This is a rant as well as a request for body shop advice.

This has not been a good month for me... especially with cars. About 3 weeks ago, my prelude's oil drain plug came off on the way to work on the 10E. Lost all the oil pressure and the engine died. After towing and yada yada... result is my oil pump seized, rest of internals showed no signs of damage... but to be safe, I got the motor rebuilt and now it runs very well, actually it feels way more powerful and responsive than before. [Note: It's for sale. 1999 Prelude SH Blk/Blk 5Spd. I'm reluctant to sell it but I need to move on for professional reasons... read on.]

So, I took this opportunity to upgrade cars. I actually need to because I'm in commercial real estate and occasionally need to take clients around... the prelude, as good of a car as it is, just isn't suitable. And that's why I'm here on this forum... I picked up a 2004 TL. In excellent condition... 28k miles, under original warranty (which I have since extended with AcuraCare to 112k)... 6 Speed with A-Spec kit. Silky smooth car, love it in every way. Point is... it had ZERO dings... a few rock chips in the front, but even this was minimal because the previous owner had the half-bra on.

Today, on the way home... where the 101 connects to the 10E near Cal State LA... a huge rock got kicked up and destroyed my right turn-signal reflector... as well as put a dent in the TL... I'll let the pictures tell the rest...








How bad is the damage? I know I'll need body shop work... based on your experiences, what needs to be done? Do I need a new quarter panel? How much do you guess it will cost to get my baby back in shape?

I would really appreciate your insight and input,
And... Nice to make everyone's acquaintance... I'm Henry Chen from Temple City, CA.

Thanks in advance!

 

not that bad. signal shouldn't set you back more than $30, and a bit of touching up will be in order. just make sure its done by the best in the business, no questions asked. might be about $100 for the body damage.

 

Probably more than 100, you know how body shops are

 

$100? Maybe for paint that lasts 6 months.

I would plan on spending $300 or a little more. They will have to strip and paint the whole fender.

 

That looks like it was done by a huge rock.
The shop will need to replace the parking light, repair (pull dent, put in bondo filler) and repaint the fender rather than replacing, and likely repaint the door.

It's a claim on your comprehensive insurance, but you'll probably have to pay the deductible.

Welcome to AZ.

 

Its not that bad, they wont have to replace the fender, but they will have to repaint it and blend into the door. Its going to be 800+ if i were to guess. I would just claim it on my insurance and pay my deductible.

Oh and welcome to the forum

 

 

if u dont mind it not being perfect ... u could use one of those kits to pull the dent, and then touch it up urself, and buy a new side marker ... it wont be 100 percent, but u can get it to like 80 ... it'll save u a lotta money

 

Thanks for the input everyone... kinda a big range tho... <$100 to $800+

I'm going to be conservative and prepare myself for the worse and think $800. I'll get an estimate on Monday and keep everyone posted.

Note: Prelude has been sold.

 

Well it all depends on how the body shop approaches it, if they decide to respray the whole fender or not, must likely they must because they want to make sure the color matches throughout the fender. They'll probably just touch up the door since its a minor scratch on the edge so it will be hard to notice if the paint isn't matching.

 

well ur lookikng at a $50 dollar lense, fender repair and refinish, and u have to refinish the door. i would probably paint the entire dooor due to those little chips for matching purposes. ur looking at about a 700 job. if u wana go a cheaper route i would paint the fender and touch up the doors, give it a wet sand and buff n u should be good to go. that process about 350 depending on the shop u go to...good luck bro sry it happened

 

What he said... He knows his stuff

 

I second that.

 

blokhead and Elegent Type s..i apreciate it guys

 

06 Acura TL, you were right on the money.

Took the car to a trusted body shop and the guy said the same thing...

Repainting the fender + touchup on the door would work, but the difference would be noticeable. So, I'm doing the full work... repairing and repainting the fender, new sidemarker lens, and repainting the door... $600

Just doing the Fender, lens, and touching up the door would have been $450, so I opted to do everything.


By the way, this shop uses PPG paint. The owner told me that no body shops actually get manufacturer paints. They are all "aftermarket" paints like DuPont, PPG, etc. Does anyone have comments on that?

 

That is probably true about the paint. Don't worry, Most good body shop can match the paint really well. You probably won't be able to tell the difference.

 

HJCHEN, my TL needs some body work too. Where was the shop you went too? I am out in Alhambra.

 

I go to John Au's Body Shop in Rosemead.

I've seen his work on a coworker's Lexus RX300 and my Prelude. He did an excellent job on both. I was particularly impressed because the Prelude rear bumper has the P-R-E-L-U-D-E lettering that has to be done by hand and it came out great.

#: (626) 288-6920
Tell him Henry with the TL recommended.

 

iunno. but from the picture it looks like a big dent. Last time my car was like this, it ended up to be about 1.5g! cuz mine was like yours, it was on the door too. but i got swiped by a car, not a rock, so iunno if that has any differencem cuz the door hinge was not aligned or something. mine also had a little more damage on the front part of the fender, near the headlights.

 

yup...no such thing as original paint. but i use dupont. PPG is an excellent brand as well. i feel like i get better results with the dupont