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Originally Posted by illdeviant
- Would rust be an issue? For where the scratch exposed the metal underneath? can i just get some paint at a shop and cover up? I don't want to have the whole panel repainted..
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yes, absolutely rust will be an issue. Any time you have exposed metal and winter driving (or driving near an ocean) you have rust problems.
Some body shops will want to replace the whole panel. I had one try to pull that on me once for a little scratch - -- I guess they didn't expect me to ask why buffing out a scratch cost $1500
Don't let them - unless the dent is in a very hard to hammer out place. If that's the case you may need to replace the panel.
I wouldnt' recommend doing the job yourself because 1) it'll look ugly and 2) if you don't do it right, you could still let moisture get underneath the new paint, and then you have the rust issue again.
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-Granted you haven't seen the car, but I'm thinking all that has to be done is the dent to be pounded out and the light should fit right back in. Would that process be an arm and a leg?
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It really does depend. The fact that the dent is near the headlight is not the best sign - sometimes it's REAL hard to pound out a dent when it's in a bend like that.
It also sounds like the light bracket may need to be rewelded or replaced.
Bottom line, if you replace the whole panel you're looking probably at $700 to $1500. If he pounds it out and resprays it (have him repaint the whole panel - it's gonna be off the car to pound it out, and it just looks better if you do that) then probably $200 to $300 or so.
But like I said it's REALLY hard to give an estimate without seeing the full extent of the damage - - and keep in mind that there might be damage behind the panel that you haven't found, and that the shop won't find until they get the panel off.