My baby got dented :( HELP!

[MitchSRi]

Well as of today my poor Belgie has a battle scar :(

4500kms, just over 3 months old, and in pristine condition inside and out.... until today.

Some mongrel has reversed from a car parking spot and hit the front 1/4 panel denting it the size of a 20c piece roughly and distorting the panel.

Luckily for me it left no paint on my car, but its still dented :( ..

Im hoping to find someone that can cheaply and decently fix the dent, and at the same time try and fix up scuff marks on the paint from someone that used my passenger 1/4 panel as a door stop a few weeks ago.

It just shits me ... you look after your pride and joy that you pay good money for and work damn hard to pay off, and some heartless bastard ruins it for you. *sigh*

Pictures for the masses.

http://img512.imageshack.us/img512/5495/dsc00207nt0.jpg

http://img401.imageshack.us/img401/7162/dsc00210vx0.jpg

http://img172.imageshack.us/img172/1180/dsc00209lr5.jpg

[SIMid]

Right on the edge, not sure if they can pop that out. :rolleyes:

[btm]

they sure can fix that! :)

you should see where the dent was on my old mans scooby doo... heaps worse than that and it came up a treat! (they are pretty pricey though, but worth it)

where abouts in sydney are you located?

[digifish]

Some mongrel has reversed from a car parking spot and hit the front 1/4 panel denting it the size of a 20c piece roughly and distorting the panel.


May I suggest you follow this sites suggestions...

http://www.parkingbydesign.com/parkingframeset.html

Note of course that the site is US so you will need to reverse any picturtes...

digifish

[JasonGilholme]

looks like a door hit your car.

[btm]

my votes with a door too

[USC]

paintless dent removal mate! it works!

they will just have to pull the plastic behind a bit and use their special tool to massage the dent out.


I reckon those shit heads that do such things are just jealous pricks! shits me too when poeple do that...

[btm]

I reckon those shit heads that do such things are just jealous pricks! shits me too when poeple do that...

no one does it on purpose...

[JasonGilholme]

no one does it on purpose...

haha you must live in a good area then lol.

[btm]

haha you must live in a good area then lol.

why yes, yes i do... god's country they call it infact ;) :p

[Huhness]

why yes, yes i do... god's country they call it infact ;) :p
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.... HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

I always park next to nice cars or next to walls or between pillars.. and if i don't, i get really irritable and my girlfriend tells me to go sit in my car.. which i do and guard it... I live in hurstville..

my dad has parked his car many times and come back to it with missing bumper, all 4 panels (front quarter, passenger door, rear door and rear quarter) all driven down and doors wouldn't open.. THIS IS IN A WESTFIELD PARKING SPOT! Lucky its a company car its been to the smash repairers about 6 times.. in 2 years.. all accidents in hurstville..

[Black Nugget]

i got my dents removed with paintless dent removal at i think 50 bucks a pop, but had other stuff done as well.Works a treat can't even see where the dent was! Also they dont remove a plastic from behind its like this suction thing...looks really cool when done.

http://www.advancedpaint.com.au/

[sooty]

i so have to find a place like that in melb, anyone got any ideas.
I've got a dent where a druggy motorcyclist punched my car whilst doing 80km/h (long story) but i'm certain it will be sucked out easy, same size as Mitch's.

Mobile too...that's handy...

[MitchSRi]

Cheers guys..

Dent Blackmagic in Blacktown quoted $130 to get it fixed up, which I'm happy with, and about 1hr to do.

It was parked in Blacktown (Warrick Lane Car Park of death). It wasn't a door, as cars couldnt park that far in.

I'm normally really anal about where its parked, and will pillar park it to ensure I get no damage to the car.

Thems the breaks I guess.

Maybe I should wrap it in bubble wrap next time I park there.

[MitchSRi]

Well its going in tomorrow at Dent Blackmagic to get fixed.

I'll give a full report back when its done... yay :D

[MitchSRi]

OH CRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAP..

Well not ths update I was hoping to post.

Today whilst reversing my SRi out of the driveway, it gave the brick pillar a "kiss of death".

Sadly Paintless Dent guys in Blacktown couldnt fix this one, and the price is bang on the cost of excess ($500 to fix).

I'm rather errrr pissed off to say the least :(

[USC]

sorry to hear man! hope all gets fixed soon..if its just bumper...its an easy fix!

your dad should never drive an Sri-T then(or any 3 door astra AH) cos he would total them...hahahaha...rear view is terrible on them!!

[MitchSRi]

Pictures of the *new* damage.

Click for larger shots.

Dent Blackmagic cant help they are too big, and two smash repairers reckon get DBM to pull out the dent, then its $500 to fix the scrape.

Im confident its not a smashies job, but a paint repair/dent removal company that can help me out.

DENT
http://img507.imageshack.us/img507/2824/dsqtr1gu0.th.jpg (http://img507.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsqtr1gu0.jpg)

http://img505.imageshack.us/img505/9794/dsqtr2bg4.th.jpg (http://img505.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsqtr2bg4.jpg)

SCRAPE
http://img525.imageshack.us/img525/2779/dswa3im1.th.jpg (http://img525.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dswa3im1.jpg)

http://img525.imageshack.us/img525/5504/dswa2sw4.th.jpg (http://img525.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dswa2sw4.jpg)

http://img101.imageshack.us/img101/6953/dswa1wt5.th.jpg (http://img101.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dswa1wt5.jpg)

[digifish]

OH CRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAP..

Well not ths update I was hoping to post.

Today whilst a certain family member (glares at Dad),

Look at it this way...how many of his things have you broken/damaged over your lifetime? :)

[MitchSRi]

This is true hahaha .. I just want my baby fixed ... :|

[USC]

There are two ways to fix the scratches:

1. Spray whole rear quarter panel up to roof bit and spray whole bumper

2. Blend in scratches on both rear quarter and bumper

Option2 is better and cheaper as it does not look like you have any panel damage on the back. Call up prestige repair places and they should be able to blend in the scratches for you. Or, try mobile repairers (like chipsaway: http://www.chipsaway.com.au/)

New South Wales


ChipsAway North Sydney (covering North Shore, Northern Beaches and Eastern Suburbs)

Postal Address: PO Box 218 Mona Vale NSW 1668

Ph: 02-9294-4606 (Message Bank only)

Louise - Mobile: 0412392140

Email: [email protected]


ChipsAway Western Sydney (covering north-western and south-western areas)

David - Mobile: 0411986259

Email: [email protected]

good luck! dont stress..it will get fixed....its only man made and anything man made can be repaired.

[MitchSRi]

Are chipsaway any good (if you can tell me that)?

Also thats the front drivers 1/4 panel not the rear.

[USC]

Hi mate, they have photos of repaired cars (b4 and after shots) on their website...check them out. I have heard good things about them (they are an international company) but I havent used them personally.

If it is the front quarter panel, then it is a bit easier to repair. I would still blend the paint in instead of painting the whole panel. panel shops will prefer to sand, prime, silver the scratch and clear the whole panel but chipsaway might just blend the silver and clear around the scratch. Because it is silver, blending in is a better option in order to prevent colour mismatch. bumper can be blended in as well.

get chipsaway to look at the damage and give you a quote. Get another quote from a prestige repair bodyshop as well. make sure they use 2k paint.

[MitchSRi]

Okay all, well its a panel shop jobbie..

Waiting to see insurer/assessor on Tuesday, and it'll be going in at either NPS, or CHSR.

Apparently they have to spray the entire panel and blend into the door.. which means new door moulding and SRi badge..

[USC]

Okay all, well its a panel shop jobbie..

Waiting to see insurer/assessor on Tuesday, and it'll be going in at either Nathans Prestige Smash, or Castle Hill Smash Repairs.

Apparently they have to spray the entire panel and blend into the door.. which means new door moulding and SRi badge..


OMG! dont believe when they say they have to blend the doors..thats bullshit. I know MANY prestige places that actually can spray only the guard and match the colour exactly the same. they ONLY have to repair/silver the scratch and clear the whole panel..no need to go into doors...dont let them mate...it will never be the same...

going into doors means as u said...a new badge, new moulding (may be..they will probably glue old one back on and u will never know), remove mirros, remove door moulding, remove door window rubber...etc etc....does your car have taped B pillar, if so, they will need new tape too!!...seriously, find a reputable place that will only paint front guard...they can do it..ive seen them do it on mercs and bmws!

[MitchSRi]

Not sure on that one ... all the places that have quoted to fix *JUST* the scrape are dodgy mobs I wouldnt take the car to anyway.

Both (decent professional) smashies that were quoting, said that blending on that panel would cause unevenness in the paint in a few years time.

I'd tend to agree with them, than the dodgier places going "yeah mate absolutely can just do that corner for $500".

[USC]

Not sure on that one ... all the places that have quoted to fix *JUST* the scrape are dodgy mobs I wouldnt take the car to anyway.

Both (decent professional) smashies that were quoting, said that blending on that panel would cause unevenness in the paint in a few years time.

I'd tend to agree with them, than the dodgier places going "yeah mate absolutely can just do that corner for $500".

there is no such thing as unevenness in paint if the whole panel is cleared....that will only happen if your car was a non metallic colour like red or white.

do u understand how silver or metallic colour works?? They only need to silver the scratch, blend the silver to the surrounding, and clear over the whole panel.

if they paint the door without removing the black tape on the b pillar, the paint will start peeling off around it after a few years.

if insurance is covering, i guess u can always go back if anything goes wrong.

At the end of the day, its your car mate, u can do whatever u want to it:rolleyes:

good luck with repairs...hope it turns out brand new.

[MitchSRi]

Maybe I wasn't clear enough.

They are respraying the panel, and blending INTO the door.

Door shouldnt need to come off for that at all, infact looking at the quotes, doesnt appear they are taking it off, just removing the badge and moulding so it can be blended.

The panel is too badly scraped. and with the addition of the dent in the panel to be removed, its far easier to respray the entire panel than attempt to paintlessly remove the dent, and then respray the corner.

[USC]

cool! she`ll be back on the road soon!!

[MitchSRi]

Okay well here's the end result.

Lodge claim with insurance. Insurance tender job to the cheapest quote (instead of my preferred mob), and now this is what the car looks like.

My complaints:
1. There is a small chip where the dent was removed.
2. There appear to be specs of dirt of something under the layer of paint.
3. The alignment of the bumper is well out of whack.
4. The paint on the front 1/4 panel is worse than ever. Orangepeeled like hell, and feels all rough and lumpy.
5. Scratches and scrapes are visible slightly, as are sanding marks where they've sandpapered (or tried to) out the scrapes.

CLICK FOR LARGER PICTURES

The original damage
http://img509.imageshack.us/img509/3830/1scrapebeforebt6.th.jpg (http://img509.imageshack.us/my.php?image=1scrapebeforebt6.jpg)

COMPLAINT #1
Dent chip where dent was fixed
http://img457.imageshack.us/img457/4798/1dentchiprq8.th.jpg (http://img457.imageshack.us/my.php?image=1dentchiprq8.jpg)

COMPLAINT #3
How the bumper SHOULD look
http://img524.imageshack.us/img524/7120/1lhsbumperuf1.th.jpg (http://img524.imageshack.us/my.php?image=1lhsbumperuf1.jpg)
How my bumper ACTUALLY looks (after "repair")
http://img266.imageshack.us/img266/1787/1rhsbumpermy1.th.jpg (http://img266.imageshack.us/my.php?image=1rhsbumpermy1.jpg)

COMPLAINT #4
Paint Before
http://img524.imageshack.us/img524/5420/1paintbeforevt6.th.jpg (http://img524.imageshack.us/my.php?image=1paintbeforevt6.jpg)
Paint with heavy orangepeel
http://img518.imageshack.us/img518/4977/1paintworkjb8.th.jpg (http://img518.imageshack.us/my.php?image=1paintworkjb8.jpg)
Another shot of heavy orangepeel
http://img509.imageshack.us/img509/8599/1paintwork2sx9.th.jpg (http://img509.imageshack.us/my.php?image=1paintwork2sx9.jpg)

COMPLAINT #5
Scratches STILL visible and painted over
http://img249.imageshack.us/img249/1025/1scratches2qx0.th.jpg (http://img249.imageshack.us/my.php?image=1scratches2qx0.jpg)
http://img266.imageshack.us/img266/5134/1scratchesdf6.th.jpg (http://img266.imageshack.us/my.php?image=1scratchesdf6.jpg)

To say I'm angry is an understatement... I've lost all confidence taking it back to this place to "rectify" when they are so obviously careless about the work that has been done. Even a blind man could tell its a rubbish job.

I'm going to give them one chance to repair it. If I'm not happy after I get it back I'll be considering my legal options.

[USC]

sorry to hear mate...

Im guessing orange peel is where they blended the clear (orange peel can be polished off but the scratch is due to poor surface preparation). I dont think they painted your whole guard... looks like they did a quick dodgy job. I wouldnt take my car back there if I were you. The bumper is misaligned because they only pulled the RHS down to paint the scratch...

Take it back to your insurance company and complain about it. They should get it fixed properly, ie, whole bumper off, respray whole quarter panel and whole bumper....(bumper does not look too bad from pics though).


I hate dodgy panel beaters...why r they even in the business?? panel shops remind me a bit of pizza shops...some of them are really bad while others are average and some are really good and expensive.

[MitchSRi]

Cheers for that USC, and it sounds pretty much on the dot.

Due to insurance I apparently have to give them the chance to fix it up, but how a company could let a car go out like that, and take pride in this as "workmanship" astounds me.

I'd get shot if I ever let a computer go out half done.

Sadly NPS missed out on the job, as I've had work done there before and the finish is top quality.

But if I send it back to this other mob, and they f*ck it up again I'll be demanding AAMI or this other mob to pay whatever the costs to have the entire thing done correctly.

If that involves it being taken elsewhere, stripped, prepped, and resprayed, then so be it, but I wont be paying a cent of it.

I agree wholeheartedly about dodgy work. I'm in IT and the horror stories I could tell are quite impressive..

[MitchSRi]

Guess what lads and ladies?

The car has been borked that badly now after it's third time in for repairs, that I now have to get another 2 quotes to rectify the problems.

What's wrong?

1. The original job was STILL not done properly.
2. Even after a "respray" there are hairs under the paint (as well as black pitting, and other discrepancies).
3. There is a chip out of my door that wasnt there before.
4. My entire front door was resprayed and is orange peeled.
5. There is a large scratch to metal on the rear door.

So now the entire drivers side of the car has to be resprayed!

[SIMid]

The car has been borked that badly now after it's third time in for repairs, that I now have to get another 2 quotes to rectify the problems.

What's wrong?

1. The original job was STILL not done properly.
2. Even after a "respray" there are hairs under the paint (as well as black pitting, and other discrepancies).
3. There is a chip out of my door that wasnt there before.
4. My entire front door was resprayed and is orange peeled.
5. There is a large scratch to metal on the rear door.

So now the entire drivers side of the car has to be resprayed!

I know how you feel. I had the bonnet repaired due to a really bad "rock" chip. And since then, it's been back 3 times to get repaired and the only prob is the silvery reflection of mi-nute cut marks (like washing your car in the sun). I need to find a detailer to fix it if poss.

[USC]

sorry to hear mate...I can feel your pain! look for a place that repair prestige cars (like BMW etc) and they will do a good job.

from my experience, a lot of panel shops employ crappy painters that could not care less about your car...

silver is also a very hard colour to spray as the preparation has to be done very carefully and gun needs to be very clean as it shows everything under the clearcoat.

r u in melbourne? if u r, i can recommend a good place to get your car fixed.

thats also why i recommended to get the mobile guys to blend in the scratch as panel shops only seem to spend the time if your car has been in a crash or something.

[MitchSRi]

Well today I went and got 2 quotes from insurer approved Smash Repairers.

Looks like its a complete respray on one side of the car (blended on the roofline and the rear).

All up probably around $3500 damage.

Hopefully should get a call tomorrow with the OK of where to send it too.

I'm happy to give a really good rap to a place that does a quality job, but if someone cant show even the slightest amount of care when doing a job, then they dont deserve any promotion at all.

[RudeOne]

just a qn, who covers the 3.5k damage ? your insurer or the first panel shop??

[MitchSRi]

My insurer rings the first panel shop and says "what gives", and that "it'll now cost $XYZ to repair the car to original".

They can either:
1. Tell the insurer to go get *BLEEPED*, in which case insurer has to OK it with head office, pay out for repairs, and then take initial repairer to court.

2. Write out a cheque for the amount required to insurer, who then send it to the new repairer.

[USC]

Well today I went and got 2 quotes from insurer approved Smash Repairers.

Looks like its a complete respray on one side of the car (blended on the roofline and the rear).

All up probably around $3500 damage.

Hopefully should get a call tomorrow with the OK of where to send it too.

I'm happy to give a really good rap to a place that does a quality job, but if someone cant show even the slightest amount of care when doing a job, then they dont deserve any promotion at all.


OMG..mate dont let them touch your roof!!! ask them to colour match ...I have seen it getting done on Mercs and BMW`s and the colour is spot on if they spend time to match it properly!

i am warning you to avoid another "fuk up"..dont let them touch your roof or quarter panel. they dont need to!
they can blend the colour on the door itself and clear the whole thing.

if u blend the roof, after about 2 years, you will see where the blend was done as blending on a flat horizontal panel is very hard.

[oneightoo]

far out dude.. thats appaling!

[MitchSRi]

if u blend the roof, after about 2 years, you will see where the blend was done as blending on a flat horizontal panel is very hard. One of the places has a new spraying machine and doesnt need to blend (Glausrit paint booth?), and therefore no need to respray the rear 1/4 panel area.

The other was going to respray and blend the rear 1/4 and respray both doors.

Oh it has also come to my attention today that more problems had occured.

The original mob had oversprayed in the gap where the door is, meaning it's all rough in the hinge area where the door is (with lovely paint runs).

The other thing is they cracked my side skirts attempting to jimmy them out with a screwdriver instead of unscrewing them and removing the wheels.

Its only a small crack so may not require replacement but it needs fixing.

I'm amazed how fine a toothcomb these 2 new repairers are going over the car with.

I should know tomorrrow who it goes to, and then its about a week in another loan car!!

[USC]

good luck mate! The side skirts are glued on with urethane glue...I have the instructions manual on how to install them. They have a couple of screws but the main part is glued on...therefore I wouldnt recommend removing them. if u really want to remove, use an 80Lbs fishing line to cut the glue...u will have to respray whole skirt if you do that as it will scratch the edges a bit.

thats the thing I have found with these astras sport, they look great but they have been built with glue all around and its very hard to fix something properly if anything occurs.

now to respray the door, are they removing the b pillar tape? they have to if they are doing a proper job and replace them with new ones from holden. i guess they can mask it as well...depends how fussy u r;)

make sure u check the quality of their work first before deciding where to drop your car...why dont u take it to a bmw or porsches body repair centre?

[MitchSRi]

Cheers for that USC .. you wouldnt happen to be in the smash repair business would you?

I find out tomorrow where it goes, OH and tonight driving home, massive overspray all over my windscreen in glittery clear overcoat.

So I'll need to mention that to them as well.

[USC]

Cheers for that USC .. you wouldnt happen to be in the smash repair business would you?

I find out tomorrow where it goes, OH and tonight driving home, massive overspray all over my windscreen in glittery clear overcoat.

So I'll need to mention that to them as well.


hehe..np mate...nah..im in software engineering but I am very interested in cars etc..so Ive done a lot of reading and have had a lot of bad experience with dodgy painters...:p

dont worry too much about overspray on the windscreen...buy some general purpose thinners from bunnings and get a few clean cotton rags. pour a bit on the rag and work in circular motions on the windscreen..do a small section at a time..if a bit of thinners touches the paint...it doesnt matter but dont let the thinners get in contact with any rubber or wiper arms. is it just a very thin mist of clear? if so, it will come off with the above method..but if its thick..u will need polishing compound and let the panel shop do that....need too much elbow grease.


if u can, pls take your car to a prestige panel shop...it will avoid any further stress.

[MitchSRi]

if u can, pls take your car to a prestige panel shop...it will avoid any further stress. Ahhh you'll be familiar with this one then...

If effort = great then
goto :someone_else:
ELSE :DIY:

:someone_else:
smash repairer

:DIY:
as per above.


hahaha .. well one of the places currently has 2 Mercs, a Lexus, and an older jag there (amongst others). The other place has a reasonably new BMW M3, 2 new HSV GTS's, a range rover, a merc SL500, and a number of other sub $40-60,000 cars. and the workmanship from both look very very impressive (one of the places the guy was just completing the M3, and was going over it by hand with a claybar and a good chamois to ensure it was 100% perfect.

[poita]

now thats the kinda thing u like to see in a panel shop!

[USC]

Ahhh you'll be familiar with this one then...

If effort = great then
goto :someone_else:
ELSE :DIY:

:someone_else:
smash repairer

:DIY:
as per above.


hahaha .. well one of the places currently has 2 Mercs, a Lexus, and an older jag there (amongst others). The other place has a reasonably new BMW M3, 2 new HSV GTS's, a range rover, a merc SL500, and a number of other sub $40-60,000 cars. and the workmanship from both look very very impressive (one of the places the guy was just completing the M3, and was going over it by hand with a claybar and a good chamois to ensure it was 100% perfect.




#include<Good painterskills.h>
#include<Opel knowledge.h>

main()
{
GetRid(bad painters);
paint(car);
if paintNotPerfect
{
burnDown panelshop;
sue painter;
rework car @ prestige place;
}
else {pay & have a great day}
}

:D :D

the new panel shops sounds like they would do a good job mate!Im sure it will be all fixed soon;)

[poita]

dam nerds and there ub3r l33t n3rd sp3@k

[oneightoo]

pete, get off teh internetz !!!11!

[poita]

yer i no, i need to
i spend all day on computers at work, then come home and spend anotehr 4-6 hrs on it
wtf is wrong with me!

[USC]

yer i no, i need to
i spend all day on computers at work, then come home and spend anotehr 4-6 hrs on it
wtf is wrong with me!

do you spend time on facebook or something?

[poita]

well theres the 6 or 7 forums im on.
facebook, myspace
then some photoshop and corel time for work stuff
then some gaming if i get time

[MitchSRi]

As a final follow up and resolution.

A HUGE thumbs up to the brilliant spray job and prompt work by Bodytech Automotive in Castle Hill.

The car is absolutely stunning now, and they also fixed up a few scratches I had on the car from other places, as well as a stone chip. They even repaired and resprayed my lower lip spoiler which was scratched and scraped from low driveways.

As if this great service wasn't enough they dropped me to my home, and picked me up when the car was ready.

I wouldn't hesitate recommending to anyone to have their car fixed up there.

Full marks for a very professional, and very good Smash Repairer.

[USC]

Hey mate, I am really happy that it all worked out for your car!! Its a great end of the year indeed!! :) Enjoy your baby now!!:D