RS5 rear quarter panel damaged

[Ace22]

I was side-swiped in my own business parking lot by another person. Only damage is rear quarter panel that is "crunched" to say the least. I have not experienced damage to any of my vehicles before, so this is new territory.
Do I:
a) have local shop look at it to repair
b) have recommended shop by Audi dealer (1 hour away from my house)

Can this possibly be fixed/repaired using existing quarter panel or does a whole new panel need ordered (I expect from Germany or elsehwere?)
I don't post here much but would value fellow Audi members opinions.

http://www.audizine.com/gallery/show...hp?photo=86164
http://www.audizine.com/gallery/show...hp?photo=86165
http://www.audizine.com/gallery/show...hp?photo=86166

[Izzu]

I'm no pro, but I can share my similar experience. My fiancee's S4 was hit in nearly the exact same spot. Damage was similar, and we were able to have a PDR guy, recommended by my local shop, fix it. Looks 99% new, only a very small corner near the end of the panel he could not make perfect, but you cannot tell unless you, 1, know it happened, 2, are staring at it from 3 inches away. There was also a very small amount of paint damage in that area that we chose to not fix, for similar reasons that I just mentioned.

Yours looks like you have a bit more paint damage. Pictures can't really tell me if you have paint damage or not, but it looks like it. In order to fix that paint damage, a pro is going to have to refinish that entire panel, which is a huge panel on our 5s. It's going to cost probably $800+ (probably more because when I had to do it, it was Glacier White, and I don't know if Phantom Black is a more expensive paint). You can't just touch up the area or it will not look natural. You have to blend the entire panel by stripping all of the paint.

So I would check with a good PDR guy if he can get that straightened out for you. Again, can't tell for sure from just photos, but it's worth a shot. The paint side of things might cost you .

[JamesRS5]

Sorry to see this, hopefully the other person owned up to it and you have their insurance details?

I would take it to the best body shop you can and if you go through Audi you maintain the body corrosion warranty and have access to genuine Audi parts.

It's difficult to tell from the pictures but it doesn't actually look so bad. Good luck, get some after the repair pictures posted up as it looks a lovely car!

[Ace22]

Thanks for the prompt replies. It does sound similar to yours Izzu, and actually I have the car coated with sonax polymer net shield, and surprisingly, almost 80% of the paint marks came right off with little effort. I will check into the authorized Audi repair place to check into the warranty from corrosion. It actually doesn't look horrible as I have such a nice polish/reflection on the paint already. Will call tomorrow. She actually is a patient of mine and I did get her information (I know where she lives lol). Other than the pain of seeing it crumpled, it actually isn't horrible, but seems worse when it's your baby. Will keep ya posted.

[JoshDub]

That is very likely going to be a new panel. Find an Audi certified shop and It'll probably be about ~15k.

[Mops@Nemesis]

I've seen my shop repair worse back to perfection. In fact, I picked up a 996 GT3 with much worse. Quarter got into the cabled median.

That is very likely going to be a new panel. Find an Audi certified shop and It'll probably be about ~15k.

Did you see my old 5 when the semi hit it? Super nasty. New quarter, lid, rear cover, side and rear glass, lighting etc. Was about $9,300 for all of it. Took about 11 weeks.

[Ace22]

New quarter panel...hmm, I will look into that and definitely go to certified Audi shop. You really think it needs a whole quarter panel? Will I be missing this for >4 weeks?
Will I be driving a loaner car for the time being?
Yes, Mops, I remember seeing yours...nasty and turned out amazingly well!

[Mops@Nemesis]

New quarter panel...hmm, I will look into that and definitely go to certified Audi shop. You really think it needs a whole quarter panel? Will I be missing this for >4 weeks?
Will I be driving a loaner car for the time being?
Yes, Mops, I remember seeing yours...nasty and turned out amazingly well!

I think it's repairable, but those pics don't show it well.
Make certain you have rental coverage on your insurance. It's literally like $5 per quarter.
Turned out beautifully! My shop is not Audi certified, nor does that mean anything to me. It's not rocket science. They must simply take their time, and have the will for perfection. Your greatest task is finding out who does the best work in your area. And letting them know you're not going to pass a less than great repair.

[Ace22]

Roger! Thanks again for everybody's help

[namvar]

looks repairable but I know I would be asking for a brand new panel.

[superswiss]

I've had rear quarter panel damage on my RS5. Right on the body lines from some jerk kicking it in. I took it to the shop that my dealer uses for all their work and they convinced me to have their PDR guy work his magic. He was able to restore it all. The shop took out the rear bench etc. so he could work from the inside w/o drilling holes anywhere. If you go directly to a PDR, they won't go through all that effort and just drill some holes to get behind the quarter panel. In my case, there was no paint damage, though. So, I would definitely take it to a good shop that also has a good PDR guy on the payroll or on contract.

[JoshDub]

Did you see my old 5 when the semi hit it? Super nasty. New quarter, lid, rear cover, side and rear glass, lighting etc. Was about $9,300 for all of it. Took about 11 weeks.

I'd wager that is because you did not go to an Audi certified shop. They charge obscene amounts and follow Audi's obnoxious repair guidelines to a T. Given the extent of your repairs and total price I'd guess your shop did not follow Audi's guidelines. I don't mean that in a negative way in the slightest. The guidelines are so involved that they are almost a joke, but they require extensive work (read billable hours at a high rate) and in this case I'd almost guarantee this will call for an entire quarter panel replacement. It's probably fixable by popping it out and using just a skim coat of body filler if any, but that isn't the "factory way". Since the other person is paying for it, I'd get it fixed following factory procedure.

[Mops@Nemesis]

I'd wager that is because you did not go to an Audi certified shop. They charge obscene amounts and follow Audi's obnoxious repair guidelines to a T. Given the extent of your repairs and total price I'd guess your shop did not follow Audi's guidelines. I don't mean that in a negative way in the slightest. The guidelines are so involved that they are almost a joke, but they require extensive work (read billable hours at a high rate) and in this case I'd almost guarantee this will call for an entire quarter panel replacement. It's probably fixable by popping it out and using just a skim coat of body filler if any, but that isn't the "factory way". Since the other person is paying for it, I'd get it fixed following factory procedure.

Makes perfect sense. Thanks for the information.

[Ace22]

Update: estimate right around $2,500...including about 20 hours of labor. Looks like panel is workable accordingly to shop manager. Hope all goes well, Enterprise rental car here we come!