Damaged Tailgate options

So a couple months ago I borrowed my father in law's trailer to haul a golf cart. I didn't realize the tongue of the trailer was rusted out where it latches to the ball. Start to load the cart and the tongue pops up, the safety chain's catch it, and of course it slams into the tailgate.

It left a 4x4 square full of deep scratches right between the embossed letters. It also dented the tailgate enough to cause cracking in the paint along the "ridge" above the letters, and I could see a slight difference in the angle of the camera.

I took it to the body shop today and these are my options so far.

1. Insurance - $500 comprehensive deductible and almost certainly an increase in my premiums. I'm ruling this one out because I've never made a claim and my rates are fairly low. Collision insurance with accident forgiveness is ruled out because I wasn't in an accident.

2. Replace the tailgate - $400-700 depending on where I get it. Cheapest option is eBay, until factoring in repainting. All tailgates that I've found color matched are damaged. Junk yard tailgates in good condition are almost always $700 within driving distance.

3. Repair - Body shop is not recommending repair as it will be very difficult to repair the large dents and fill the scratches in and near the embossing without it looking like shit. They are 90% on the side of just replacing the tailgate. They do not want to invest time and effort into a repair that will probably be a waste of time and materials, and will likely cost as much as a replacement tailgate.

4. Deal with it - This is looking like the most viable option. The chances of me keeping this truck are pretty high, as are the chances that the tailgate would be damaged again. I work in a saw mill and I'd rather not throw away $700 on something that will just get messed up a year or two down the road. If I decide to sell, I can find another one and throw it on to help the process along.

What else can I do with $700? I can do a lift and level. I can go buy some cosmetic items I've had my eyes on. I can put in a subwoofer and upgrade speakers. What do you guys think?

 

I say leave it the way it is. I use my truck forv work also. I have a few imperfections on my tail gate also. I just deal with it knowing the next scratch or dent w ont hurt as much. Then wait for some one to rear end my truck and problem solved.

 

I’d do option 1. Your rates shouldn’t go up when filing a claim under comprehensive, I’m speaking from my own personal experience.

 

$700 won’t cover all the cost but maybe a bumper with tire carrier ? It would hide the damage.

 

Just make sure you do something to prevent rust now that your paint is compromised.

 

Do you do much off-road travel? Trails? Use it for work? If so, it more them likely will be collecting dings, pinstripes and dents as you go, so just make sure the cracked paint doesn't start to rust, and live with it.

 

Search Craigs list, offer up and other sale sites. Also look into the regional section for your local threads and see if any body has one local they might want to part with.

 

The bulk of the damage. Does not show the creasing and paint cracking due to it being night time.

 

Doesn't look bad. If anybody asks just say its bird shit and I didn't get around to cleaning it yet.

TACOMA

 

Yea its not terrible but it irritates the shit of out me.

 

Someone on here derped the entire imprinted portion. I’d go that route, cover the scratch, and throw in some off color tailgate letters to the Tacoma

 

I thought about doing that. Try to get rid of the bad scratches and throwing in some of the letters to draw attention away from it. I wonder if orange would look good against the gray.

 

If it were my truck, it would definitely irk the shit out of me also. I personally would just file a claim and take the hit on the premium but it will be totally up to you and how much you think you could live with it. I couldn’t so it would get replaced. I had a 2001 Frontier and my wife had dented the tailgate by reversing into a flatbed truck. The truck was 12 years old when it happened, but every time I saw it, it irritated me. I was fortunate enough to find one on Craigslist for $400 in white which matched my truck and felt it was the worth the money spent and wished I had just fixed it earlier.

 

Dude, 95% (if not 99%) of that will easily buff out with a dual action polisher and a regular cutting compound (such as Mother's). If there are dents remaining after that, you're not likely to ever see them without intentionally looking.

 

Worth a shot for a under $10 can of plastidip and some tape

 

I used Armor All version of black plastidip on my grill and I f-ing hate it. I can't wait to stick an off brand Pro grill in it's place. I don't know if I'll ever try plastidip again.

 

Or you can try this....
https://youtu.be/Udz-agwD3gE

 

Anybody got a grey sharpie? That will fix you up! Cheap too....

 

You could also use Duplicolor Perfect Match:

https://www.oreillyauto.com/detail/...ouch-up-paint/bty1619/4268411?q=BTY1619&pos=0

I have used it to color match some of the black bits on my truck and it matches pretty good. You will also need to buy clear coat.