I have a 2002 F-150 Supercrew and recently got sideswiped by an Isuzu truck. At rush hour the driver of the Isuzu decided he didn’t want to make a left turn and tried to duck out of a left turn lane into traffic, and into my truck as I was passing him by in my lane to the right. It certainly sounded terrible at the moment it happened, but remarkably the only damage was to the rear body panel on the bed of the F-150 and a broken lens of the front running light of the Isuzu. In spite of the ordeal the plastic rear body panel on my F-150 remained intact with a few scrapes that polished out. However, the collision left a couple of cracks in the plastic body panel of the bed, one about 3 inches long originating from the well that houses the gas cap, and the other in the inside lip of the wheel well. It doesn’t seem as though there’s enough damage to warrant the trouble of trying to get it fixed, especially since the cracks aren’t apparent unless you know what to look for.
My question is, will these cracks migrate further over time, getting longer, and cause more problems later on?
If I go to a body shop, they are naturally going to tell me to replace it so they can make a buck. But the real cost to me is the loss of transportation for at least a week and the time it will take to arrange getting the repairs done. The company that owns the Isuzu will gladly pay to fix the damage, and their driver was just as shook up about the incident as I was. But my thinking is if it don’t really need fixin why mess with it since the truck has a few scrapes and minor dents elsewhere.
two issues:
the plastic can be ‘welded’ using a chemical type system that sort of melts the plastic edges a little bit and lets them reattach together.
so this CAN be fixed.
BUT; whether you have it repaired is up to you, however if you don’t have it repaired and get into anrother accident late, the adjuster will know by the old damage that there was preexisting damage. this may be difficult to get an honest appraisal of damage.