Friday night I was driving on 1-30 east of Dallas and encountered some piece of road junk.

I could not avoid the object due to the traffic and the fact that I did not see it in time.

Anyway - it blistered my front passenger side tire and blew out my passenger side rear tire. No structural damage to the wheels.

It also managed to collect 4 more cars after me doing everything from tire blowouts to minor body damage.

I thought i was lucky until I was having my tires replaced and the tire shop called me to tell me the object ripped a hole in my underbody (center body panel is what the vody shop called it).

The gash is about 1.5 feet long maybe 1/2 inch wide in a couple of spots where it went through the sheet metal and exposed the insulation.

I'm curently getting estimates.

Anyone know if it is safe to just repair the hole?

I got differing opinions - but most shops agreed that completely removing the center body panel and replacing would be unusual for a car that is not being totaled.

I'm worried that just patching or wleding the gash will not maintain the structural integrity of the car - one guy says he thinks it is the only option - the other guy said it would be fine.

Anyone got experience with this?