MRM Paint Job Question
 

Recently my 06 IS350 got backed into and it did damage to the rear driver side door, driver side quarter panel, and bumper. Took it to the body shop and they said they have to repaint the entire area and blend it all the way from the rear quarter panel to the front fender going over the windows (beam that starts roof) and also blend it halfway through the rear door. Does this sound right? Ive read MRM is very hard to blend properly and the shop that said this is the shop that the local lexus dealer uses and they ARE lexus certified... dont know if that really means anything. any input is appreciated.

Yes this is perfectly normal I work at a body shop and I always charge insurance companies to blend the roof rail whenever the quarter panel needs to be painted which should be another .8 refinish hours. The reason why is because the quarter extends all the way to the upper front of the windshield. Being a lexus certified shop doesn't mean anything, they just use that as a sales pitch since they have high volume repair jobs funneled by insurance companies. Do yourself a favor and shop around and see the work your local body shops do then you can decide. Also, definitely make sure the shop you choose has a LIFETIME body and paint warranty!

Sounds reasonable to me... just know that ANY repaint job will be noticeable if you know what to look for.

yes sir. just have to get it close enough where its hard to tell. OP do your home work. I have sent back my car for the 2nd time to a lexus dealer.

This is normal. I had mine painted the same way over the windows to the fender seam. Only thing is be worried about is the drivers side front door. That won't be painted? Since its an 06' there may be done paint fade. Good luck and I agree with what others have said. Look at Yelp reviews as well.

Thanks everybody for your input and advice. I assume there will be a little paint fade due to the year but I've been doing my homework trying to find a body shop with a very experienced painter. My estimates are around $2k so far do you guys think it would be worth it to just repaint the whole car and pay the difference?

took it to a shop that specializes in foreign cars (they had a gallardo, r8, and 911 being worked on while i was there and a GTR that was just finished) and WOW :eek2: :eek2: excellent results. i have included pics of the estimate and am hoping you guys can chime in on what you think (Gr33nHrn3t especially since u work at a body shop). the bumper also has damage but i forgot to include that in the shots i took.

Hmmm..It doesn't look as bad as I first thought. At least you don't have any dents on the body, just long stripes of scratches.

If I were you, I will try to consult a good car detailer and see if he can buff those scratches out. May be most of it, if not all.

To me, factory paint is the best paint job you can get and it is something that deserves to be preserved as much as we can. Once you got your car repainted, it will never look or feel as original as the same, trust me.

the lip on the fender did get pushed in and has to be corrected. The long stripes of scratches actually gouged the paint all the way to the metal in some parts. I washed, clayed, polished, and waxed my car sunday evening and it did reduce the visible damage and scratch marks but the areas where paint had been scratched were even more prevalent.

also the owner of the body shop elaborated that this is a very difficult paint to match well but said that if it doesnt come out right the first time or i disapprove of it he will do a complete paint job on the entire vehicle for no additional charge. worth the risk imho.

Repaint the entire car? Wow. That is really standing behind his work, but how can he stay in business doing that? Good luck either way.

Yea thats what blew me away cuz repainting this entire car is at least a $5k job minimum. plus seeing them fixing a lambo, porsche 911, and R8 being worked on always makes u trust them a little more.