Front Fender repair or replace Q

[ASG14]

On my new Gen 3.5 Camry, both front fenders have damage. One has a crease in it, so I am going to replace that one. I will attemp to do it myself since I have some car repair knowledge. I usually learn as I go.

My question is about my other front fender. It has a decent size dent right below the side molding between the wheel and door and then a 2nd smaller one, and another small but noticeable dent on the top near the hood. I know for a fact that it can be fixed without having to replace it, but would it be better to just replace it if I can do it myself? I am just wondering if would actually be cheaper for me to replace the fender myself then have a shop repair it all 3 dents.

What are your thoughts?

Thanks,
Adam

[dna59]

Well when I had soem dents in mine, I just went on and replaced it since I found a camry that was parting out. Just compare the cost of the two otpions and see which one comes up cheaper.

[Toysrme]

Import a pair of JDM Windom/ES-300 top front 1/4 panels and any gen3 ES 300/Windom headlight units.

If you're good you can get the top front 1/4's for $50 a pair (and they have turn signals like a BMW on the side) and pickup a pair of ES 300 headlights for $100-250 a pop depending on the condition.

mmm I forget, did the guy that did the Camry to ES 300 light swap have to mess with his hood?
Anyways... Just an idea




Show me some pics of the dents, and I'll tell you if you can heat the metal and beat it out from behind. Don't just hit them with cold metal... The metal will thin, which will cause it to be weaker and you can chip the paint.

[amerikim]

Replacement looks better because it turns out flat without 20 lbs of bondo. Unless you are a kick ass panel beater. $169 a panel @ 1sttoyotaparts.com

Your bigger problem will be color matching, especially if you have old paint.
Even if they perfect color match tomorrow, it will be different 6 months down the road.

[xrs22]

do u have pics. of the fenders? This takes some precise work unless u have all the tools to do it yourself including paint. Check wrecking yards and such, do some research work depending on how fast u need it done.

[ASG14]

One of the good things with the paint matching is the color of my paint. Beige. It is such a light color that it will be harder to tell the color difference then my old deep red one. I was able to tell the difference on that when things were replaced and painted!

[xrs22]

it's like that w/ every car unless u can blend the colors well or use contrast colors that kind of take the eye away from the actual color. The color on my kit is the same as the rest of the car( when i get the pics. posted) but there is minimal diff. I looks a little darker and u don't notice unless it's pointed out to them. My dad used a black base on the primer and then the Indigo Ink Pearl. He just had extra paint so he didn't use a lot of the actual base color.