Had the unfortunate experience today rear ending someone on the way back from class. There was no apparent damage to the other person's vehicle (SUV) so there was no exchange of information other than basic pleasantries. The following pictures were taken as soon as I got home. I would estimate that I was going maybe 15-20mph at the point of impact; as I slammed on the brakes. All the damage appears to be superficial, however I'm planning on bringing it into a couple body shops to get estimates. I was wondering how much repairing this might cost? This is my first car and very first accident and I'm a little worried about the potential for frame damage. Also since I won't be able to bring my car in to a shop until next tuesday at the earliest, is there a chance that driving my car in this condition could worsen it? Any help is appreciated!

 

I doubt that you were going 15-20 mph at impact. Looks more like 5-7mph. Anyway, looks like about $2000-$2500 or more to fix. In the meantime, although it's hard to tell by your pictures if there is related internal damage; it looks safe to drive until you can get it fixed.

Good luck...virg

 

Looking at that damage - as long as its not pulling to one side should be ok. Look down the sides of the car from the front - you will see if its offline.

You may be ok with the frame as its a very central looking hit but i reckon Virg's figure will be somewhere close - definite insurance job

 

Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. A first accident w/any new or new-to-you car is always sad.
Glad no one was hurt though. that will make it ten times... 100 times worse.

I also agree that Virgil's estimate is pretty accurate (I hope.)
You will almost certainly need to replace the bumper crush support (foam,) bumper cover and grill. If a new hood is required, and especially if you plan to pay for this out of pocket, look into used parts. You might get lucky and find one that was hit from behind or side that still has the front clip intact.

 

So I brought it into my local body shop and was told that it would cost a little over $2500 to repair (thanks virgil for the extremely accurate estimate). When I looked over the sheet to see how the cost was distributed, over half of it was labor costs. Is that right? The parts themselves seemed reasonably priced as well as the painting job, but $1400 for labor seems a bit excessive.... The shop also said that it would be about a 4 day job.

 

sounds about right, the labor is the high part of the bill.