From your picture it looks like you might be able to remove the pipe and with a little work and finesse, push that dent out somewhat. Its not bodywork so it does not matter if its perfect but I bet you can get the dent mostly pushed out. Worth a shot if you can. Cheap as in free.

 

that's right that cross bar doesn't do squat. its to flimsy. put a tanabe rear cross bar and it will tighten the rear up a lot. replace mine and was noticeable difference. about 100$. or go oem 15$.

 

Comptech makes a nice bar as well

 

I appreciate the advice. I am a broke college student but I may push for a stiffer one. I will also attempt to get that dent out since it is near the flange.

 

I feel your pain. I drove over some roadkill the other day and heard a dull thump from beneath me. Didn't really sweat it since I'm sure the carcass was softer than the car. I did inspect the front lip to make sure that didn't take damage and all was good. This also happend on a dark country road going about 50-55.

I would say file an insurance claim but if you're only looking at about $200 worth of damage then it might not be worth it.

 

If you have good coverage, like comprehensive with a $0 deductible, then you could file a claim. But some companies have strange rules about comprehensive coverage and hitting things on the road. My comprehensive will require that the item that I hit be moving at the time of collision... i.e. something that fell off a truck I was driving behind, or a live animal. If it was a stationary item in the road they consider that to be filed under my collision policy instead, in which I would have to pay a deductible and it would likely increase my rates after the claim.

Best option if you want to try that is to get buddy-buddy with your insurance agent and have them tell you the best way to describe the incident.

 

dude, I hit a spare tire on the freeway going about 60mph. I tried to avoid it but ended up going over it on my passenger side. I lost a front and rear advan rg wheels and now stuck with a mismatch pair of RGs lol. you're lucky!

 

Holy shit I'd be so pissed at whoever was negligent enough to leave that in the middle of the highway...