Last week I noticed some paint damage above my nearside front wheel arch. (And - honestly - I don't think it was down to me, and certainly I can't recall any incident where it might have been.) Naively I thought this would be a job for a mobile chip-repairer, but three I contacted with a photo (including a guy who lives 400 yards away) didn't bother to reply, though a Chipsaway franchisee was quick to advise that the entire panel should be resprayed (and I can understand why). I've just had his estimate: 1. Remove and reshape dents / damage & paint in primer £75.00: 2. Prepare and paint NSF wing, bake, polish (Paint) £270.00; VAT £69.00; TOTAL £414.00. 😬

Which did make my blink! There is an almost imperceptible distortion to the edge of the arch, and a tiny dent the size of a small nail head (which I've just filled in with primer).

I've decided to do it myself, accepting that the colour match won't be perfect. Last year I managed to touch up similar damage to the front spoiler reasonably well.

The Chipsaway guy requested a photo of the entire wing, and when I looked at the result when I got inside I rushed out again in horror, only to realise that what looked like more extensive damage (extending onto the passenger door) was the reflection of next door's hedge ...

(I did explain this to the guy and stressed that the damage was as shown in the close-up.)

 

Sounds about right for a proper repair.

I had a very small ding in the door I had to sort out on the last car. 

Chips away wanted £1k to do the whole door. So much for a smart repair😆  I think they just want to do 1 job a week !

In the end I got a dent guy* out to sort the ding for £60 and he buffed the scratch out as best as he could. You couldn't see it unless you were up close with a light on it.

You might be best looking for a dent guy and seeing what the paints like and getting that done separately 

* The Dentman Manchester | Facebook

 

 

 

Like most things,prices for apparently small body repairs have risen significantly. That seems there or  thereabouts for a proper job (and the Mk 8 Fiesta front wing is a pretty complex shape). I'd try and get another quote from a "static" bodyshop for comparison.

This morning I put some primer in/on the small nail-head hole and into a couple of the deeper scratches that hadn't revealed the metal. I went out this afternoon and ran my finger over the area and squinted at it from various angles. I could "feel" the surface, as one would expect, but there was nothing I could describe as a dent; £75 seems a lot for a tiny amount of primer ...

How long did it take you to do that? (including searching online/working out what you needed , driving to Halfords and back).

 

9 hours ago, alanfp said:

How long did it take you to do that? (including searching online/working out what you needed , driving to Halfords and back).

 

...are you suggesting that fixing things yourself and saving real money is a waste of time?  😄

I've just had a quote to respray my bonnet, no dents/dings, simply paint lacquer peeling looking a bit unsightly. All in, £420. I've decided that the old girl will just have to live with a bit of patina. I've always preferred to have mechanical issues rather than paint, it's so expensive to fix...

Not at all - I'm with you on saving money if you have the time and ability yourself. 

But it was a genuine question trying to get to the bottom of whether £75 was reasonable, which was the thrust of your original question. 

BTW when I saw the title of your post, it struck me that I've never met anyone who HASN'T been surprised at the cost of a minor repair. Personally I would have thought £300 - £350 but my estimating is based on the last time I had a repair done which was 5 yrs ago, so your quote doesn't sound unreasonable. As always, though, you will only really know if you get alternative quotes to truly test the market.

 

Paintwork has always been expensive and became even more so since Brexit/Ukraine war/Covid etc.  Frustratingly it's one thing I never got the hang of myself.  (Lack of dexterity...and patience!)

I'd much rather have had a blown engine or gearbox than a scuffed rear quarter.  At least I could fix those myself for just parts cost.

Despite being a perfectionist I've just had to put up with dings and scrapes over the years as I never could justify the repair costs when they don't affect the vehicle drive.  I have swapped entire wings or bumpers with better condition used parts to avoid paint repairs in the past.  But I suppose they're expensive on newer cars.

11 minutes ago, alanfp said:

But it was a genuine question trying to get to the bottom of whether £75 was reasonable, which was the thrust of your original question. 

I took your comments the same way, bearing in mind the costs of running a business which have to be apportioned to each job. When you put a notional cost on your own time, even at, say, minimum wage, it's quite surprising how it all adds up, as many unpaid carers know.

I've done decent jobs myself with a rattle can in the past, but on older cars. A 3 year old, I'd be more inclined to have a professional job unless I was planning on keeping it long term/until it dropped apart.

That said, I once had a supermarket scrape on a 12 month old Audi which I had professionally repaired, and a superb job it was too. A couple of weeks later I got an identical scrape in exactly the same place!😠

 

 

 

12 hours ago, alanfp said:

How long did it take you to do that? (including searching online/working out what you needed , driving to Halfords and back).

Previous experience over 60 years on various cars saved me searching on-line, I had what I needed and Halfords' is only a mile way, 300m yards beyond where I do my weekly Big Shop. I may need some more paint, and it was a minor pain searching the Halfords website and determining whether they had any in stock (though my present can was bought on-line.) Delivering the car to the bodyshop, returning home and collecting it the next day would take much more time,especially if I was to opt for the repair shop three miles  away. (There's actually another one very close to Halford's, but some years ago it offered a ridiculous estimate for fitting some trim on a Civic.)

2 hours ago, alanfp said:

Not at all - I'm with you on saving money if you have the time and ability yourself. 

But it was a genuine question trying to get to the bottom of whether £75 was reasonable, which was the thrust of your original question. 

BTW when I saw the title of your post, it struck me that I've never met anyone who HASN'T been surprised at the cost of a minor repair. Personally I would have thought £300 - £350 but my estimating is based on the last time I had a repair done which was 5 yrs ago, so your quote doesn't sound unreasonable. As always, though, you will only really know if you get alternative quotes to truly test the market.

 

Knock off the £75 for removing a dent that I can't see, and then the quote I got seems reasonable.