Minor damage - major quote... advice please
Discussion
I was driving up the M40 a couple of weeks ago in the Fiat 500 and a lorry flicked up something hard and metal, which hit the front top edge of the bonnet.
The damage amounts to a dent, probably the size of a 20 pence piece, with a chip in the paint.
First thought was to take it to a Chipsaway place, so I headed round to my local one this morning for a quote. £350 + VAT. Rather more than I was hoping!
The chap said it would need the dent filling and a full bonnet respray. I thought this was exactly the sort of minor damage these "smart" repair places were supposed to be able to put right for about £100 - £150.
Does this sort of quote sound right? Is it worth me trawling a few other smart repairers to see if any of them can come up with a cheaper solution, or have I misunderstood what they're able to solve?
The car is metallic black, if that makes any difference...
Cheers.
The damage amounts to a dent, probably the size of a 20 pence piece, with a chip in the paint.
First thought was to take it to a Chipsaway place, so I headed round to my local one this morning for a quote. £350 + VAT. Rather more than I was hoping!
The chap said it would need the dent filling and a full bonnet respray. I thought this was exactly the sort of minor damage these "smart" repair places were supposed to be able to put right for about £100 - £150.
Does this sort of quote sound right? Is it worth me trawling a few other smart repairers to see if any of them can come up with a cheaper solution, or have I misunderstood what they're able to solve?
The car is metallic black, if that makes any difference...
Cheers.
Edited by Gruber on Saturday 18th September 18:01
Smart repair involves, almost by definition, repair of less than a full panel. Because of the orientation of a bonnet or roof, a repair that does not have a visible edge requires a full panel paint, at least as regards clearcoat. Repairing a horizontal panel outside of a controlled environment is a very bad idea because of the massively higher surface area presented to falling contaminants.
Sounds a rip off to me. The same happened to my S-type except this bounced on the bonnet twice & made a noise like a bomb going off! Two huge divot marks in an aluminium bonnet & it is Blue Prism so a flip blue/green colour. My guy did a complete bonnet respray for 200quid trade, normal retail would have been 250. Fantastic job, mopped the car over after finishing & did it all in 3 days.
Both sound reasonable to me. There are some regional variations with paintwork pricing, but even with that, a small independent bodyshop with low overheads and materials costs charging £250 for a bonnet is pretty much par for the course, right up to £600 or higher for a prestige-branded operation using premium materials - pretty standard.
The whole panel will need painting or you will have a visible lacquer edge.
Its really bodyshop territory as it needs to be done in a spray booth to minimise the amount of crap that could land on it if done outside one.
Last price I heard in Leicester from 2 small bodyshops I know do good quality was £300 plus VAT. That was about 18 months ago & for a 306 sized bonnet.
Its really bodyshop territory as it needs to be done in a spray booth to minimise the amount of crap that could land on it if done outside one.
Last price I heard in Leicester from 2 small bodyshops I know do good quality was £300 plus VAT. That was about 18 months ago & for a 306 sized bonnet.
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