VegasFD

Earlier tonight my friend's roommate backed into the right fender of my car. Being obsessed with car like all other FD owners, I didn't take it very well. She doesn't want to make an insurance claim because she's afraid of her rates going up. I told her that it's probably going to cost quite a bit out of pocket. Anyway, has anyone had fender damage, and have any idea what it might cost? It looks to me that only the fender is bent, and paint chipped on the bumper. I'm going to take it to Mazda since they can match the paint. Thanks for the help in advance.

red87tll

iTrader: (4)

ouch. that sucks man.

Mahjik

iTrader: (1)

It'll buff right out.

I would probably just replace it with another fender and then paint it. However, I'm sure you can find some good body shop guy who could take care of that (and a repaint) without a problem.

Rocking Rotary

iTrader: (14)

Well you get a new fender! Then just prep and spray new fender and front bumper and hope it matches, if you have a body shop do this make sure it matches and dont take it till it does. I am a dick like that though.

VegasFD

That's what I was thinking. I don't know of any good body shops here in Vegas, so I'll probably just replace it. Gotta love Mahjik's Can-Do attitude though

rx7what

iTrader: (6)

What ever you do dont take it to mazda. Please. Most body shops will want to paint the fender then bumper and fade the hood and door. A good job will run around 1200-1500. Maybe a little more. Any less and they arent doing it right.

RE Suzuki

That's not bad at all. Look at the bright side. You now have a reason to get some nice fenders for your fd

Bad_Karma7

Probably $600-$900 dollars in damage there, just need to get under there and hammer it back in shape. The lines look pretty strait still. Blending can be done by any competant shop. Paint looks to be in good shape, so blending won't be a big hassle.

rynberg

Screw your friend's roommate. Take it to the best body shop in Vegas (no good shops in Vegas? Are you kidding?).

Fenders are cheap, just get a new one. A GOOD shop might want to paint a lot of the car to get a good blend. When my rear quarter was hit, the GOOD shop I went to ended up painting the rear 1/4, the rear bumper, the hatch, blended into the other 1/4 and up into the roof.

VegasFD

Yeah, my friends roommate would love to see me roll up with carbon fiber fenders on her dime! It would be funny though, she probably wouldn't know the difference.

Rynberg, I assure you only best job will be done. Besides, when she gets the quote, she'll be begging AAA to take car eof it.

t-von

iTrader: (8)

If that's the factory paint, you'll be cheaper just to buy another grey right fender and install it from another Rx7. I bought a grey one in great shape for about $125.00.

Narfle

iTrader: (16)

are you kidding me? ive been through three fenders. about a 150 for a fender and 150 give or take. you may even find a silver fender. i can replace mine in less than an hour now. you dont even have to remove your bumper.

edit: im sorry im not trying to come off as a dick. seriously this isnt a huge deal though. just be glad it wasnt one of your 1/4 panels. good luck. thats a pretty tough break.

rx7what

iTrader: (6)

There is no way to save this fender.The wheel arch was hit and the metal was streched. Im sure some one could fix it but I wouldnt run it on my car. The fender will need to be replaced. I would call my insurance first thing in the morning. There is no way she will have the money to cover this out of pocket. Unless she loaded and if so why would she have a roommate.

Rex'in

Good paint shops will charge quite a bit. I needed a bit of work on my WRX about a month ago, so I took it by 2 body shops. I needed the front bumper re-sprayed (spun out in the snow, hit a shrub, it looked like a curb mark) and the rear bumper (hit the shoulder on a corner). The body shop wanted around 2k to do it and a full week. I decided to pick up some factory touch up paint and wax it, paint it, and wax the hell out of the touch up paint and it turned out great! Just a reminder that sometimes a body shop is not neccisary. In this case I would try to go to the Mazda dealer and track down a painted fender if you can, if not take it to the body shop and have it done. Hopefully your friend's room-mate has enough $$$ to pay to fix your beautiful FD!

RE Suzuki

I'd just go with insurance and do the job "right". I'm pretty sure it's gonna cost alot more than she thinks and she may not want to / be able to pay you the full amount. Just use the insurance and get it done right.

t-von

iTrader: (8)

Start searching the 3rd gen parts for sale section. You might find something.


https://www.rx7club.com/showthread.p...ghlight=fender

VegasFD

I completely agree RE Suzuki. The job will done right no matter who pays for it.

Also, I was just thinking, per the previous owner, the car's paint is all original, EXCEPT, ironically that one particular fender that has been resprayed due to minor parking lot dent. So I'm afraid the replacement silver fender is out.

Bad_Karma7

Anything can be fixed, body work wise. Is it cost effective is another story. I worked at a body shop when I was 19 years old, was amazed at what could be fixed.

quicksilver_rx7

Just find a used silver fender and put it on. I wouldn't worry about trying to repair that one, or blend a new one in. Ask Fritz Flynn if he has one. Call Mazmart, RX-7 Heaven and some other salvage places. Mazmart had a few silver cars in their inventory last time I was down there.

Joe

VegasFD

I got my quote earlier today. The total came to $1451. The guy said that the fender could be repaired, and that it would cost more to replace it. He said the paint would be blended into the hood, bumper, headlight, and side skirt.

Mr rx-7 tt

iTrader: (5)

That sounds high. A buddies car had about the same damage to the same fender and it came out ~1000.00 with a new fender and blending on three stage paint.

quicksilver_rx7

There's more man-hours involved in repairing that fender and the paint is not that expensive if you were to replace it with a new one. If you opt for the used silver fender now, you don't have to worry about blending, and later on you can have the whole car painted if you want. As for the quote, he's in business to make money. I would ask around before settling on one opinion. You can get quality work at a good price if you look hard enough for the right shop, and that helps her on the money side of it, which could in-turn, help you out one day

silver93

$1451?! that's crazy. Hell, you can almost repaint the whole car for that. I had to replace a fender once, because, like yours, someone smahsed into it in a driveway. http://car-part.com/. I just searched and you can pick one up for anywhere from $100 to $150. Install it yourself, and it should be no more than $300 to get it painted and blended. $500 and you're done. Anyway, I had headlight damage with mine, and even so, I think in the end it was less than $600 for everything, including paint.

moconnor

iTrader: (14)

Yes, as others have said - that is way too high. A lot of the cost in repainting a panel is the labour cost of removing trim, masking, and reinstalling trim. Repainting a door, for example, can be expensive because all the panels, motors, molding etc. that have to be removed and later reinstalled for a painting. The front panel is almost the simplest panel on the car in this regard (the hood is probably the easiest). Get some other quotes. $1k sounds more plausible.

rynberg

Yeah, you can, but not well.

I would go to a different body shop. A new fender is only $150, I fail to see how repairing it would be less labor than that.

As to all those who are recommending just replacing the fender with another painted one -- this is not his fault. Why shouldn't the car be put back to the condition it was before? I would rather have a blended paint than a single panel that didn't match perfectly.