Car got hit - insurance or not?

[Edrift]

So I was parked and my car got hit.
I think it'll need a whole new skin for the driver side door. No other visible damage.

The question is, should I go through insurance and cough up the $850 excess, or should I try and get quotes myself and pay for it, or should I try and fix it myself.

No idea who hit me so I have no one to chase to pay.

[Thunderguts]

That looks like a pretty complicated crease to fix if you're not experienced in body repair. You could get the lower dent flattened out, but I think the crease will always be noticeable. I think it will need a new door skin.

[iminhell1]

Why pay for something you're unwilling to use?

[Tommm]

See if it can be fixed 95% with a PDR. Try to buff out the scratch. Why put a claim in that will raise your rates.

[b1aze]

I think you’d be surprised what a good PDR tech can do. Talk to a couple of you can, even a local retailer probably has someone they’d recommend. Surely NOT worth the deductible.

[Ric in RVA]

Id go find a used door and swap your panels and get it painted ...No PDR for that crease....

In the US we would be filing under UNINSURED motorist (hit and run ) and it would get covered. At least in our state.

[chris_flies]

Black is a pretty common color for these things, you should be able to find an already-painted door skin off of a parts car pretty easily...

[Edrift]

So I pulled off the door card to inspect and see if I could fix it.

I think it'll be a challenge for PDR because the major crease and dent is obscured behind the support/impact bar so you can't get a tool behind the skin to tap it out.

I am waiting for some quotes and if it's less than my insurance excess I'll go down that route.

I watched a YouTube video about replacing the skin and it's a pretty big job for the panel beater to do.

[Matticus91]

You're not going to be able to PDR that. Insurance won't raise your rates for a non-fault incident, so at least talk to them and consider that route. Unless your deductible is $1k AUD