Car repair help
Discussion
Hi everyone
I am new to this forum and also newbie to cars really. I don't have much money so I am trying to repair my car as cost effectively as I can and also trying not to be ripped off by some mechanics who I have come across already. Honestly, as I don't know much, the industry feels a little wild west to me in terms of regulation and quality of services.
Anyhow, my partner crashed my car. The wheel is damaged and fender and light is damaged. The front may also need to be realigned. I purchased the car back from the insurance company as they didn't pay out in full.
I will do another post for the wheel but I am trying to get a fender. Some mechanics have warned me off aftermarket.
I found a fender in the completely wrong colour with a breaker. The question I have is do I buy a new fender primed (costs more) or get the different colour. What makes more sense. The second hand one is clearly cheaper.
Any help is appreciated
I am new to this forum and also newbie to cars really. I don't have much money so I am trying to repair my car as cost effectively as I can and also trying not to be ripped off by some mechanics who I have come across already. Honestly, as I don't know much, the industry feels a little wild west to me in terms of regulation and quality of services.
Anyhow, my partner crashed my car. The wheel is damaged and fender and light is damaged. The front may also need to be realigned. I purchased the car back from the insurance company as they didn't pay out in full.
I will do another post for the wheel but I am trying to get a fender. Some mechanics have warned me off aftermarket.
I found a fender in the completely wrong colour with a breaker. The question I have is do I buy a new fender primed (costs more) or get the different colour. What makes more sense. The second hand one is clearly cheaper.
Any help is appreciated
Bob2611 said:
Hi everyone
I am new to this forum and also newbie to cars really. I don't have much money so I am trying to repair my car as cost effectively as I can and also trying not to be ripped off by some mechanics who I have come across already. Honestly, as I don't know much, the industry feels a little wild west to me in terms of regulation and quality of services.
Anyhow, my partner crashed my car. The wheel is damaged and fender and light is damaged. The front may also need to be realigned. I purchased the car back from the insurance company as they didn't pay out in full.
I will do another post for the wheel but I am trying to get a fender. Some mechanics have warned me off aftermarket.
I found a fender in the completely wrong colour with a breaker. The question I have is do I buy a new fender primed (costs more) or get the different colour. What makes more sense. The second hand one is clearly cheaper.
Any help is appreciated
Sorry to hear about your problem.I am new to this forum and also newbie to cars really. I don't have much money so I am trying to repair my car as cost effectively as I can and also trying not to be ripped off by some mechanics who I have come across already. Honestly, as I don't know much, the industry feels a little wild west to me in terms of regulation and quality of services.
Anyhow, my partner crashed my car. The wheel is damaged and fender and light is damaged. The front may also need to be realigned. I purchased the car back from the insurance company as they didn't pay out in full.
I will do another post for the wheel but I am trying to get a fender. Some mechanics have warned me off aftermarket.
I found a fender in the completely wrong colour with a breaker. The question I have is do I buy a new fender primed (costs more) or get the different colour. What makes more sense. The second hand one is clearly cheaper.
Any help is appreciated
A few questions that might help people reply.
What car do you have? (Make, model, year)
What is the colour?
And most importantly where do you live?
You might get more replies with this information.
Who is going to be doing all the work?
Second hand parts can be a good buy if you’re planning to put in the graft yourself to prep, sand and then paint the panel. If however you’ll be paying someone else then the cost of their labour could quickly outweigh the additional cost of the new primed parts.
Second hand parts can be a good buy if you’re planning to put in the graft yourself to prep, sand and then paint the panel. If however you’ll be paying someone else then the cost of their labour could quickly outweigh the additional cost of the new primed parts.
Yes. It's the front drivers wing. As the car needs to be realigned, i have to get a mechanic to put the wing and light on to do that apparently.
In terms of spraying it, I didn't think it made sense for me to of that as I have never done it before and I wasn't fitting it. I am prepared to have a go though if I was fitting it. This is why I wanted to know if it made sense to get a primed one or one that needs to sanded back to be resprayed
In terms of spraying it, I didn't think it made sense for me to of that as I have never done it before and I wasn't fitting it. I am prepared to have a go though if I was fitting it. This is why I wanted to know if it made sense to get a primed one or one that needs to sanded back to be resprayed
Its a 'Six of one' type question.
Aftermarket primed wings don't tend to fit as well as OEM body panels, but they are new and primed like you said, so less for a bodyshop to do before respraying.
OEM wings off a breaker are a better fit, but the bodyshop need to sand them back to respray the colour you want.
You state its AW7 which is a metallic silver. Generally you cant paint a silver metallic 'edge to edge' so really the door and bonnet should be painted a well so the difference in how the metallics lie down are blended, so you don't get the common obvious difference where the newly painted panel meets other edges, but again its all adding more cost to you.
There isn't a right or wrong answer, the difference in painting an aftermarket primed wing against the extra couple of hours labour in sanding back a second hand wing are probably going to cancel each other out.
Not a great answer, sorry, but there are pro's and cons to each.
Aftermarket primed wings don't tend to fit as well as OEM body panels, but they are new and primed like you said, so less for a bodyshop to do before respraying.
OEM wings off a breaker are a better fit, but the bodyshop need to sand them back to respray the colour you want.
You state its AW7 which is a metallic silver. Generally you cant paint a silver metallic 'edge to edge' so really the door and bonnet should be painted a well so the difference in how the metallics lie down are blended, so you don't get the common obvious difference where the newly painted panel meets other edges, but again its all adding more cost to you.
There isn't a right or wrong answer, the difference in painting an aftermarket primed wing against the extra couple of hours labour in sanding back a second hand wing are probably going to cancel each other out.
Not a great answer, sorry, but there are pro's and cons to each.
Thank you. Its a great answer BTW. I am not looking at aftermarket. I am looking at new oem against the the secondhand ones. I can get second hand for 170 or new oem for £260 (most other places are charging me double but one shop has it for that from what I can see).
You are right about the paint I think. The one mechanic car enthusiast that has helped me and is the only one to actually have real answers and contacts said exactly the same thing. (sorry I have received so much BS over the last few weeks). I also am trying to find answers without bothering him too much. It's not his burden, it's mine.
You are right about the paint I think. The one mechanic car enthusiast that has helped me and is the only one to actually have real answers and contacts said exactly the same thing. (sorry I have received so much BS over the last few weeks). I also am trying to find answers without bothering him too much. It's not his burden, it's mine.
Bob2611 said:
finlo said:
Hold out for a second hand wing in the correct colour.
I am trying to, but I have not really seen much out there since I got the car back in February. I have an oem option but I may hold out until I can get the bits for the wheel sorted. E-bmw said:
Bob2611 said:
finlo said:
Hold out for a second hand wing in the correct colour.
I am trying to, but I have not really seen much out there since I got the car back in February. I have an oem option but I may hold out until I can get the bits for the wheel sorted. I wanted going to ask. What are best sites for finding parts from breakers. I am reverting to ebay alot. Is there specialist sites garages or mechanics know about which the lay person does not which goes beyond a Google.
Bob2611 said:
E-bmw said:
Bob2611 said:
finlo said:
Hold out for a second hand wing in the correct colour.
I am trying to, but I have not really seen much out there since I got the car back in February. I have an oem option but I may hold out until I can get the bits for the wheel sorted. I wanted going to ask. What are best sites for finding parts from breakers. I am reverting to ebay alot. Is there specialist sites garages or mechanics know about which the lay person does not which goes beyond a Google.
Parts gateway
I am sure there may be others, google something like "car parts/breakers" etc.
They are both sites where you put your details & what you are looking for, they send that to a nationwide set of breakers & quote you for the bits.
Bob2611 said:
I wanted going to ask. What are best sites for finding parts from breakers. I am reverting to ebay alot. Is there specialist sites garages or mechanics know about which the lay person does not which goes beyond a Google.
Remember that a professional mechanic will have vastly different requirements to a home mechanic.- every hour spent tracking down the cheapest parts is an hour not spent charging £££ labour working on cars
- any car could enter the garage for repairs so a supplier that covers all-makes is much more convenient than some guy on eBay who specialises exclusively in 2nd gen Renault Meganes
- every car awaiting parts is taking up space or maybe even stuck on a ramp so delivery quickly is essential
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