ok, the car im buying this weekend has a small hole in the tail light panel. i figured its pretty cheap to get a replacement panel so i thought i would just do that...but then i couldnt figure out if it needs to be welded in or bolted in....can anyone help me????

if it needs to be welded in, how much would it probably cost a shop to do it for?







I could always patch up the hole also....but it seems easier...and just cleaner to replace the whole piece....

 

It is welded in. Not that hard to do, not that easy either. If it is one small hole and the rest of the panel is ok I would consider patching it.

 

yeah...its probably about the size of a quarter or less...with some surface rust surrounding.

i dont have any welding stuff personally so id have to take it somewhere....how much would that end up costing do you think...?


i guess theres always the body filler or fiberglass patching options too....

 

you would need to get some solid metal behind the hole before you could body filler it.

 

well i meant like put the fiberglass strip across the back...then put some filler in there on the front.....i dono though....if its small enough...i dont think i will mind...but if its bigger looking in person....ahh just might have to get it fixed for real...i wouldnt even know if im getting ripped though since i dono how much a little hole is to fill...on average.

 

If you have the money go ahead and buy the new panel and fix the problem for good. Whos to say that next year after you plug it, the plug wont fall out? I think they are under 100 bucks but im not sure...

 

i just looked it up on cjponyparts. it was $60 plus shipping.

 

yeah i mean ive found it even cheaper elsewhere....(free shipping)....but thats not my point...my point is how am i going to weld this thing in there without any welding supplies and not too much welding experience? thats why im wondering if its gonna cost me my soul to get it welded in by someone in a shop....

 

That's easy enough to find out. Take the car to a body/welding shop and have it estimated. If you like the price, do it. If not, don't. You guys spend too much time on simple things.

 

yeah....thats my problem though...i dont know what a fair price for that is......i was just curious if someone could give me a ball park.....like..... $25-50 bucks or $50-75 or $11,500-29,000....

u know....just so i can go there with some sort of idea what the going rate for welding a panel in is.....im sure they will tell me whatever their rate is, is the going rate....