On Fri, 13 Mar 2015 17:52:49 -0700, Doug Winterburn wrote:

BTW...here's the damage. This is what $500 worth a damage looks
like...it's hard to tell, but there's a slight dent along with the
scratches.

No wonder insurance rates are what they are!

We had an old Chevy Astro that got rear-ended at a stoplight. Needed a
new back bumper and the dent in the back door fixed. I don't remember
the exact numbers, but the low estimate was over $3000 and the most
optimistic estimate of the van's value was about $2700. We traded it
in :-).

The adjuster whose estimate I used spent about a half hour going over the
damage and waking out the estimate. I told him I had no intention of
fixing it and offered to pay him for his time. He refused, but said he
appreciated the offer - most say nothing and he never sees them again.
Guess where I'm going if I do want something fixed.