Collision conundrum
A week ago I backed into one of those massive pipes in a parking garage and messed up my trunk lid. I really don't give a shit about the dent in my trunk, but there are spots with no paint left and I'm worried about it rusting.
I'm in a bind with repairing it, however. I'm on leave from work until August, so I'm not in the financial situation to shell out hundreds/thousands. Don't want my insurance to go up if I can help it; it's high enough. Also, if I wait until I'm back at work I don't want to have missed the period where I can claim damage w/ insurance.
I really just don't know enough about the whole single-car accident repair process and don't trust insurance or auto body shops to give me advice in my best financial interest. Should I just take the hit to my insurance, or would it be better to get this repair done myself? If I go with insurance could I wait until the end of the summer to claim or pay? Or, could I get away with just leaving the damage there? My last priority is cosmetics, just worried about the long-term effects on my vehicle.