Car was hit and run [advice]

[DontHait]

My car was recently hit in a parking lot. I have gotten estimates from two shops and they’re two wildly different appraisals.

Shop 1 says its repairable and will cost roughly 900.

Shop 2 says the panel is outside the realm of repair and will require a replacement panel for a cost of 5100.

I’m honestly not sure who to trust since I don’t have much experience with body work.

Any advice on what to do or any recommendations for honest body shops in NJ are greatly appreciate.




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[Sgibb16]

I mean I think it would be repairable but why aren't you going through your insurance?

[DontHait]

I mean I think it would be repairable but why aren't you going through your insurance?

I am going through my insurance, the shop they recommended gave the estimate of 900 with the repair. I found another local shop which gave me an estimate of 5100. I’m just trying to understand which quote seems more reasonable for this damage.


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[Sgibb16]

I am going through my insurance, the shop they recommended gave the estimate of 900 with the repair. I found another local shop which gave me an estimate of 5100. I’m just trying to understand which quote seems more reasonable for this damage.


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I think both of those quotes are viable depending on the method of repair.

Replacing that panel is no small task, cutting out that whole section and welding a new piece in since its not just bolted on like a front 1/4 panel.

Fixing that panel and repainting would be significantly cheaper.

[Audibot]

I never trust the shop insurance recommends, since they are usually in cahoots and trying to save money and skimp on repairs. $5100 seems a bit high, but then again, when I was rear-ended in my B7, a couple years back, it was $3300 for a new rear bumper, valence, and some slight fixes to the quarter panel and trunk. That looks a lot worse, so $5100 may not be overly excessive.

[brokenwrench]

I would be extremely skeptical about anyone who says they can repair that without replacing the panel. That area would be a nightmare to try and get straight again - possible, but it would have to be a master craftsman who can pull it off well. You're most likely looking at a panel replacement, so 5100 doesn't seem too far off. When I used to work in my dad's body shop we would always just default to quoting a replacement for this kind of damage, partly because nobody wanted to spend the next 2 months working on the metal shaping full time. And you can't Bondo over the outer fender like some people say you can, it just cracks and falls off.

I mean, if it were MY car, I would pull out my old body hammers and dollies and spend a weekend seeing how far I can get with it, then I would go to a junk yard and chop up the back end of a front-end-collision car. That roll around the wheel arch would a pita to get back to normal.

[kev311]

Yeah be wary of the shop that the Insurance company recommends, they usually don’t like to use oem parts in my experience


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[Kyokio]

i've had something similar happen.. paid around $500 to repair (no parts were replaced).

[HazeMyth]

Yeah be wary of the shop that the Insurance company recommends, they usually don’t like to use oem parts in my experience


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Some insurance companies do offer insurance that guarantees OE part replacement. I have State Farm, and I have guaranteed OE replacement for all of my cars. It's come in handy plenty of times, too. Back about 3 years ago my STI received severe hail damage. The body shop tried to replace my hood with some crappy replica hood that cost them substantially less. As soon as I lifted the hood I noticed it was insanely heavy compared to my old hood. I asked, and they confirmed that they used a replica. The replica hood was steel whereas the OE hood was aluminum, and the weight difference was about 36 pounds. I refused to take delivery of the car, and the shop did confirm with my insurance that I was guaranteed OE replacement. A week later I picked up the car with the correct hood on it.

[pw-sherman]

The damage looks similar to what my rear quarter panel had when I was hit on the side. The door was replaced but they repaired the rear quarter rather than replacing it.

IMG_4831 by Felix Greger, on Flickr

[wkhanna]

my guess....

$900 to repair existing panel...

$5100 to replace....

still, there is no guarantee one method over the other....
...has more to do with the craftsmanship of the person(s) doing the repair...

...for example, a full panel replacement could start peeling or rusting a year or two from now.... while a 'good' bondo job could last for many, many years....

....yeah, i know.... this was no help at all....

[Deganem]

I would tend to think replacing the panel would be more risky for future rust. A good body shop should be able to repair that panel from the outside and get it almost perfect. I’ve seen it done, where they weld studs to the areas that need to be pulled out. I was amazed when I saw this process. That being said, $900 does seem a bit cheap for this type of repair, and we all know what happens when you get cheap body work done.

Try to get a shop that can guarantee their work (for rust) for 3 years or more. The longer the better. Make sure it’s in writing.


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[wkhanna]

...... $900 does seem a bit cheap for this type of repair, and we all know what happens when you get cheap body work done.

agreed....

[RockJGC]

Shop #2 most likely doesn't have anyone who knows how to do body work, so they simply tell you that they'll need to replace the entire panel. Shop #1 is confident in their body guys to repair the damage without replacing the panel. It's really most likely as simple as that. I'd avoid shop #2 at all costs. Any good body man could make your quarter panel look like new without replacing the panel.

[DontHait]

Shop #2 most likely doesn't have anyone who knows how to do body work, so they simply tell you that they'll need to replace the entire panel. Shop #1 is confident in their body guys to repair the damage without replacing the panel. It's really most likely as simple as that. I'd avoid shop #2 at all costs. Any good body man could make your quarter panel look like new without replacing the panel.

I agree. Thanks everyone for your input. It was quite helpful in making my decision.

I’ve decided to give shop 1 a shot since they will warranty their work and their shop has great reviews online. I believe they’re confident in their work and a few other people have told me replacing the panel will never be the same as factory. I’d like to try and take a stab at repairing it first. If it works then that’s the end of that.


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[Deganem]

I agree. Thanks everyone for your input. It was quite helpful in making my decision.

I’ve decided to give shop 1 a shot since they will warranty their work and their shop has great reviews online. I believe they’re confident in their work and a few other people have told me replacing the panel will never be the same as factory. I’d like to try and take a stab at repairing it first. If it works then that’s the end of that.


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Let us know how it looks when done


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[AUDIA5DRIVER]

Hey DontHait, how did the repair with the first shop go? I recently had someone hit my quarter panel and dent it in. I'm not sure if it will require the full panel to be replaced or if they can fix it.

[AUDIA5DRIVER]

Hey pw-sherman, how much did the shop charge to repair the quarter panel? I recently got backed into and was wondering what the body shop will do. Not sure if they would replace the entire panel or just repair it.