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My girlfriend was rear ended yesterday morning in her 2001 Camry. I went to the accident to make sure her car was safe to drive before she left and at the time I only noticed that the rear bumper cover was severly scratched. After she got to her work one of her co workers noticed that in the top of the quarter panels on both sides there were slightly dented in. I met with her after work at a body shop and the estimator said that there was no way possible that it was caused in the accident. The inside of the trunk where the dents are seems to be straight and I didnt notice any thing unusuall. I dont know any other way how the car could have 2 identical dents on each side. Also the gaps on the deck lid were off in the back quite noticably even tho there isnt any apparent damage to it. Also if you stand behind the car and off to the side you can see how the rear of the deck lid where its verticle doesnt line up with the tailights in the quarter panels. Anyway both body shops that looked at the car said it was very interesting but they cant say for sure that it was caused from the accident but my girlfriend and I both know these dents were not there before the accident and they say they cant guarentee that the insurance company will authorize that part of the repair. Does any one know where I can get a drawing or picture of the rear crumple zones? All we are asking for is that the car is returned to the condition it was before the accident I dont think we should have to prove that but if it comes down to it I want to be armed with all the information possible.
So far the car has been to 2 different body shops for estimates and both of them claim there isnt any damage other than the bumper coverage. You know how insurance companies work not to many of them out there want to pay much.
If you havent already, I'd take it to a Toyota dealer ONLY after reading what the other body shops told you. The last thing you need is some body shop telling your insurance adjuster that the observed damage wasn't caused by the rear-end collision. A square-on rear end collision is the only thing that would cause matching puckers in both rear fenders. I don't know if the rear end has crumple zones the same as the front end does, because with the rear end you already have a somewhat natural buckle-zone at the rear wheelhouse area. My wife was rear-ended in her 1996 Buick Century wagon several years ago, and that's exactly where the body panels puckered. She was hit fairly hard by a full-size car, and it also showed very little bumper damage. Car was totaled.
I called the local toyota dealer yesterday and the guy I need to talk to wasnt there so I am going to see him today. He is supposed to have a book that shows the crumple zones and he is suppose to be very knowlegdeable. The only dealer in the area doesnt have a body shop. My girlfriend was in a 25 mph school zone when she got hit by a Ford mini van full of non english speakers so who knows how fast he was going. I would probably say he was speeding along pretty fast if he wasnt paying attention especially because she was at the bottom of a hill. There was a situation a few months ago in our area where all the body shops were set up by the police Or some other law enforcement agency and there were about 5 body shops that got busted for fraud, so its no wonder that they are all being extra carefull.
Too bad that Toyota dealer doesn't have a body shop, but it sounds like his knowledge would be helpful in this situation. If an independent body shop can't recognize crumple-zone involvement, they need not touch your g/f's car. Nothing but trouble ahead. A case like this is where you need a really straight-up professional body shop to look at it, and maybe set it up on a frame machine where they can measure critical areas.
My main concern with what you're describing is that a flunky body shop may do decent cosmetic repairs, but then later on down the road the real underbody damage may show up and drastically de-value the car. Also of concern is that the car may be slightly less safe if there's mild pre-existing crumple zone damage, effectively decreasing the amount of remaining crumple zone protection.
Sorry Im not real good with the computer or the digital camera last time I tried to install the camera program my computer gave me the blue screen of death and I have been scared to use it. The picture of the rear view is too small for me to be 100% possitive if the car is damaged or if its light and or another reflection.
All the more reason to take it to a qualified Toyota body shop, even if you have to drive a distance to get to a good one. Without pics, our collective opinions don't mean a whole lot.
Yesterday during her lunch break she took the car to the chrysler/ jeep dealer they have a good body shop from what I have seen and heard. The estimator looked out the window and the first thing he said was this looks bad. It was good to hear the first thing someone say something about the part the other shops were trying to get out of.
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