I Need a Education

[Frozen Bohemian]

Recently my daughter had someone door ding her car. Since she is away at school she wanted to get it taken care of herself, so after getting a couple of "quotes" she called me for an explaination. Dad why does it cost $1100. to fix a door ding? Because both shops want to repaint the side of the car front to back. That means remove the door trim, mirror, sideglass, bumpers, tailights etc. to "do it right".
OK the door ding did break the paint, so it is not a paintless repair, but I need the explaination.
Why do this? Are most shops not able to spot and blend paint? ( It is dark grey metallic)

Do the painless dent guys (that paint) spot paint?

[Len]

No, paintless guys will usually only do dents that don't need paint and if they do paint then it may not last.

If it's a small ding in the middle of the door then it can usually be repaired by spotting color over the repair then clearing the door. But if it's near the edge of the panel then you may need to spray the adjacent panel. $1100 is a lot for a small ding but I'd have to see a picture to give you an educated guess on the price.

[88GT]

I agree with Len. Even if its at the edge, blending adjacent pannel, 1100 is too much. Should be 1-2 hours to repair (if that) 1-2 to R&I everything, 3 or so to refinish, 2 or so to blend adjacent pannel, a little materials and thats about it. sounds like a 10-12 hour job at $38 an hour plus materials. $600 max. And thats being generous. I would not expect to get the job if I quoted that much for a ding

[Frozen Bohemian]

I agree with Len. Even if its at the edge, blending adjacent pannel, 1100 is too much. Should be 1-2 hours to repair (if that) 1-2 to R&I everything, 3 or so to refinish, 2 or so to blend adjacent pannel, a little materials and thats about it. sounds like a 10-12 hour job at $38 an hour plus materials. $600 max. And thats being generous. I would not expect to get the job if I quoted that much for a ding

IS it routine to have to remove the sideglass (glued in on a Civic) and remove all the rest of the parts to clearcoat?

[88GT]

IS it routine to have to remove the sideglass (glued in on a Civic) and remove all the rest of the parts to clearcoat?

Most of the time it is. Depends on the window molding. 05-09 mustangs for example, are easy to leave the glass in. The rest has to come off. But its not that big a deal

[Len]

IS it routine to have to remove the sideglass (glued in on a Civic) and remove all the rest of the parts to clearcoat?

In most cases the parts that don't get painted are masked not removed but I would need a picture to see the location and the severity of the damaged.

[88GT]

I would much rather remove than mask a part like a door handle, body side molding or belt molding. Its the industry standard. If they didnt paint the car from the factory with it on, we shouldnt either, with few exceptions VERY few exceptions

[Robert]

dab it on, keep the money for books and tuition and tell her to be more careful where she parks.

Robert

[Len]

I would much rather remove than mask a part like a door handle, body side molding or belt molding. Its the industry standard. If they didnt paint the car from the factory with it on, we shouldnt either, with few exceptions VERY few exceptions

Yep, that's the best and most expensive way. If he wants to pay then that's the way to go but if he doesn't want the vehicle disassembled for a door ding he could probably get away a lot cheaper. This is good info for him to negotiate with a shop.

[88GT]

Yep, that's the best and most expensive way. If he wants to pay then that's the way to go but if he doesn't want the vehicle disassembled for a door ding he could probably get away a lot cheaper. This is good info for him to negotiate with a shop.

Cheaper? The way to get it done cheaper is to go to a different shop, and dont let his daugter take it in. A good shop wont need to charge 1100 because they will be making money WITHOUT ripping people off

[another2centsworth]

dab it on, keep the money for books and tuition and tell her to be more careful where she parks.

Robert

HA! Good one Robert.

[Frozen Bohemian]

One of the big issues with this is that most shops here in Minnesota have a rate of $52. per hr and assume your insurance company is paying. Even with a $500 deductable they think it is affordable.
I agree that doing it "right" means dissassembly, but given the fact that her car is going to get beat to shit in a college parking lot (or college bar parking lot) whichever.. it is going to happen again. I told her I would paint the whole car when she is done with college.
For now I guess it is hard for me to have her spend "her" money like this.
I will do the spot repair for her when she is home for summer.
Thanks for all the feedback.