My dented car - courtesy of my wife
 

I have a single car driveway that opens slightly into a 2 car garage. I arrived home one afternoon and saw my wife was parked in such a way that I could not go around her to get into the garage so I parked my car a couple car lengths back as close to the house as I could to give her room to go around if she needed to. I went into the house and told her where my car was. She left shortly after and saw my car parked there. But between seeing the car and getting in her car, she forgot I was there and proceeded to back into it crunching the front fender area. I honestly don't know how she could NOT see an orange car in daylight, but whatever.

Anyway, now the lower plastic part of the fender popped out and looks like crap. So, I took it to a couple body shops to get an estimate just to get it fixed somewhat (nothing pretty - just functional) and they wanted between $800-$1000. I contacted my insurance and since both cars are covered by me, it would be treated as a collision that was my fault, so I'd have to fork out the deductible not to mention the rate hike.

So, I decided I would do some repairs on my own. The dent is more like a "crinkle" so a simple pop-out job won't suffice. I ended up drilling a few 3mm holes in strategic areas, putting a bolt with washer in the holes and popping out what I could. I still have some denting and of course the holes to fill.

I figure we have at least a couple body repair guys here (linc?) do I figured I'd ask the best way to go about the rest of the repair. I figure I'll need to sand the area to bare metal, apply bondo, more sanding, and then spray some primer and paint. Nothing fancy, just so it looks halfway decent from a distance and prevent rusting. Here is a pic of how it currently sits, which, despite how crappy it is, is still about 90% better looking than it was:

http://scriptasylum.com/forumpics/dented_car.jpg

The car is a 2005 Mazda 3 with close to 100k miles on it. I'd like to drive it maybe another year before I get something else. I'm not concerned about resale value, I just want to get it functional and semi-ok to look at.

did you check a few local junkyards for a new fender?

I called two of them and no luck. For some reason, this model/year car is not overly popular around here. And even then, I'd likely have to paint it to match. Besides, I looked at pulling my fender off to work on it and it was wayyy harder than I expected or want to do. This type of thing falls under the "big project" category, which I am not very good at. If I keep the project small and simple, the chances of success are higher.

The bumper is easy just remove it and take it in to get repainted. Hell I would take the whole thing in. Something like this is only a 2-300 dollar repair, 800-1000 is insane. Spend the money now so you can sell for more later.

Or remove the bumper as it would be easier to paint alone, and than see if you can hammer out most of the dents, or pick up a whole new side fender and get them both sanded and sprayed at a body shop. Doing some of the work yourself may save you some money.

Can't you just buy a new lexan body for it and give it a quick paint job? you'd have to figure out where to mount the body posts though, and probably find some pretty big body clips.

Sad story about the wife hitting it though, woman driver is an oxymoron in my book.

It's all easy when you know what you're doing. I also figured it was only a $300 repair, but the places I talked to think otherwise. I don't need it to look like new, just passable, and they will only repair it to be like new. By the time I sell it, miles will be too high anyway, and there are other "issues" with it besides the dent.

That's an idea. I just have to find a 1/1 scale body. I doubt my LHS has them. And for the price of R/C bodies, I bet a 1:1 lexan body would probably be the price of a whole new car.

Actually, my wife is a decent driver, she just had one of those moments. She was actually more upset about it than I was.

I'm thinking if you can get the fender off and in decent repair yourself, which with the pilot holes seems like your on the right path, you can have an auto body shop repaint them for fairly cheap. Once you have the fender off you can hammer it out a bit too. I know you said it seems like a PITA to get off but I am thinking that is your best bet to save some money.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Prove...-/390286560664

Not sure if an 07 will work with the 05...

Edit:

http://motors.shop.ebay.com/__?_from...mazda+3+fender

This one looks like my best bet as it is already painted to match. I would probably still have someplace install it though to avoid me wrecking some other part. Then, all that's left is to do some minor sanding and touch up on the plastic lower bumper skirt thing.

Edit: It appears the color code is 27Y "Lava Orange Mica".

I have taken apart a couple of cars and the fender section is not too overwhelmingly hard to do. Once you have the bumper, headlight, and plastic liners off it is pretty simple from there. Then again that depends on having good access, I.E. a good jack or lifts...

See if you can find a decent Mazda 3 forum. There may be a walk through on the web somewhere showing you how to get that thing off.

edit: place some masking tape on the edges of the new part so whilst installing not to scratch the new part.

I had a look in the certifit catalog and your fender new is 40 bucks, or less. It would have to be painted.

Looking at the damage I would charge you about 400 bucks for the whole repair, with a new fender. I am sure you can find a local body shop that can cut you a deal. Make sure you say you are paying cash and do not mind an aftermarket fender.

Now if you can find the part with the correct paint on it, used, that will save alot.

And changing the fender is pretty easy (said by a guy who has done it for 18yrs...). Getting the plastic clips out is the worst part, there will only be 10 or so 10mm head bolts.

lol, as you said "easy" for a guy doing it for 18 years. For me, not so much. Anyway, ~$400 is a more reasonable amount and is in line with what I estimated. Looks like I have to go shopping around for body shops that don't try to rape their customers.

Ehh sir it appears that you will need to have your headlight fluid replaced.:lol:

Nope, already filled it! :smile:

Check back with your junkyard, if it is a big yard then they are on a national network with other junkyards and could probably find your fender in the color you need.

poor mazda 3

The junkyards by me are also the place to go to buy aftermarket sheetmetal, so you can check with them for it too. If you can manage to install it yourself, I can't see them charging more than $300-400 to paint it and the corner of the bumper.

Some shops really try to stick it to you though. That $40 fender is at least $100 on your bill, plus labor.

Check with a Econo Auto Painting or Maaco. They'll do it cheap.

Used Parts
http://car-part.com/
Aftermarket parts
http://www.lkqcorp.com/

Just for fun this is how much my Estimate to repair $1,436.00 your vehicle would be: (with OEM parts)
http://i215.photobucket.com/albums/c...33/MAZDEST.jpg

Why would you charge "labor" for buying paint supplies? :neutral:

The cost of paint (supplies) is based on the hr's it will take to paint (weird I know)
Brian,
You may be able to file an insurance claim and "cash out" insurance pays the full amount to repair the vehicle less the deductible and then you fix it yourself. Also a lot of insurance companies will not charge a rate increase if the total amount they pay out is less than $1,000.00 you may be able to ask your agent about it.

Snowman, let's just say I won't be going to you! :P

By the way, the headlight assembly is fine. She managed to juuuuust miss it. And it's a hatchback (not that it matters for the front area). But what's with all that other stuff? Unless you know more about the damage than I, to me it looks like just a fender replacement/paint. The front bumper can stay as-is (or I may touch it up myself) since it's plastic and won't rust.

Hell, at this rate, I might just sand it down a little, spray something resembling the right color, and be done with it. Spending much more than $500 on a car worth probably $5k doesn't seem to make much sense especially since the damage is cosmetic. :oh:

Unfortunately, from what I understand, the condition of the exterior of the car is an indication of how the car was treated.

While a car that looks great on the outside may not necessarily look great on the inside - a car that looks terrible on the outside usually does not look great on the inside...

Well sir, I am an Insurance Adjuster :yes: my estimate is to repair the vehicle perfect using OEM parts. Even if the headlamp is working and not broken if there is any cosmetic (scratch, chip, nick ect) it would be replaced. The blend on the Lt Ft door is to insure that the paint all matches. Otherwise you would be able to tell that just the fender had been painted.

However there are many ways to repair a vehicle, your plan of just buying a fender and putting it on would be the cheapest way to do.

Yes, your estimate is a properly (close enough) written insurance estimate.

A good shop will get close on the color, especially if you remove the existing fender and let them use it as a guide when they match the color.

That is my thought. Probably why I drive an 07 legacy with a broken tail light unit (still works but clear part cracked) and close enough black paint (no little blue flake) on ther rear fender. Insureance said it was $1600 of damage. I did order a another tail light off ebay but haven't changed it yet though.

Most auto parts stores sell "factory match" paint in a small spray can, and if they don't have your color they can get it. Just remove any cracked paint and cover up any bare metal. Then let her buck.

Seeing this thread reminded me that I should probably post an update. I went to several other local body shops and they were all pretty much in line with each other.

To just fix the problem area to be passably decent and nothing else, I'm looking at ~$800. A couple places were quite a bit lower, but they were in run-down garages with crappy lots (looked more like a chop-shop IMO). To me, the appearance of your business means a lot, so I'm not gonna go to those places. Who knows, the car may be passable cosmetically, but I might be mysteriously missing other parts by the time they're done. :oh:

To get it fixed to new, it's gonna run ~$1800. To get that figure, I talked to my insurance, explained the situation, and took the car to a few of the places they recommended. My deductible is $250 for collision (which is what this would be claimed under), and my rate wouldn't increase since I rarely make claims.

So, it comes down to if I think $250 is worth it on an older car, not to mention being without a car for a few days. Or I just half-ass it myself with a little sanding, bondo, and slap some paint on there. At this point, I'm thinking of sanding where metal shows (mostly where I drilled the holes), and just prime it.

Spend the 250 and stop being cheap. If you ever decide to sell that car and it has a bandaid fix that you did yourself people are going to run away. Its like you said about the appearance of a business correlating with the quality of work they do. If someone sees a car with a fender they just slapped some bondo and paint on they will think you dont take care of your cars very well. I laugh when I hear people saying a 5 or 6 yr old car as being "older". I have never owned a car newer than a 95. If I wrecked my 94 Altima and it was only gonna cost me 250 to fix it I wouldnt even think twice about it, it would be in the body shop ASAP

right on, just cover the bare metal and let her buck. You have the paint code, go to any auto parts store that sells paint and you can have a "touch up" bottle mixed. It's just like a half ounce of your paint. You can brush it on like fingernail polish around the holes to get a color match. Still prime first of course.

Hmm, if you are only going to have to spend 250 and will not have to deal with increased premiums go for it. Find the best looking shop in town, and get a written warranty (they should cover their workmanship for life) plus the ins co should offer you a lifetime warranty on the repair. Have them replace that fender and blend the door for a good match, and make sure they remove the ft bumper cover befor they paint.

Ouch!... The bumper should be fine with some touch up. The fender should only run about $100, unpainted..

Just buy the fender already painted the same color from ebay or one of the mazda forums. It is not hard at all to do. Since its your first time you can replace the fender in a couple of hours. Look at the new fender and see where the bolt holes are and start taking them off the old car.