Unfortunately my car was a victim of a hit and run and I need my driver's door replaced. My insurance company is being a pain so I'm doing it out of pocket. The local body shop informed me I need to replace the outer shell and they're looking to charge me $1,500 to order, install and paint this stupid thing.

I have found the part I need for $600. It's the Outer Door Shell for the Driver's Side. I am thinking about ordering this part myself, installing it and then taking it somewhere for the paint work....saving the $750 in labor and $200 on part cost in the long run.

My question is...how hard is it to replace the outer shell of a 2007 Mustang GT? Is it an easy disassembly of screws or is it a cut/weld job? I haven't been able to find anything on the web about reassembly of the door so I ordered a Mustang mechanic's manual. I'd like to gauge the difficulty of this product so I can make a decision on either letting the body shop do it or save some money and doing it myself.

Any guidance would be helpful! Thanks

 

Best bet is to look at a Haynes manual. I honestly am not sure how difficult that would be. My theory (90% of the time) is if someone else can do it, I can do it!

 

Haynes won't be in depth enough for that job. It's a pain transferring the internals of your door out and transferring them over, but if you're mechanically competent and willing to spend some time doing it right, it can be done. You may have to cut some rivets.

 

make sure you have another car to drive if you attempt this, nothing worse then tearing a door apart, then realizing you need to drive somewhere :P
cops may not like it to much

 

If you look at the door, you will see where the outer skin is folded over the inner shell. You have to go around the edge of the door with an angle grinder to get it apart, then chisel the remaining lip off the inside.

The really hard part comes with getting the new skin on properly so everything lines up right. Then you hammer the edges to where it folds over like the old one did. May also be some spot welds. Not a job I'd tackle and I've been working on cars over 40 years.

Your best bet would either be buying a complete door from a junkyard or letting a competent body shop do it.

 

+1 on that. This requires a whole different skill set. Definitely not a do-it-yourself job.

 

make that +100. Only an experienced body man should be replacing a door skin. Agree its not a DIY.

You'd be better off finding a complete door from a salvage yard and replacing it if you decide to DIY.

 

LOL, you guys are killing me sometimes!

First, let's get rid of the confusion:
It's the door skin we're talking about... the "outer" door shell is a wrong terminology since a shell encompasses everything. Outer, inner, lower, upper, doesn't matter it's all part of the shell.

Second, it's a job for the pros period!
It requires precise cutting and welding but most importantly, skills with a hammer and dolly... You have to fold the outer skin edges (sides and lower part) back inside and butt them against the inner part of the door. The factory uses a couple of tack welds there as well.

Lastly, for that price, I'd get a complete used door for no more than $400 and have a shop paint the inside out for no more than $500.
The real issue will be the match with your fender and quarter, unless your car is black.
I wouldn't let the Ins. Cie get away with this, they need to fulfill their purpose.
Don't let them pressure you...
I suspect you're dealing with Geico, lol, judging by that behavior...

Good luck.

 

Insurance companies are ******* ******* ****** ******* whose mothers must have been ****** *** ****** *** *** in a **** *******.

 

Thanks for the input guys! I'm checking a local junk yard tomorrow and see if I can get lucky! If not I'm just going to cough up the coin and have the body shop do the work.

Thanks again!