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Fix a Scratch and Dent

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MsCheryl

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Discussion starter · #1 ·
We discussed before that the LED headlamps have very sharp cutoffs on both the low and high beams. The other day I hit a mailbox coming out of a driveway because of that. There are two gouges, one taking paint down to the door most of the way and making a dent and the other more of a scratch. Both run from the beginning of the passenger door to the rear tire (where it then took out some rubber). The mailbox was merely turned to the side after all that.

Can I repair this myself? Do I need to do some sort of a filler first? I went to O'Reilly's and AutoZone. Neither could match the paint. Amazon says it can but the local places said it probably wouldn't be great as the exact matches haven't been released. Anything I need to know?

2022 RAV4 Hybrid -magnetic gray metallic
 
#4 ·
oh yeah you can repair it yourself. it won't be easy, you need a collection of specific tooling knock that crease out
and possibly an imaging system (dent viewer or lineboard patterns) so you can determine when you have it perfect based on interference pattern.

then there is paint work.

100% doable, however, if you are not already in the dent repair business with a few thousand in tooling,
it might take a while to learn how to do it, and then get it done.

buy some new junkyard doors
(rare to get good doors but possible for cars that got driver side smashed and pass side not smashed)
and then replace the shells and have it painted.
 
#6 ·
I'd guess that $1000 damage. What's your deductible?
 
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#7 ·
I would bet that there is more than $1000 in damage there. Had similar damage to a Camry (same color as yours) a few years ago. The body shop replaced both skins on the doors and then blended the paint into the other panels. It looked brand new and never had any further problems with the repair.
 
#8 ·
If the goal is to make this look like there was no damage, no, do not try.
I've taken a couple of classes on auto body work over the years just for fun, I've learned the hard way that if you are looking for it to look like there was no issue, I would not try on this kind of damage. The Bondo route sounds good on paper, but I assure you, there is way more to the body repair process than filling the damage.
The option to find a couple of doors and have them painted is a good one. But , unless you live in a metropolitan area w wrecking yards...you may need to wait a long time.
If you are not going to spend any money on this damage, you will need to stabilize the area where the damage broke thru to the metal, it will rust
A paintless dent repair person may be able to address most of the damage, but , you would still need to have both doors painted professionally.

Dr Dyno's route is likely the best, get it done via insurance....
 
#9 ·
yea depending on where you and what area of the world you are go it could be more like 2500-3500
prices on things have gone sky high in the last couple of months.
i would have a paintless dent removal guy take a look and see if the metal could be back to close on the cheap.
then you still have to have a prep fill and respray....

+1 on the doors out of a salvage yard.
you might get lucky and find one in the same color.
500-600 each.
 
Discussion starter · #10 ·
Thank you. I am going to have a body shop look at it for an estimate. My deductible is $1000. I've never had an accident that was my fault but I am told the insurance will go up enough to make me wish I hadn't turned it in unless the cost is more than $2000-2500. I was looking for pointers and estimates. I suspect insurance will be the way to go. Thanks again.
 
#11 ·
lexicon said:
If you are not going to spend any money on this damage, you will need to stabilize the area where the damage broke thru to the metal, it will rust
Click to expand...
I definitely agree. Years ago I hit someone which caused a small dent on the hood of my almost new Honda (and a big dent in my heart). First thing I did was spray the area with clear lacquer so it wouldn't rust while deciding what to do. Ended up doing nothing. It looked exactly the same when I sold it many years later.
 
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#12 ·
iowagold said:
.... it could be more like 2500-3500 prices on things have gone sky
Click to expand...
Agree. A similar "scratch" on a near-new 2002 Accord was near $2000 back then (but that included two alloy wheels too). I don't want to think what that inflates to now. (Obviously more than my first five cars together.)

Someone else did it to me, I took the settlement money and accepted the ugliness (it wasn't on "my" side!!). It was down to the grey primer so I expected rust.... 20 years later there was not enough rust to notice.
 
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