How much to fix this?

[Bayerische E53]

Like was already mentioned, to be done properly, the front fender and rear fender need to be part of the blending process. What hasn't been mentioned is that due to the fact that those dents, apart from being pretty severe, extend very close to the cut lines, the only way to get this done perfectly is to actually remove the doors so that the body shop can reshape the metal (and therefore have to use a minimal amount of bondo, if any at all). I once had similar damage on one of my cars. We had to remove the damaged door in order to straighten it properly. Unhanging and fixing one door perfectly (about 6-8 hours), plus paint, will run ya at least $600. You've got two doors to do plus blending on the front and rear fenders. If you want the job done perfectly, I'd budget $2,000 just to be on the safe side (because, trust me, while you're in there, you might find other stuff that needs fixing. For example, you might want the jambs on the doors repainted, you might want some other body imperfections repainted, you might want all the door fasteners on the doors replaced with new ones, and you might want new fasteners for your weather-stripping and maybe even new weather stripping). Not trying to scare you, I'm just speaking from experience. It's like with all cars - send it in for one thing and you've got a little laundry list going before you know it.

Oh, and one more thing, once the doors and fenders are repainted, you're going to want to have the entire car professionally polished, etc. so that you can get rid of clear-coat imperfections and make the transitions from new clear to old as seamless as possible. If you didn't do so, it would look pretty daft as you'd have perfect new paint which will stick out like a sore thumb compared to the older finish on the original paint (being that this is a Canadian car I can assure you that the original clear coat has had a pretty hard life and has lost its luster quite a bit). Budget at least $350 for this. See? It adds up!

[Skyline]

Originally Posted by Bayerische E53

Like was already mentioned, to be done properly, the front fender and rear fender need to be part of the blending process. What hasn't been mentioned is that due to the fact that those dents, apart from being pretty severe, extend very close to the cut lines, the only way to get this done perfectly is to actually remove the doors so that the body shop can reshape the metal (and therefore have to use a minimal amount of bondo, if any at all). I once had similar damage on one of my cars. We had to remove the damaged door in order to straighten it properly. Unhanging and fixing one door perfectly (about 6-8 hours), plus paint, will run ya at least $600. You've got two doors to do plus blending on the front and rear fenders. If you want the job done perfectly, I'd budget $2,000 just to be on the safe side (because, trust me, while you're in there, you might find other stuff that needs fixing. For example, you might want the jambs on the doors repainted, you might want some other body imperfections repainted, you might want all the door fasteners on the doors replaced with new ones, and you might want new fasteners for your weather-stripping and maybe even new weather stripping). Not trying to scare you, I'm just speaking from experience. It's like with all cars - send it in for one thing and you've got a little laundry list going before you know it.

Oh, and one more thing, once the doors and fenders are repainted, you're going to want to have the entire car professionally polished, etc. so that you can get rid of clear-coat imperfections and make the transitions from new clear to old as seamless as possible. If you didn't do so, it would look pretty daft as you'd have perfect new paint which will stick out like a sore thumb compared to the older finish on the original paint (being that this is a Canadian car I can assure you that the original clear coat has had a pretty hard life and has lost its luster quite a bit). Budget at least $350 for this. See? It adds up!

I don't understand at all why the doors must come off. Can you explain why you think this is necessary? You're not talking about removing the door skin are you?

[SlickGT1]

They would take the doors off to be able to work the metal easier. I doubt any shop will bother taking the skin off on these cars. Those panels are not cheap. But removing doors is common in good body shops. This way, they get the paint sprayed around the edge, making a better quality finish, that doesn't feel cut off at the edge.

I can also assure you, that this damage can be fixed with doors on the car. I have seen way worse damage get taken out by dent specialists. I have like 3 or 4 minor pin size dents on my car. I play to get the "Dentist" to remove them in the summer.

I personally do not think that damage is as big as some of you guys think. It would not stop me from buying and fixing that car.

[Skyline]

Originally Posted by SlickGT1

I can also assure you, that this damage can be fixed with doors on the car. I have seen way worse damage get taken out by dent specialists. I have like 3 or 4 minor pin size dents on my car. I play to get the "Dentist" to remove them in the summer.

Let me know if you need a really good PDR guy in our area. But I think the paint is damaged on this red car....so that rules out PDR.

[SlickGT1]

Yea dude. PM the number. Never hurts to talk to them. Have you seen his work. Thank you.

[Skyline]

Originally Posted by SlickGT1

Yea dude. PM the number. Never hurts to talk to them. Have you seen his work. Thank you.

I've been using this guy for at least 15 years. And he is VERY good. Never had a complaint for dozens of jobs done for me. PM sent with his name and number.

[TerminatorX5]

there was an old trick i've heard about - the skin damage estimate can go by how many times a palm of your hand can cover the damage multiplied by $100... of course, people have different size hands, and kia probably will cost less to fix than a Rolls Royce, but at least it gives you a very rough idea of the cost... It worked for me when I "pushed" an old Hyunday in Managua with my bumper - the guy was screaming bloody hell, untill i told him, that the repair he is looking at would be $100 max in the US, and in Nicaragua it is only a fraction of thereof, so I gave him a $100 bill, and he was happy... Granted, I probably paid for half of his car, but it was very impressive to show him that palm trick...

[Bayerische E53]

Originally Posted by Skyline

I don't understand at all why the doors must come off. Can you explain why you think this is necessary? You're not talking about removing the door skin are you?

It is not necessary that the doors come off - it's just necessary is the OP wants the job done PERFECTLY WITHOUT BONDO. No, I am not talking about removing the skin; I merely mean removing the door from the chassis and working it off the car.

Originally Posted by SlickGT1

I personally do not think that damage is as big as some of you guys think. It would not stop me from buying and fixing that car.

It depends on how anal the owner is. I had similar damage on my X5 and I know that it could have been fixed about 85% with PDR (and no paintwork necessary). That was unacceptable to me so I opted to remove the door and have the thing re-sprayed. Of course, I wound up re-spraying the entire car (it's a long story and a bit of a secret but I'll show you guys what I mean soon enough). That said, this damage could certainly be fixed without removing the door ... but don't expect perfection.

Originally Posted by TerminatorX5

there was an old trick i've heard about - the skin damage estimate can go by how many times a palm of your hand can cover the damage multiplied by $100... of course, people have different size hands, and kia probably will cost less to fix than a Rolls Royce, but at least it gives you a very rough idea of the cost... It worked for me when I "pushed" an old Hyunday in Managua with my bumper - the guy was screaming bloody hell, untill i told him, that the repair he is looking at would be $100 max in the US, and in Nicaragua it is only a fraction of thereof, so I gave him a $100 bill, and he was happy... Granted, I probably paid for half of his car, but it was very impressive to show him that palm trick...

That's a good story haha.