OT: WANTED-RECOMMEND AFFORDABLE Auto Body Work-S.F.BayArea

[MitchJi]

Hi,

I'd like to make an offer on a car with accident damage:

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Here's a 2 page estimate:
Note:
The "Air Bag Module/Seat Assy" is not required, only the side air bags popped.
Air Bag Module/Seat Assy- Driver Side -M 71200-47400-B0 $2,757.69 0.4 hours

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I assume, unless I find a bargain on used parts that parts prices and the time spent on labor will be roughly the same.

So what I'm looking for is a recommendation for a reliable moonlighting auto-body man (preferred) or a reliable shop with rates that are substantially less than $92 per hour.

Also any advice on sources of or shopping for used auto body parts would also be appreciated.

[marty]

http://www.car-part.com/ local junk yard or dealer for parts.

I drove into a deer a few years ago. It was the deers fault. Fender, hood, bumper, underneath parts and the deer was smashed. Fixing it was a good learning experience in auto body repair. Spot weld cutter is a handy tool to have. Cuts a round hole. Still waiting for the bumper stitches to heal. Stitches are cable ties.

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[Harold in CR]

I LOVE IT.

[bigmoose]

Marty I love the zip ties, great idea!

Mitch take a look at recyclers AKA junk yards. Here is just one web link I found with a quick google http://www.partshotlines.com/parts/toyota/prius/door-assembly--fr.html

It shows complete prius doors for like 300 bucks. If you don't want dealer turn key, there are more reasonable solutions, and you looking for a second tier body work shop should save at least 50%. I have found good work, and good deals from the shops about 25 miles from the urban area.

[dnmun]

doors should not be $300. the guy who hit the deer actually coulda bot those parts at the junkyard too. you need to find out if the computer will prevent the car from working afterwards if you do not replace the headliner airbags too. which i would skip myself. if you do the work yourself the door pillar may be pushed some and you will need a portapower to jack it back out straight, but doesn't look bent from this picture.

i have been thinking of buying an insurance wreck too. i follow coparts.com auctions because here in oregon i can bid on them. just too much stuff to do i let it drop but i figured it is best to buy an insurance total than buy a used hybrid off CL. you know the reason the car is at the insurance auction. you don't really know how bad the batteries are in the used hybrid off CL.

if you learn to speak spanish and go to the shops where they already do a business of repairing the insurance totals, let them work out a deal if you can.

go to several shops so you have some idea of what you are offering and how much the work really is for them, then get them to bid against each other. AND PAY CASH! let them know that right up front, nothing like greed to help you get a better deal from a one man shop. BOL

ps: i saw a 2010 prius with less body damage than that, go for $4100 at a coparts auction when nobody was logged on yet to bid, somebody got it on the first lowball bid left in the computer. DEAL!

[pelle242]

Just a side not on that bumper repair , that wont work on all bumpers. Thera are a number of different types of plasric used for bumpers and different processes to repair them.

When i lived in San Diego i heard that it was common to have cars fixed south of the border in TJ. Get a trailer and have a scenic roadtrip along the coast...

[darkone040]

the cheapest way would be for you to do it yourself..
replace the two doors.. it may be possible to salvage the front door but it would take alot of time to fix..
take off the rear wheel and hammer out the wheel arch with a piece of hardwood and a hammer..
the hardwood wont stretch the metal anymore and you can also shape the wood to create the shape your trying to make in the wheel arch..
the metal will already be stretched in that area so youll want to hammer it out so that its not quite all the way..
then fill the rest of the way with some bog, sand it smooth and paint it..
the dent in the side skirt wont be possible to get out without cutting it out and welding in a new piece so id just leave it..
the dent near the fuel filler looks like it could just be pushed out, hard to tell from a photo..

it all depends on how fussy you are and how cheap you are

most insurance repair places will do it like this, its just they have better tools and more practice..
look on youtube for some demonstrations i know there is a new zealand guy that does them and is really helpful..