I've had my G35x for 3 weeks now and then someone side swipes my parked car in a parking lot leaving scratches and a dent on the front passenger door.

I called the local Infiniti Dealer and about a body shop to do the work and they naturally suggested the one associated with their dealership. However, their body shop is not on site at the Infiniti dealership but instead is located at the Cadillac dealership that is also run by the same family as the Infiniti
dealership. Since the Cadillac shop is further away from my house I pressed the service guy for another option and he suggested a shop closer to home that specializes in luxury car body work.

I took the car to both places to get an estimate and the Cadillac shop came in at $763 (see Estimate1.pdf) while the high end shop came in at $1,634 (see Estimate2.pdf). I've attached pics of the car after a wash (Pic1) and also of the damage (Pic3).

Both places say they'll fix the car good as new. When I told the high end shop what the Cadillac place will charge to fix the car he said he's going to paint not only the front door panel but he's also going to blend the paint into the rear door and front side panel that's over the front tire. He said he stands by his estimate and believes that needs to be done so there
are no subtle differences in paint color on the side. The Cadillac place says they've fixed damage like this before by just painting the front door itself and
matching/blending the color is not a problem.

I don't know much about painting and body work, but I know there's a big difference between the numbers I'm being quoted. I'm not sure what to do.
My insurance will pick up the cost after my $240 deductible, what should I do? Anybody else out there with body shop experience want to look at these estimates and see if I'm being taken one way or the other.

Thanks

 

Estimate1 doesn't have any parts in it. Estimate2 includes parts. It's only about $150 difference but it's an indication that the high end shop is more thorough in their estimate. If you pay $240 regardless, why not get the work done by Estimate2? BTW, doesn't your insurance company want their adjuster to sign off on the work?

 

Yes the insurance adjuster will be looking at the car tomorrow. When I asked the high end body shop what would happen if my insurance company wasn't willing to pay the price he quoted he said he'd work out the difference with the insurance company. I have a national brand insurance company and he said they do work with them all the time.

 

Anybody else with some advice on this?

 

go to the high end shop and tell your insurance company to go talk to them. It's the best thing to do. The adjuster and the body shop people bargain with each other, and you'll get the same (good) work done.

 

Thanks for the feedback.

 

Anybody else with some advice on this?

I think your better off going with the blend. Im hearing from more people that color matches are getting harder and harder. If your keeping the car, i think it would be the better choice.

Christopher

Pristine Autowerks