Fender Damage Question
 

So while I was at the grocery store this past weekend, my fender was somehow damaged. No note was left, nor was my car visible from the store's security camera. Luckily, it seems my Uninsured Motorist Insurance will cover this as a hit and run.

I took my car to the insurance company's place (Progressive) and they gave me an estimate for repairing the fender without removing it and simply gave me a check for the total minus the deductible. I guess they assumed I didn't want it repaired.

Anyways, before I take it to another bodyshop to get an estimate, I was curious if anyone had any thoughts on whether this damage was actually repairable.

that sucks. i would guess with enough time it could be repaired (a lot of delicate hammer tuning plus bondo and paint) but with the amount of labor you may as well buy the 951 front end im selling </plug>

For what you can buy a clean used fender for, i would not repair that one. Anything is repairable, however to a body shop time = money.

+1, I would just pick up a clean used fender, and take an hour or so to bolt it up yourself...

BTW, are those bike tire tracks on the hood?

only thing would be getting it painted to match your body... lol

btw, are you a current student or alumni?

Ouch...once the dent is repaired, how will it look in terms of coloring? How will they match the rest of the paint color? :D Seriously, did the insurance company fund you for this as well? Because if it requires painting the entire car, aren't they supposed to pay you for the maximum amount of money allowed for paint?

Good luck.

@onspeed- Yea, UT alumni.

Forgot to mention the tire tracks on the hood. They appeared at the same time as the damage. Maybe the person had a bike rack? I don't have any idea how else it could have happened.

The estimate I was given includes repair and refinishing of the fender, paint/materials, and clear coat, which the car never had from the factory anyway.

I'm concerned that the way the damage is on the car it would be nearly impossible to replicate the original curves without a heavy helping of bondo, but then again I'm not too familiar with bodywork. When I tried to discuss this with the adjuster he had quite the attitude, so I'm not sure how exactly to proceed with this.

It's kind of fuzzy, but here's a copy of the estimate. Maybe someone with bodyshop experience can tell me if this sounds fair?

Well, it's "nice" that they took your word for it and are taking responsibility. Since they already did this, you have a lot of leverage to demand more, if needed. I am sure they got a lot of claims like this (ie mysterious parking lot damage), so they probably gave you a run-of-the-mill estimate. You should demand more, if you'd like...such as a sourced fender (they get them from parts cars).

These insurance companies make a ton of money, needless to say, because they give you as little money as possible until you demand it. Get as much as you can out of this. It's only fair that you do, IMO.

Can you tell us what the total estimate for repairs is? I can't find it.

BTW, it looks as if you will get a shiny, new-looking guards red fender if repairs go as according to this document. Is that what you want? And does your insurance contract state that the repaired piece does not have to match the rest of the car???

A used fender is about 50 bucks, just pick up one, have it painted and slap it on.

Yea, how much did they give you? There is no total $ amount on there... Looks like 10 hours of Labor and $96 in Materials... So like $600-$1,000?

Honestly, I would search junk yards, or parts cars online, and find a fender to replace yourself.

If you did in fact receive several hundred dollars or $1,000 dollars, Replace the fender yourself and get a Cheap Ass Paint Job at Maaco or a similiar place... (Your paint is pretty rough, even a bad paint job would look good... No Offense man)

If you do the prep work and masking you might even get a decent paint job! Good Luck and Keep us posted

Ding Ding Ding, I'm with him!

OH and BTW, perhaps someone decided to do rail grinds accross your fender, or ollis accross your hood and was having a problem landing the rear tire on his mark? Looks to me to be 3 attempts, far right (#1) not enough damage, then far left (#2) more damage, but still not the total effect they were going for, so they came back around for pass in the middle (#3) and were quite suprised when their pedals caught the fender, but the bike kept going!

However, I could be wrong...

:roflmao::roflmao::roflmao:

:cheers:

That is my guess as well, I think the fender damage is from the sprocket/crank slamming into it.

Damn, someone must have backed into it with a pickup truck.

+1 on going to a boneyard and pulling a good fender off of a car. You might have to have the whole car repainted though it you want it to blend correctly.

the only value i see on that estimate is "98$". if it cost that much, do it !!!!!! lol. otherwise, start a WTB thread and get a nice used fender.