quarter panel repair vs replace?

[CSoupSS]

Originally Posted by TheGhosty

I had similar damage done to mine. They did a repair and it looks absolutely perfect!! I was ready to send it back when I learned they didn't replace it and was completely surprised. You can rub your hands over it and it feels perfect. The shop that did the repair also has a lifetime warranty, so im covered if the paint changes in the future. Just find a trustworthy shop and trust them, they do this for a living.

I've just had my left quarter panel replaced. Everything looked great but I was unhappy with the seam inside of the trunk. Seems like some putty or other type of sealant was used to fill in a gap/hole near the portion where the trunk lids curvers down (Near the trunk bumper thing). Plus, the substance hadn't hardened and it was still soft. To top it all off, they still painted it. Is this stuff surposed to be there? The collision replair person said it's to prevent leakage (water getting in) I seem to think the guys cut something too short and tried to fill in the gap. Can anyone enlighten me of how it should look?

[MrFrost]

While mine was in the body shop, I went by to check on progress, they had another Camaro in there with damage somewhat like yours and they were going to attempt to pull and shape it.
They told me the car had just left there about ten days before for entire rear quarter replacement, and the guy brought it back after a week and had damage to same side, enough that they had to re-skin the door, but were going to try and pull out qtr panel damage vs. replacing it again.

[sandhu.varin@gmail.com]

HI Guys ,
I got my Camaro hit on rear quarter panel and when i told my insurance provider geico so have send to body shop and body shop told that they will repair the quarter panel .So just want to know will it looks like the same once repaired or it won't get the same finishing as it comes when from OEM
Pics attached .

[lawman007]

Did you think of this? Fix/repair and see. If it's not done good enough, replace it. The whole new one is around $500.00, I think unpainted. Labor $1500-$2000 I'm sure.

[AMCBimmer]

If you were in VA my dent guy could do that in a heart beat.

[Sanaabriamartin1991]

need help anybody have any advice on how to get this project started

[gringo]

Originally Posted by Sanaabriamartin1991

need help anybody have any advice on how to get this project started

Uh....maybe contact your insurance company and get a claim started? Or, perhaps visit a good shop and fork over the $3K+ it's gonna cost to fix it. Or, just live with it, if you can.

[Dmpsix]

http://www.camaro5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=440508

I had mine repaired, it looks brand new.

I wouldn't run the risk of replacement like someone else here said.. you run the risk of
improper replacement and the car just looking 'off'. Replacing literally 1/4 of your car is a huge job and will take weeks for such a simple repair, mine took 4 days.

Besides, I highly doubt your insurance ops for it to be replaced anyways, a whole lot of work for such little damage.

[rontammy0]

Originally Posted by CSoupSS

I've just had my left quarter panel replaced. Everything looked great but I was unhappy with the seam inside of the trunk. Seems like some putty or other type of sealant was used to fill in a gap/hole near the portion where the trunk lids curvers down (Near the trunk bumper thing). Plus, the substance hadn't hardened and it was still soft. To top it all off, they still painted it. Is this stuff surposed to be there? The collision replair person said it's to prevent leakage (water getting in) I seem to think the guys cut something too short and tried to fill in the gap. Can anyone enlighten me of how it should look?

There is a ton of sealent applied to todays cars. Its mostly around the seams. It gets applied by robots and get harden in a oven afierwards. It should not have been painted till dry but as long as it still looks good i wouldnt worry about it.

[X77-69z28]

Hope I am not too late to the party here. That is an easy fix. A quality body shop will fix that and it will be undetectable. Replacing a quarter is a big job. It goes up into the sail panel, into the trunk, around the tail lights. Not even a question. Find a quality shop and REPAIR.

[myold88]

It's a repairable panel. Any good body shop will tell you: "We'll spend a couple hours on it and
let you know if it can be properly repaired". But some dishonest shops will try to maximize the job
and therefor increase their profits by replacing every damaged panel. If it was my car it would get
repaired, as the Gills don't appear to be crushed or distorted.

And for you guys who like to bad mouth BONDO, Every repair procedure today uses BODY FILLER
even if a welded panel is being replaced... Every time.

[762ch]

Originally Posted by myold88

It's a repairable panel. Any good body shop will tell you: "We'll spend a couple hours on it and
let you know if it can be properly repaired". But some dishonest shops will try to maximize the job
and therefor increase their profits by replacing every damaged panel. If it was my car it would get
repaired, as the Gills don't appear to be crushed or distorted.

And for you guys who like to bad mouth BONDO, Every repair procedure today uses BODY FILLER
even if a welded panel is being replaced... Every time.

This is correct, I work in the collision industry for a a high end shop. Every single panel that is replaced with use plastic filler aka bondo/putty. If it was my car I would repair it, not for cost. But because it's much less intrusive to repair then to cut that piece out. Rust, etc it's just a better repair in the long run to fix it.

Ask for detailed progress pics, of metal work and of the bondo work. It will give you an idea of what is involved in that process.

[Adrian97c]

PDR tech just told me these creases are too close to the edges for them to fix properly.

[RJT Impala]

I had a similar "dent" at the twelve o'clock position of the wheel opening arch. PDR guy corrected in less than 45 minutes, no problem. From what I've read here and what I've experienced, it appears to be a matter of the PDR tech's experience and willingness to tackle the tough.