So I have some pretty deep long dents along the passenger side of my 94ex. I have been quoted 520 to repair the dents (not replace) and repaint the entire car. This is at Earl Scheib in San Diego.

What do people think about this? Is the repair going to look respectable, I am assuming they will be using a bondo type agent. I am supposed to get their best paint job in the deal. My accord is my daily driver/beater so I am trying to restore some of the appearance for a low price. I only plan on keeping the car for another 2 years or so.

 

By the way, I already posted something about this in the Appearance forum, but there was no responses. I figure you guys could offer your input.

 

you get what you pay for and you won't be paying all that much.

but a cheapo paint job should hold of two years in CA. but I'd check out their warranty just to safe.

 

Supposedly its a 6 year warranty. I am more concerned with the quality of a repair. Can you really cover legitimate dents with a bondo type agent?

 

get a dent puller if they are not too bad and pull them out and then use filler to smooth it out.

 

Bondo repairs dont ever look that respectable, if i were you id get it pulled and fixed with minimal bondo. 500 bucks for a full paint job is probably not gonna look that good. with paint jobs you get what you pay for. Good paint jobs cost at least a couple of grand.

Why dont you get insurance to cover the repair, tell em it was parked somewhere and somebody hit it (if that is what happened ), claim shouldn't up ur rates that way.

 

Already collected the insurance money (2 grand) and want to fix it for cheaper. To me 2k cash was worth it at the time. So what will the bondoed area look like (don't answer "****")? The guy explained to me that they would pull the dent to the best of their ability, bondo it, sand it, and paint it.

 

if its bondo'ed perfectly then you wont be able to tell, you will only notice a change in the sound of the panel if you hit it. If its not done well, you may be able to see slight bumps or imperfections as you look at the car from an angle. their may be slight lines, or waviness where they bondo it. If its a deep gash like you say then its gonna need a lot of bondo.

Also if you plan on keeping this car for a long time in the long run, the bondo may cause other problems.

If i were you and wanted to do it on a budget, depending on what panels are affected I would go to a junkyard find the same colored panels (their are thousand of accords in junk yards) and replace them myself. I would definantly tell you to say no to the complete paint job, take it somewhere that can blend the paint job in. That way you will spend the same amount of money but get a better job. Paint is an expensive part fo car repair.

 

Kavehman, I really appreciate your response. Unfortunately my car has taken quite a beating over the last 10 years. The finish is terrible. When I got the car from the original owner in '98, it already had significant scratches and touch ups. Since then I have done my far share of damage but to make it worse, our apartment garage had a hard water leak that put a huge white stain on my rear fender area. Basically it looks terrible and I think a new paint job is in order...

So back to repairing the area, you think that it could look pretty decent, close to unnoticeable? Thanks again.

 

You said that bondo may cause other problems down the line, what kind of problems?


[Modified by lahight, 7:03 AM 4/2/2003]

 

Yeah if its in bad shape right now, it will definantly look decent, u probably wont notice anything from a distance.

If ur going to get the whole car repainted, u might want to make sure that they tape it up properly, otherwise ur going to get paint on all the trim, and it will look tacky. If it were my car, Id take it to them, and in their parking lot I would remove as much trim as possible, i.e headlights, tailights and maybe even tape it up myself. That way i might be able to get a better paint job for the money. Most of the cost of painting is preparation so if u can do some of these things urself u will save on money. If the shop objects to u doing this take it to someone else who understands what u want.

 

IF they know what they are doing they will pull the dent out and use a light coat of filler and you will be ok and i doubt they will just fill the dents without pulling them because they have to warrenty the job i say take it to 1 day paint and body or macco and get a quote from them just pay with a credit card so you have something to back you up just in case there is problems with the job


IMO i would never take a car to earl to get painted i have heard too many horror stories about them painting tires and everything else

 

Personally I wouldn't get a new paint job, but if you are looking for an inexpensive paint job, then Earl Sheib would be the place to go. Be sure to hand wax it at least four or five times a year, though, to protect the new paint (does the $520 include clear coat?).

 

Yes, supposedly it does include a clear coat. They are having a "sale" on their best paint job. I am still contemplating. I don't know how well the repaired dents will turn out.