For reference, this guy got the insurance company to " total " his car over this dent that would be far easier to fix than yours and was happy about it getting $ 3,000 .
https://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/diesel-discussion/402998-end-era-1995-e300-w124.html
...
I'd see if you could get a body shop to pull the body enough to hold a tail light then you could spray can the corner to keep you going until you can generate some $$$ for a proper fix. Just be sure to seal the tail light area so water does not enter.
Or for a really Getto temporary fix, remove the tail light, use a piece of aluminum or sheet metal to fill the hole then mount some universal lights on the cover.
I don't see a 20 hr drive + lost time + exposure to something happening along the way being worth " saving " $ 1,100. But making the trip isn't really saving that amount.
$ 1,100 - 130 fuel = 970 - wear of tires / engine / other parts. The IRS allows a mileage deduction of $ 0.575 per mile subtract for fuel $ .15 leave you with an operating cost of $ 0.425 per mile ( assuming $ 3 gallon and 20 MPG ) If 20 Hr is at 65 MPH average, this is 1,300 miles * 0.425 = $ 522.50
$ 970 - 522.50 = brings the actual " savings " to $ 417.50. The repair is going to take a min of 2 days and figure 2 days of travel time. 4 days * 8 hours you could be at a part time job = 32 hr. 417.50 / 32 = $ 13.04 that you need to make in order to cover the difference between the $ 3,000 fix and the $ 1,900 Mexico trip
Get a part time job / pickup more hours at regular job.
You've got bigger issues if $ 1,400 puts one in debt, it is critical to get finances squared away.
PS, We are about ready for someone to have their hood fly up while driving or back out of the garage with it up, this seemed to happen pretty often a while back.