Fiesta body damage

BoonMonkey

BoonMonkey

BoonMonkey

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Hi all,

Just wondering if any of you would happen to know (roughly, of course) how much it would cost to get a bit of body work sorted out. The dent isn't too bad, the scratch is the worst bit. I'm going to start looking around to see but just thought I'd post here too!

I recently bought the car, despite the damage, due to the fact my Clio's engine has gone for the 2nd time in 6 months. Fiesta was fairly cheap so I have a bit of money still to get it repaired!

Here's the damage!

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ouch. was about to say unlucky but read that you purchased it like that.

will probably be a few hundred quid at a decent body shop.
 
Similar damage for me cost £550 but there were dents in all panels as well as scratches, will +1 the £300-400 estimate.
 
Have you considered just working it with a da or rotary to get it as decent as you can and leaving it?

I'd say circa 400 as its two panels. Silver is an absolute nightmare to get a decent match on too
 
Thanks for the replies all! My Dad said he has spooted a place near by that does it at £100 a panel, but he said he'll check it out just to be sure

rjkoneill said:
ouch. was about to say unlucky but read that you purchased it like that.

will probably be a few hundred quid at a decent body shop.
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Was cheap so didn't really mind buying it like it as it can always be sorted!

rodenal said:
Have you considered just working it with a da or rotary to get it as decent as you can and leaving it?

I'd say circa 400 as its two panels. Silver is an absolute nightmare to get a decent match on too
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I don't own a DA/Rotary polisher, would be cheaper to buy one if the results are good, but if not then it will be a waste I guess!
 
It wouldn't be any kind of magic fix, would potentially just lighten / soften the appearance of it somewhat - I wouldn't go buying one just to try on the car but you might find someone local willing to have a go for you if you try owners sites etc.

I wouldn't go near anywhere doing paint/repairs to that damage for £100 a panel unless it was a homer from someone I trusted - especially not with silver. Trust me, you'll regret it.
 
Any kind of polishing will do nothing for that.

I can see by the jagged edges of the scratch that it's ripped the basecoat (the silver paint) away from the primer so it is far too deep for polishing to have any effect. If it were just in the clearcoat (lacquer) then maybe, but it's way way deeper than that.

As for price it's a bit of a lottery. A busy main dealer bodyshop would probably quote you several hundred quid for that kind of thing. A smaller independent bodyshop may well be happy to do it for the £100 a panel that you mention though. Times are extremely hard in this industry at the minute and some of the smaller shops will prefer to make even a small amount of profit than have an empty workshop.

You do kinda get what you pay for of course. A main dealer that doesn't really need the work will quote you high to account for removing and replacing those side mouldings, whereas a cheaper quote will see them masked up and painted around (not a big problem if it's done well and you don't ever plan on removing them). That kind of thing.

See if you can have a look at some of this places previous work. Not something fresh out of the door preferably but rather something that's been done a while. One problem with rushed / cheap jobs is that they'll look great when you come to pick them up but a couple of months down the line they can turn a bit ropey.

Feel free to PM me if want any more advice. I've had 20 years doing that kind of thing every day so I can give you some pointers on what to look out for :)
 
paintguy said:
Any kind of polishing will do nothing for that.

I can see by the jagged edges of the scratch that it's ripped the basecoat (the silver paint) away from the primer so it is far too deep for polishing to have any effect. If it were just in the clearcoat (lacquer) then maybe, but it's way way deeper than that.

As for price it's a bit of a lottery. A busy main dealer bodyshop would probably quote you several hundred quid for that kind of thing. A smaller independent bodyshop may well be happy to do it for the £100 a panel that you mention though. Times are extremely hard in this industry at the minute and some of the smaller shops will prefer to make even a small amount of profit than have an empty workshop.

You do kinda get what you pay for of course. A main dealer that doesn't really need the work will quote you high to account for removing and replacing those side mouldings, whereas a cheaper quote will see them masked up and painted around (not a big problem if it's done well and you don't ever plan on removing them). That kind of thing.

See if you can have a look at some of this places previous work. Not something fresh out of the door preferably but rather something that's been done a while. One problem with rushed / cheap jobs is that they'll look great when you come to pick them up but a couple of months down the line they can turn a bit ropey.

Feel free to PM me if want any more advice. I've had 20 years doing that kind of thing every day so I can give you some pointers on what to look out for :)
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Awesome! Thanks for the info, I'll ask to see some work they've done in the past.

Going to have a look around local places to try find the best price and work!
 
How cheap did you get it? The dent isn't so bad as it's not on a shape or anything, it's the scratch that will increase the cost.
 
Hyburnate said:
How cheap did you get it? The dent isn't so bad as it's not on a shape or anything, it's the scratch that will increase the cost.
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Sorry but I'd have to disagree completely :)

Time is money, and the scratch is relatively quick to deal with. < 30 seconds to remove the handle and the scratch could be removed and feathered out with a sander in 8-10 minutes.

The dent however would be 2Hr+ to sort. Access to the rear is limited, even with the inner trim removed so you wouldn't be able to get the metal pushed out as well as you'd like. Then you have a raised edge where it's folded around the inner skin ~10mm from the lip of the wheel arch. That will always be the high spot to work to as the strength of the inner skin will make it impossible to tap down. You have to remake the body line ~ 25mm from that lip, plus you are working on a compound curve with the body moulding and the inside curve to the flat part of the panel severely limiting your sanding.

I'm a lefty so the other side would be much easier for me :D, but I reckon even a good bodyman would be looking at 30 minutes to strip out the interior trim and work the metal, then 2 skims of filler and 1 of glaze which have a 20 minute drying time each , not to mention application and sanding of each layer, so the dent is definitely the bigger part of the job, the scratch being almost incidental and something to do while the filler is drying.
 
paintguy said:
Sorry but I'd have to disagree completely :)

Time is money, and the scratch is relatively quick to deal with. < 30 seconds to remove the handle and the scratch could be removed and feathered out with a sander in 8-10 minutes.

The dent however would be 2Hr+ to sort. Access to the rear is limited, even with the inner trim removed so you wouldn't be able to get the metal pushed out as well as you'd like. Then you have a raised edge where it's folded around the inner skin ~10mm from the lip of the wheel arch. That will always be the high spot to work to as the strength of the inner skin will make it impossible to tap down. You have to remake the body line ~ 25mm from that lip, plus you are working on a compound curve with the body moulding and the inside curve to the flat part of the panel severely limiting your sanding.

I'm a lefty so the other side would be much easier for me :D, but I reckon even a good bodyman would be looking at 30 minutes to strip out the interior trim and work the metal, then 2 skims of filler and 1 of glaze which have a 20 minute drying time each , not to mention application and sanding of each layer, so the dent is definitely the bigger part of the job, the scratch being almost incidental and something to do while the filler is drying.
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I was also thinking that the scratch would be the bulk of the cost! The dent is fairly clean, no creases or anything, so I was thinking of trying the hair dryer/upside down compressed air trick, but I'm still not convinced that's legit. :p


mattyprice4004 said:
The road tax will fade into insignificance when the injector sealing washers need doing, then need doing again and again...

Have a google for the problem, there's a reason they are cheap to buy. Friends has been done twice and now gone again.
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Depends on how much it is to do, and assuming it would go to a garage not a specialist, wouldn't be a problem really. My older brother is a mechanic, well he was until he moved up to Scotland with his girlfriend, struggling to find a job up there!

He'd happily come down and sort it provided parts and travel were paid for (As well as a little for his time of course)
 
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