First time poster, so please be kind.

My spouse was driving our ES 300 on the freeway when a truck ahead of her lost some sort large object from the back of their truck . She didn't have much time to react and decided the best course of action was to run over it. It tore off half of the underbody paneling + the entire paneling section around the passenger side wheel well.

Thankfully, there doesn't appear to be any serious damage aside from losing so much paneling.

Car appears to be fine otherwise. I got down and poked my head around to look for any damage and everything seems fine otherwise. No leaks. She drove the car like this for around 20 miles before coming home.

We recently had a job loss, so money is tight and so I'd rather not spend the money to get this fixed if I don't have to. I haven't researched cost, but I'd guess probably $100-200 in labor + parts - so probably like $300-500 or so I'm guessing.

If we continue to drive the vehicle as is - is there any serious concern for damage to the car?

If this is something that ought to be fixed, how long of a delay is reasonable?

 

Shouldn't your insurance cover it? There should not be any deductible since it was not your fault.

It shouldn't even count against your claims records. Hopefully she noted the license number of the truck that lost the piece. It will make the claim easier.

 

I can call my insurance and find out. However, I find it very unlikely that they will cover it. Just a few weeks ago a rock from a cement truck on the freeway cracked the windshield on the ES 300. We called the insurance, but they would not cover it. They actually said that they would be happy to file a claim for any $$ in excess of our deductible (~$500). As a result, we paid out of pocket for the new windshield ourselves (~$200).

She did not think to get the license plate. But given the circumstances and the huge impact she pulled over immediately to check for severe damage.

I can practically guarantee that the insurance company will tell us that we are responsible for all payment up to the deductible ($500). So once again, this will be on us.

I would like to hear some opinions on whether I should get this into a shop immediately or if it can wait a few more months until we are in a more stable financial position.

 

zip ties dude... clip together whatever is left, or salvageable, cut out the rest.

If you're feeling adventurous you can always go to a pick'n'pull yard to get some other make/model pieces and simply cut them to fit and zip tie them to yours...

I wouldn't ever spend money on the splash shield, and jerry rig something instead.

 

There's nothing left at all on the entire passenger side of the car. Literally. If I remember, I'll have to take some pictures tomorrow. Too dark now.

 

The plastic sheeting is not structural, and the loss of it does not really effect the car. But that said it will have an effect because the gap opened up between the body and the fender will act like a parachute at speed, I doubt it would be dangerous or even noticable to most people.

You can leave it. But I strongly recommend you get the car up on a hoist somewhere and have a professional examine the car for damage. Some damage is only possible to see when the car's in the air.

It might work out to be free if you get your wife to do it, and then if there is damage she can say something like "I need to talk to my husband can I have an estimate or quote on paper so I don't forget anything". The shop won't make any money, but they don't lose much time either. It's sexist as heck, but in the Automotive trade that little trick never seems to fail to work. Thats how my wife and I roll when I can't be bothered figuring out the problem myself.

 

You don't need the fender liner and splash guards. The only thing I'd be concerned about is now the wheel is exposed to the inside of the fender, introducing rain, salt, stones and mud to the inside of the fender and possibly the engine compartment. Not good for corrosion protection.

 

Thanks all.

I live in New Mexico - corrosion / rust is practically unheard of here as we get very little rain and rarely have humid weather.

I'll probably let it be for a while - until we resolve our unemployment situation. Thanks!