# Body shop sticker shock



## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

I think they're ripping you off. I have had body work done on my Montana several times over the years and they never had to disassemble the entire shell to do the work. Just because they have the contract with the local Chevy dealers doesn't mean they are the only body shop that can do the work.


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## sciphi (Aug 26, 2011)

For that price I'd be awfully tempted to install a clear bra over the chipped area and forget about it.


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## CruzeTech (Mar 23, 2012)

True, there are plenty of body shops around here. This is the San Francisco Bay Area. I would like to get it fixed, just because of how new the car is. I will be driving this as a primary car for the next year, thats why I bought it. I may sell it when I leave here in a year to go back home. And I dont want this damage when I sell it.


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## CruzeTech (Mar 23, 2012)

sciphi said:


> For that price I'd be awfully tempted to install a clear bra over the chipped area and forget about it.


True, although Im looking at $250 deductible out of pocket. Ive just never had to go this route. So Im guessing I should try a few more estimates.


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## CruzeTech (Mar 23, 2012)

The more I think about it, the more I only see the hood and the front bumper need re-painting. The mirrors are a little nicked also. But those can be covered with something else. So $5,200 to paint a bumper and a hood. I'll replace my windshield myself. That's zero deductible coverage. Problem is trusting someone to paint the bumper and hood to OEM specs or better.


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## johnm4 (Jun 1, 2011)

1) It sounds like you're thinking that your insurance is going to pay for this. Have you checked with them? I wouldn't think insurance would cover rock chips. 
2) Try touchup paint/clearcoat and call it a day?
3) Can you buy a brand new OEM front bumper and hood for less? The bumper comes off easily, check the thread on fog light install.


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## mcg75 (Mar 5, 2012)

If the shop is truly that busy, they are giving you a really high estimate because they aren't interested in the job because it doesn't pay enough. Neither a customer or insurance will approve that amount so you go somewhere else.


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## silverram323 (Mar 16, 2012)

I dont think insurance will pay, you can buy a new hood, and front bumper, get them painted for less then half of the quote, plus you can sell your old pieces to recover your cost.

Sent from my DROID X2


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## 98sonoma (Nov 30, 2010)

Getting my hood fixed and repainted was $460. This is crazy!


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## CruzeTech (Mar 23, 2012)

silverram323 said:


> I dont think insurance will pay, you can buy a new hood, and front bumper, get them painted for less then half of the quote, plus you can sell your old pieces to recover your cost.
> 
> Sent from my DROID X2





98sonoma said:


> Getting my hood fixed and repainted was $460. This is crazy!



Im with both of you guys on this one. And I haven't contacted insurance yet because I wasn't sure I wanted to claim it. And if I can get the hood and the front bumper repainted for like $800, I won't bother. But I do need a new windshield also. That cheap piece of junk isnt cracked, but there is so much sandblasting on it, it's hard to see driving into the sun.


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## iKermit (Dec 13, 2010)

Keep getting quotes! Don't go with the cheapest, find a middle ground and do some reseach on their reviews etc.


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## CruzeTech (Mar 23, 2012)

Since this is my only car here, the rest of my cars are at home, Im down to rent a car for a few days and take the hood and the bumper off myself and take them to get them painted. $5,200 is just insane money, I dont care if its my money or not.


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

Maaco?


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## Beachernaut (Mar 27, 2012)

Not sure what a reasonable repair on that is, but $5k seems a little high. However, when you get it repaired, I highly recommend a clear bra.


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## GoldenCruze (Dec 18, 2011)

The quoted job isn't just painting over the rock chips. It also involves replacing the windshield and the whole car being redone in clear along with the headlights. It's not a simple matter of just spraying clear over the existing paint, it will have to be prepped first. I'm sure that's a big part of the labor cost. Compare the quotes you get from other places and note exactly what work they say they are going to do. I'll bet they won't perform exactly the same work.


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## CruzeTech (Mar 23, 2012)

obermd said:


> Maaco?


I want it to look like it did when I bought it 6 weeks ago, I dont think Maaco is my solution. 



GoldenCruze said:


> The quoted job isn't just painting over the rock chips. It also involves replacing the windshield and the whole car being redone in clear along with the headlights. It's not a simple matter of just spraying clear over the existing paint, it will have to be prepped first. I'm sure that's a big part of the labor cost. Compare the quotes you get from other places and note exactly what work they say they are going to do. I'll bet they won't perform exactly the same work.


This pretty much eludes to my first post about them taking everything apart and making it new again. They will be sanding and prepping a lot of the car. I will also have them remove some of the factory fish eyes. But they are replacing and clearing the headlights and also replacing the windshield. I will shop around, I just think $5,200 is a little excessive. I understand the labor involved. The estimate sheet quoted 61 items. 

Then again, to me, the hood and the front bumper need to be repainted. The headlights are lightly sand nicked and the windshield needs to be replaced. Remove the hood, paint, remove the front bumper, paint, call Safelite and have them change the window. They listed 2.9 hours for the windshield! Ill get projectors anyway, so I dont really care about the lights.


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## sciphi (Aug 26, 2011)

The projectors still need good clear lenses to project through. 

If you don't get the headlights cleared, Xpel headlight protection film is about $60, IIRC. Well worth it, IMO. It saved us a foglight on our Honda back when an OEM replacement was $220. Well worth the $15 we had spent on squares of the stuff!


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## NyteSnyper (Jan 30, 2012)

Working in the auto-body industry I can tell you that your estimate sounds about right for what i THINK they gave you an estimate to do.

In order to "do it right" you need to take anything off of the car that can leave a tape line that is visible, otherwise you risk seeing the tape lines and having plenty of places for this new paint to begin peeling from.

So to summarize, if you are having a door done - take a look at it, right off the top of my head you'll have:

Belt molding, mirror, handle, interior trim, misc seals around the bottom/sides/top of the door; all of the labor for disassembling this should come near 2-3hrs, multiply that by all 4 doors, plus the repair time to feather/fill/prime/block the chipped areas and you can see how this starts adding up quick. This is how we do it at my shop, and this is exactly how i charge to do it.

Just got done doing a Jag that had come up behind a gravel truck and the gravel was coming out from under the cover all over the front/sides of the car. This car was metallic black and we did similar repairs; repair bumper, replace headlights, chrome moldings on bumper/headlights, repair fenders hood, doors, roof, 1/4 panels and it came in right near 7k but those things pay alot for the disassembly due to how much "crap" (creature features) they have. Was done under his insurance (you'll have to check if your policy covers stuff such as this) Oh and it took us 3 weeks to do this car, so 14 days sounds about right too.

It all comes down to what you really want to do... wanna take it to a ma and pa shop that charges half as much but has no warranty and will tell you to beat it when you pick at the small dirt nibs they didnt feel like polishing out, or take it to a place that is going to charge you for everything they do and actually do it right. Paint isnt getting any cheaper either btw.

Also something to consider, if you do end up getting some panels painted and then plan to put some clear plastic covering done; dont do it immediately. We recommend letting the paint cure for 1-2 months before waxing or doing any kinda graphics or rock guards. If you don't do this, and the paint hasnt fully kicked yet - you could end up with some blistering or bubbling which will surely not be covered under the warranty (If they dont warn you of this, then they prolly will since it was their fault for not telling you)


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## Smurfenstein (Nov 16, 2011)

From the sounds of it, they expect to almost re-paint the entire car to give it better protection. My advice would be to drive it for a year, beat it up, and when its getting close to the time that you want to sell it, deal with it. If you already have that much damage on your car, re-painting it, or replacing parts will simply cost you more money, as over a year the same thing will happen over, and over. Keep your current bumper, let it get banged up, and pay for a fix once, not 2 or 3 times. If you're happy with the performance of your car, and you want to save money in the long run, you can live with a couple chips.


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## ChuzCruze (Feb 9, 2012)

"...pretty much going to reclear the entire car to blend it in correctly." This is kind of strange. I can see shooting an entire panel with clear to blend the clear, but the whole car? Unless the reasoning behind this is to give you a thicker clear coat, perhaps resisting more chips.


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## XtremeRevolution (Jan 19, 2012)

Sounds like if I ever plan on taking this car on a road trip, it would be a good idea to get one of those black bras for the front end to protect it.


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## Macman (May 4, 2011)

To do this properly, parts have to be removed, that costs money. If anything, they charge too much for booth time of painting, clear coating, etc. I have had $6,000 plus work on my car from 2 accidents that weren't my fault. The lifetime warranty only protects against faulty work/parts, not future paint chips. I would do it if you can and then get a clear bra, I'm considering one after the current 'new' damage is fixed.


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## CruzeTech (Mar 23, 2012)

sciphi said:


> The projectors still need good clear lenses to project through.
> 
> If you don't get the headlights cleared, Xpel headlight protection film is about $60, IIRC. Well worth it, IMO. It saved us a foglight on our Honda back when an OEM replacement was $220. Well worth the $15 we had spent on squares of the stuff!


This is a definite! I will surely get this when everything is all said and done. 



NyteSnyper said:


> Working in the auto-body industry I can tell you that your estimate sounds about right for what i THINK they gave you an estimate to do.
> 
> In order to "do it right" you need to take anything off of the car that can leave a tape line that is visible, otherwise you risk seeing the tape lines and having plenty of places for this new paint to begin peeling from.
> 
> ...


This is exactly what they did. I was quoted for 61 items, and they wrote up hood and removing the rubber bumpers between the headlights. They did list everything even removing the tail lights. And thats exactly what he said about no tape lines anywhere. He said since it hasnt been wrecked, you wont be able to tell its been painted at all. They do nothing half ass. The car comes apart, they paint, it goes back together. 



Smurfenstein said:


> From the sounds of it, they expect to almost re-paint the entire car to give it better protection. My advice would be to drive it for a year, beat it up, and when its getting close to the time that you want to sell it, deal with it. If you already have that much damage on your car, re-painting it, or replacing parts will simply cost you more money, as over a year the same thing will happen over, and over. Keep your current bumper, let it get banged up, and pay for a fix once, not 2 or 3 times. If you're happy with the performance of your car, and you want to save money in the long run, you can live with a couple chips.


I still dont like having things a mess. I dont usually keep cars very long. If I do, they are something Im collecting. This car isnt worth me dumping $5,200 of my own money into. Ive never used my insurance so Im just skeptical about how it works. Im paying $46 a month for 100,000/300,000 So I think they can handle it.


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## CruzeTech (Mar 23, 2012)

Macman said:


> To do this properly, parts have to be removed, that costs money. If anything, they charge too much for booth time of painting, clear coating, etc. I have had $6,000 plus work on my car from 2 accidents that weren't my fault. The lifetime warranty only protects against faulty work/parts, not future paint chips. I would do it if you can and then get a clear bra, I'm considering one after the current 'new' damage is fixed.


The estimator from the body shop told me the paint is so good, that after waiting a few months for the paint to cure, I would ask myself why I was wasting my money on one. I do have a clear bra on 2 other cars, so I know what they are all about. Ive just never seen a car painted so cheaply from the factory.


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## Smurfenstein (Nov 16, 2011)

You don't have to completely re-do the full paint. You can still just replace the bumper/hood. But it might be smarter to wait until you're ready to sell it to order the new hood/bumper.


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## cruzershane (Feb 9, 2012)

those black bras just rub your paint off anyways.


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## NBrehm (Jun 27, 2011)

I feel like it is a bit high, but remember they go by retail, if they want to replace the headlights that is probably about $500.00 there by itself. I would say that damage they estimated is about 30 hours work and $800-1000 in parts. The only wild card is you appear to have autumn Metallic as a paint, it may be a 3 stage paint (I honestly do not know) which can be a real pain to get the same color as the rest of the car


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## Lightz39 (May 14, 2012)

For $5000 they better be painting the entire car a new color.


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