How much would a shop charge me?

**Eric1987** · 05-25-2009, 04:57 PM

I just want all the pieces straightened out/replaced. I do NOT want the body pieces fixed or lights or anything. Make it like new but not the body. Like fix it so I can put my headlights back in and stuff like that. How much do you think it'd cost?

I can buy all the body pieces I just cant straighten out/replace metal. I hope I made sense.

**dklowrider** · 05-25-2009, 05:19 PM

Originally Posted by Eric1987

I just want all the pieces straightened out/replaced. I do NOT want the body pieces fixed or lights or anything. Make it like new but not the body. Like fix it so I can put my headlights back in and stuff like that. How much do you think it'd cost?

I can buy all the body pieces I just cant straighten out/replace metal. I hope I made sense.

you didnt

**Eric1987** · 05-25-2009, 05:20 PM

I can buy all the body pieces I just cant straighten out/replace metal

What is so hard to understand about that?

**Y2KPewterSS** · 05-25-2009, 05:31 PM

No one here can speak on behalf of a shop. You will get real answers by taking it to a shop for estimates.

**Eric1987** · 05-25-2009, 05:34 PM

I guess guesstimates was too much to ask then.

**Spikito** · 05-25-2009, 05:39 PM

i would say 5 or 6 hundred?

**Lethal Z** · 05-25-2009, 05:42 PM

It ain't gonna be cheap I can tell you that. That damage up front is pretty extensive my guess it that there will be more being replaced than straightened. My guess is your looking in the neighborhood of about $3k, but thats just my guess. Make sure you take it to at least 3 places to make sure your not getting hosed.

**Eric1987** · 05-25-2009, 05:54 PM

3k for just that? I just want the fender and quarter panel straightened and the section where my lights go replaced/straightened nothing more.

EDIT: Hood also.

**Lethal Z** · 05-25-2009, 05:56 PM

Originally Posted by Spikito

i would say 5 or 6 hundred?

Yeah right, maybe if you take it to Bill and Teds most exellent body shop, the parts alone will exceed that. New hood, front bumper support, bumper cover, fender, headlight and turn signal.
And thats just what you can see from the video. Assuming that everything can be bent back into place and there is no frame damage, labor and paint plus the damage to the rear of the car will far exceed your number.

**Eric1987** · 05-25-2009, 05:58 PM

No no no no no. Not the fender, turn signal bumper cover or new hood. I am sure that hood can be bondo'd. I am sure there is no frame damage as I have been driving it and nothing has changed as far as performance goes. Basically nothing replaced that is plastic. I got my old headlights still. Everything metal will be replaced/straightened. Nothing plastic. I will do the plastic myself.

**Lethal Z** · 05-25-2009, 06:06 PM

Originally Posted by Eric1987

3k for just that? I just want the fender and quarter panel straightened and the section where my lights go replaced/straightened nothing more.

EDIT: Hood also.

Well if your going to have a shop do that and nothing else you will get off cheaper. But you really don't know the full extent of the damage until you get all the parts off. It doesn't look like there is any frame damage but without being there its kind of hard to tell by the video. My number was based off what I can see. The damage to the hood and the area around the battery is the real concern. If that area is pushed in which I suspect it is, this is what is going to be the most expensive area to fix. The car will need to be put on a machine that will measure and tell the tech how far out of whack this area is. If its not off the price will be much cheaper, if it is off the price will go up considerably because of the labor involved.

**Eric1987** · 05-25-2009, 06:18 PM

Hmm do you think its possible to just buy those parts and put them on myself? Or would it be smarter to buy the parts and have the shop do it?

**Lethal Z** · 05-25-2009, 06:19 PM

Originally Posted by Eric1987

No no no no no. Not the fender, turn signal bumper cover or new hood. I am sure that hood can be bondo'd. I am sure there is no frame damage as I have been driving it and nothing has changed as far as performance goes. Basically nothing replaced that is plastic. I got my old headlights still. Everything metal will be replaced/straightened. Nothing plastic. I will do the plastic myself.

Ok well thats a little more info than we started out with. Well if your doing all the plastic work yourself you will save yourself quite a bit of money. However with regards to the hood you may want to consider replacing it. The money fixing it may exceed the price of a new one so be sure to check. With that being said your still looking at the labor fixing the rear quarter panel. Depending on how out of whack the front is around the battery I'd say your still in the neighborhood of about $1800.

**mpfranks** · 05-25-2009, 06:37 PM

Originally Posted by Lethal Z

It ain't gonna be cheap I can tell you that. That damage up front is pretty extensive my guess it that there will be more being replaced than straightened. My guess is your looking in the neighborhood of about $3k, but thats just my guess. Make sure you take it to at least 3 places to make sure your not getting hosed.

i think $3k sounds about right. thats what i was gonna say. by the time you get parts/paint and my guess is at least 15-20 hours labor. its gonna be expensive. and when they paint youre car they are gonna have to blend a lot, which usually means disassembling much more of the car, which is more labor. but as stated earlier, only the shop is gonna tell you for sure. and the more you can do on your own the more youll obviously save. youll save just buying all the parts instead of having the shop get everything, cuz theyll mark it up even more.

**mpfranks** · 05-25-2009, 06:39 PM

Originally Posted by Spikito

i would say 5 or 6 hundred?

yeah right...macco wouldnt even touch it for that. i have a ding in my door and was quoted at $700 to have it fixed, and trust me, its not even that bad.

**Lethal Z** · 05-25-2009, 06:40 PM

Originally Posted by Eric1987

Hmm do you think its possible to just buy those parts and put them on myself? Or would it be smarter to buy the parts and have the shop do it?

Well that depends on you and your level of patients. Some guys can do body work and some can't. A project like yours assuming that all the metal is put back where it needs to be you could probably do it yourself. However there is the little issue of paint. A body shop will probably paint the parts seperately and then assemble them back on and line everything back up. You wanna get this step right because if you don't your gonna see it. And another thing, some shops won't put on parts that they didn't get. I had some front damage to my old 94Z. The shop wouldn't let me get the parts myself so I let them do it. Good thing I did because a week later the paint started pealing off the bumper. Guess what, they had to fix it. According to them there was something wrong with the bumper. Whatever, just fix it was my answer. So I guess the moral of the story is you may be better off just letting a reputable shop do the work. It sucks I know but you don't wanna be reminded of an accident you had because something didn't come out right.

**Eric1987** · 05-25-2009, 06:47 PM

Well I guess after my move to Utah I can visit some shops to see if I can buy the parts. Hmm thanks for the info/tips it helps me a lot in deciding what I am going to do.

**FullBlack4thGen** · 05-25-2009, 09:52 PM

Personally i would say your best bet is getting the parts yourself and finding a shop that will paint them. This way you know how much they really were and the quality of them. I worked in auto body for a bit and saw people getting charged for factory parts then getting aftermarket which were a 1/4 of the price. That's how alot of shops get you, you pay cheep for labor and top dollar for shit parts. Not saying everyone's a crook but just be careful.

**doozjamann** · 05-26-2009, 03:39 AM

I had a tree limb hit my rear quarter almost in the same spot as you. Cost me $600 just for that. The front end, you'd be better off calling a junk yard and look for a rear hit totaled car and get the parts off it. Cost a little time, but will save you a boat load of money.

**Eric1987** · 05-26-2009, 04:51 AM

Originally Posted by doozjamann

I had a tree limb hit my rear quarter almost in the same spot as you. Cost me $600 just for that. The front end, you'd be better off calling a junk yard and look for a rear hit totaled car and get the parts off it. Cost a little time, but will save you a boat load of money.

Shit not a bad idea either! I will try that one as well.