L.I.T

Last night, some heartless person decided to deface the driver's side door on my 2005 SLK 350. 3 looooong deep keymarks - clearly deliberate.

Of course, I can't (with good conscience) let those keymarks remain. So I will need to take the car in for body work. Now, I'm assuming they will have to repaint the entire driver's side door....but I don't think they will need to replace it, as there are no dents, etc.

My question is this - I know that often, dealerships contract out bodywork to smaller companies around the area. Is there a way to find out which shops they use, and take out the middle man?

And also, has anyone had to do this - and about how much did it cost?

Thanks for any help.

benzmodz

The whole side of the car should be repainted.

etyu

If you have good rapport with the service manager or service advisor or technician, they can tell you in confidence.

The best references are from friends that have used a particular body shop.

I'm sorry to hear about what happened.

kenstudios

In the body work industry jobs like that are considered minor and don't require the car repainted. Suprise, these are repaired with simple products like Zaino clay/buffing stone and wax products unless the groove has dented the metal. The key is to know when to stop. They won't tell you that.

Sgooter

A close friend recently suffered a bad driver side door ding on his SLK320: body metal dented and paint chipped over about 1.3 inches diameter area in the center of his door -- it looked ugly. He had a local upscale body shop fix the dent and repaint + clear coat the entire door. Total repair cost was $450, and it now looks showroom perfect with no telltale signs of repair. Good luck.

TA-9FF

Sorry to hear what happened to your car man. I noticed you live in Dallas also. Where were you when this happened? There are some places in DFW I don't take my car, and I'm in an 06 C230 SS, not an SLK! Dallas people suck.

boylston

Good luck with the repair. If you have trouble getting info from the dealer, check with the valet manager at one of the nice hotels and find out where they send cars out for repair. After my car was damaged by a hotel valet in Boston, they sent it out to a very good independent body shop, where I will return if something else happens to one of my cars.

L.I.T

Thanks so much for the variety of information....

I think the most difficult part will be finding a reputable place in Dallas/Ft Worth that will give me an unbiased estimate. Luckily, I have some friends that are 'connected' and might be able to help

There is no dent in the door - it is a 'clean keying' (if there is such a thing!)...but down to the metal, for certain.

I'm not sure if they could actually wax-stick and buff it out (one of the scratches is a good 1mm wide), but perhaps repainting won't hurt as much as I thought. And if I'm lucky, maybe it really will disappear with some good touch-up/buffing.

Thanks for the comment about the price. I was so worried, thinking at least $1500 for the door alone.

TA-9FF - I'm actually a chick, but (oddly enough) I thank you for the 'man' comment. I'm kind of a tom-boy when it comes to cars.

I was at my old apartment complex in far North Dallas at a friend's house party. I don't know if someone was just p/o'd at the storms, or what....but they certainly took something out on my car.

Tomorrow, I'll check with a couple of body repair shops that serve some of the various auto dealers in town...we'll see what they say.

Thanks again

Sgooter

I forgot to mention earlier that this type of damage is something your auto insurance should take care of under the comprehensive coverage section of the policy. Years ago my new one-month old 911 was "keyed" to the tune of about $4000 in body repair and custom paint work, and my comprehensive insurance policy covered the repair cost. The repairs were done by a specialty body shop in Virginia acclaimed as the best on the entire east coast, which I chose versus the run-of-the-mill body shop preferred by my insurance company. I told them they were charging me premiums based on the car being a Porsche, so why should I agree to have the car repaired as if were a Ford. No hassle, just a necessary conversation.

And no, the insurance company did not cancel my policy afterwards.
Again, good luck to you.

L.I.T

Thanks Sgooter,

I'm actually a little weary of claiming it on my insurance....only because last Sept (in my old Acura), I was involved in a 5mph rear end collision after avoiding a side impact collision from a blonde lady gabbing on her cell phone who ran a red light.

The damage to my vehicle was minimal, and I claimed nothing. The damage to the 1993 Kia Sportage was also minimal, but they did make a claim on my insurance. This was my first (and hopefully only) accident, so they did not raise my premium.

But I'm afraid if I claim this, they will indeed raise my premium and/or drop me.

Allstate....you just never know.

Crosis

Check the laws in your state. Some states have insurance laws that prohibit a premium increase for claims where you were either not ticketed or the car was unoccupied and legally parked.