[music_man]

i will have to go out looking for a body shop that is not just trying to make a lot of money then. the issue is not really the $1,600 they wanted. it is doing that for such minor damage really ruins the value of the car. since any smart person then realises the car was painted on and must have been in a nice collision. only do that much work if it is actually needed and you have no choice. like if you got hit by another car or something.

i will try dent busters though. they charge $85 for a dent like that and it takes 20 minutes while you wait. i just hope they are good enough not to go and break the clear coat!

music_man

 

[Equus]

I had some PDR done to my last car, and the person who does it for you should be able to tell you with reasonable confidence if they can do it without damaging the paint. Some offer limited guarantees on their work, and the smart ones don't try to fix something that they think is risky.

 

[music_man]

i found a place that is going to fix it tuesday. it is $450. that is not high considering the car and that the damage is on "body line". this place is not going to pull it out with suction. they are going to take apart the interior to gain access to the rear of the panel. then they will bang it out with special tools. i saw i could buy a pro kit for $219 but i think that is better left to someone that knows how to use it!

music_man

 

[Equus]

Heh...yeah...I watched the guy who came and took out the dents on my car, and it doesn't look like something I'd want to try without training and experience. Good luck on the repairs!

 

[music_man]

actually i got it done today for $175 lol. shopped around. they would not let me watch. obviously they don't want me to know what they are doing because i guess it is rather simple. they must not want people finding that out so they can do it themselves and ruin their business. i don't know, thats just a guess why they wouldn't let me watch.
nonetheless i am very satisfied with what they did and i would not try to do it myself. i'll gladly pay them again if need be. it looks as new. almost two hours. which i imagine most of was spent gaining access to the panel and then putting back the interior trim. just guessing on that. for one thing i have never removed interior trim myself without trashing something. i think things one does not understand are best left to those that do!

music_man

 

[skyline889]

$175 is a pretty good deal. I removed the interior trim on a rear liftgate once and I have never done it again, it's a huge pita and plastic clips have a tendency to brittle over time and snap.

 

[Equus]

Depending on the damage, $175 is not bad for PDR work. And maybe they didn't want you to watch because the person doing it was shy? Just kidding. Honestly, just watching the guy and how he figured ways to try to get at the interior of the dents with minimal changes to the interior trim is kinda scary, so maybe they wanted to keep you from being too paranoid about it.

 

[music_man]

very possibly. he probably didn't want someone standing there yelling "don't pull on that you are gonna break it". which is probably what i would have actually done! smart guy actually then, lol.

music_man

 

[Pepsi]

A 2007 Mercedes C320 4matic.
I love the car, but it's kind of small for me, looking to trade it in for a new Truck.
Debating on the Ford F150 or the Chevy Silverado.

 

[music_man]

oh dude keep the mb really. a 2007 is still a fairly new car too. even a 20 year old mb,bmw or audi is a great car. well thats just me i love german cars.

some people say everything breaks or whatever. my experience is just the opposite. the things are completely overbuilt imo.

i know what you mean about small though. i had a gt2 for a few months and got out of it. it was insanely small but it is a race car not a sedan. heck, it even had a roll cage installed at the factory as an option. which made it even more uncomfortable. the other problem was the tires went up in smoke at every stop light even if you did not want to lol.

music_man

 

[Magsy]

Ah, Car-Fi, constantly fighting for my attention along with Head-Fi!

Wanted this for about 4-5 years, never thought I could afford it but in the end I got there!

Very late 2004 with 20k miles and the SMG 'box. Took it 'home' to the 'ring and it loved every minute, as an all rounder it cannot be beaten. I did 8 countries and 3000 miles in 14 days back in the summer and it didn't miss a beat.

 

[pedalhead]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Magsy /img/forum/go_quote.gif Ah, Car-Fi, constantly fighting for my attention along with Head-Fi! Wanted this for about 4-5 years, never thought I could afford it but in the end I got there! Very late 2004 with 20k miles and the SMG 'box. Took it 'home' to the 'ring and it loved every minute, as an all rounder it cannot be beaten. I did 8 countries and 3000 miles in 14 days back in the summer and it didn't miss a beat.

Very nice indeed. Shame about the Welsh police & their rather gun-ho attitude to speeding tickets. Seems that every ticket I've been given has been on the M4 in Wales.

 

[music_man]

thats a nice car. you probably already found out it goes more than 80kmh lol.
i bet the speed cameras let you know?

i dragged one on a legal strip with an '04 s4 once and it got me but good!

music_man

 

[skyline889]

Music_man, you seem to be pretty experienced with MB, what do you think of the '94 E320? My girlfriend has one and it seems to be pretty unreliable but she got it used and it wasn't taken very good care of by its prior owner so I'm thinking her car wasn't the typical example.

I really like the body style and it rides really well so I've been looking at picking one up as well. Do you think maintenance would be pretty costly? I'd look at something newer but I spend the school year in Portland and the rest of the year in Honolulu so the car will probably be stored for 4-5 months out of the year when I'm at home.

 

[jfindon]

This was last week after I washed it, now it's covered and in the garage