So I had minor fender bender - and I am very meticulous about my car, so I went to Detailing Dynamics because I know they do top notch work. (although I've never really read anything about their bodywork - only their detailing). Eddie quoted me $1900 to fix the damage below (if I pay cash). But after reading about other accidents, it does seem like a bit much. On the plus side, he said he would get the bodyshop to also install the new retro headlights I have on the way.

Is this how much it should cost to fix damage like this?

 

a second quote would not hurt. I can't tell how bad it is.. is the plastic molding bent up? If it is only paint it is way to high. If they offered to do your retro headlights for free... that means they are making bank off the repair. If it was just paint alone, I'd say around $1000??


Have you waxed and claybar'd it yet? if not, do so and then go for another estimate.. if it looks worse than it is than they will charge you extra

 

if you look closely you can also see there is a 3m sticker that runs along the bumper. (look under the sidemarker to see the line)

 

i think that is part of the clear corner. you can check... the clear corners come out... jus pop one side out and the other will come out after the first

 

It might be a little dented and bent, but it is hard to see. The lines don't flow quite as smooth so it probably is.

 

hmm well I'd still want another quote if it were my car...

 

go for another quote

 

hempstead auto collision
516 483 0197 ask for chris tell him kenny from infiniti sent you down. he did my work on my altima show car and is very price reputable. also works on all of konig's show cars

 

Something similar happened to my car, just more black rubbery stuff was left on my paint, and perhaps not as deep, but it all came off with a carwash and an hour scrubbing with wax and different cloths (soft and some rough).
I wouldn't rush getting it fixed professionally unless your car is leased and you're obligated to. Just paint should run you few hundred, but if the fender is bent and needs to be replaced or straightened out than I don't know. Good luck. Get 2 or 3 quotes and go with the one most reasonable considering not only price but also quality of their work.

 

almost 2k for what? i think thats tooo much get a third and fourth estimate, shop around

 

way too much.

 

lmao..u guys got to be kidding me..he needs to repaint whole fender and i would replace from cover..matters if its bowed or not..but 1900 isnt unreasonible at all if thye doing the proper blends...lol poeple think everything comes free these days..its not the 90's anymore boys and prices did go up..if u just woke up from ur nap lol


ik this is cause some trouble lol

but seriously, its a decent qoute..but they have to blend panels and stuff for that qoute to work for me no panel shooting

 

Often times body shops quote vastly different prices based on what they (and you) think is good enough. I had a pretty serious fender bender with my van, and most body shops wanted well over $1300 to fix it. I asked a few questions, and the driving factor in the price was that they wanted to replace all the damaged panels with OEM replacements from Chrysler. Naturally the part cost and painting work to do that was substantially more expensive than working with the existing damaged piece with bondo, sanding, painting, blending, whatever. I ended up picking up some of the pieces from junk yards and the price was nearly half of the original quotes.

IMO, $1900 is way too much for what appears to be very slight damage. And keep in mind that those panels are very likely to be damaged over time by road debris, rocks, bugs, etc., so it's not like they'll ever be perfect anyway. I'd say see what you can do yourself with the right detailing equipment and then shop around for better estimates. If you're not going to use insurance to pay for the fix, let the body shop know that in advance. Often times they'll try to help you out if they know you're in that position; but of course they're going to help you by finding ways to cut corners/costs. Again, it all goes back to what's good enough for you.

 

well i did get a 2nd quote from Hempstead Auto Collision. They quoted me $1200 and looked at it closer than DD did and pointed out more than I noticed. I'm gonna go with them. Impressive on Lawson also looked at it (barely) and quoted me $650, but he didn't mention taking the bend out of the fender. He wanted 6 for the repaint only.

 

The guys at Hempstead Collision are very friendly. However, I can't say I was satisfied with the job done; the body work was a little messy, some lights on my display panel don't work anymore, my sidemarker lights don't work, and most importantly, my alarm stopped working after I picked it up. I didn't notice the electrical stuff until after I left. Now all I care about from Hempstead is the body work. I did speak to Chris there about it, and he said he would clean it up for free. (the body work/repaint if needed) As for all of the electrical problems caused, I didn't mention it to the bodyshop; rather I will have the dealer look at and fix all of that under warranty. Oh well. Let's see how Round 2 at Hempstead goes.