Do you drive a car with a dent in it?

[Anonymous]

I have a 6 year old paid off car and backed into a mailbox the other day. Nothing happened to the mailbox but surprisingly my car has a good dent in it. It didn't shatter the glass or effect the back up camera but it's pretty noticeable.
I didn't feel the need to get insurance involved since the car is functional and it didn't seem like a big deal. I went to a body shop and they said it would cost $1700 because they'd have to replace the whole trunk.
I can afford to replace it and have not had a claim with my car insurance in 15+ years of driving. And I feel like insurance should be used for bigger issues. On principle (since it's still functional) I'm inclined to keep driving it that way.
Folks on dcum seem to be ok with driving old cars, what about cars with dents?

[Anonymous]

Pfffff, I'd be driving that dented baby all over town. A dent like that is a big "don't mess with me" sign to all the other drivers around you. Perfect for the beltway

[Anonymous]

Can the trunk easily open/close?

[Anonymous]

I wouldn't mind, but my DH gets dents repairs, he likes our cars to look good!

[Anonymous]

Drive a car with a dent? No way!

Drive a car with like 20? Sure! Battle scars and proud of them!

[Anonymous]

Does the dent cause any issues with the overall functionality of the trunk? The car in general? Also, do you work in a job where you take clients around in your car? If the functionality of your car / trunk hasn't changed and you don't drive clients, you can leave it alone. But if it's a car you will be getting rid of in the future and you can afford to fix it now, better to just do it, so it doesn't affect trade-in value / resale. I'd also get a second estimate.

[Anonymous]

Whose mailbox? Yours or someone else's?

[Anonymous]

My car looks like it's been through the garbage disposal. As PP noted, I find that helps prevent further damage because people who care about their cars keep their distance.

[Anonymous]

My current car happens to be dent free (but plenty of scratches!) but my old car had a big dent from a fight between the car and a parking pole. I never bothered to get it fixed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My current car happens to be dent free (but plenty of scratches!) but my old car had a big dent from a fight between the car and a parking pole. I never bothered to get it fixed.

The car or the pole?

[Anonymous]

Wait til the next time it rains to see if the trunk has been damaged. That may help you decide. I have a few small dents on my 14 yr old car and am fine with it.

[Anonymous]

I have a dent in my trunk (hit and run in my work parking garage) ... never got it fixed and I think it bothers other people more than it bothers me. Oh well!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have a dent in my trunk (hit and run in my work parking garage) ... never got it fixed and I think it bothers other people more than it bothers me. Oh well!

I had a relatively small dent in the trunk of my old car I didn't bother to fix because it didn't impact anything. More than once, someone at my old office left a note on my car telling me I should get the trunk fixed. It tickled me pink to know that the dent was clearly bothering the hell out of some anal retentive jack-wang.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My current car happens to be dent free (but plenty of scratches!) but my old car had a big dent from a fight between the car and a parking pole. I never bothered to get it fixed.

The car or the pole?

The car. The pole won the fight.

[Anonymous]

random dudes accost me about once a month to ask me if they can fix the dent on the rear fender of my suburban--i do not care about such things.