BLAH, I can't make decisions... bodyshop work... OPINIONS PLEASE
 

ok this is getting annoying... i can never ever make decisions. Basically, my neighbor hit my front driver side door and the "outter skin" of the door needs to be replaced and re-painted. My neighbor has AAA insurance.

SO, I took it to a bodyshop that was AAA preferred... it was only a mile or so away from my work and I dind't ask for an estimate but what would be involved in my case... he said:

"the outter skin would have to be replaced. They would then sand down the half of the front fender, entire new outter skin, the rear driver side door, and half of the rear fender panel... then repaint it and "blend" the black half way at the fenders. Then we would re-clearcoat the entire driver side of the car, including the fenders and doors."

He didn't give me $$ of such a project... but I can only imagine haha. Now, it really bugs the hell outta me that I have the dent and I'm driving around w/ it right now... so i'm a freak when it comes to my car and want the best for it.

I have 3 options...

#1 either get the money from insurance, and get the work done somewhere else for cheaper... ehhhh

OR

#2 Take the money, find a black door at a junkyard and pray that it matches (what are the chances of that??)... that way i can spend the rest on bodykit or whatever

OR

#3 Just have an excellent bodyshop I take it to take care of the work and get a rental car charged to their insurance... all nice, neat, and convenient.


Well, choice #3 is what I really want most right now, but a friend of mine gave me such a nice fantasy story about how a junkyard door would match, and then i'd have so much money for the stillen kit blah blah blah... so i thought i'd post this and get it off my mind. What do you guys think??

Go with #3. I'm not sure what a door would run you, but one in great shape is going to be some $ anyway. Just had some body work done myself last month by a good shop, and I'm pleased with the results. If you cut corners with something you take pride in, you usually end up with something less than desired.

#3

The junkyard method wont match

yeah the answer is so obvious now, thanks guys.

choice 3 will definitely suit your needs the best, just make sure you dont get a premium car, insurance will only cover the cost of a car thats in the same class as the car being worked on (ie... they wont let you rent a caddy if your car being worked on is a civic)

I say to try the door option first. First, find a junkyard and take the side moldings off the door. Second, clean and wax them really good. Then, take them and hold them up to your side molding pieces that are already on the car. If it matches, then more than likely the rest of the door will. I had to do this when my brother nailed my front left fender with his bike a few years back. I went to a local junkyard, found a Pearl white maxima, and got the fender. Now, believe me on how lucky I was, it matched perfectly, and I have the Pearl white color........

lol yeah i learned that the first time when my dad got rear ended... he drove a corolla, so they gave him a Neon. AAA gets hookups w/ Enterprise and they determine the class car they drive and give u one close to it. From what I remember, they're all domestics... and i'll probably end up w/ some pontiac sedan or maybe even a TAURUS lol

#3

Ant :D

Re: BLAH, I can't make decisions... bodyshop work... OPINIONS PLEASE
 

Go with #3. It's obvious that you really care about the car and take pride in it. If you're unhappy with the repair you might get with #1 or 2, any satisfaction you would get out of using some of the settlement on other pieces of "kit" would most likely be diminished.

Get the car fixed the right way, especially since it's on the other guys tab! New add-on toys will come, just a bit later. :)

It's not your dime, don't even worry about it. Get it done at the best place you can, period.

Re: BLAH, I can't make decisions... bodyshop work... OPINIONS PLEASE
 

That is the correct process to fix your dented door. This guy knows what he's doing. The blend process and clearing the whole side of the car will produce a perfect seemless color match.

Proline Body and Chassis
545 River Drive
Elmwood Park, NJ 07407
201-398-1512

Re: Re: BLAH, I can't make decisions... bodyshop work... OPINIONS PLEASE
 

cool! too bad i'm in california... i would hella get it done at your bodyshop!

So basically, one side of my car is going to be alot shinier than the other :( Damnit they should clearcoat my entire car for all this hassle!!

Re: BLAH, I can't make decisions... bodyshop work... OPINIONS PLEASE
 

#2, thats my vote if you can find a good door, which is VERY possible at the right yard...when a 7-11 truck hit my rear pass. door last year, I got $1200 for it. spent $200 on a good condition gray door from a junkyard(my car is gray)...cleaned it up, spent a day and swapped doors...and got to keep the rest. :D

Re: Re: BLAH, I can't make decisions... bodyshop work... OPINIONS PLEASE
 

car-parts.com list doors ranging from 550-700 :eek:

I dunno... the problem is I won't have that much time w/ work and all so it's going to remain all f-ed up till I fix it... considering I even find a decent superblack door at a junkyard.

Re: Re: Re: BLAH, I can't make decisions... bodyshop work... OPINIONS PLEASE
 

forgot to say I had 1991 3rd gen, and the window glass and regulator in the donor door were broken, thus the lower price :) the body of the door was spotless though.

Re: Re: Re: BLAH, I can't make decisions... bodyshop work... OPINIONS PLEASE
 

When you get it home, clay bar, polish and wax the parts of the car that still have original paint on it. The side thats refinished might look a touch brighter, but you're really not going to notice it that much. The only two places you will have old/new paint lines is the trunk crack, hood crack and both bumpers. There not very eye catching areas. A mis match or shine/brightness difference from lets say a door to a fender or quarter pannel stands out like a sore thumb.

Re: Re: Re: Re: BLAH, I can't make decisions... bodyshop work... OPINIONS PLEASE
 

man! what work, how unfair. But oh well, I will claybar / polish / wax the part of the car that hasn't been painted when it gets back. Thanks a lot guys, ill take pics of it when it's back... hopefully sometime soon. I'll be going in an hour or so to get an estimate on the work and decide when to drop it off.

go with #3

good luck with everything

Nadir, you might remember that my door got crunched a few weeks back as well. I couldn't find a black replacement door. Also, i'm telling you, push them and you should be able to get the whole car clearcoat'd. Just because you drive a Nissan doesn't mean it can't be treated like an Audi. What the guy told you sounds fine, but that side of the car will certainly look a lot better than the rest of the car. If I were you, I'd at least *try* to complain.

Good luck bud.

Re: BLAH, I can't make decisions... bodyshop work... OPINIONS PLEASE
 

You're probably convinced by now, but #3. You might save a little cash with the other options, and for your savings it's VERY likely that you'd get to look at a paint mis-match for the rest of the time you sell your car. From your stated feelings about your car, not worth it.

Also, as noted above, that's how they fixed my 4th gen - when they painted the new fender they blended the paint into the door. Looked perfect.

Regarding insurance and a rental car, insurance companies can be negotiated with if they try to stick you with something really lame. If they do, call and let them know the class of car you have, that you're not looking for a "superior" car but need one at the same level etc. - they should bite.

thanks for the advise Jon. I'm about to go talk to the guys there, but I'm sure if I want the entire car re-clearcoated, I'd have to talk to their insurance. I will hear what they have to say and get back to you guys. No matter what thought, I'm going to ask them to detail the rest of my car so it somewhat looks decent when it comes out... or is there any point to all that?

Maximax2- thanks also, I will see what they have to say about the insurance... the only trouble w/ that is i'm 19 years old and I hear rental companies don't allow people under 21 or 25 to rent?

I would definitely try to get the entire car clear-coated if I were you, it's not that much more work for the bodyshop. See how much extra it would be to pay out of pocket, I really think it would be worth it. I've had nearly every panel of my car repainted at seperate times, and despite that fact that my car is detailed (polished/waxed) weekly, if you look hard you can still tell the differences. Re-clearing would atleast leave you with a matching shine.
-Cyrus

alright i'll bug em for an entire clearcoat... i know they're probably going to say it's pointless cuz the front of my car has so many chipmarks... either way ill be *****ing

blaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh hhhhhhhhhhhh

well i haven't gone to the bodyshop yet but I got back some info on the rental... basically the car is registered on my dad's name so in that case i have to give the rental to my dad and take his crappy corolla. blah o well.

Just a thought...

Depending on how many "chipmarks" you've got on the hood, you may want to consider paying the shop to repaint the hood. You could probably get a good discount since they already have to get paint and other materials to do the door and then clearcoat the entire side. They might even be more willing to throw in the whole car clearcoat job for you that way.

Good Luck!

Ok well I took it to that place...

the estimate (which is subject to change depending on exact pricing on parts...) is $1568.

But, I either misheard him or he didn't explain it properly yesterday... here is the painting process again:

they'll blend the paint at the front fender and blend it in between the rear door... then they'll clearcoat the entire front fender, entire front driver side door, and the entire rear driver side door.


but it bugs me that they're not going to clearcoat the rear panel... wouldn't it look awkward?? He took me out back and showed me a thunderbird which just came outta the shop and asked me to find where the damage was... they did a damn good job and I couldn't see where it could be. Then again, that car isn't 7 years old :slant:

I also took the car to another place where all the DTM guys say is the best and are expensive and they told me the same thing. I guess I can't get the entire driver side of the clearcoated :(

ok well I guess here's the plan...

I am going to go ahead and go w/ the bodyshop that has worked on my car before and also is recommended by many DTM people... when I visited there today, they had the nicest cars parked hahah

According to that bodyshop, as well as the original one I was planning to go to, said they would replace the front driver door outter skin and paint that. They then would sand down the front fender, blend halfway... and they would sand blend it at the rear driver door. Then, if i remember correctly, they clearcoat the entire front fender, front driver door, and rear driver side door.

Good luck with this. Mine is coming out of the body shop tomorrow :woot: after being rear-ended at a red light.

BTW, you wouldn't happen to be related to The Count, would you? Blah...

:)

ARFF

who/what's "the count" ?


ok i'm going to kill myself. my lack for decision making is my weakness. I have come down to making a decision between 2 bodyshops... both have appealed to me.

Bodyshop A- The bodyshop is 2 miles away from where I work, the bodyshop is AAA Direct networked, and the guy tried his hardest to satisfy me that the job would come out good... i looked at the work they had done on a thunderbird and volvo s4 and i could not find where the damage was before, but then again they were new cars.

Bodyshop B- This bodyshop is very popular with the DTM crew, my cousin had his e46 m3 worked on there, my maxima has actually been worked on there as well a very long time ago, when I went there all I saw were porsches and bimmers being worked on... and are very expensive. My cousin told me they go by the book and don't cut corners. ONly thing though, when I talked to one of their guys to get an idea on what would need to be done to fix my car, they weren't that helpful and he was like "yeah the paint is oxidized underneath because it's so old obviously and there will be a slight difference... blah blah blah", but they are the best around here.

Didn't watch Sesame Street as a kid? :)

ohh i get it now, it's been a very long time

Just ribbin' ya man. I just got home with my freshly painted bumper. Looks good. I had the dealer do it, other guy's ins paid.

ARFF

Hmmm - bear in mind I know nothing about either body shop, so don't base your decision on my advice. But I once took my car ('89 Accord at the time) to a body shop that worked on Jags, Bimmers, Porsches etc., figuring like you that they must do good work to be trusted with that type of car. Unfortunately though, I found out that apparently they ONLY care about new, expensive cars - the impression was that mine was barely worth messing with. Comments like "well, this car is old, we'll get close" and "you can't expect things to be perfect", etc. And I ended up having to hound them to get things fixed right.

So again - just because this shop acted that way doesn't mean yours will. But something to think about...

wow good point... well i'm about to head out there for an estimate.. we'll see how it goes.

ok well i just got back from the bodyshop... they specialize in bmw. Anywho, I had em check out the car and they said they would:

1) replace the entire door shell
2) repaint the door

THATS IT... he said blending isn't really necessary... and I would have to talk to the AAA inspector about that. There was a nick in my front fender that was around the area of the accident and they said they'd fix the front fender as well. They said they blend 30-40% of the time but that's when using paint that's hard to match.. and apparently black is easy. What do you guys think?

The estimate is $1989 as opposed to the other bodyshop estimate ($1568)... and that other bodyshop was going to blend into the front fender and rear door. This bodyshop was highly recommended and do very good work. I dunno... i guess they know what they're doing if they don't want to blend it.

here are the 2 estimates:

decent bodyshop (AAA direct networked):
[they are going to blend and entirely clearcoat the front fender and rear door and are going to replace the outter skin of the door rather than the entire shell]
http://forums.clubrsx.com/attachment...postid=1175118


expensive bodyshop (bmw specialists):
[note that they are replacing the entire shell of the car... but will not blend into the panels... but are painting the front fender as well because there is a a little bit of damage that actually was already on the car but said will take care of]
http://forums.clubrsx.com/attachment...postid=1175116

ehehheeh gimme that money I'll have it done nice and quick and well!!

what they said about high end shops is true- know the guy be friends with him, it helps HUGEely

its easy for those shops to dismiss your car and do a half asses job on it

move up to norcal :)

It looks like i'm going w/ the 2nd body shop. Yeah, they're expensive, but the way they explained things and such, i like em. Well, more importantly, my dad liked em too.

When talking to the bodyshop guy, he told me that they would not blend into the panels. I was sorta concerned about this, but he said that it's better to stay as factory as possible and they will do a good paint job on that door so that it would match. Well he knows how much I wanted him to blend it, so if it doesn't match, they better blend.

Also, since they aren't AAA direct networked, a AAA agent will have to come out to the car and assess the damage to make sure we're not screwing them over. I was suppose to bring up the blending w/ him but we'll see...

I'd do as someone else suggested and find out what out-of-pocket expenses would be involved if you wanted to clearcoat more, paint hood, etc.

I was hit by a deer (yes it hit me!) and insurance covered the damage. At the same time I had a scratch fixed on the opposite side of the car for only a little bit more. Also offer to pay for the extra work in cash. Even if it turns out not to be worth it, it doesn't hurt to ask.

I did ask them about repainting the front bumper at least beacuse there were so many chipmarks and the guy asked for $600!

Right now, i gotta spend about $1300 on the tranny which I'm planning on getting rebuilt next week so that the car goes in for bodywork by monday the june 16th.

I will ask this bodyshop what the deal is on getting it repainted and clearcoated. thanks for the advise!