JohnMD

I am going to get my car hood painted due to some minor damage. In the mean time, someone slammed their door into mine in a parking lot leaving about a 3-4" crease. It is very visible in certain light and not in others. I just got an estimate ($361 -- seeme cheap?) from the same shop on fixing the dint and repainting the door (I don't think it is the kind of dint that can be pulled out, althought there is no paint damage). As the car will be in the shop anyway, I am thinking about having it done -- insurance will only pay about $100 due to my deductible.

They have to take my door (driver's side) apart to paint it. The estimator thought they would take if off -- but not sure about that. Definately take the mirror and inside panels off.

My fear is that they will not put it together correctly and that these cars are very sensitive to alignment with the top. Any advise on having this door work done? Should I leave well enough alone? The car is tight as a drum with 30k. Do the risks justify the benefits? Any thoughts?

Thanks

Pearlpower

iTrader: (2)

John,

It is difficult to gauge beforehand. I would recommend viewing a few cars that they have already painted. A door can be tough to paint to begin with and is best painted off the car. But, they would have to strip the car, remove the wiring harness, etc... to do that .Alignment is not as big as an issue as much as matching the paint up. Normally a paint shop will blend the door into the rear panel and front fender for a perfect match. Does not sound like that is part of the estimate your received. Some colors are easier to match than others and a panel paint job will come out looking good. What color is yours? Have you tried a dent removal shop first? They can work some wonders without painting.
Lee

JohnMD

My car is black. The estimator said this was the easiest color to match. True??

I haven't been to a dint removal shop. Maybe I should try that first as the paint is good in the area. I'll do that next week.

I really hate to have the car taken apart. Have a S500 that happened to and it has wind noise on the repaired side (mirror I think). The dealer and body shop say I am hearing things -- NOT.

Thanks

John

rominl

iTrader: (4)

i think if they are good, they should blend the colors to the front and rear fenders, that's the only way to make it perfect. it's almost impossible to do a perfect match on colors

s2000

i say it's not worth the risk, unless you know the shop well and you know tit can do a good job. i had my S2000 front end repaired several years ago and the stupid shop could not get things aligned well.
unless you know who is working on your car, i dont think its worth the risk for a crease that's noticeable only under certain lighting condition and angle. if that crease really bothers you, i suggest find out where your lexus dealer send their new cars that get damaged during shipping.

RGA

JohnMD,

Did you park in that guys driveway again (LOL)….Just kidding Bro.

It’s been a long time since I was in the auto-body world so bare with me, but normally when they removed a door it’s because they plan to replace the skin of the door (outer shell), instead of doing bodywork (at least that’s how my old shop did it). 3-4” inch dings normally would not require a door removal. As indicated, it’s been a long time so they maybe doing things differently now a days.

I sucked in spraying so I cannot comment on it, other than it’s a skill.

JJRHO

your best bet is to start with a GOOD pdr guy in town, that has at least 3-4yrs of experience doing cars...
in socalif here, my friend who does PDR for a living, does my cars when needed and,albeit he's unusually good at what he does, ...but let me tell you, when he's done with it, i cannot tell where the original dent was ! he's worked on my bmw840Ci with very heavy metal doors as well as my aluminum body black NSX and it's like magic. the lexus is pre' easy, as long as they can get to it....

the key is finding someone that has experience ! there are a bunch of beginners that botch the job and can't do it right, giving pdr guys a bad name... if you find a good one, they are amazing !
for $75 a panel, they can make the car look like there was no dent ever, and obviously, no repainting was done - that's the best part !

the ONLY technique that works, is to push the dent out from inside, then tap back down any high spots.... as the new guys learn this and learn about various cars, they will crack the windows and mess up with electronics inside the door; but as they gain experience, they know how do do it right.

just be careful who works on your car but from my experience, it works !

jim R
so calif
02 sc430

JohnMD

Thanks for the PDR advise. I had a hard time finding someone in my area. Ended up calling the local Lexus dealer. They referred me to an autobody shop. They referred me to the person they contract to do their dent removal. He says it will probably be $50-75. But depends on the location more than size. The most would be $200. Still better $$ and less risky than a door paint job. Hope he is good. Said he has been doing it for 5 years and seems to work for lots of dealers. Worst case is I get insurance to pay for the door repainting.

John

JJRHO

yeah, i hope he's good. the guy that does mine is unusually good. when he's done, it's impossible to tell where the dent was.... as long as the pain is not cracked, he should be able to do a 'perfcet' job... some areas are unreachable with their tool, that's the hard part...
if they have to drill a small hole on the door, let them...they plug it with a very cosmetic rubber plug, that looks 'factory'....
pdr is waaay better than any painting/body job....

good luck

jim R

JohnMD

Thanks for the advise. I probably would not have let him drill a hole in my door panel. But with your advise, guess I will. I don't see how he would get to it without removing the entire door panel. I've done that on my mercedes, but never got things perfect upon putting it back together. I can't even figure out where to start with the 430.

e-man

They actually drill a small hole in the door jam (not in the exterior door panel). You wouldn't even know it's there. They only have to do this if for some reason they can't get to the dent/crease by inserting their tools down through the window compartment.

JohnMD

Thanks. That makes sense. I was wondering how they would cover up a hole in the door panel. Let you know how it goes. Would be great to get if fixed for $100. Might have him do a couple on my S500 if he is good. The SC430 is so pretty I hate to have the crease. Top down weather yesterday and today in Annapolis.