Reasonably-priced body repair shop?

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Omababe
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Reasonably-priced body repair shop?

Post by Omababe »

Can anyone recommend an auto body shop which does not charge an arm and a leg?

Last weekend I noticed a dent in my left rear fender. About 3" in diameter and maybe 3/8 of an inch into the natural contour of the car. No paint damage. I don't know how or where it happened, maybe even out of town on a recent trip. I do not want to claim on insurance if I can avoid it.

I got estimates at B Street Body and Carstar, both which are more or less on my way and I pass most every day. They are both around $1000.00!!!!!!! They say the "paintless" dent repair will not work on this dent. :( I'm sorry, but this sounds like a sky-high price.

Anyone know a reasonably-priced shop?

Related question, is Maaco really as bad as people say?

The car is now 4 years old (just paid off!) :) and I love it and plan on keeping it another 4 or so before getting a new one. If something like Maaco will look nice for another 4 years I may go for something like that but hopefully somebody knows a reasonably-priced shop.

Thanks
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nebugeater
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Re: Reasonably-priced body repair shop?

Post by nebugeater »

Make sure they know you are looking at a cash repair and not an insurance claim when you get the estimate. It has made a difference for me. I also would suggest that you look at a smaller independent shop rather than a chain or multi location place. For me on a couple issues like you are describe what I am suggested has worked to my advantage on cost.

Miight be too far for you but Kersten's Midwest Auto Body in Gretna is who i have found good value with on a couple of smaller repairs.
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MadMartin8
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Re: Reasonably-priced body repair shop?

Post by MadMartin8 »

I had a dent along the rear body line of my Mustang, and Dave's Auto Body was able to repair it for, if I remember right, 250 bucks. It was slightly smaller as what you're describing (around 2 inches or so) and they did it with Paintless Repair.
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Omababe
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Re: Reasonably-priced body repair shop?

Post by Omababe »

Thanks all.

I'll check with both Kirsten and Dave's. I assume everyone now does free estimates while you wait. They both said this was not a "paintless dent repair" job unfortunately.
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Omababe
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Re: Reasonably-priced body repair shop?

Post by Omababe »

For those who care, just for giggles I went for an estimate at Maaco and it was a learning experience. I admitted to the guy that I had multiple estimates, all in the range of a kilobuck, and that I thought they were high.

He immediately chimed in with "we get that all the time" and that "most body shops will not even discuss the cheaper options" since the vast majority of their work is insurance.

He gave me three options. First is to repair to insurance standards which was almost as much as the other two. The second is not to remove the left rear window and trim but mask them off when painting, which was about $200 cheaper. The third is what he called a "spot repair" where they repaint only the repaired area and blend it out about 18" but in my case they would stop at the edge of the left door. He assured me that most people would not notice it, but that anyone familiar with body work, like the person who appraises it when I trade it in, would know it was done. This one was just about half of the original estimates.

Now a client recommended a place called Paintcrafters (anyone have any experience with them) and I phoned them and they say they can do a spot repair which will not be obvious to anyone. I plan on stopping out there today or tomorrow unless I hear anything bad about them. :)
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nebugeater
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Re: Reasonably-priced body repair shop?

Post by nebugeater »

Keep us informed!
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jessep28
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Re: Reasonably-priced body repair shop?

Post by jessep28 »

It's 90 minutes away, lol, but I can give you the name of a body shop East of York that does good work.
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Omababe
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Re: Reasonably-priced body repair shop?

Post by Omababe »

jessep28 wrote:It's 90 minutes away, lol, but I can give you the name of a body shop East of York that does good work.
Uh, thanks, but I need a shop in the distance I can get a ride to and from. :)
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