whtcanbrwnd04u

Walked out to my car friday morning and saw a note from far away. I thought it was a parking ticket, as i got closer i saw a phone number, (i thought a chick left her number LOL) but turned out to be a note from the dude who backed into my car. Super nice guy, and his insurance is taking care of everything.. i think. Anyway, for you bodyshop guys, how bad does this look? How long should it take to get repaired? Anyone from the austin area know of any reputable shops / dealerships they would suggest for the work?

Andretti

I'm not a body guy but I had to say its refreshing to see someone honest enough to leave a note that they damaged your car.

I'd say that seems pretty rare these days.

sorry to see the damage. Hopefully it will be repaired to your satisfaction.


Andretti

07BLACKGT

Good Lord. That's bigger than I was expecting. Glad he was a decent human being and left his real info... not too many people will do that anymore. I don't know anything about body work or prices, but here's a free bump.

whtcanbrwnd04u

Yea, nice guy for sure. I think he had a truck, thats why its such a big *** dent.

GTItoGT

yikes, I hate that dent. 5 body lines is quite a bit even for a good body guy. its not gonna be cheap. id put a new quarter panel on it if i were writing it but most insurance companies would rather straighten in. i dont know, thats a tough one. nobody can give you an estimate without standing there and feeling the dent. also difficult w/o estimating software on home computers. ask around and find a good shop in your area.

TheDutchTexan

I am surprised that happened. But, I don't know if your damage (it's not a door ding) is going to be in your vehicles carfax. If so you might need to hit him up with diminished value. It's just an extra reason for the dealership / future buyer to get a couple of hundred off the price they want to give you. And that money should not come out of your own pocket.

Still... kudo's for the guy that left a note. A lot just shrug, check for witnesses/cameras and leave if there aren't any. Money is hard to come by these days, and people get dishonest and low due to that fact.

whtcanbrwnd04u

How do i know if its going to be on the vehicles carfax? Im not worried about the cost estimate, more about the time. How long should a job like this take?

KingKung

well its not exactly the same but i recently had a hit and run on my passenger door. had to replace the skin, repaint and blend the rest. total cost was $1700 average. it took about 5 business days to repair. when you take it in they need time to order parts, remove and install parts, paint, and polish. also sometimes you need time for an insurance adjuster from the guys insurance company to check out the car. just make sure the shop you take it to doesnt just mask it off but takes off the parts and does the blending so it all matches up. and if you hear the word bondo, RUN.
the only good thing that came out of my accident was that all the little scratches on my entire right side of the car were recleared.

whtcanbrwnd04u

Oh ok, thats not TOO bad. A buddy of mine was telling me that it might take 2-3 weeks, which is complete b.s. IMO.

I think ive decided on taking it to a dealership. Price is not the issue here, as his insurance is taking care of it. Its just so much easier taking it to a ford dealer rather than find a body shop i trust.. especially since i just moved here a week ago

VictoriaRR

I don't think the damage looks as bad as the first picture makes it out to be. The lighting can really play tricks on the eyes. The other two pictures make more sense. It doesn't seem that your door has damage. If it does it's probably just chipped paint along the edge... pretty common even without getting backed into, lol. It would seem your rear quarter body panel would just need to be changed out, providing there isn't any further damage other than the panel itself. If his insurance is taking care of it that's good for you... luckily he left you a note. I'd say with inspection to assess the damage, ordering of parts, and then the actual repair process you're probably looking at a minimum of a week. I'd be surprised if it got done quicker, but stranger things have happened.

Good luck to you and glad that the car isn't as bad as it could have been.