Hello all:

Been a LONG time lurker on this site, and finally bought an '05 G35 sedan in Dec 04. Absolutely love it.... so it is with great fear and humiliation that I tell you I had an unfortunate incident in a car wash (totally my fault) that led to a rather crushed fender.

It was a low/no speed incident -- the damage is totally restricted to the fender. Just got a quote from Crest as follows:

~ $300 parts (a new fender)
~ $200 body labor (5 hours)
~ $300 paint labor (7 hours)
~ $200 paint supplies

Does this seem reasonable ? Any suggestions on a better/cheaper place for such body work ?

Or do I just need to suck it up for being a dumba** and fork over the cash ?

Thanks folks,

s_cubed

 

Try sewell collision...talk to david norris...they have fixed all my cars and are great...btw why not claim it on your collision policy???

 

My coupe is currently getting the rear bumper replaced at Stuart's Paint and Body. They're partners with the Boardwalk Group ( Audi, Porsche, Ferrari ) so I hope their work is top notch. In the past, I haven't been pleased with the work done by national body shops and dealers, so I decided to give local shops a chance. This place came highly recommended by a local Corvette performance shop that I hold with high regards. I'll follow up with the results.

I was debating whether to fix the bumper (very minor damage) due to past experiences with body shops, but seeing an Aston Martin and a Ferrari in their showroom put my mind to ease. If their parking lot was an accurate indication of the cars they work on, my G was the cheapest there!

 

I am picking up my car today...06 front coupe bumper on my 03 and new rear bumper 2-toned...black over the exhaust tips...similar to bat's vinyl for that diffuser area...btw if they are putting on a new fender where is the 5 hours being spent

 

I actually bought the car from Sewell after a lousy experience with the Crest sales staff. Am concerned whether filing an insurance claim for $1000 is worth the increase in premiums that they would ding me with.

Assume the 5 hours of body labor is for the removal and replacement of the fender. Obviously, it's the labor that is the killer here... 75% of the quote ! Don't know if they're being overly conservative.

Thanks for the suggestions,

s_cubed

 

Dealerships will always tear you a new one on labor. Like these guys are saying....even the most respectable dealerships outsource to body shops. You can cut out the middle man (i.e. the dealership) and go directly to the body shop yourself. That alone will save money. On the parts.......OEM stuff can be purchased online for less, but the fear there is getting some of the parts but not all of the parts you need. I would at least look for an OEM fender online....then maybe buy the little brackets and bolts from the dealership.....but if you know you need a fender anyway you may as well look.

 

it all depends on what your deductable is and what your record looks like...1 claim isnt going to kill your rates if you have a good record...

 

And I wouldn't feel that humilated bro....it could be worse......for example.......My brother backed into my G....missed the headlight assembly (thank goodness) did about $1,000 damage to my car and his car. The problem with all of this is we have $1,000 deductibles. So it was the worst situation in the history of the world!!!! 2 cars in the same family with damages totalling just under insurance coverage. Long story short the worst kind of wreck you can possibly get int is using your car to hit another one of your cars.....it doubles your headache.

Of course it's funny NOW! but at hte time it sucked.