jsd115

Hi,

I'm new here on these forums and I was hoping to get a bit of advice on getting my left fender repaired (pics below). Somebody hit my car while parked on the street (and of course didn't leave a note) so I'd like to get this fixed without using my insurance and without breaking the bank.

I got two estimates on it and each were around ~$700 and the shops said they would have to repaint the fender and driver-side door to blend even though the paint wasn't broken in the accident. Does this sound reasonable? Any idea why they couldn't just hammer out the dent and go without painting? Also, at this price, would I be better off buying an aftermarket replacement fender and having them put this in?

I'd really appreciate any sort of advice any of you can offer. Sorry in advance if this is posted in the wrong section of the forum!

Thanks,
Jeff

jriggs

looks like its creased on the body line which means its going to need to be filled (bondo) to make it look perfect, then if you don't want the new paint to jump out the hood bumper, door, and a pillar are going to have to be blended .

if it's not creased then then a good paintless dent removal guy should be able to fix it no problem and that should cost a ton less and take maybe 2 hours

Infamous 1

iTrader: (20)

Try the Paintless Dent Repair guys. Some of the ones that the bodyshop i used to work for used were really good.

chrispy

iTrader: (21)

If you can find a used fender for cheap it might be cheaper than repairing that one.

rgarjr

iTrader: (1)

I think u should just get a new fender and have that sprayed.

Spyder78

iTrader: (7)

Sounds about right. The fender would need to be repainted because it is creased. No Paintless dent removal will get that crease out without cracking the paint. When they repaint the fender it would stand out. Proper procedure would be to paint the fender, blend the driver door, and blend the hood. I dont know about PA prices but for NYC its about right, my body guy takes care of me so I wouldnt be out that much but $700 is a regular rate without any hookup.

bigguppy

iTrader: (15)

I personaly would not pay $700 to just have it repair. If your a DIY person i would sugest trying fix it yourself if you dont mind a little ding marks.

What i would do is buy a "glass suction lifter" and pull it out first and see how that goes. And if your not happy take off the fender and use a rubber mallet and play around with it. The damge doest not look that terrable from the pix so its possible.

And if your really **** about it buy a new fender from the link below or anywhere you like. By the way the link to the fender below is NOT A ORGINAL Toyota/Lexus part but more than likely a Taiwan made product. But it is a exacty OEM fit. 99% of the time most shop will buy one like this if they say they gonna replace it for anyone unless they clearly say orginal part. (food for thought) Also ask your shop how much is it to have a fender painted first to calculate your coast. I would say no more than $150-$200 concidering the paint color that you have there. And a friend of mine bought a pt of crystal white for my car i only pay $110 through the shop discount. Thats enough to paint 3-4 fender. So you can inmagen how much they make off you already.

Or just say to the shop, here is $400 or 500 (w/e u willing to put out, but i think this is a more reasonable price) For all you know they might take the offer since. Its a buyer market still, take advantage of it.

GL and keep us post if you decide to try the glass suction.


http://www.automotix.net/bodyparts/l...inventory.html

jsd115

Thanks for all your help. I'm going to have a paintless dent removal guy take a look at it today and see if he can fix it 70-90% of the way and work around the crease on the body line. Otherwise, I'll try the glass suction filter + rubber mallet and see how it goes. I'll post an update as to how the DIY method goes if I try that.

ar15guy

Also, search dismantler's for original lexus fenders, i am in california and here in sacramento the have the lex/toy recyclers, you can even match the paint code.
Although due to natural fading/sunlight etc the fenders most likely not be a perfect
match, but will be OEM.

jsd115

So I found a paintless dent repair guy that was able to repair everything except the crease on the body line. Other than a very slight little indentation on the line, you basically can't tell that there was a dent there. Cost 2 hours of labor, a HUGE saving over having it painted and everything. Thanks for your help and suggestions everybody!

sakataj

iTrader: (182)

i would recommend a new (either used or new) fender then trying to fix that one...seems like it would be more trouble to fix it. good luck

contact aliga he's parting gs's all the time

jayr0422

iTrader: (2)

how much was it?

jsd115

Came out to be $90 ($45/hr). Photo below - lighting is bit weird in the after picture, but I circled the crease in the body line, it's a tiny bit more noticeable if you're actually looking at it.

jayr0422

iTrader: (2)

Awesome! Looks great compared to what it was. Can hardly notice it and you saved hundreds...

MJImport

iTrader: (1)

Wow, looks great for 90 bucks, I had a small dent removed from my deck lid and the shop tried to charge me 150! I gave them 100, haha.