Question About Severity Of Body Damage

[amsuco]

Yesterday a limb fell out of my neighbor's tree and hit the top of my left front fender on the way down.  I'm trying to ascertain just how big of a deal this is to make right.  The truck is currently non-running and just sitting there.  I'm hoping this is something that I can either absorb myself, or at least will be minor enough that it won't have to be turned in on my neighbor's insurance.  But I just don't know.

 

At first, I thought that the dent was the only issue.  But the driver's door binds when I try to open it.  Where the fender bolts down under the hood is trying to separate and it looks like my hood is tweaked at the driver side hinge as well.  It seems to be sitting up just a smidge higher than it should be.

 

Is this just a matter of replacing the fender and maybe the hood?  Or will more work have to be done deeper down to really fix this right?  Opinions are appreciated.  And a FYI, I'm not a body man.  Any work done will probably have to be done by someone else.

[eaglescout526]

Well it looks like a simple fender replacement would do the trick. How big was the branch?

[amsuco]

28 minutes ago, eaglescout526 said:

Well it looks like a simple fender replacement would do the trick. How big was the branch?

 

The limb looks to be about 4" in diameter.  I'm not sure how far up in the tree it was.  On the one hand, I'd like to have been close enough to see it happen.  But on the other hand, I'd probably have had to change my britches afterwards!

[MiNi Beast]

Fender replacement should be the ticket as stated.  its a sign though, get it going vs letting it sit there.  

[amsuco]

1 hour ago, MiNi Beast said:

Fender replacement should be the ticket as stated.  its a sign though, get it going vs letting it sit there.  

 

I'm just one winning lottery ticket away from doing just that. 

[Pete M]

feel free to try your hand at metal work and pull the fender to pound it back out from the inside.   it's totally fixable by a pro.  a new fender would be cheaper than that though.

[89 MJ]

I’m sure it just knocked the fender out of adjustment. If you want to fix it, leave the fender on your truck and get a stud welder and slider hammer. Beating the fender straight will stretch the metal too much. Depending on where you live, I’d just go to a JY and pull a different white fender. 

[amsuco]

Thanks for all the input!  I'll just absorb the cost of this repair without bothering my neighbor for any compensation.

[MiNi Beast]

Chit happens. 

[89eliminator]

mother nature can be a b!tch sometimes