Quick question about repairs/insurance...

[anonymous-user]

[redacted]

[p4cks]

He is correct

[snuffle]

I personaly prefer to repair rear 1/4s, rather than replace .
Reasons being

Factory welds are nearly impossible to replicate,
same goes for sealer lines,
by repairing the panel these are kept original,
also there is less risk of corrosion occuring later on a repaired panel.

But each job is decided as and when we see it.


At the end or the day it's the skill of the worker that determines the quality of repair whichever method is chosen.

Hope this helps.
BTW any chance of a picture of the damage ?

[Classic Grad 98]

He's right- relax!

[TallPaul]

I'd agree with Snuffle, obviously there comes a point when its better to replace rather than repair, but looking at your photo, after a spot of reshaping to the panel, it'll need less filler than if it was replaced.

[mchoody]

I would much rather have a repair for damage like that than lose the factory welds/sealant.

[snuffle]

Easy repair, max 1/4 of a snooker ball of filler.

[TallPaul]

Totally reasonable to expect proper panel gaps after the repair. It looks like the metal has pulled into the dent, opening up the gaps, once the damage is pushed/manipulated back out, the gaps should realign to their original state.

[blearyeyedboy]

I've had a rear panel repaired and resprayed for worse damage than that, and I couldn't tell it from new afterwards.

[TallPaul]

I would guess the bodyshop simply washed and dried the car before handing it back to you. Most bodyshop staff, whilst being knowledgeable in all aspects of paint application, are not that clued-up on matters of paint after care. They probably washed it with a well used sponge, using a fairly aggressive shampoo and then dried the car with an equally aged chamois. Personally, unless the swirls are exceptionally bad, I doubt complaining to your insurers will bring much of a result. If it really is that bad, take it back to the bodyshop and see what they have to say. Be prepared for lots of headscratching, blank looks and being told they cant see anything wrong!

[parapaul]

If it was good before you sent it in, then the swirls hopefully won't be too deeply ingrained.

I'd be tempted to give it a proper detail myself before making any real fuss - after all, it's probably due for a pre-winter session sometime around now anyway.

Having said that, if you take it away and mess with it, I don't know where you stand on getting it corrected.

Maybe a friendly call to the bodyshop would be a good start - I would imagine they have some links with local detailers.