Help with body work advice

[Rowena]

Hi all,

I have scratched down the passenger side front door panel. It was a low fence post made of metal so has caused a dent also.

I have been quoted £3080.03 (inc VAT, £2566.69 exc) for the repair by a body shop specialist recommended by Mercedes. This seems expensive.
The breakdown was labour £1170
Parts £741 - this is for a new door
Paint £405
Additional £249

SO my questions are:
1) what is the impact on resale value if i dont get it repaired?
2) Is this expensive for the work?
3) If so where would you go to get it repaired? Will it devalue if i dont use a Mercedes recommended repair shop?

TIA

 

[EmilysDad]

that's way way too much. I'd ask around for recommendations for a decent local body shop. A new door seems excessive to me, they can normally pull dents out well enough that they can use a skim of filler. My car is a 14 plate too & no way would I use a Merc recommended body shop & I can't see that it would make any difference to the resale value.

If you give the area where you live I'm sure that someone here will be able to suggest somewhere.

 

[00slk]

It could be any amount of damage mentioned, but without a photo of the door it is very difficult to judge repair costs by phone or forum.
Though it does sounds a bit over the top to me.
We just had the N/S of the SLK repainted and that was the front wing, passenger door and rear 1/4 panel with the added repair for £500.

When I was working in a panel and paint shop the boss had a call from a person wishing him to quote over the phone on the dent on their Ford Anglia.
Described as a dent on the front wing and headlight broken my boss said you really need to drive the car in for us to look at. Later that day the car arrived on the back of the recovery truck, Yes it had a dent and broken headlight but they neglected to say the front wheel was pushed back into the bulkhead and the passenger door was jammed shut from the heavy impacted. The owner had tried to hold the boss to a price which he said he can't do unless the car was seen.
Needles to say the car wasn't repaired.
So you can see it is very hard to judge without pictures

Welcome to the forum

 

[mioba]

That sounds very high for body work, I am getting the rear arches done on my w220, rust cut out and new metal in, cost is ca 500 per side.

1) Impact on resale value, well any smart alec would say knock 3500 off the price,
2) yes, seems very high, google a body shop and a get a few quotes,
3)no, not if a good bodyshop, yes if they are backstreet cowboys

post a pic. the door damage must be substatial if it is a new door. hard to say based on what you said, a pic tells a thousand words.

 

[Rowena]

Lol, ok fair point re needing pictures to make a judgement, i promise that the wheel is all present and correct! I will take some photos this afternoon and post if thats ok?

I'm based in South London so any recommendations would be gratefully received - thank you

What do you think about the resale value of the car if i leave the scratch/dent?

Thanks again and thanks for the welcome!

Rowena

 

[LostKiwi]

I had the rust removed from both rear arches which then necessitated spraying both rear wings and it was £800.
Circa £3k sounds a lot though without being able to see the damage it's impossible to be sure.

 

[Timeandleisure]

I had the rust removed from both rear arches which then necessitated spraying both rear wings and it was £800.
Circa £3k sounds a lot though without being able to see the damage it's impossible to be sure.

That’s a good price are you able to share the details of where you had them done please? I had a quote for about 2k but it did include other areas and seemed reasonable to me. I wanted to get a second quote though.

 

[LostKiwi]

That’s a good price are you able to share the details of where you had them done please? I had a quote for about 2k but it did include other areas and seemed reasonable to me. I wanted to get a second quote though.

Ideal Motors Coachwork in Daventry.
Absolutely superb job and perfect colour match.

 

[Timeandleisure]

Thank you LostKiwi. Just waiting for my case to conclude and then I’m on it.... fingers crossed!

 

[LostKiwi]

They also did the accident repair work on the 230 after it was shunted while stopped. Again perfect job.

 

[Timeandleisure]

Ideal Motors Coachwork in Daventry.
Absolutely superb job and perfect colour match.

Would it be ideal motor coach works Brunel CL please?

 

[LostKiwi]

Would it be ideal motor coach works Brunel CL please?

It would. Christian is your man.

 

[Timeandleisure]

Again, thanks! Really appreciated.

 

[joderest]

There used to be an old motor insurance thing, if your car got damaged, you had to take it to three different repair shops for a quote, then submit the quotes, insurance company nearly always picked the cheapest.
I think that advise would still stand today, shop around, cant do any harm.

 

[Rowena]

Ok finally some pictures!!

 

[Frontstep]

Doesn't need a doorskin more disruptive than its worth.

Price quoted ludicrous.

Any reasonable shop should straighten that.

Yes it would reduce value but not by £3500 I wouldn't think.

 

[EmilysDad]

View attachment 72133 Ok finally some pictures!!

Definitely won't polish out ...

I'm not an expert, but I'm sure a good body shop could pull the majority of the dent out .... they often weld loops to the skin & slide hammer the dent out in stages.

 

[DrJZ]

In addition to Rowena's post, was wondering where would be ideal to get body work done in the South London region. Thanks for the suggestion up in Daventry, but is there any other bodyshop other members have had success closer to South London?

 

[mioba]

back to the OP. that’s not a new door let alone skin and certainly not 3grands of works. some one is yanking your chain

 

[joderest]

pick a decent local body shop, look at customer reviews, make sure they can match the colour correctly.
Does not need a new door, any painter worth his salt will get that out with minimum amount of filler, if its all done correctly, should not drop the value.
Certainly less than a grand i would think, but i am no expert.