So a dude runs a red light and creams the rear driver side quarterpanel. pretty much from the drivers side fuel door back. You could actually see the whole back side of the tire.. Less than 1 year, less than 9k miles.

Turns out the faulty driver has less than stellar coverage (at least he has some).. So I need to have this car looked at and "fixed".. I'm afraid it'll be quite $$$, also, I'm not thinking of sending it any body shop. I want Toyota to look at it and determine whats it really gonna take and if at all fix it.

Does anyone have any recommendations on Southern Californian dealership bodyshop/repairs? I heard Power Irvine might be a good option, but I didn't like their sales guys.

I'm fine, but the TCH.. so sad.. When I looked at it, the rear driver side bumper was dragging, and there was a hissing sound.. sounded like it came from the batteries.. So I stayed quite a bit away from it.

Bummer!

Caliber Collision Centers -- Anaheim location- did a really, really good job on our last Camry a few years ago after it got pelted by sand and debris. Stupid bulk truck carrying crud without a cover sprayed debris over her. AAA adjuster and Caliber made her new again -- even after being 10 years old.

AVOID Hi-Tech Collision Centers like the plague...

2007 Toyota Camry Hybrid base Jasper Pearl -- I CANNOT seem to get that Average Mileage log to display here: 30.0 MPG as of 7/2008!!

JTirak, yeah, it sucks..

martinmzfan: Thanks!! I'm actually looking at actual Toyota dealerships.. If it were just body damage away from the batteries and such, I would have no problem with an independent. In this case, its real close to the batteries.. It was comforting hearing hissing from the trunk area either.. I want someone that can look at that electric motor and all the relevant components and determine the real damage and whether it can be fixed or not.

With the car being that new I think you can recommend new parts. I'm talking maybe quarter panels. After a car is years older the body shops may use a after market fender and etc. Best to use a new Toyota fender like from a Toyota warehouse.

I would ask for a certified hybrid technician to do the electrical stuff. I would think working with a hybrid, that would be automatic at any Toyota dealership.

Sorry to hear about that, not good....

I am glad you are ok...sorry about the car. At least the car can be repaired or replaced. Stay safe!

I don't know if this estimate helps, but after I was seriously rear-ended, a Toyota authorized body shop (the only authorized shop in our area) did work that came out to $9200. But all the replaced parts were OEM. This included both rear quarter panels, trunk lid, bumper, headlights and straightening out one or both rails, the entire floor of the car, exhaust, tailpipe, and probably more stuff I'm forgetting. But there was no battery damage.

Thanks everyone for the kind words! I decided to have it towed to Longo (they are a Toyota Certified Collision Center).. Power Irvine is too, but I had a bad previous experience there (and they are WAY closer to where I live).

Here are some pics of my PCH at the tow yard:

nyc2socal:

That absolutely sucks. Somebody clocked my passenger side mirror on my TCH, taking out a small dime-size chunk of plastic, and THAT made me feel bad.

Thanks for posting the pictures. Glad the hit wasn't in the driver's door.

Not just Super White...Super Duper White...