lift gate damage...opinions?

so I know the eventual answer is basically 'hey man, you do what you want..." but just looking for opinions...
one of the other drivers in the family backed into my tailgate a while back. enough of a dent that it cant be pulled and some paint damage too. gonna cost around $2k to replace the tailgate whether I go new or salvage. It's a 2019 with 72k on the odometer and except for this, looks almost new...I plan to drive it another year or so then hand over to my son. Spending 2 grand won't bankrupt me, but it will 'dent' the budget (pun intended). should I even worry about it? on one hand, the dent bugs the hell out of me but I'm not sure it bugs me 2K worth....other issue is the paint damage....I figure eventually it's gonna rust, and it's not gonna get any cheaper to fix...

 

Ouch that is not in a easy location to fix but even with pulling the door off and tin knocking it back into shape the cost will still be up there with getting the paint done. I would be patient and keep eye out for a good rear hatch at a reasonable price, Same color or a white one that can be painted Silver easy.

 

I don't think it bothers me 2k worth. If you're handing it over to your son, is he a new driver? He might add a few dents of his own...if not a new driver, he still just got a free car and should be happy even with the damage. He could choose to fix it at that point.

 

100% agree with this, I was going to say essentially the same thing.

All I would do is hit it with some touch up paint to prevent rust. If you're still annoyed by it, maybe try some body filler and matching spray paint.

Another option is to have the person who backed into it in the first place take care of it.

 

Get a big sticker made that will cover it completed. Maybe something to remind your son to drive carefully.

 

Perhaps one of these?

 

If you decide to just leave it, you could put some touch-up paint on there to keep it from rusting in the meantime.

 

Keep it waxed. I scratched the tailgate on the pick-up 23 years ago and it hasn't rusted. 2 waxes a year.

Ditto on the kid fixes it.

 

Get your insurance to fix it. That is what you pay them for.

 

I can’t tell from your photo how bad that really is, but my husband backed our 2015 into a cement post. It wasn’t a lot of damage, but when we were driving home, we noticed exhaust was getting into the cabin. We called the insurance and they considered it serious enough to have us take it to be repaired immediately rather than wait. I’d suggest just making sure the seal hasn’t been compromised on that rear hatch before leaving it as-is.

 

appreciate the insights...I think I found my solution. $5.00

 

Have you talked to a body shop? I had a pretty good dent in my car's fender with paint damage and the knocked out the dent, repainted for a few hundred bucks.

 

yeah. we've got a pretty good shop here. said the location was the issue...they could get the dent reduced but they wouldn't be able to get that horizontal 'crease' looking original again. after the official assessment, I messed with it a little and got it slightly less obvious but still pretty bad

 

This. It's going to get further dinged up in your son's possession anyway. His fault or not his fault.

I plan on keeping my 2020 until 2060 if not longer. I already have some pinstripes. I'm not sweating the first ding. It's not going to make it 40 years looking like a showpiece.