other car and they didn’t want to exchange any info. I’ve included pictures and as you can see there is a small dent below the rear tail light, a scratch to the tail light, and some scuffs to the bumper. My friend who is an insurance agent says I shouldn’t file a claim since my rates will go way up. He referred me to a local body shop he sends a lot of clients to. Without actually seeing the car in person, do you think this is an appropriate course of action? I called Rivian and they gave me two certified Rivian repair shops but they’re a bit far away. Do you guys have any clue how much this might cost without going through insurance? Should I just file the claim and let insurance deal with it?

Thanks

Totalled

 

[COdogman]

I agree with your insurance friend. Even you just mentioning the words “insurance claim” when considering it probably already made your rates go up.

Also agree a good PDR guy could probably fix that. Not one of the cheap roadside guys - find the best in your area and pay him whatever he asks. It will still be less than the body shop charges you.

 

[Speedrye]

Definitely a PDR guy first. I suspect they're less likely to report work to Carfax as well.

 

[Donald Stanfield]

+3 on the PDR guy. This dent is pretty minor to start with, and a PDR guy should be able to pull this out to almost imperceptible if not completely fixed. It is almost guaranteed to get put into a condition where most people won't notice it anymore. Also if you factor in your deductible and factor in any possible cost of insurance premiums going up it will for sure be cheaper long term.

 

[ElCapiTan]

Definitely try paintless dent repair or suck it up and live with it as a battle scar.

 

[Ngkgb]

Thanks everyone! How about the scratch on the tail light cover. Guess I can just live with that and replace it down the road.

 

[COdogman]

Thanks everyone! How about the scratch on the tail light cover. Guess I can just live with that and replace it down the road.

Honestly I can’t even see a scratch on the TL lense in the photos. If it were me I would just fix the dent and leave it unless it just really bugs you. If that’s the case I would still wait until it’s possible for you to buy the cover and replace yourself.

 

[Tucker74]

Thanks everyone! How about the scratch on the tail light cover. Guess I can just live with that and replace it down the road.

They can likely polish that out at the same time, or a shop that does “headlight restoration“ certainly could.

 

[virgnia_rivian]

Paintless dent repair all the way. That should be a relatively easy fix.

 

[NY_Rob]

if you factor in your deductible and factor in any possible cost of insurance premiums going up it will for sure be cheaper long term.

This!

If you can't find a PDR guy... go to some of your local car dealers and ask them who they use. They all have one, and a detailer and a tint guy and a wheel reconditioner guy.

 

[M4H4X]

Tail light scratch can be fixed or at least minimized with a little wet sanding.

 

[Inkedsphynx]

Plenty have already said go with a PDR but I'll also agree with those. That panel will cost you a fortune to replace, since it means the entire side of the truck would have to be replaced. It's one of the many features and quirks of an R1T

Anyway, yea, I'd get the dent taken care of by PDR and probably ignore the rest, but that's just me.

 

[Ngkgb]

Quick update. Went to body shop
Recommended by my friend who he refers a lot of clients to. He wants to charge 1500 to fix the dent. Says he needs to remove tail light and the housing over the bed and then paint the whole panel. My friend said he could talk him down to 500. A mobile PDR company came out and said PDR will be difficult because of the thickness of the body panel
Where the dent is? They then wanted to charge me 1500 for the same thing the other body shop wanted to do. I’m very hesitant to let people who’ve never worked on a Rivian remove any housing or panels. Maybe lm
Being overly cautious. I have two mobile PDRs coming out next week. If they can just fix the dent I can live with the rest.

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