last weekend, someone was kind enough to back into my car at the gas station. it was a pontiac, so luckily their precious plastic bumper cover abosorbed most of the impact. however, it managed to crack my paint in a few places right above the rear tire on the fender. the body is not bent or dented from what i can see. it looke like the paint will just have to be sanded off and repainted then blended with the surrounding undamaged fender. i live at school so i'm not home during the week, so i dont know how long it will be before i can get an estimate. anyone with experience, do you know how much it would be if i took it to a decent shop? again, there are no dents to pull or anything. i would appreciate all thoughtful replies. this is on a 2nd gen crx if that matters.

thankyou

 

well depending on the size of the cracks in the paint and the color of your paint, i would say an average of 200-300

 

post pix then we could give an estimate

 

i didnt take any pics before i left, but i drew what it looks like. remember, the fender isnt bent or anything, just the paint is cracked. i hope this gives you some idea. thanks

 

did u contact their insurance company? they will probably send out a rep to come check it out, take the money and do it urself .. they have touch up paint that will look just as good as long as you know how to sand and can put on a clear cooat cleanly...

just my thought, but their insurance should cover it (probably $150)

well I don't even know if police file a report if under $200, so ...

 

i'm not planning on reporting it to insurance, since i dont need higher rates as a 19 year old male than i already have now. he said he'd pay for it and just go unreported. so i'm looking for an estimate that a shop might give to do it.

 

depending on how wide the cracks are you could fix it yourself. just get some touchup (factory color of course) and fill it a little above the surface. wait a week or so and lightly sand and buff it back to origional.

of course its not exatly as easy as that...but it gives you an idea. also depends on if its down to bare metal, if its rusted already, how cold it is...etc. but if you ever plan on body kit or repainting the whole car sometime down the line get an estimate, fix it yourself and use the money for something else.

cause if you just paint that spot and blend it into the factory paint its just covering the scratchs and buffing it into the the paint anyways. the body shop might want to repaint the whole panel...and on the rear wheelwell thats a LARGE panel.

sorry i didn't answer your question about a price but just trying to give you another solution.

 

If he backed into you, you do not pay higher rates. It was his fault, not yours.

 

i've always been told that no matter whos fault it is, if i get in an accident and report it, my rates will go up. can someone explain this? i have state farm insurance if that matters. but also, how soon do i have to report it. it happened last friday. is that too late? do i call his insurance or mine? also, if he's willing to pay for it, i dont see why anything needs to be reported.

 

if the paint cracked there wouldnt that mean the fender has be bent out?

 

i dont think so from what i can tell. keep in mind this was low speed. like i said earlier, his bumper cover absorbed most of it, but it momentarily flexed mine to the point of cracking the paint, but it must not have stayed flexed afterwards from what i can see by looking at it.

 

im sayin 400-500 to do it right

 

ok similar thing happend to me...except my rear bumper paint flaked of/scrtached...i went to shops and i got quotes from $430-$500...im thinking about the same for urs since the will have to paint/blend it in....

 

off topic but:
state farm wouldn't renew my insurance after an accident. but they didn't raise my rates. it was almost a year later and i changed my payment plan (from monthly to quarterly) and then a week later i got the notice in the mail that they wouldn't renew in 1 month. so if you turn it in...don't miss a payment or change anything with payment cause then they search your records.

i had the accident with a 91 in Dec. 2001 (not my fault - totalled car), put my 87 beater on the road in Dec. 2001, put my 90 on the road in June 2002, then put my 87 back on the road and changed payment plan in Nov. 2002, state farm cancelled in Dec. 2002. now ive got progressive and pay the same as the state farm was.


[Modified by fastcrxsi90, 9:22 PM 2/17/2003]