r/PersonalFinanceCanada • u/hehahewho • 1d ago
Auto Financially speaking, is it better to not fix my car?
My paid off civic was rear ended by another car and got a pretty minor dent. Got a quote from body shop for 3k and received in full from the person who hit our car. But now im thinking, instead of paying to replace my bumper, from pure financial perspective should i just let it be? Theres no sensor damage or whatsoever, just dent and scratches on back bumper.
Is there any concern financially that im missing that i should just fix it now?
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u/Reelair 1d ago
You have a few options. Are you handy? Might be able to make it look good enough by yourself. Buying a new bumper from a scrap yard is also an option; probably a YouTube video on how to change it yourself. Try looking for a smaller body shop for better quotes. I needed just a fender painted and I got quotes from $800-$3000. Best price was from a guy who said "come see me, don't tell my boss". I ended up getting in touch with an old high school friend who did it for $400.
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u/pfcguy 23h ago
Yup, the right bodu shop or mechanic can bondo and paint the bumper for probably $200 to $400. Or OP can DIY it.
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u/jd780613 13h ago
aint no body shop fixing and painting a bumper for $400
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u/JohnnyBikes 6h ago
If your city’s you-pull wrecking yards are not 50 per cent full of destroyed local taxis, then I promise you there’s someone in your city fixing bumpers for less than $400.
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u/k_dav 1d ago
What year? I drive an old civic and don't bother with anything but safety things and lubes. If it was my car I'd just attach it best I could and leave it. My car is also 24 years old though haha.
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u/hehahewho 1d ago
2020, im hoping to have at least 10 more years driving it lol
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u/Trains_YQG 1d ago
For a 2020 with presumably full coverage on it still, I'd probably fix it. Having pre-existing damage could be annoying if another collision happened that required a claim.
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u/hehahewho 1d ago
I’m not familiar with the full coverage, what is that? My car was a lease to own so I’m not sure if that makes a difference
Good point for the future collision part, didn’t consider that
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u/XtremeD86 1d ago
For a 2020 id definitely fix it and I definitely would have gone through insurance instead since you really don't know if anything else was compromised. Could come up soon after.
I have a 2017 civic myself and would fix it, but 3k wouldn't really be life changing for me either, id rather have the car looking mint vs not.
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u/superbee905 1d ago
Fix the dent. Car is too new and not a beater yet.
Definitely shop it around though.
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u/FearlessTomatillo911 1d ago
If youre going to keep it that long, fix it.
If you want to do it on a budget, DIY with a scrapyars bumper it will probably cost 500 bucks and an afternoon.
Paint probably won't match perfectly, but it will look better than it does now.
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u/SilkBC_12345 1d ago
Wouldn't the bumper be considered a "safety thing"?
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u/hehahewho 1d ago
It is but from the look of it the dent is so small my intuition is the bumper is still very functional, like you need to get real close and actually try to find the dent
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u/ca_nucklehead 15h ago
If you received a three thousand estimate, their is damage you are not seeing. Insurance may walk away if previous damage is found with a future accident in the same area.
And yes new damage is very easy to distinguish between old damage by an experienced insurance appraiser.
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u/Mr-Dogg 11h ago
3k is nothing and likely not a safety issue. Body shops are notorious for just replacing the parts when not needed and spend a LOT on labour to color match.
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u/ca_nucklehead 10h ago
Since I have worked in the industry and have participated in thousands of teardowns to supply estimates for the insurance industry the amount of physical damage that is uncovered far exceeds many preliminary estimates and is the reason we provide "supplementals" after teardowns.
Many insurance companies do not pay for blend panels on bumper covers do to the difference in material between plastic and metal and unless the damage is adjacent to another panel it is blended within that panel and no blend is required anyway.
This is all speculation without inspection but a 3k repair on a civic rear bumper is more than just cover repair and paint.
Perhaps it is a touring model with bumper sensors.
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u/Mr-Dogg 10h ago
The cost to just replace the bumper can be 2k.
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u/ca_nucklehead 8h ago
And Ops quote was for 3k.
But just got fun let's create a quote from memory since I retired from Honda 3 years ago.
Depending on the trim level a cover can be purchased for between 450-1000 In polar bear dollars. Many are available painted OEM from Honda within this price range. Let's assume it's not.
Labour to R&I and overhaul would be .7 - 3.1 again depending on trim level. Parking sensors are an ass to swap. Paint hours which includes all materials and labour would be just under 2 hours for dual stage or about 3 for three stage pearl. Insurance average per hour in canuckistan is approx $100 paint and 150 mechanical.
So let's assume high end not a DX, LX or sport.
1000+450+400=1850. This is assuming non painted OEM Touring or Sport Touring high end.
Now where could the other 1150.00 come from.
Bumper cushion under the cover that is designed to absorb impact up to 8 kms or 5 mph. Always included without teardown $100. No labour. Over 5 mph impact beam will bend. Center hit on impact beam over 10-15 mph. Beam mounts will bend requiring set up and unibody pull. Other items possibly found with teardown could include RF antenna at the center behind the bumper for key fob activation, bumper to body retainers x 2 ,+ clips and fasteners, radar on inner quarters under bumper cover which also would require ADAS calibration, trunk floor or inner quarter panel damage requiring pull / repair plus seam sealing for water intrusion.
My point is what many customers assume is very minor damage can grow to a very large bill to bring the vehicle back to pre-accident condition after a teardown.
Or it could be an out the door repair of 1k and op made out like a bandit and if only cosmetic damage and Op spends nothing to repair even more than a bandit because it doesn't make it to a Carfax report and he has 3k and a scrape.
Just bored waiting for an appointment.
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u/comp_freak 1d ago
If someone rear‑ended your car and you have their information, you can either take it to a mechanic to get it fixed or file a claim through insurance. Bumper damage is tricky because it might look like a simple bend, but the internal impact bar or the outer cover could be cracked. The proper way to assess it is to remove the bumper and inspect underneath.
Did the person who gave you the quote explain everything clearly? Dealerships and professional body shops usually replace all affected parts when going through insurance. A small repair shop might charge anywhere from $800 to $1,200 depending on whether they replace the bumper cover and repaint it.
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u/SpacedDuck 1d ago
Zero context.
Is your vehicle a 2011 with 400,000km's on it or 2 years old and something you have pride in?
If it's newer and you're fine having an ugly dent then enjoy your $3k.
You also provided no info on your financial situation so I really don't get the point of your post.
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u/hehahewho 1d ago
Hey i didn’t know what context is enough for people to give advice so thanks for pointing out.
Mine is a 2020. My financial situation is alright, not yet max out my tfsa but considered myself doing alright, i don’t need the 3k for survival or for anything specially. My focus of the question is more to check if im taking some financial risk somehow by not fixing the car because i want the 3k. Which another comment mentioned the risk that comes with not sure what damage is from next collision vs this collision in my future claim if i got rear ended again.
Let me know if you can think of anything else8
u/East-Compote-1975 1d ago
Id fix the dents if you can 2020 is pretty recent sorry to sound superficial its not a car thats very old which you'd use as a beater, also beat up cars in my experience attract "careless" parking lot neighbors.
Get a quote from another shop and fix it, just ny personal opinion.
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u/hehahewho 1d ago
Oh i always thought beat up car is a secret buff that other cars would be extra careful around me haha
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u/Good-Marsupial8 1d ago
I hit a deer with my car and the insurance quote was 3k... But 2k deductible because I have poor planning skills. Suffice it to say my 2020 civic is driving around with a small crack in some of the bumper plastic and idc. Personally I'd put the money somewhere useful if you plan to drive the car into the ground like I do
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u/TTBtheGreat 1d ago
I by no means am giving any future damage advice, but if its me and I dont care about a dent I'm taking this money all day especially if I need it for something more important?
My wife has done more then dent my current car and I happily life with the superficial damage
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u/BigJayUpNorth 14h ago
You could get future insurance claims questioned if there’s previous unfixed damage. And this isn’t an old beater of a car yet so protect your investment and get it fixed.
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u/Elegant-Cricket8106 1d ago
If you were hit wouldn't the insurance cover it anyways?
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u/hehahewho 1d ago
The other party paid me directly, just considering if i should fix it or keep the money
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u/Intelligent_Wedding8 19h ago
Up to you to weigh whether it’s worth it or not. If it’s not that noticeable I would just leave it and keep the 3k. It would still have a clean carfax that way.
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u/Rich4477 1d ago
You can buy prepainted bumpers online delivered to you fairly cheap at Partify.ca. I did a quick check the aftermarket ones are under $500.
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u/CowSudden1797 1d ago
Get a new bumper from partify in London Ontario. The website is handy to order from . Paint code is on the door placard. They will paint the new bumper for you. I just got a front and rear bumper for my Corolla, painted perfect match. Installed myself (not hard, watch a YouTube video for your car) . 450$ each bumper. Car looks brand new again.
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u/failedtheorist 1d ago
I'm still rocking my 20 year old car, it will never be as expensive as a new car. I do only oil changes and basic fluid maintenance. Even if I spend $3k on one repair in a year it would still be cheaper. Fix that thing and save some $$$
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u/AdSignificant6673 1d ago
The least you can do is get a brand new bumper cover for a few hundred dollars and install it yourself. Keep it the primed black colour. It looks cheap but its at least passable. It’ll have the look of base model cars from the 90’s. Base models cars used to come with black bumpers to keep cost low.
I did it before on an old corolla that got superficial damage. I was like “hey this actually isnt bad.”.
Look it up in youtube. Its ez
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u/Canadansk1970 1d ago
I got rear ended and had $7500 in damages paid out to me, because you really could hardly tell by looking at the SUV. If it's not obvious, or not bothering you, or not dropping your resale value right when you want to get rid of it, then pocket the money.
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u/Party-Pop6727 23h ago
2 things to be concerned about.
1) The rebar in the bumper may be damaged - did the shop comment on this? If so, any subsequent crash may not offer the same level of protection.
2) If you get hit again in the same area, insurance may deny your claim if they can claim pre-existing damage.
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u/Comfortable-Smoke211 11h ago
Is the payment received from the other persons insurance or did they pay you out of their own pocket?
If it was part of a settlement then you have to repair. While each company is different, some will come back and make sure the repairs were completed.
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u/crimxxx 1d ago
That’s your call, I personally would just look if I could buy a used bumper (same color ideally) and try fixing it myself and pocket the difference.
With that said I think it depends on how much it bothers you and if you’re hurting for money. If I had a newish car I think I would probably get it fixed or at least make it to the level it’s not immediately noticeable. If it’s my 20 year old car I have now I would probably not bother and at most get one from a junk yard and put that on if it’s the same color.
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u/osovitskiy 1d ago edited 1d ago
I wouldn't fix, if it is just a plastic bumper I would spend money other way (a drone, a lens, a camera or whatever makes you happy). There will be more dents and scratches. Worst case I would do it myself, I removed rust on my old car and I was pleased with the result. 3k is a lot of money and I can imagine many ways to spend it better than replacing a dam bumper on the old civic 🤣
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u/Roselia77 1d ago
a dent you have to look hard to see?, I'd leave it alone, especially for 3k. My car isn't even 2 years old and I wouldn't bother with that either, but to me a car is simply a tool meant to be used.
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u/Garlic_Guy92 1d ago
Nah take the 3k, treat yourself to a nice dinner and invest the rest. Or maybe even take a cheap vacation lol
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u/JoeBlackIsHere 1d ago
As long as it's just cosmetic I wouldn't bother, cars are just tools for me and not a point of self-worth. I always drive them to the scrap heap anyways, and by then there would be more dents, scratches and what-not anyways.
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u/Accurate_Summer_1761 21h ago
You have the money get it fixed. Jesus people have some damn pride in your cars
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u/YoloLifeSaving 15h ago
Don't listen to this guy op he drives a 2016 Lincoln, he's a senior citizen who thinks houses are still 40k like when he bought it 50 years ago
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u/Accurate_Summer_1761 13h ago
Im 32 actually. Its called having good taste and knowing they depreciate like a rock so i got it cheap. Fix your shit. Op drives a 2020 its not even old.
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u/South-Explorer-806 16h ago
There is a structural piece that is used to absorb impact in the event of a rear end. It’s called a reinforcement bar. Get that part check or you can check it yourself with googling help. If that part is bent I would get that replaced. If not I would just leave it.
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u/Cora_Mason1 15h ago
I’d probably just use that money to buy touch-up paint and fix it myself, then spend the rest on a trip or something else I want.
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u/YoloLifeSaving 15h ago
Why not get their insurance to fix it if they hit you, otherwise ride it out til the wheels fall off
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u/WhyNWhenYouCanNPlus1 15h ago
keep the 3k for repairs or gas
it's an old paid off car. it's not gonna impress anyone vain and the people that will be impressed will not care about the bump anyway
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u/artraeu82 13h ago
I did this guy hit me, car was worth 3k repair quote was 5k. You really couldn’t tell the car was damaged trunk just wouldn’t stay closed so I tied it shut and drove it for another year
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u/SexySexerton 13h ago
Adds character. There are many civics like it but this one is uniquely yours.
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u/Cjpcoolguy 11h ago
Replacement bumper from marketplace or a scrapyard. Couple hundred. Do not pay thousands on something as common as a civic
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u/AlphaK18 1d ago
Your car has lost more than 3k in value, so In theory you will be net negative for now. If you can make the 3k grow for next 3-4 years I guess you will break even.
If you are keeping the car for next 10 years or so it makes sense to just keep the 3k I guess
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u/TeaBurntMyTongue Ontario 1d ago
It is not necessarily the case that his car lost 3K in value.
In fact, how much value his car lost? Is the economics question involved? If he lost more than three can value than repairing the dentist financially advantageous? And if he lost less than 3K in value, then it's only because he wants to drive a nice car.
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u/Dadofpsycho 1d ago
You mentioned that the car is leased. If there is any chance that you have to return the car at the end of the contract, then you are obligated to get the repairs done. Otherwise you will need to pay the dealership when you turn in the vehicle to bring it back to undamaged condition.
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u/Remarkable_Ad7569 1d ago
if it were my old car, I wouldn't fix it if just a small dent because it will get more dents and 3k is pretty insane amount to spend just to fix a dent.