Car damage, What should I do? How much will it cost to repair?

Question

I damaged my car this morning, it is a Nissan Altima 2003. I backed up into one of those concrete rings they put at gas stations so you won't hit the gas pump. I scraped and bent inwards about a foot and a half long and a foot wide bending in the metal. What should I do and how much would this cost to repair? It looks really bad. The damage is all on the side (drivers side. )

Answer 1

You can contact a reputable body shop for an estimate, but you may also want to turn it in to your insurance.

If the panel has a deep enough dent, it may need to be replaced, and a quarter panel (replaced) is usually 12+ hour of labor at the shop--not including the paint time. If the doors were also damaged, it will only add to the cost. Ask your body shop about "after market" or "used/recycled" parts to help keep your cost down. (vs "original manufacturer" parts) A reputable shop will extend a guarantee to the work they do, including the parts, no matter the type of part. (Keep in mind that a used/recycled part is generally an original manufacturer part the same age as your vehicle or newer, and after market is new, never been on a vehicle, made by someone other than the original manufacturer)

Without being able to see your damage, all I can say is most likely it will be at least $1000, but very easily much more than that, depending on the number of panels dmg'd, and how badly...

If you turn it in to your insurance, you will have a deductible to pay (most likely under "Collision") and it may increase your premium (for being an "at fault" accident) but the total increase in premium over the 2 or 3 years you will see the increase will still most likely be less than the total amount of the damage to the vehicle.

Also, if there was damage to the concrete barrier/pole, your insurance will pay for that. In some states, a filing is required to be sent to the state to verify you had insurance for the accident (like here in Indiana) and your insurance company can take care of that for you, also. :)

Good Luck!

(And you are welcome to email me if you have further questions)

Answer 2

Start with a dent puller- A suction cup, that you stick to the car and pull on and the dent should pop out if it is superficial- trust me it looks probably worse than it is....If the damage extends to a door just replace the whole door as it is less time consuming and probably cheaper. Use secondhand parts if you can- it might take you a weekend or two to fix it and it is relatively easy to remove and replace panels....

Make sure you know someone who knows how to mix a 2 part body filler as this stuff mixed and applied properly will hide most small dents after they have been removed manually....Then get the colour matched in a spray can and spray away.....All these tools and filler should come in at less than $70, more if you need panels, bumpers etc

Answer 3

I agree with meltedwatches, sort of. Get several estimates, but I wouldn't mess with the dealership. Many don't even have their own body shops. They farm out the work, then mark it up to make a profit. Just ask several people if they can recommend a body shop.

Answer 4

You should take it to a dealership AND an autobody shop and get estimates from each. They'll tell you how much they think it will cost to fix it. Always get more than one opinion, to be sure they're not fixing anything unnecessary. It will probably be expensive to fix, but it shouldn't cost anything to get an estimate.

Good luck!

Answer 5

Report the incident to your car insurance company and they will tell you where to take it to get an estimate for repair under your policy. If you have a $200 deductible, you'll have to pay the first $200.