I'm an IDIOT and........

[B7A4Sport]

.........scraped the S%!T out of my rear passenger-side wheel well! I'm going to get some estimates soon, but I'm not quite sure what I should expect as far as costs, like if they'll be able to repair the existing body panel vs. need to replace it, how much painting needs to be done, etc. If any body-shop workers or other people experienced with this type of damage happen across this thread, or you know someone, I'd greatly appreciate any guesses that can be offered. I didn't get my car very long ago, and I consider myself a good driver, so I'm pretty pissed (although I have my doubts after doing somethin' this dumb!)

Here's some pics, sorry but they're from when I was still in the garage where I did it

One thing to note, the streaks are just paint that I was able to clean out, but they show where the surface scratches are (it doesnt look this bad anymore, sometimes you can't even see it, surprisingly...):

[zachf88]

accidents happen man, that's why they are called accidents.

[Sharkfin]

From my past experience with my friends/family doing stuff like this, you are looking at A MINIMUM of 600 bucks. (probably much more)

[toaster]

i'd be surprised if it'll be less than $1000.

rear quarter panel should be at least $500...then the door...

you have insurance right?

[B7A4Sport]

i'd be surprised if it'll be less than $1000.

rear quarter panel should be at least $500...then the door...

you have insurance right?

Yes, State Farm, but I'm DEFINITELY not claiming it and gonna eat the cost because their rules are:

If its more than $750 (which it will be, I agree w/ you Toaster) it must be reported to the DMV as an at-fault accident (F%&*ING BS, btw). Once it goes on my record, they must increase my rates by $3,000/YEAR for THREE YEARS .....so I'd rather pay $1000-$2000 now than $9,000 MORE than I already pay these SOB's over three years. I guess they don't give a crap about the fact my entire family on both sides has insured all their cars and homes w/ State Farm for over 20 years collectively, without hardly EVER making claims....the other people who are getting our money should be damn thankful.....can you sense my frustration yet?

I'm REALLY hoping they can just pound out the structural damage to the quarterpanel, because if you take a second to look, that body panel extends all the way along the upper edge of BOTH front- and back-seat doors. Honestly, I don't even care if they tell me "it won't be repaired to OEM specs" , as long as they can take away the eye-sore factor I'll avoid replacing the panel.

Thanks so far for the responses, hope they keep comin!

[sleeprr]

600???? thats pretty low...I would assume 900-1400 but hope it's dirt cheap bro!

[Sharkfin]

I said BASE MINIMUM, of course I think it will be much high but its tough to tell when I can't see the car in person. I was trying to ease the bad news slowly by starting low...lol

[B7A4WD]

its cool it always happens.

[Quigaboo]

How the hell did you f--k the car up like that? At least gve us the background!

[B7A4Sport]

How the hell did you f--k the car up like that? At least gve us the background!

I R TOO EMBARRASED

Nah, just to shed the mystery (and humiliate myself a little bit, I can handle it tho), I was basically rushing while parking in the same spot I always park in my office building's garage. The garage itself is long and skinny, and only has one row of parking on either side; the left side is all Compact, and the right side is normal-sized. However, the right side has these really annoying support columns, that for some reason have GIANT concrete cylindrical bases. They stick WAY out past the lines of each spot, so you basically have to point your car crooked to get in, and then re-adjust every time you park. Now I'm no engineer, but the actual part supporting the roof seems to be much thinner than the concrete "pad," which doesn't really seem to be functional nor necessary. I pulled in too carelessly while on the phone, and CRUNCH. It just sucks that in trying to park in the wider spots, I F'd up my car worse than it ever could've been from a slight door-ding in a Compact spot.

This is in the same ball-park as that stop-sign you roll every day on your block w/o problems, but there's that one day a jerk-off cop is posted up and tickets you - it's just a bitch, plain and simple. It's actually a bit worse, cuz at least you can blame the cop; I can only blame myself.

You can bet I've found a new spot, and will be sure to focus more when I park in general. In my defense, however, I WILL say again that the design of the pillar is totally STUPID, and whoever came up w/ the layout for the parking spots should be beaten with a very sturdy wooden bat.

[toothysaw2]

that's unfortunate. good luck. i had to get my rear bumper replaced and deck lid refinished after getting rear ended. it ran about 2,500 or so i think. fortunately i didn't have to pay that.

[SGVA4]

Op,

Pm me about how you should report to the insurance

[minameismud]

Yes, State Farm, but I'm DEFINITELY not claiming it and gonna eat the cost because ...

on the topic of state farm sucking...

my parents took out a small life insurance policy on me when i was born (early 80s). by the time i was old enough to care, all they told me was that its dividends were paying for itself. well, i finally checked one of the statements a few months back, and there was something about a loan being taken out on the policy to the tune of $700. i called my agent - turns out it stopped paying for itself back in 2002, and every payment has been made by taking a no-interest loan on the cash-value of the policy. i was never notified, and neither were my parents. turns out they did the same thing to my mom's policy.

state farm can take a flying leap.


oh, and sucks about your car dude. def. wanna get that fixed, a4 + rust = no good.

[Bmeister]

You're not an idiot...accidents happen and you're a better/bigger person than many for at least admitting your error. I'm sorry this happened to you, and I would surmise that a good body shop should be able to take care of that without replacing any panels; In Chicagoland, that would be ~$1000 repair and different elsewhere in the country. A poor body shop will say you need new metal and cost a lot more. Get four quotes and look for an established owner-operated shop for your best prices.

That said, that you were talking on the phone and even admit rolling stop signs show you have some bad habits, IMHO. That should be no reason to dis an insurance company's attitude regarding rates and how they affect your policy. Please take no offense, but if I were the insurance company, I would probably not want you as a customer knowing you roll stop signs and talk on the phone while driving...I dodge people who do that every day when I ride my motorcycle and have been nearly killed by a few.

I totally respect you that you admit it was your fault (and I agree that those fat-bottom bollards you mention are dumb in garages...we have them here too) and are willing to pay rather than make a claim. Save insurance for the really big things like it was meant to be for in the "old days".

[B7A4Sport]

That said, that you were talking on the phone and even admit rolling stop signs show you have some bad habits, IMHO. That should be no reason to dis an insurance company's attitude regarding rates and how they affect your policy. Please take no offense, but if I were the insurance company, I would probably not want you as a customer knowing you roll stop signs and talk on the phone while driving...I dodge people who do that every day when I ride my motorcycle and have been nearly killed by a few.

I totally respect you that you admit it was your fault (and I agree that those fat-bottom bollards you mention are dumb in garages...we have them here too) and are willing to pay rather than make a claim. Save insurance for the really big things like it was meant to be for in the "old days".

Well, first of all, I was using a Bluetooth handsfree that is now required by law in California, and I share your passion for these dipshits who try to hold the phone w/ one hand and swerve all over the highway w/ the other. I can promise you I'm not "that person," but I definitely know my attention was diverted because of it; what really sucks is I was talkin to my GF about some good news, I had JUST gotten a raise at my job!

Second of all, I don't roll stop signs, in fact I consider myself one of the rare people that actually bothers to make sure their car stops instead of just pumping the brake to jerk your head to fake the feeling of stopping fully.

I was merely using that stop sign scenario as an example; I've heard many other people complain of getting a ticket one day for something they've done like that for years w/o causing problems. True, it's their fault and they shouldn't do it, but it doesn't change the fact it's frustrating.

The reason I'm dissing State Farm is....yes, it's true, this accident was "my fault," but they are acting like I crashed into another car and raised a red flag to my level of liability. It's really an honest mistake as people in this thread (including yourself) seem to understand, and I just wish there was more subjectiveness to insurance claims, and not so much blind, robotic crap like what's affecting me right now. It's also just bitterness over the fact my family and I have paid them tens of thousands of dollars over decades, that has undoubtedly helped them pay off claims for others, and they basically didn't acknowledge it at all. I was treated as if I was a new client that is already causing them problems. Essentially, I'm paying them so cops don't arrest me should I get pulled over, and I think just about EVERYONE can relate to that concept.

Thanks for the words of consolation though, guys - the AZ community rocks!

[eMacPaul]

Guess that raise is gonna come in handy! That sucks, though. I scraped some of the paint off the back of my fender not seeing one of those fricking short posts at a gas station. Haven't gotten it fixed yet, though.

[B7A4Sport]

Guess that raise is gonna come in handy!

Hah, I thought this same thing at the exact moment I wrote that. Fuckin irony FTL.....

[djvice]

Thats why I hate 'Frisco...everything is so tightly together (same as true for everything in every Cali city)

[gyroscope]

The jerk off attendants at the parking garage I used to use did the exact same thing to my car when it was brand new. They rubbed it up against a support beam, and then denied doing it all together. Same side as yours, same damage.My insurance carrier paid for the repairs, and the estimate was something like 1200. The auto body that my dealer referred me to did a shit job, left orange peel and overspray everywhere, and the clearcoat has since worn off over time. The manager also put over 100 miles on my car in the week that they had it. He was using it as his personal vehicle, and left his kids snacks in the back seat. For anyone thinking of using Sands Point Autobody in Port Washington NY, stay far away from those criminals.

[tech_frog]

My wife did the exact same thing on her BMW 328. Cost us 1G to fix it. Almost exactly like your picture. Same place. Same size. Just a different (expensive) car. That was in 2004.

[B7A4Sport]

Thats why I hate 'Frisco...everything is so tightly together (same as true for everything in every Cali city)

Lol, yea, down in Arizona you just build farther out into the desert!

Believe me, I can relate, I went to school in Tucson @ U of A for 4 years, I miss the openness, but not the emptiness.

[B7A4Sport]

Resurrecting this thread from the dead in light of new developments.

Life has been nuts lately, and combined with the frustratingly stupid hours of body shops opening after I leave for work and closing before I get off, I was just able to go get some estimates yesterday.

To my utter shock, both places I went quoted me ABOVE $4,000.......I couldn't fucking believe it. While I knew it was gonna be 4 figures, I did NOT see it coming that the 1st of the 4 figures was actually gonna BE a 4. This is all of a sudden going to put a serious damper on my life, as I have vacation plans in the new future that I almost certainly cannot afford now. How the HELL is this possible to quote $4,000+??!!?!?!

I'm also that much more pissed at State Farm that they're gonna jack my rates by twice as much over 3 years, cuz now I have a choice between a shit-sandwich and a shit-pie.......UGHGHGHGHGHGGH!

[Clown4]

"are you in good hands?" (with a deep masculine voice)

[europaisch]

I did the same thing to my B6 here in the city. Garage's are tight here. 4K sounds like a lot. Shop around man.

[B7A4Sport]

I did the same thing to my B6 here in the city. Garage's are tight here. 4K sounds like a lot. Shop around man.

$4,000 doesn't just sound like a lot, it IS a lot.

On a serious note, apparently the damage to the quarterpanel is sufficient that it will need to be REPLACED, not just repaired. The pics don't really show it, but there's what the body shop guys seem to keep calling a "wave" to the metal/skin. That, and the part of the scrape on the door also has an indentation that's apparently too tough to pop out/repair.

All in all, I'm getting suspicious that these body shops are hurting for money all things w/ the economy considered, and are resorting to too much work for the amount of damage. They see an opportunity, and are taking advantage of it, is my guess. I'm gonna try a couple more places; hopefully, one of 'em will be reasonable.

[sakimano]

I've got a couple of Italian guys who run a good bodyshop business here. They'd charge about $300-400 for that, max. Get a few estimates...when I did the exact thing to my accord (but with a serious dent too), the estimates ranged from 650 to 1500. Utter bullshit.

Took it to these guys that our family has used a few times and they said 'normally $400' but they charged me $250 as a favour for all the referrals we'd sent them.

.........scraped the S%!T out of my rear passenger-side wheel well! I'm going to get some estimates soon, but I'm not quite sure what I should expect as far as costs, like if they'll be able to repair the existing body panel vs. need to replace it, how much painting needs to be done, etc. If any body-shop workers or other people experienced with this type of damage happen across this thread, or you know someone, I'd greatly appreciate any guesses that can be offered. I didn't get my car very long ago, and I consider myself a good driver, so I'm pretty pissed (although I have my doubts after doing somethin' this dumb!)

Here's some pics, sorry but they're from when I was still in the garage where I did it

One thing to note, the streaks are just paint that I was able to clean out, but they show where the surface scratches are (it doesnt look this bad anymore, sometimes you can't even see it, surprisingly...):

[Buttafuoco]

4k is absurd.

Unless there's a sharp crease or crack in the panel that I can't see, they're lying to you about having to replace it.

[Alkemix]

4G's seems super high for that damage. I'd go with the shit pie however... at least you can save some for later and don't have to eat it all now.

How good of a job do you want? Do you want like brand new? Or is slightly misaligned bumper and rough finish paint job (even after they buff it out) good enough? You can get that fixed for $300 easily... i'm sure drive around the city long enough and someone will stop you and tell you they can fix it for that much.

[a4dc89]

Damn that sucks but 4gs?!?

[mksap11]

$4000 for that does sound pretty high

About 6 months ago, a huge support beam in one of the underground parking garages in Boston came out of nowhere and attacked the back of my Q7.... (seriously, the Q7 has a pretty huge D-pillar blind spot).

Total cost of repairs: $7,000

Among other things, that included replacing and painting the rear hatch, rear bumper cover, 2 tail light assemblies, tow hitch assembly, parking sensors and Audi Side Assist module. IOW, the repairs on my Q7 included a ton of pretty expensive parts and electronics to justify the high cost.

I just can't see where your body shops are coming up with $4K

[quattro.it]

Damn parking garage posts... I did the same thing, not nearly as much damage though. That ended up costing me $700 out of pocket.

[i3oricua]

I'm also that much more pissed at State Farm that they're gonna jack my rates by twice as much over 3 years, cuz now I have a choice between a shit-sandwich and a shit-pie.......UGHGHGHGHGHGGH!

If you're paying for this out of pocket then there's absolutely no reason to report it to your insurance. I would argue that you did it in a parking garage or whatever the case is but for them to raise your insurance and the only thing damaged is your own car just sounds ridiculous to me. ESPECIALLY if they aren't going to pay for the repairs. If they're gonna raise your rates, if there was a police report filed, if you got ticketed for it, then I would expect them to raise your rates. But I don't see a reason for it. And 4K is waaaaaaaaayyy too much to pay for that repair.