davensd

1999 ES 300

Someone must have backed up into me (I'm guessing a truck with a tow hitch) and drove away..

Damaged the driver's side front quarter panel and corner light assembly.

Can any member out there throw out an estimate for repairs (SoCal)? I only have collision on it (220k miles) and I doubt I'd fix if it was expensive and it was still legal to drive.

davensd

JetsonES

What the heck is wrong with people? Own up to your responsibilities, you break it, you buy it. Sorry that happened to you, maybe a photo will help get you an estimate. I know a lot of body shops are able to give you a ballpark estimate from photos.

KING

iTrader: (1)

Sorry to hear man. Just like Jetson said, you break it you buy it. People should stand to their own responsibilities. Even though sometimes when something is broken it can never be the same once again.

Maybe a picture would help a little more.

davensd

here are some pics.




You can see the indention more clearly here.





Corner light/Quarter panel indented.



I hate the fact that you can baby a car all we want, but it takes one idiot backing up to ruining 16 years of work.

davensd

JetsonES

That sucks. I guess it's going to come down to if they can pull it out without cracking the paint. The only good news is there are probably plenty of scrapped fenders and corners floating around.

808mcv20l

sucks but that doesn't look that bad...

take it to a PDR guy (paintless dent removal) there a lot of good guys who work via Mobile, check yelp for reviews in your area.

I always get comprehensive coverage on my cars, it's only 50 more per 6months most of the time.

speedkar9

That's why we can't have nice cars. There's always someone out there who will be careless and ruin your car, no matter how much are you put into keeping it clean.

Mine was hit in the parking lot back in May. Since then I just don't feel the same driving around a shiny white Lexus with a dent on it

davensd

Thanks for everyone's input.

I'll take a look around.. but am leaning toward just live with it. I don't feel like sinking $1k into a cosmetic fix when I've got a timing chain/water pump to swap out in 20K.

JetsonES

It shouldn't be anywhere near 1000. Most places will give you an estimate for free.

MrBsfirst

Doesn't look too bad. Almost not worth fixing other than it just bothers the crap out of you every time you look at it. Really sucks this happens.

KING

iTrader: (1)

I think, just by looking at the pictures provided, you just might be able to pop that dent out.(With proper heat and suction, also if there is space behind the fender to work on.

A quick drive to a reputable body shop should solve this nor problem.


Glad to know it isn't too bad of a hit, albeit it needs to be taken care of.

JetsonES

I agree, heck you can probably open up the wheel liner and pop most of it out by hand. The problems will be in areas where the metal is actually creased and or the paint is cracked. I have seen dents pulled with dry ice before, might be worth a shot.

speedkar9

Paint cracking is gona be a concern when pulling a dent. I've pulled dents on both of my cars and the paint started cracking.

If there are light scuffs you can try buffing with polishing compound.

Hayk

iTrader: (1)

I'm sorry to hear this happened to you. It looks fairly straight forward to fix. If you're gonna leave it alone, inspect closely around the light and remove the light assembly to get a better view. Make sure there is no exposed metal on the fender, if there is - cover it up with touch up paint immediately. What looks minor will grow into a rust bubble very quickly and then the whole fender will be toast.

JetsonES

Should he apply an acid based converter to any bare metal first (naval jelly) or at least primer?