I had an accident recently, which I showed in a separate post.

The damage is limited to the panel lip area around the wheel well. Is the damage bad? No it's not. There are two options. First the panel can be removed, which would increase the chance of leaks and squeeks. I'm sure this would happen, even out of a good shop. Or the second option would be to attempt to smooth it out with light impact and most likely bondo.

I already know the door and bumper requires new paint, due to blending.

The shop I will most likely go to has been in business 30+ years and is on the BBB as a member. No complaints. Majority of the cars are Lexus, BMW, Jaguar, Porsche and a few common ones as well.

The owner tells me don't worry this is a light job and he can guarantee it will work out. He said I can easily make more money by changing the panel yadda yadda... but why bother when I know I can make it good again.

Any advice?

Thank you.

 

Change it!!!, why would you wanna bondo a G35!

 

I hear what you are saying. However, when they take off the panel its not perfectly taken at the weld seams. They still have to cut into the panel. So when they reweld the new panel you still have to use bondo at these locations.

Ultimately, the same amount of bondo will have to be used. It shouldn't be much in any case.

 

Agreed and with today's technologies there is no reason to cut and reweld. If I remember your previous post (taxi swipe right?) most of the damage can be pulled w/o drilling holes. Hammer off dolling the area and a little heat and it should take nothing more than a mil skim coat and a heavy primer and be as good as new. The panels today are very thin and lightweight so its easier to rework them.

 

^^^what he said, i had a similar repair done on my G last year. This is like surgery on your car and IMO you want the least invasive method. I would let them re work that panel, in place, and try to keep the repainting of surrounding panels to a minimum. Every time a panel is removed and replaced the chances of rattles and future problems increases.

 

https://g35driver.com/forums/g35-coupe-v35-2003-07/109042-accident-need-advice.html

Is the link.....

You guys are absolutely right. Least invasive is the way. He said the damage is not bad. If you look at the pics (they don't really do justice, due to low light conditions) you will see spot dent points. They never broke through the skin of the panel, but it occured at points where multiple curves meet.

He said they will take off the interior trunk panel to help work the push out in the flat spots. He definitely wants to avoid removing the panel that really alters the car. If he can pull it off it will avoid long term residual loss from it. That's my goal.