Repairing a dent in a 458 quarter panel and door? | FerrariChat
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Repairing a dent in a 458 quarter panel and door?

Discussion in '458 Italia/488/F8' started by llink, Nov 13, 2014.

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  1. llink

    llink Karting

    Nov 18, 2013
    161
    Northern California
    #1 llink, Nov 13, 2014
    Someone backed into the rear quarter panel of my 458 Spider and put a serious dent in it, The right rear quarter panel and the passenger door need to be repaired and repainted. The other driver has accepted 100% responsibility, his insurance is Farmer's.

    I've spoken to 2 body shops, and both say that it is more problematic to replace the rear quarter panel because is was hand fitted at the factory. Their experience says that the best repair result will be attained by exposing the metal on the inside and hammering it out. There are no tears or gashes in the metal, just a serious 8 inch indentation.

    This recommendation is counter intuitive to me, and was wondering what others thought?

    Thanks.
     
  2. riozilla

    riozilla Formula Junior

    Jan 25, 2006
    596
    Austin, TX
    #2 riozilla, Nov 13, 2014
    Don't know where you are located but Dave at Premier Motorsports in Carson/Los Angeles can answer the question and do the work better than anyone.
     
  3. carcommander

    carcommander Formula 3

    Sep 28, 2006
    1,705
    Southeast
    Full Name:
    Jim
    #3 carcommander, Nov 13, 2014
    Make sure you are compensated for diminished value.
     
  4. Noblesse Oblige

    Noblesse Oblige F1 Veteran

    Nov 7, 2011
    6,114
    Three Places
    #4 Noblesse Oblige, Nov 13, 2014
    Picking up on this, there are a number of threads that discuss this. I believe that the other party's Property Damage clause of their auto insurance can cover diminished value. I hate to say this but neither your insurance company nor theirs is going to be motivated to go after this so you may need to lawyer up depending on the amount involved.
     
  5. Entropy

    Entropy Formula 3
    Owner

    Jul 10, 2008
    2,149
    #5 Entropy, Nov 14, 2014
    FWIW, with the 458 Challenge cars, the accepted best wisdom seems to be repair the quarter panel whenever possible, and replace the door, but that depends on the degree of damage. Bear in mind the race cars don't suffer much depreciation due to a bit of body filler though

    The rear quarter panel on a 458 is essentially the entire side of the car, from the rear bumper all the way up to and including the door frame, which requires the old piece to be cut out, and the new piece to be competently fitted and welded.

    Ultimately your decision should probably be based on the extent of the damage and the talent available to repair or replace.

    Very sorry to hear about this
     
  6. 458trofeo

    458trofeo F1 Rookie

    Feb 4, 2013
    4,426
    City of Angels
    Full Name:
    101 aki
    #6 458trofeo, Nov 14, 2014
    Sorry to hear this.
    Could you post some pics?
    I might be able to recommend someone..
    best
     
  7. YellowF50

    YellowF50 Formula Junior

    Feb 15, 2007
    840
    UK
    Full Name:
    K B
    #7 YellowF50, Nov 14, 2014
    Obviously depends on the level of damage, but I would not want panels which are welded and seam sealed in place to be removed, it is almost impossible to replace these seams as good as factory finish, (even though they may look a bit slapdash in a hurry finish under the bumpers etc) this is very difficult to replicate and when looking at it it is obvious it has been disturbed which makes potential owners to question why, and how hard was it hit to need replacing. .?

    Even when metal is twisted and crumpled it can be manipulated back into a basic shape , this is where a good panel beater is a must as they are worth there weight in gold, and then a thin layer or filler to smooth out and a competent repairer and painter, should be able to return the car without you ever knowing it was there.

    If however the panels are so badly damaged they must be replaced , then I doubt I would want the car back.
     
  8. MVDESQ

    MVDESQ Formula 3

    Nov 25, 2010
    1,581
    Greenwich, CT
    Full Name:
    Matthew & Kristen V.
    #8 MVDESQ, Nov 14, 2014
    What about asking Farmers to purchase your car at the price in its pre-incident condition and then give it the title so they can salvage it or fix or whatever? I'm very sorry to hear this.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
     

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