Scratch & Dent - Civic vs Plow Truck

['13_Si]

Mods - Feel free to move if another sub-forum is more appropriate.

Hey Guys. A contractor who clears the parking lot at my work decided he wasn't going to look before backing up and backed right into my car. I've brought the car to two different shops for estimates and the owner of the contracted company has agreed to pay for repairs. Both shops have indicated that they can repair the bumper cover and fender and restore it to like new condition. Both have included a replacement headlight in their estimates as well. I'm a little skeptical that the fender can be repaired to an an acceptable level, I'm quite particular with this type of thing. What are your thoughts? Any input is appreciated!

This is where I was parked, note the tracks from the truck.

 

[Nomar06]

Front bumper prob will just need a sanding and a re-paint. The crease/body line in the quarter panel would have me worried but all depends on how good the body shop is. A new panel would be ideal but then you get into how much the panel is versus repairing your panel.

 

[webby]

agreed. A good shop could probably pull a lot of that out and then filler/sand to make the fender work. I'd think the expense of labor/repairing/painting the fender would be more costly than just replacing/painting a new fender. I'd push for a new fender.

 

['13_Si]

I'm waiting to receive quotes from both repair shops with an OEM replacement fender vs repairing the existing one. But from my research it will be cheaper to replace it given they have 4.5+ hours of labor quoted at $75/hr just for the fender repair.

 

[Flightmaster127]

Might depend on the shop but depending on the tech i would think replacing the whole fender may be cheaper than metalwork. That being said that dent could be hammered out and filled.

 

[Dar-Dar]

The dent can be pulled but it will be hard to put it back to shape without the use of body filler (as mentioned). It will be more time consuming for autobody shops to repair (dent fix, body fill, sand, prep, paint) it than getting a new OEM panel that is ready to paint.

 

[Tak]

push to get a new fender. or use the $ to get a carbon fiber panel which looks better too.
i dont like any work with pulling then putting bondo on. that panel never look the same as original.

 

['13_Si]

Thanks for all the input. Looks like I'll be getting a new fender and headlight. The bumper will be repaired and repainted as the scratches are very shallow. I'll post pics once everything is completed. Parts are getting ordered today.

 

[Intrepid]

should be able to buff it out !

 

['13_Si]

Hey guys, I got the car back last week. I'm happy with the results overall. Take a look at let me know what you guys think. It's still winter so this is about as clean as it gets for this time of year.

 

[Nix]

Looks like they did a nice job.

 

[webby]

Agreed. Looks like they did a nice job