you could come somewhat close to braking even if you find another max for $2-$3k and part out the old car.

 

hmm i forgot about that. what would i tell insurance company though? that im trashin the old maxima? lol

 

no, just tell them you want to cancel your insurance on that maxima, and insure another one. Or just tell them you sold your old one for a newer one and need that one re-insured. Just dont tell them you damaged the last one and bought a new one to replace it.

 

Yeah I did it all myself but I had a little experience (little body work but nothing major like this before). I also had friends that do body work I could ask questions and make sure I was doing it right but for the most part a quarter is pretty straight forward but like I said its just time consuming.

I have a nice miller mig welder I used to weld it. I had the parts car so I just cut the entire quarter using the spot welds (with a spot weld cutter) as my guide. Then I just chose a section on the c pillar where I wanted to cut it.

I cut the bad panel off leaving a longer section of the c pillar in tact. Then I placed the new panel on it and cut the panels at the c pillar while they were over lapped. That way the cut was in the correct place and I just had to weld up that small seam after welding all the spot welds back up. If you want to try and do it yourself I will be glad to help with any advice I can. You can email me or PM whatever.

 

im not real sur what a spot welder is but i have a friend who has been doing work on his old camaro and has welded his fenders on a couple times to perrfection. so if its asnything like that i think its feasible. i just need to find out how much of the actual REAR section i need. like where i plan on making the connection.

 

haha alright i'll just wait and see if im gettin a maxima or what...i reall want an older muscle car. ss nova...

 

spot welds are where the factory connects the quarter to the car. The entire quarter is held in with spot welds. If you pull back your door molding you will see several tiny round indentions about an inch or so apart. You drill those out and then cut the c pillar where you want to.

I would not just cut a section out of a car and try to weld it in...follow all the spot welds in the car and cut the c pillar so its done right. Just remember that classic camaro metal is thicker than import late model stuff. The metal on late model stuff is pretty thin and easy to warp which is why I wouldnt cut and splice in a section and would only do the entire quarter. He may be a great welder and not have a problem so it could be done but I wouldnt try it. Plus every where you weld one together you take the chance of the weld showing through later on if not done right or possibly cracking etc.

 

Ohhh alright thanks. But what about the rear end? I mean..I guess I just gotta find these spot welds.
First though I need to find out how the metal part of the bumper attaches to those black things that are sticking out. It got ripped off of them, and they bent a little on the flanges.
They have bolts and little rubber nuts on them but I can't figure it out

 

i really dont think a shop is gunna let u use a quarter panel that u bought for them to use. they wanna make money on the deal not loose it

 

well they either work with me, have a good price, or im doin it myself haha

 

Well than that shop will suck. If a shop told me that I'd tell them to go **** themselves. It's not about money, it's about the customer.

 

last time i checked a business is about money and most shops reguardless make u buy stuff from them, or they will charge you more for labor. yea if u bring ur own oil thats one thing, but lets say i needed parts for an axle replacement, they arent gunna install something that u bought already, first off they wont warantee it. they also want u to buy it from them so they make money. i dunno body parts might be a different story but i dont really think so, i could be mistaken

 

Dude,

you just need to find a better shop/mechanic. I bring my mechanic parts when I don't have time to work on my car, or if I feel like I won't be able to do it right. He never has a problem w/ it, other than saying sorry I can't warrant it for you (and still charges me the same labor rate).

 

the thing is i havent even been to a shop yet cause i havnet had the time or they havent been open. so im just gonna wait and see what they say when i go to get estimates today.
cause i sure as hell would rather pay a grand and provide parts and install the tail lights/bumper myself than pay 2 grand and have them do all that.

 

Your best bet then is to find a guy that does body work on the side or someone that has their own shop. Most paint and body guys that work for big shops also do stuff on the side for extra money and they dont charge as much. Also there are guys out there that own a shop behind their house or even rent space that do paint and body cheaper. Thats not to say they are bad but for example a good friend of mine here is a fireman so he has a lot of free time (on 24 off 48 or something like that). He has his own shop and does great work. he helped me a lot when I had questions.

I just dont see a big shop doing a quarter for a grand even with you giving them the quarter panel. I may be wrong but I dont see it. I would but I am not a large shop and dont have the overhead or people working for me...which is what I was getting at in the first paragraph.

Good luck and be sure to ask around (friends, co workers etc.) for people that do paint and body work on the side.

Just be careful because not everyone does great work...be sure to look as some of the stuff the person has done etc.

 

thats kinda what im tryiung to do...it just takes time.

 

alright i went shopping aroudn, to about 4 different place and now im really anxious to get this fixed. it sounds like this could be fixed fairly quickly.
all of you saying it would be 2 grand and 3 grand are out of your mind.
the highest quote i got was 1700.
2 shops would allow me to give them the quarter panel and 2 shops would not.
the first shop i went to was a little independent business close to my house. the guy was trying to save me money and said he could pull it out and primer it for 480. he said he would do it all (excluding the bumper and tail lights) for 700. i was pretty siked abou that deal but the next shop i went to made me feel insecure about trying to use my current quarter panel.
the 2nd shop was alot more professional and are right around the corner from my other house* they quoted me at insurance hourly rates. he said if i wanted it pulled (which he couldnt guarantee would be possible cause it might crack where it creased) it would be 800. he wouldnt allow me to give him a quarter panel which i can get used for 200, he said he has to get a new one for 400 cause of his warranty. he quoted me 1200 for a new quarter panel and paint and what not.
for another 300 he would do the bumper and complete the deal.
1500 is my limit...and i trust this place so i think im gonna go there.
the 3rd shop just looked trashy and the guy wasnt very personable either plus he straight up quoted me 1400 EXCLUDING the bumper.
so i was like man fawk that.
the 4th shop was a complete joke. the guy kept calling my car a sentra and a n altima. he said he would allow me to give him all the parts 1/4 panel, bumper. and then he gave me a 1700 dollar estimate! I was like...yeah right haha. he put 5 hours labor for the rear bumper cover lollll.

so this is my dilemma at the moment. my old bumper cover just got ripped off at the tabs on the side so im not even gonna try to save that. what i'm thinking im gonna do is buy a 97+ trunk, bumper assembly and tail lights and have them paint the trunk and bumper cover. hopefully he wont tack on too much more money for the repaint on those things.
the more i think about it, i almost want to get my front bumper repainted and driver side door body repair for dents in that. but next thing you know i've got a 3 grand bill cause i wanted all this stuff done. but then again...it has been something i've been putting off.

so do yall think i'm better off going for the full re-do. or should i save my money (talkin about like a 400 dollar difference) and get it pulled.
im thinkin of just doin it the good way.
and i'll feel good about the 97 rear upgrade too so it'll kinda sorta be like i came out ahead...right?
just trying to think of this positively.

oh yeah, im kinda worried about getting all the hardware for bumper installation and stuff, do the shops usually have nuts and bolts to get all that stuff on there? i dont want to be charged extra for the light brackets and bumper cover brackets so i gotta make sure i pick that stuff up at the junk yard. or should i bring them my bent old brackets and get charged for labor to have them fit those on there.
cause i dont know whats included with that 1/4 panel they are buying.

 

its my opinion (I may have stated it already) that you should replace the quarter. I would not pull that much damage. Spend the extra money and get it done right.

 

Dammit man. Isn't that red clear tail light rare as hell? Fawk. Sorry to see this, wish you the best of luck.

 

5 min of dent pulling and 25 lbs of bondo FTW. One usually gets what they pay for in the body and paint business.

 

If you are able to do it, I would go the right way, new 1/4. Not that this should convince you but that extra weight in bondo they would have do use would like throw ur car lopsided in a race..haha im jk. but new 1/4 FTW treat tha max right : )

 

I had mine pulled and bondo'd, but I don't think my damage was quite as bad as yours. Mine still looks factory though, even after a few years. New quarter is obviously a better choice, but your budget is the determining factor.

 

I don't think you really understand. Most shops don't like to use used parts they didn't buy because:
1) They make $ on parts.
2) How do they know your 1/4 panel doesn't have tons of bondo and rust in it? If they say "yes", now they have to work w/ whatever pos parts you brought in. WAY safer for them to get a 1/4 themselves. If they do that, they will warranty the work. Bring it your own parts and there's usually no warranty.

 

He wants me to get all the bumpr and trunk before ii leave the car there. So ill be putting it in on monday.
I'm telling him I have a 1500 dollar limit and that's what we're gonna work with.
Edit- oh you know ima treat the max right. I thought it over and you know...this is my "nitch". I don't spend money on anything else, I don't have any other hobby for the most part. I figure...when you love something, its just worth it. Its worth the time and money.
My dad tries to oppose everything and make me feel like its a waste but that's his opinion, and even though I value it and it effects me, I just don't agree.
It is pressure though.
But I am trying not to feel bad about sinkin this money. my rear end sucked anyway, I had bumper damage from a car swiping me lightly, my trunk emblems left a mark that everyone points out. And my trunk had holes from the spoiler I took off that I don't want or like the look of. My antenna never worked and I've always wanted that shaved. So now I can transform it into a clean looking 97+. I'm hoping he just works that into the 1500 dollar limit cause he was charging 80 for the shaved hole, and 200 for a deck lid repaint I didn't even ask about the bumper I'm gonna talk to him later.
Hopefully I can make some money selling my paintball gun and other stuff I don't need. Or I can sell my old trunk lid and spoiler/ buy a cheap one off the org.

 

LISTEN TO HIM!!!!!!

 

yeah its just that easy. I've just got 3000+ dollars to spend on a new maxima. Cut my losses is what I'm doing. They are CUTting out the old quarter panel and putting a new one in.
Why would I trash this one over 1500 bucks?

 

also, im getting a squealing sound from i think my front right wheel well at low speeds. dont know what it is. i though it was the brakes at first but seems to happen when im not braking, just slowly rolling

 

report it as a hit and run ake the inshurance money hen get a body kit

 

yeah...that's insurance fraud. And I don't have collision, I don't need any reason to raise my already high insurance rate.

 

a shop would most likely replace the 1/4 panel as it would be much less labor. usually nowadays they would rather replace a body panel cause it is faster and easier. sorry to hear about it man

 

yeah thats what kinda threw me off when the first guy who quoted me 480 to pull it said replacing it would be more work and money. i started thinking man....480 is such a good deal...and if it doesnt HAVE to be replaced, why replace it? but that was the cheap "me" thinkin. for how much i love this car, i just gotta go the extra mile and do it right.
it'll be worth it if i can get the new rear end all on there included in the 1500. i'd like to have my driver side dents repaired as well but im not gonna push this past 1500, i'll just do the dents myself for what thats worth.

 

I AHHgree, I know mexican nationals that drive all the way from Juarez Mexico to ATL, to car auctions. They buy salvage title cars drive them to mexico, do em up, and I guess sell them.

A salvage title in the US, is I guess probably a lot easier to clean over there.
(if in deed they do clean it)

Anyway, you may want to look into that G that you spent, from my understanding body parts and labor are DIRT cheap over there.

 

what g who spent? i havnet spent any money yet but the plan is im taking it on monday unless i find a dirt cheap 5 speed maxima worth transferring parts to before monday.
i really believe this is the way to do it. i'm a do-it-yourself kinda person but this is just one of those things. 1500 isnt terrible. i mean some of the guys on here were saying 2 and 3 grand lol.
this car is not my beater...its my BABY!!

 

well...now i'm having doubt...
my dad is saying we should have them try to pull it and if they just can't repair it that way then go the other route. but i kind agree...its hard just spending that much money without truly knowing how it would look if they tried pulling it out. i love my maxima and i can be a perfectionist but this spending 1500 bucks has had me so stressed out. we just got a new house and all this stuff..
i've had dents on my front door and all these little imperfections for so long i'm almost used to it.
it was far down on the to-do list..but anyway...if anyone has a 97-99 trunk they can sell me for cheap without a spoiler.

 

Ok here is the work done in Matamoros, Mexico border town of Brownsville. It took about 3 weeks but only cost me 1200. They painted the car, took out all dents, shaved all doors and trunk and added more curve to the wheel rail. we just started a C.C. here in H-town so I can see if we can get you the trunk. I'll let you know.....

 

you just started a collision center? i dont think my car can be down for 3 weeks man...1200 for taking out dents, shaving, and a full repaint sounds pretty dang cheap. what quality of paint job is it?
what is your shop called and what work do you do?

 

My uncle owns it, and the people that work for him work for dirt cheap. The quality of work is great...and the paint is awsome. I personally dont do much work I just left the car there with my uncle. His shop is about a block away from his house. Right now they are working on a Kia, not done yet but almost there, will try to get some pics.

 

oh but its a pretty far drive huh. to that shop on the border. i thought you meant there was one in houston

 

Naa man 6 hours away......But hell well worth the savings, well for me.

 

I hear ya man, that's good.
Let me know about that trunk, I kinda need it like asap.
125 is what illend up paying last resort(at the yard i get my stuff from()