The top of the gash will need to be filled, as it goes down it looks like it is in the primer. Buffing it might help,but some of it will have to be filled and painted.

 

I think the body panel is more expensive than the bumper because it is not plastic like the bumper. It cost me around 2500 for a little den on my left rear panel, just above the tire. Just like every den in this kind of car would cost more than few hundred bucks for sure!!! Seem like you can aks your wife to give you a whole month of massages! hehe
pd

 

Only thing I can think of why the price is so high is, they can't just paint that one little spot and feather it into the rest of the paint.
They'd have to paint that whole body section, assuming it's a rear fender that goes into the 1/4 panel and up across above the rear window, that's a large area.
Not an expert on body work/paint but think that might be why...idk.
If say a door or front fender, they'd only have to paint those smaller areas as a whole.
Get other estimates or try buffing and live with it I guess. Read somewhere about touch up paint, then wet sand (000 I think), repeat a few times until paint has filled deep gash, then protect. Must be careful not to take all the clear coat off in the surrounding area.

Oh...don't let your wife touch the BBQ. That's a guys job anyways... j/k.

 

Conner's Body Shop did good work on my sedan recently (removed door dent & painted, painted and installed aero bumper, painted door handles to match the body). They were recommended by the guys at Z-Car Garage.

Ask for Conner. He runs a small but professional shop near the San Jose airport:
Conner's Body Shop
1098 Stockton Ave
San Jose, CA 95110
(408) 292-5101

 

THe price is probably high because if they paint even a little piece on the panel they will have to do clear on the entire panel, which I think reaches all the way to the roof. But I am no expert.

Get the extra massages....

 

They can blend in that spot and then clean the full fender ONLY. This is a cake walk.

 

^^^ Then they're way too high on price.
My bad...just looked this AM and my comment about panel going above rear window was wrong. Section really not that big to repair.

 

I had a deep gash on the bottom portion of my quarter panel. They charged me $1300 ($500 deductible) to fix it. They did awesome work matching the pearl paint. They repainted almost the whole left back end of my car. They removed my bumper, sideview mirror, and side glass when they repainted the car. They guaranteed their work for the life of the vehicle. Remember, you get what you pay for.

 

They did that because they needed to blend. Thats why you paid more.

 

Been really crazy at work... I haven't had time to get another estimate...The wife doesn't think it's that big of a deal(She has a Subaru Outback Sport that she beats on)She doesn't really understand why I'm so **** about my car...(No extra "Massages")But she's an awesome lady and lets me spend money on things she doesn't care about so no complaints here...I will get it fixed if I can get a reasonable estimate...I figure some places that are busy aren't going to do the small jobs unless they can make a good profit...