Need opinion on body work
 

Hey all... a little while ago I posted (aka vented) about some jerks who took a bb gun to my passenger fender (luckily only one bb was on target). anyway, i'm going to get it repaired but I was wondering if anyone knows if the only proper way to do this is to repaint the entire fender. The Mazda dealer here has a body shop and says that they don't need to repaint the entire fender to make it look new again. Should I be worried about the paint blending properly? One body shop I went to quoted me almost $700 to do the repair and talked about even having to blend the paint on the hood. The Mazda body shop quoted me $235. BIG difference there... Am I worrying too much about nothing? ;) I figure if they do reputable business I shouldn't worry and that he does back his work with a gaurantee and if I'm not satisfied I'm gonna open my big mouth (and no one likes when I do that!) Thanks all for your help.

I would go to the dealer for the repair. I would feel better about the dealer doing anyway. If they mess it up there are alot of ways to make them fix it right. (many channles of communication to be used if needed) Where as the independant body shop is owned by one person and alot of times no further means of communication to use if you are unsatisfied and he refuses to re-fix the problem. Most peopl do guarantee work when it comes to getting your money in their hand.........Afterwards is often times another ballgame.............Duncan

is the paint chipped? if not, get it fixed at dentwizard.com

they can completely take out the dent without any paints.
i recommend that instead of getting your car touched up.

$99 for one dent.

yup, paint was taken clear off. i wish all it was was just the dent. i could have the dent taken out i guess and touch it up myself... that might look better than nothing at all...

a good body shop should be able to "blend" the paint in around the repaired area. you would not know anyone had touched it!

if you're gonna need to pay significant money, i would get the dent pulled out professionally and just touch it up myself. im assuming that the chip size is less than 7mm, so it's not worth spending hundreds of dollars.

btw, don't use those DIY dent puller kits you can buy at walmart, etc. cause they will tear off your paint even more rather than pull out the dent.

Bazooka Joe's right. Check around with people you know to find a good place. $700 for a dent from a bb is INSANE!!! Go somewhere else.

I am a bodyman and $700 is not right.

Here is what you should be looking at.

They will need to remove Sideskirt to paint under it, you don't want any tape marks 0.5 Hrs
B.B gun dent should be about a 1.5 Hr dent to fix
If it's up by the hood it would be a good idea to blend the hood, they will need to take the hood squirters off 0.3 Hrs.
If you have the fender side markers they will have to be taken off, 0.2 Hrs
4.5 Hrs to blend hood
2.5 Hrs to paint Fender

so, 2.5 Hrs body labor x $36.00
7.0 Hrs Paint labor x $36.00
7.0 Hrs Paint& materials x $22.00

Total= $496.00 + Tax

This is about what my shop would charge.

This is what they would need to do, to do it right!

Dude, your crazier than a cocanut! For a freaking bb gun dent?! Even if it were within 3-5 inches from the hood, its a pretty new car and there would be no need to blend the fucking hood. No wonder my god dang insurance is so high! Im not coming to your shop! I could see $275-300 max. it doesnt even take 7 hours. $500+ For a fucking bb dent my anal cavity!

If he doesn't want the hood blended then subtract all the extra shit that goes towards blending the hood. But if the paint doesn't match he will have a darker or lighter colored spot.

Or if his car is black they shouldn't need to blend.

Yeah, thats great but with his car being that new the paint has not faded to point where blending the hood in is nessascery. My final words about this BS is that if it takes you 7.0 hours to paint a hood and fender........................You suck!.................Duncan

I'm not saying it takes that long, that is just how the system works! You can't make any money if takes you the whole 7 hrs.

There is a big book that tells what every little job pays. thats how they come up with a cost.

I don't paint, I just do the body work.

Commission, I make $500- $1000 a week, and I only work about 35 hrs. It all depends on how hard you work, and how many cars you can finish!

Hey guys... sorry for the lag of response, but I just spent a week in the hospital and hence no internet. long story. blah. Anyway, I've given much thought to the repair and I'll eventually get to it before November. It's low enough that the hood doesn't need blending and it's small enough for now that I can cover it up with some good touch up work. Just don't want it to rust later on like the small dent in my grandmom's brand new toyota did. hehe.