When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Hi, I'm in Canada. I got into an accident today. Basically the guy's Toyota FJ scraped the right rear quarter panel of my benz. You can see all the white scratches in the pictures. Don't mind the dirt, it's just the winters here.
How bad is this? How much do you think it would cost to fix? There's no dents. Worst part is near the tail light.
Get that in the right light and there will be a dent there for sure, I always work on a scratch is worth $1000, you have to remember that its not just paint the damage and off you go, there is all the strip, repair, prep, paint, polish and refit.
To do a repair like that it would be rear bumper remove and disassemble, remove inner boot trim and remove tail light, being petrol tank side some places will remove the filler flap, remove rear door handle (they have to blend into the door), do repairs and masking prep (whole car as they will blend paint on the roof strip right into the front pillar ), paint 1/4 panel, rear bumper and blend into door and roof, clearcoat all repairs, de-nib, polish then reassemble, wash whole car ready for customer inspection.
As you can see its a bigger job than it seems, I dont know if its the angle of the picture but it looks like the tail light lens is cracked so add another $700
I would say without seeing the car in the flesh, at a guess $1800
Probably $2,500 if that quarter panel can be straightened, closer to $5k if it needs a quarter. Pictures are too close to really tell but the one with the taillight, you can see the body seam under the 1/4, showing through, so it's a palm sized dent.
Once you hit about 60% of the value of the car, expect them to want to total it, and not fix. They know it doesn't get cheaper once it gets to a shop, and they will have 2-4 weeks of rental. Make sure and ask for license fees (to plate the new car) and sales tax. Typically, you get your unused % of license fees, but sales tax here is roughly 8%, worth asking for.
Some carriers will let you retain salvage for 25-40% of the value, meaning they write you a check and you keep the car and fix it yourself.
Get on Car-part.com to find used parts, like that taillight, and the bumper.
Just bought a right door mirror, painting the same color as my car, roughly $1k from Merc, $150 from a salvage yard shipped. Installed in 10 minutes.
The bumper looks fixable, so does the quarter panel. The bigger question is did you get the other guys info and insurance?? He’s most likely liable for the damage and the cost won’t mean much. I don’t see this as a total. Be really careful on selecting a Bodyshop! Maybe go after him for de-valuing your car as well.
So it turns out there is in fact a light dent near the tail light (where those scratches are). The repair would consist of removing the bumper and quarter panel, repainting them, and straightening the quarter panel.
Could very well be, especially if you are talking Canadian dollars. Impossible to say from those close up picture you posted. Overall, piecing the pictures together that seems like a pretty big area they would have to refinish. Haven't you taken it to a body shop for an estimate yet? I would think a competent shop could give a good estimate within 10-15 minutes of inspecting it.
So it turns out there is in fact a light dent near the tail light (where those scratches are). The repair would consist of removing the bumper and quarter panel, repainting them, and straightening the quarter panel.
Is that really 2500$?
it’s possible but I think that’s a bit high on price, depends on their rates and what they are doing as a whole. You still haven’t said if you have the persons insurance info and your making a claim.
That will be costly, if you want to do it to new car standards. You obviously need the quarter panel and bumper refinished, but in doing so, the shop will also need to paint/blend into the rear door and the trunk lid. To do a "new car standard" repair, I usually estimate $1,000 per panel to be worked, plus extras like the bumper. So, if you were in The States, and used a MB Certified shop, I would guess that could cost $3,500-4,000 USD complete. I saw a similar hit to a 2017 E300 that ran $5,000 USD, so I imagine this could be similar.
There WILL be shops who will do it for less. . . maybe much less. They just wouldn't meet my personal standards. (Many years ago, I managed one of the largest hot rod/custom car shows east of the Rockies.)
That will be costly, if you want to do it to new car standards. You obviously need the quarter panel and bumper refinished, but in doing so, the shop will also need to paint/blend into the rear door and the trunk lid. To do a "new car standard" repair, I usually estimate $1,000 per panel to be worked, plus extras like the bumper. So, if you were in The States, and used a MB Certified shop, I would guess that could cost $3,500-4,000 USD complete. I saw a similar hit to a 2017 E300 that ran $5,000 USD, so I imagine this could be similar.
There WILL be shops who will do it for less. . . maybe much less. They just wouldn't meet my personal standards. (Many years ago, I managed one of the largest hot rod/custom car shows east of the Rockies.)
one of my past jobs was writing estimates and dealing with insurance. I was literally iron clad on estimates I wrote and sent in to insurance, they literally could not argue with me. I had an ml350 that needed a fender and door repair which required more work then this car will. If I got serious on writing this car maybe I’d end up at the absolute top 4K if lucky to do an OEM quality repair, most shops won’t do even remotely near the work I’d write to be done. For a typical shop I’d say maybe 10hrs max on body, then maybe another 5 for paint, then there are expendable materials and paint. I’d say 350 max for this. Here in NY rates are give or take 65-70$/hr. So at 65/hr it’s be like 650$ on body, 325 on paint, and 350$ for paint/materials. So I’d say something like 1400$-2000$ usd here in metro NY. Not even close to $4000. I’d get around maybe $3000 from insurance, a bit less if it’s customer pay so I’d say $2500-$2800 to do the job correctly. A private shop would do a fraction of the work so they should maybe be max $2000 on a typical estimate. Poster has to show the shops estimate he was given to see if he’s being greased. If he doesn’t and won’t even say if insurance is involved I don’t see any point in trying to help further. That’s key info he’s not giving us...
one of my past jobs was writing estimates and dealing with insurance. I was literally iron clad on estimates I wrote and sent in to insurance, they literally could not argue with me. I had an ml350 that needed a fender and door repair which required more work then this car will. If I got serious on writing this car maybe I’d end up at the absolute top 4K if lucky to do an OEM quality repair, most shops won’t do even remotely near the work I’d write to be done. For a typical shop I’d say maybe 10hrs max on body, then maybe another 5 for paint, then there are expendable materials and paint. I’d say 350 max for this. Here in NY rates are give or take 65-70$/hr. So at 65/hr it’s be like 650$ on body, 325 on paint, and 350$ for paint/materials. So I’d say something like 1400$-2000$ usd here in metro NY. Not even close to $4000. I’d get around maybe $3000 from insurance, a bit less if it’s customer pay so I’d say $2500-$2800 to do the job correctly. A private shop would do a fraction of the work so they should maybe be max $2000 on a typical estimate. Poster has to show the shops estimate he was given to see if he’s being greased. If he doesn’t and won’t even say if insurance is involved I don’t see any point in trying to help further. That’s key info he’s not giving us...
Dude relax lol..
Canada has no fault insurance, so regardless of the situation it's my insurance covering it. I'm going to end up picking my own body shop and use the insurance money to do this repair as well as repair/repaint my front bumper (1st owner used crappy paint + there are some cracks)
The place I found isn't exactly the most high budget place, but at least I know they will do the front bumper, which I was going to have to pay 500$ for anyway. So might as well take advantage of this mess
I would find a small body shop who would do it for much less, given the age of the car I personally would settle for a reasonable price and workmanship.
01-10-2020, 06:31 PM
