Is this body shop full of it?

[e9999]

so, this acquaintance of mine with a 100 goes to a reputable body shop, supposedly one of the best in town for a dent in the front fender. Sorta of a crease and an area, maybe 4" by 6" that is recessed following an encounter of the close kind in a parking lot.

The shop tells her that the insurance companies will not cover a full fender replacement, just pulling the dent out, bondoing it and repainting.

First, is that true about not replacing the fender? I assumed that replacing the whole thing was standard procedure.

Second, I'm reflexively leery about using Bondo-style stuff. I would think that this is not the most permanent fix and might spook prospective buyers. He did say that the new stuff is much better than the old Bondo.

Third, he says he'll do this by drilling holes and pulling. Presumably with a slide hammer. I assumed that everybody uses welded studs now. Not true? Holes better?

so waddaya think. Red flags or all kosher?

 

[thecrazygreek]

if your worried go somewhere else. At least he's being straight up about it all...

 

[zebrabeefj40]

I would think from the shop's point of view that they would WANT to replace the fender regardless of what insurance says. Just R&R the fender and paint. Would seem to take less time and mean more cash for the shop (able to get to the next paying job faster). If the quality of the work on the pull and fill job is supposed to be good enough not to be seen then how is the insurance co. (or the car owner) gonna know what really happened after the paint is on.

Were it my vehicle I'd be paying the difference or supplying a fender if that's what it took to get a new fender over a pull and fill job. I would also ask the insurance co. what their policy is instead of taking the shop's word for it.

Nick

 

[maximum destruction]

there are 2 possible ways to look at this. an insurance co. will not replace a repairable part because they have the price of the part, labor to install & then detrim & blend on both adjacent panels. it adds up, believe me. if the shop keeps the repair small, they can do what is called "blend within", which means just the repair is colored & then the whole panel is re-cleared. the shop would make more money repairing the panel. they probably said around 6 hours to repair the damage + paint time & detrim. it only pays about 2 hours to change a fender. drilling holes is old school, REAL OLD! the best repair would be to remove the fender & hammer & dolly it to have the least amount of filler, but stud pins will work as well as long as they rustproof the back where the pins burn the e-coat off. if the shop does great work u should'nt have to worry about the next owner because they would'nt know it unless u told them. u're friend can also ask for diminshed value.

 

[e9999]

she talked to them and got something about how it's better not to remove an OEM part because of subsequent less than perfect fitting. I can see some of the reasons behind this, but to what extent is this true in general?

can they even usually do a decent job rustproofing the back of the studs without removing the fender?

will need to talk directly to the manager and try to figure this out with more real info.

added:
talked to the manager. He explained that it's much cheaper to do a blend within and less likely to generate big blending and new paint issue problems; and that he prefers to do it that way rather than replacing the whole fender, even for his own car. Said that they would rustproof the back (good suggestion!) and keep the filler to a minimun (he said like 1/16") and that a magnet would stick to that. I can buy some of that. And he'll do a couple of freebie touchups elsewhere. All in all, seems fairly reasonable.

 

[Wile E Coyote]

From your description, it makes sense to me. Go with your gut.

 

[cruiser88]

Bondo is perfect for filling in small dents......sucks for rust repair. In a fender that is made in the last decade or so there is no need to weld studs then pull simply because they are so thin compared to the older stuff.

yea.....call the insurance company first to make sure they are not trying to get more labor costs. If they agree......then you are golden. Just hope they can match the older paint.

 

[Michael Hanson]

Seems like the ins. co. is calling the shots with that shop.Get everthing in writting! Mike

 

[e9999]

well, I saw the result. Looks perfect. Absolutely cannot see a thing. (Have not seen the back, but they assured that the back was rustproofed.) They must have taken my concerns to heart cuz a magnet sticks just fine to the repair, so must have been a very light coat.

(Too good to be true, I know. Indeed, they messed up another painting job, forgot to do half of it... geez....)

 

[maximum destruction]

i'm glad it worked out for ya'.