Koastie57

So this time I'm working and some woman is leaving our parking lot and backs into my car... yeah wtf stupid bitch... so now I got a nice dent right at the top of my driver side rear wheel well fender.....


My question is what are my options besides Bondo? I was told my car is a unibody? Meaning I cant buy a new shell for that part of the car?

I really hate Bondo because I see it as a cheap fix but convince me otherwise... I have a pic also



You cant see the depth of the hit but its pushed in about an inch or two

Marc3.4V6

iTrader: (1)

No you do not need a whole new quarter panel.

I don't see how you can hate bondo when it's obvious that you don't even know the basics of autobody repair. That damage can be straightened and body filler applied. There is nothing "cheap" about body filler, it's the way it is done.

redhotSS

iTrader: (1)

BONDO is a brand, like calling all nitrous NOS, BONDO brand is very cheap crap, but that is a very easy fix with a little pulling and body filler. if she backed into you why not take it to a shop and let her insurance cover the bill? it sounds like it wouldnt be a good idea for you to fix it yourself

Koastie57

I was not planning on fixing it mystlf at all. I just wanted to know what my options were and for someone to enlighten me a but and they did

13lu91rS

iTrader: (1)

and just to get it straight, the car isn't a unibody.. its a subframe car.

onefastss223

iTrader: (14)

That sucks ***. I had something similar happen to me while my car was sittin in the parking lot at work. Except it was the left fender/front bumper that got the damage. Theres no getting around not using body filler on that. Some of that damage can be beat/pulled out so it will eliminate the amount of body filler but itll still need some. So long as a good body shop repairs the quarter it will look like no one ever painted it.

tals7

the car is a uni-body.you could put on new quater pnl but would be pricey plus you would lose all of the factory sealing.as aresult in a short time it will rust from the non-factory welds and the way the shop puts it on .unles they glue it on and do a real sweet job on sealing it (water protection).your best move would to have it bumped.just find a good shop body filler is not bad if used correctly.

redhotSS

iTrader: (1)

yep, just to re-straighten things, all F-bodies are uni-body cars.

DriftR

iTrader: (4)

As others have said, it most definitely is a Unibody car and although you could cut and weld a piece from another rear quarter it's not necessary. It can be pulled and hammered pretty flat. Patch or not, It would need a small amount (thin layer) of body filler to finish either way, which is not a problem. Sorry you have to go through the inconvenience though!

Dewey

iTrader: (1)

agreed, my fender got dented to hell and all i needed to do was straighten it out. and body filler is a huge part of auto body work. i guarantee you that every single professional body shop has used some kind of body filler at some point.

MjMaro

iTrader: (11)

The issue with BONDO, or any other body filler is that when it is too thick, you will have issues after the area is painted. This is where body filler gets its reputation of being a "cheap fix". Body filler should only be used to fill the area once it has been brought back as far as possible to the shape it was before. When body shops don't do any metal shaping, then just lather on the body filler, THAT is the cheap fix, which will in a matter of time look worse than the damage it was meant to replace. As other have said in the thread, when used correctly, body filler is very helpful in getting things smoothed out, and is used more often than not when repairing body panels.

ghettocruiser

iTrader: (17)

So you got her insurance info right? Or did she hit and run? You know she's a woman..which means either you or someone saw it. Or did she do the right thing and let you know?

Either way, assuming you got her info...let her insurance take care of it. The body shop will get the metal as straight as they can, then use body filler to smooth it out. If they are a good shop you'll never know it was there. They arent going to cut/weld metal for a repair like that. It doesnt look that bad at all.

J.

BlackScreaminMachine

iTrader: (17)

That blows indeed.

First Collision

iTrader: (13)

The key to using a filler is to pull out the dent and straighten the metal as much as possible before applying the filler. Filler is not meant to pack and fill the dent. When done that way, is when problems arise. Every shop in the world uses some kind of filler on all repairs. You car has body filler in it from the factory. And as stated before, it is more invasive and extremely costly to replace the panel than to repair the dent, and usually requires some use of filler anyway. Bring it by the shop, and we'll gladly take care of you again. You'll get a lifetime guarantee on the repair anyway, so there is really nothing to worry about.