My name is Brandon. I bought my 2012 dodge 5.7 hemi sport crew cab in late september. The night I bought it, I left for work out of town for two weeks and didn't touch the truck until I left for home. That night, i picked up my buddy to head out for the night and before I was even able to get out of the parking lot some guy backed into the passenger side of my truck. His trailer hitch caught my door, side step and rocky panel.

The question I have is specifically about the rocker panel and whats best for the repair. Basically i've been told about two options, which are: replace the whole rocker or cut out the section below the passenger door and weld a new piece in. Obviously both will have their own set of issues and I would like to know which way is the better way to go.

My personal thought is to replace the whole rocky panel because its 1 piece.. the insurance appraiser says "Cut the piece out and weld a new one in, trust me, I used to do car repair".. my issue with that is that he is the appraiser, he needs to get the lowest price possible, not whats best for me. He brought up the point of disturbing all the factory welds on the rear passenger portion and what not, but I don't have the knowledge to argue with him if that's the last thing I should do. I also don't want to go in guns blazing trying to get him to change the appraisal when really, his way is the best way.

sorry for the long post, and thanks for any help I get in advance.