My ES was hit this morning by the neighbor across the street… woke up to detail it and saw black paint all over my door. I was able to clean some of it off with alcohol but the door seems to have 2 weird bubble looking dents that I’m very scared won’t be fixable. Can I have some thoughts or opinions on this? Do you think a body shop can fix the door or will I have to get a new door shell? The door shell for the ES alone without any pieces or interior panel pieces costs almost $800 unpainted. Thankfully all my interior pieces are intact and my window rolls up and down just fine. The person who hit my car admitted to it after seeing another neighbors camera footage. They are willing to pay the full damages out of pocket.

 

What's to worry about. The repair is on your neighbor.

 

I’m so sorry that happened to you. The good thing is that the damage is on a door that can be replaced, and not a quarter panel. I personally would get the door replaced. I don’t like the idea of bondo or patchwork on any car, especially on a new car.

 

Sorry about that. That sucks. Glad it'll get fixed on his dime.

 

I would just take the door from junk yard and install it, if it is without scratches.

 

Well, saying they will pay and actually paying are often not the same. Whatever you do, do it fast and get proof your neighbor admitted guilt and said they would pay. Sounds like they already tried to get out of it except they got caught on tape.

 

Also, get a copy of the tape. And be prepared to submit it to your insurance company, if necessary. In fact, I'd call my insurance agent and discuss it with them, anyway.

 

How sad - and how typical these days - that the guy only admitted it when he learned there was video. Hopefully he will actually pay for the damage.

 

This is unfortunate. Let us know what you decide to do

 

If you were doing it at your own expense, might get lucky and find one painted the right color in a salvage yard to swap. Looks like there is a white door but may not be same white from a 2019 near you via car-part.com (image below). If someone else is paying just take to the dealer and say please fix it

as suggested above, definitely get a downloaded copy of the damage occurring asap as it rolls off over a short period of time on most services (ring, Arlo etc) and is no longer available.

 

Swapping doors even with one of the same color is a crapshoot. Doing so with a pearl color, especially pearl white, doubly so. Once that sun hits it, there's a solid chance it'll be painfully obvious the door was replaced or re-painted on its own. On a newer expensive car, the best way to do it is just re-skin the door (not re-shell) and blend the next two panels on a color match.

Even brand new, two cars of the same paint code will rarely be the same shade of paint. This is why all car parts are painted and travel together at the same time on the assembly line and not pre-painted and randomly installed. No two paints are mixed exactly alike.

 

the fastest way to get your car fixed is ask your neighbor who admitted doing it for his insurance info and call them and set it up. get paid, deal with them. have the video ready but don't necessarily worry about bothering with it at this point.

then if you get push back you can escalate w/ video, etc. or just call your own company. depends on the quality of the neighbors insurance people.

 

I think that's ULTRA WHITE FSport? Also a multistage paint like the white pearl.

 

That damage looks like it occurred from the inside or someone tried to push it out from the inside.

 

nah. that's just internal bracing or other hard parts on the inside of the skin which made an impression.

The outside skins on cars are basically paper thin and it's easy to press up against them and see the outline of whatever is behind them.