Scraped car door -replace or repair?

[Goffriller]

Hello

I scraped the NSR door of my Honda Jazz Mk2 against a metal post trying to do a tight left turn out of a gate. There’s a horizontal deep scratch and scuffs with slight crease indenting across the door.

Is it preferable to replace a removable panel such as a door, rather than a repair job? Apart from cost, I’m thinking a replacement door would be better than a repaired door with filler in it even if only a skim.

I’ve managed to source a complete door in excellent condition with the same paint code from a salvage yard.

Thanks in advance for thoughts and advice.

Edited by Goffriller on Friday 25th January 22:27

[Pericoloso]

Assuming you have the tools ,a socket set ,screwdrivers,and the ability to do the work yourself ,then replacing is a whole lot easier than sending to a

bodyshop for a week.

Also assuming the replacement door from salvage yard is in perfect nick.

[InitialDave]

Yeah, if you've got a line on a colour matched door, I'd just swap it.

[Deep Thought]

Goffriller said:

Hello

I scraped the NSR door of my Honda Jazz Mk2 against a metal post trying to do a tight left turn out of a gate. There’s a horizontal deep scratch and scuffs with slight crease indenting across the door.

Is it preferable to replace a removable panel such as a door, rather than a repair job? Apart from cost, I’m thinking a replacement door would be better than a repaired door with filler in it even if only a skim.

I’ve managed to source a complete door in excellent condition with the same paint code from a salvage yard.

Thanks in advance for thoughts and advice.

Edited by Goffriller on Friday 25th January 22:27

What colour is the car?

You might get away with a bolt on door, but there may be some shading differences, but it should be ok.

Repairing the one thats there will usually involve not only painting the door but blending in to the panel each side of it and lacquering out those panels.

[deltashad]

Whatever is cheapest. Although a replacement door the same colour may not be the same shade. Then you spend more blending in...... hmmmm..... may just go for repair.
But a cheap repair may look badly repaired. Just live with it for a while. May grow on you.

[Goffriller]

Thanks to everyone above for your thoughts.

The replacement door is complete in excellent condition and freshly removed from the carcass in the salvage yard. The donor car is approx the same age, it’s a 2013, mine is 2012, same paint code (grey Nh737m) and same door panel trim. But I appreciate that some blending is normally recommended to get it perfectly imperceptible.

The only difference is that the donor door has a tinted window and mine is a clear window (I think it was an EX, mine is an ES) so the windows will need swapping, also apparently the electrics connection plug is different so the door will need the wiring transposed too, but should that be a fairly straightforward job for a car body shop pro?

Edited by Goffriller on Friday 25th January 22:53

Edited by Goffriller on Friday 25th January 22:54

[rodericb]

Maybe you could have tried a paintless dent removal company.


Top lurking by the way - what will the next seven years bring I wonder?

[Goffriller]

deltashad said:

Whatever is cheapest. Although a replacement door the same colour may not be the same shade. Then you spend more blending in...... hmmmm..... may just go for repair.
But a cheap repair may look badly repaired. Just live with it for a while. May grow on you.

It may not work out significantly cheaper than repair, after blending and transposing of window and electrics, but my thinking was that with a replacement it’d be ‘as new’ and I’d avoid having a door with filler?

[Goffriller]

rodericb said:

Maybe you could have tried a paintless dent removal company.


Top lurking by the way - what will the next seven years bring I wonder?

Thank you... I do read PH forums regularly and not had reason to post until now...

My aim is to stay out of trouble with driving for the next seven years

[InitialDave]

If it's factory paint on the new door and the adjacent panels, a session with something like Meguiar's Ultimate Compound should sort out any fading discrepancies.

[paintman]

If both vehicles were made around the same time using the same batch of paint then you may have a decent match with a panel swap.
If they weren't then the chances are very slim & no amount of polishing is going to make any difference as it's a metallic & all you'll be polishing is the clearcoat,
Just checked the code in the system I use & there are a number of shades.

If you have the door repaired then blending onto the adjacent panels will be required & worst case scenario is a full side paint.
Same applies if your replacement door doesn't match & that door will also need to be painted although you will save on the cost of the damage repair.

Edited by paintman on Friday 25th January 23:49

[InitialDave]

paintman said:

If they weren't then the chances are very slim & no amount of polishing is going to make any difference as it's a metallic & all you'll be polishing is the clearcoat,

I appreciate you really know your stuff on paint, and also that the "lay" of a metallic spray can have a noticeable effect, but I'd say that panel for panel out the factory, any fading due to age will also be in the clearcoat, and some compounding should alleviate noticeable differences.

[foggy]

I’d balance cost with hassle of getting the job fixed - it’s a 7yr old Jazz after all. Can you view the door at the breakers, put it up against your car and see what the paint match is like? I’d probably go with the bolt on door as fitting is within my skill set and live with any paint mismatch, whereas paint would be a hassle job getting it done.

[paintman]

InitialDave said:

paintman said:

If they weren't then the chances are very slim & no amount of polishing is going to make any difference as it's a metallic & all you'll be polishing is the clearcoat,

I appreciate you really know your stuff on paint, and also that the "lay" of a metallic spray can have a noticeable effect, but I'd say that panel for panel out the factory, any fading due to age will also be in the clearcoat, and some compounding should alleviate noticeable differences.

By all means have a go as it's possible the clearcoat may have some surface damage/dulling from car washing & dirt & you will at least have a uniformly polished surface.
Maybe a claybarring & compounding.


Problem is that with popular colours several batches will have been used - as one runs out the car maker will order another - & each will have slight differences. The difference is thus in the colour coat which you can't change by polishing the clear.
Not an issue for the car maker as they are painting whole cars but can be a PITA for any subsequent repairs.
As you say, this can be further exacerbated in later repairs due to gun technique - even with an eyematch - hence the need to blend.

[InitialDave]

Yeah, I don't disagree, I guess I'd just trust factory/factory with compounding to be a better match than factory/fresh.

[Goffriller]

Thanks to all for taking the time to reply.

The door is a very close match. I’m taking it into a body shop for a professional job including blending in, and swapping the window and wiring.

But back to my original query... is replacement of the door the preferable option than a sand/filler/paint repair?

What I suppose I’m asking is, for your expert opinions, am I doing the right thing in replacing the door instead of repairing? My thinking in replacing was that I’d not have a repaired door with filler in it and potential problems down the line depending on how good the repair was.

Cheers

[V8covin]

How can you be sure the second hand door hasn't got filler in it ?

[Mo28]

We had similar damage on my mums Yaris. Bought a salvage door off ebay but the colour match was poor due to the car being pearl white, so that was returned and paid £80 more for a new one from Toyota.

[V8covin]

Mo28 said:

We had similar damage on my mums Yaris. Bought a salvage door off ebay but the colour match was poor due to the car being pearl white, so that was returned and paid £80 more for a new one from Toyota.

Toyota supplied a door painted for £80 more than a used eBay one ?

[Goffriller]

V8covin said:

How can you be sure the second hand door hasn't got filler in it ?

That’s a good point... it looks almost new but I’m just assuming...

Anyway I got a few quotes and repair was a bit more expensive due to more labour involved... so I’ve put it in for replacement. Also, there was a couple of very minor ‘car park dings’ on the existing door, so that was another factor in thinking I might as well get the whole door replaced.

It’s a 7 year old car so I suppose I shouldn’t get too precious about it, especially as I’ve had it for just over 3 years now and put quite a lot of mileage on it, so I’d be looking to trade it in within the next year anyways...

Thanks again to everyone who took the trouble to reply. Can’t believe I’ve posted 6 or 7 times here already! I should get back to lurking LOL