Looking to buy 100 but it has body damage - worth repairing?

Hi all - just joined and looking to get buy a 2000 100. Has 200k mileage, was a family car, and seems to have been well maintained. Never left the area of the dealership, and the man's father was the head of sales there so he always got the maintenance done there regularly. Looks to be a good buy according to the many posts here stressing maintenance as the main thing to look at when buying. Everything looks good, but the only problem is the rear fender was banged up pretty bad - owner said a motorcycle ran into the rear driver side fender. Anyone have experience with body work on these, and how much it would cost to fix? See attached fix. Appreciate any help!

 

[gregnash]

All depends on how much you want to put into it...
Would definitely be able to be pulled out and repaired by a skilled bodywork guy, potentially paintless, but may require some riveted pull spots.
I would take the pic, or better yet the truck, to a couple highly rated bodyshops and see what they would charge. I would expect a few thousand dollars to get that all pulled out and looking good but nothing quite seems so badly creased that it cant be fixed.

 

[flintknapper]

Body shop I use that would likely be a $ 3500.00 + repair.

 

[iwashmycar]

I also see a few thou there.

 

[Trunk Monkey]

I had damage in the same area, but MUCH smaller - $6k.

 

[saucebox]

Had similar damage when I boofed it on a trail and raked the DS past a tree—$3200. That was ~2 years ago.

 

[trainewrecker]

Thanks for the feedback all. Puts it in good perspective. He's asking for $9k obo, which is decent considering the good maintenance. He's prolly taking into consideration the damage. Given the $3-6k damage, in your opinion, would $7k be a good buy if maintenance has been good?

 

[3_puppies]

Thanks for the feedback all. Puts it in good perspective. He's asking for $9k obo, which is decent considering the good maintenance. He's prolly taking into consideration the damage. Given the $3-6k damage, in your opinion, would $7k be a good buy if maintenance has been good?

IMHO the $9000 price is what they are selling for around here with 200,000 miles in decent shape
not sure where you are located, but check what they are selling for and figure you price from there.

 

[gatormark91]

There are two body seams in that area that make up the slight bulge over the wheel. Also, the fuel filler and the structure behind it is going to be whacked, too. That is not a hit that can be pulled out - it a cut out the bad and weld in a good panel cut from a junkyard truck repair. The rear passenger door is probably a replace, too.

$5-6K easy, if not more, and that shade of silver is a VERY hard color to match. Expect get the whole side sprayed. A good insurance adjuster would total that one and not feel bad about it. You'll dump all sorts of cash into it, and it will never be as good as one you'd have gotten if you just spent the money up front on one that wasn't FUBAR'd.

Being a 2000, that is a $3-4000 truck, MAYBE at the auction, and that is if the underside is spotless. And if you ever go to sell it, the CarFax will kill you.

 

[habakkuk007]

$9k is crazy. I'd buy it for $4k, and not worry about repairing it - or spend $1k to make it look ok from 10 feet away. Get a quote to have it fixed, offer the difference between what it's worth without the damage minus the quote. My guess is $4k is a vey conservative number favoring the seller.

 

[ramangain]

$9K? USD?

Make him get a quote to fix the damage PROPERLY and then justify that price.

I would have given the owner a long look that conveys "are you serious?"

 

[ace10]

It's a $9-10K truck without any history of body work.

 

[trainewrecker]

Thanks all for the input. I checked it out in person, and he definitely deserved a "You serious???" look as per ramangain's suggestion. Not even worth lowballing. I'll keep looking.