I know this is a bit of a 'how long's a piece of string' question but maybe one of you can give me a rough idea...
Due to my exceptional parking skills I 'nudged' a colleagues car in the work car park. The colleague's car is a '98 Scenic in a pale blue metallic colour and I've scraped the passenger door with my bumper - damaged area about 8" x 4". At a push it might be T-Cut-able but you can see the white primer in places. There is no dent.
So the question - I agreed to pay for the damage rather than claim on insurance and now the estimates come in.
One garage has said they will need to respray the whole side of the car to 'match the metallic paint' - £250 + VAT. Another has said much the same and quoted £220 + VAT.
I might be wrong but this sounds overkill - surely in this day and age they can get a pretty good colour match in a local area (lower door)?
Any views, idea on costs or links to these mobile franchises (if they are any good) would be much appreciated.
Thanks
Paul
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I had a (non paint repair) garage with a franchise, some 10 years ago and even then we used to reckon on £100 per panel for modest panel beating and re-spray. If you factor in inflation ..................!!
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They are not going to spray the whole side of the car for £250ish, they might blow in adj areas with clear laquer though.
My local chap would charge me about £125-£150 for this as a non-insurance job...and you would not be able to see his work.
MM
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PST
MM is right - the side of the car will cost much more than £250!
A couple of years ago we had a metallic door repainted due to parking damage - culprit unknown. The local chap who did it suggested he should do the whole door, not just the section below the trim. He removed and reused the rubbing strip and badges. Excellent job, barely visible, and it cost £200 as a non-insurance job.
Regards
John S
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I don't know where you're located, but that price doesn't seem excessive to me, given that it's metallic.
I paid £200 or so for a single panel respray in Wales about 5 years back on a metallic blue Fiesta. If you're in an area with higher labour costs, such as the south east, I'd say that you've got a good deal.
There's no reason not to keep phoning round to get quotes, but to be honest, I doubt you're going to get much more than another £20 or so off.
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Thanks guys...
I haven't seen anything in writing re: 'respraying the side of the car' so perhaps the colleague had misinterpreted what was going to be done.
But bottom line seems to be I shouldn't expect too much change out of £200 unless I can find a MiddleMan-type sprayer.
It's a long time since I had any respraying done...forgot about inflation...
Thanks again
Paul
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Paul,
Long shot but he's in the Cambs Fens.
MM
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As in a previous post by me some time ago, metallics are much more difficult than solid colours in matching a refinish patch to the original OEM colour. This is down to the orientation and shading effect of the tiny aluminium flakes that give the metallic effect. The evaporation and drying characteristics in the factory will always differ slightly from those in a refinish shop, leading to a different orientation. The colour may match from one angle, but not from another! I once (in a former life) saw a demonstration where a 6" x 4" panel was cut from a car door, then turned upside down and placed next to the door. The colours didn't match any more!
Therefore a refinish patch has to be 'feathered' out to the edge of the panel so that if the actual repair spot isn't a 100.00% perfect match, it won't show. End of rant. ;-)
Oz (as was)
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Cannot really answer this but I do know that the local body repairer that I have used recently charges £23.50 +VAT per hour for labour for non insurance jobs (they get less than that from the insurance companies). When my car needed the back bumper resprayed as a result of my wife 'modifying' it the cost was £205 but this was through the insurance company. This was for a metallic paint.
So, if you live near Gloucester I can recommend them.
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I've obviously underestimated the work involved to get a professional finish. I knew it was a bit more than some wet and dry and a spray can but as the consensus seems to be, there's more to it than just the area of damage to get a proper match.
The colleague is based in Braintree, Essex so it'll need to be someone local otherwise I'll end up paying petrol, replacement car etc etc.
In the meantime I'll see if I can get some parking lessons...
Paul
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My mechanic recommended me a repair man who quoted "£120 per panel" for SWMBOs Focus so long as there was no actual damage to bodywork.
I used one of those £9.99 diy kits from Halfords. Comes with three tubes (primer, colour & lacquer( plus a couple of tools. Omega is Star Silver. Despite my best efforts the place is clearly visible.
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Local CHIPSAWAY car care centre repaired parking damage inflicted by unknown "fluffy pink dice" on my car for £100. You can't tell where the work has been done and I am very satisfied with the result. The price you have beem quoted is right on the money for a traditional bodyshop. There are specialist SMART repair firms springing up to deal with this type of small job. If you can find one in Braintree you may get the job done for less.
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Can highly recommend 'CHIPSAWAY' after they repaired a large scratch on my metallic blue Peugeot. I am no stranger to paint application and the repair was invisible to my discerning eye. They apparently use a special laquer to blend in and the paint is only mixed in small quantities so they can throw it away until it is the right match.
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Forgot to say it was £70.
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Try the Halfords in Chelmsford (a guy from Chips Away is franchised there), they did the bumper of my punto for about £100, The paint was missing in parts (down to the black bumper and down to undercoat in others, but they did an invisable repair. The finish was 100% perfect and it was a metallic paint. Never had any problem with the finish afterwards.
I would love to know how they did it.
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