Hit & Run: @Walmart Parking lot.. Need Help..
08-28-08, 03:25 PM
#16
I have a question...
Do you shop at Wal-Mart because you drive a Lexus?
Or
Do you drive a Lexus because you shop at Wal-Mart?
Seriously, would be sure to get it in writing exactly what will be done to repair your vehicle. With those prices you have been given you are definitely not comparing apples and apples.
Do you shop at Wal-Mart because you drive a Lexus?
Or
Do you drive a Lexus because you shop at Wal-Mart?
Seriously, would be sure to get it in writing exactly what will be done to repair your vehicle. With those prices you have been given you are definitely not comparing apples and apples.
08-28-08, 05:15 PM
#17
It would be nice to see a pic of the damage. If it is only paint damage that will cost you much less than if you need body work. If the dents in the door are too great it sometimes cost less to buy a new door.
Anyway, $250 sounds very cheap. I would expect it to be over $500. Take a good look at your stock paint. It is not glassy smooth. There is some orange peel in the paint. The body shop you take it to must take that in consideration and actually match that amount of orange peel or your repaired area will be obvious since the paint will either be too smooth or have too much orange peel in that area. When I had damage to my rear door and 1/4 panel, it cost about $2K for the new door and 1/4 panel repair. My painter who is a car show painter was very careful to match the orange peel. I know that sounds counter productive in painting since you generally want a smooth paint job, but that is if you are painting the entire car. In this case you want it to match the stock paint so it doesn't look like it was repainted.
Anyway, $250 sounds very cheap. I would expect it to be over $500. Take a good look at your stock paint. It is not glassy smooth. There is some orange peel in the paint. The body shop you take it to must take that in consideration and actually match that amount of orange peel or your repaired area will be obvious since the paint will either be too smooth or have too much orange peel in that area. When I had damage to my rear door and 1/4 panel, it cost about $2K for the new door and 1/4 panel repair. My painter who is a car show painter was very careful to match the orange peel. I know that sounds counter productive in painting since you generally want a smooth paint job, but that is if you are painting the entire car. In this case you want it to match the stock paint so it doesn't look like it was repainted.
08-28-08, 06:10 PM
#21
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Well................
Same thing happened to us only I had to spring for a whole rear bumper on our old RX. Deductible was $500 at that timee. From your pictures you can forget about doing anything yourself. Anything you tried would in my opinion only look worse touch up paint wise.
You have 2 choices
1- fix it but use a GOOD body shop with a good ventilated paint booth. Have a look at some recent work they did. Look for runs in the paint especially on edges of panels etc. Also look closely for contaminants that may have been in the air such as dust, fibers etc. These are easy to spot if you are looking for them.
2- Get someone who REALLY knows what they are doing to buff it out, don't worry about being too aggressive, it can't really look any worse. Wax it and next time something happens maybe it will be in the same general area and someone elses fault. You can't make it disappear but you may be able to clean it up a tad.
I honestly don't think you will be happy until you fix it. Every time you look at it you will be upset by what happened. Fix it and learn to park AWAY from all other cars. It won't hurt you (I don't think) to walk another 30 feet, especially somewhere like Walmart and schools.
You have 2 choices
1- fix it but use a GOOD body shop with a good ventilated paint booth. Have a look at some recent work they did. Look for runs in the paint especially on edges of panels etc. Also look closely for contaminants that may have been in the air such as dust, fibers etc. These are easy to spot if you are looking for them.
2- Get someone who REALLY knows what they are doing to buff it out, don't worry about being too aggressive, it can't really look any worse. Wax it and next time something happens maybe it will be in the same general area and someone elses fault. You can't make it disappear but you may be able to clean it up a tad.
I honestly don't think you will be happy until you fix it. Every time you look at it you will be upset by what happened. Fix it and learn to park AWAY from all other cars. It won't hurt you (I don't think) to walk another 30 feet, especially somewhere like Walmart and schools.
08-28-08, 06:32 PM
#22
From the pics there is definitely body damage to the rear 1/4 panel fender lip area. The door scuffs appear to be deep enough that IMHO I would want them to repaint the entire door and not try and blend half the door. It is possible they can repaint the upper half and blend that the door molding area with good success though. Rear 1/4 panel damage appears more than $500 so if body shops were quoting you $1000 for the entire fix I probably would have been happy with those quotes. There is no way IMHO that will cost $250. I've had font lips and spoilers painted for more than $250 a piece.
The damage does appear to be minor, but fixing it correctly isn't cheap.
PS. The more I look at it the door is probably minor and if you don't need a perfect paint job they can probably fix that for cheap. The 1/4 panel area though will be the bulk of the work and even though it is minor damage, getting the paint to not look blended and match the original will be the key. Over all, I actually think you could get it done for under $1000, but who knows. The shop I use would probably be about $1500 but that is a high end shop that does a lot of car shows.
The damage does appear to be minor, but fixing it correctly isn't cheap.
PS. The more I look at it the door is probably minor and if you don't need a perfect paint job they can probably fix that for cheap. The 1/4 panel area though will be the bulk of the work and even though it is minor damage, getting the paint to not look blended and match the original will be the key. Over all, I actually think you could get it done for under $1000, but who knows. The shop I use would probably be about $1500 but that is a high end shop that does a lot of car shows.
Last edited by CK6Speed; 08-28-08 at 06:35 PM.
08-29-08, 09:11 AM
#24
omg.. thats horrible that will definately cost over $500 to get it fixed right. You can however just repaint and call a day if you want to get it done cheaply without fixing the 1/4 panel lip. If you're in Htown I can ask my bodyman to see how much he would quote.
08-30-08, 12:24 AM
#25
I believe that may be 3 stage paint. If so that does add quite a bit to the cost. (labor and material) The cost of paint and all body material these days is literally staggering.
08-30-08, 11:09 PM
#26
Otherwise it will look like crap.
09-02-08, 06:43 AM
#27
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Expensive Paint
As someone pointed out, you probably have 3-stage paint, with an epoxy sealer over it. You probably won't find any orange peel on your car. A paint job will be very expensive. The $250 job will look like a $250 MAACO job. If that's what you want, grab some masking tape and a can of spray paint and do it yourself. The question is whether you want your car to look like a Lexus or a "Beater." If you get it painted for $1000, consider yourself lucky.
09-03-08, 12:07 PM
#29
Pole Position
Thread Starter
I have to get it painted right at good body shop. I am thinking if it's a good idea to report to auto insurance.. I have a deadatable for $500. Any suggestions.. Thanks!!
09-03-08, 12:28 PM
#30
Lexus Champion
The only problem with that is,it will fall under collision.And that may,or may not raise your next term premium.I will say that if it were mine,I would turn it in to the insurance.