Scratch on my new 08' Highlander - Need suggestions to repair it - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

srinim · 10-01-2007, 08:45 PM

Today was my bad day. I was backing up the car and my car rear door scratched against a rod...it left a scratch on my door. I took it to Body shop guys for an estimate to repair the same....I live in Los Angeles close to LAX...

Pls suggest me how I correct this...
One of the guy quoted 650$ saying that the front door and rear door (entire sie of the car) has to be painted to do a good job....Is it necessary to paint the entire side of teh Car?

Other guy quoted me 350$ saying that its enough to paint the rear door alone.

What is the best thing? I do not want to see my car with that scratch...Its just 2 months old..

Thanks in advance.

Srini

***toyomoho*** · 10-01-2007, 11:41 PM

Those prices actually seem on the low side for a decent paint job. Plus matching paint can be difficult or impossible if the car has metallic paint.

The person who wants to paint the complete side is afraid that if the door is just painted, the color will not exactly match the rest of the car. This is very possible. As such the complete side of the car is painted. The other person must be more confident or think the color mismatch will be toleratable.

How bad of scratch, is it down to the metal? Personally I would try to fix the scratch even if this meant still seeing it. I don’t like the idea of painting over new paint as most paint shops can never do as good as job as the factory unless you spend a lot of money. If it still bugs you, just paint the door although there may be some minor color mismatch.

As with any shop, ask to see some completed work before you decide. Not all shops or paint jobs are equal!

Olander · 10-02-2007, 01:56 AM

Is it just a scratch or is there a dent on it as well?
If it's just a scratch is it deep, that it shows bare metal?
Better yet can you post a picture of it, so I can best tell you what to do?

***humanoid*** · 10-02-2007, 02:55 AM

Pics would help us to answer your question tremendously.

pch316 · 10-03-2007, 12:29 AM

I don't think you should just paint that one door. There will be a great chance that the color might not match. The correct way to repair is to paint both panel. They would have to blend in the color with the other panel. You should ask to see some of their work. Sometimes you get what you pay for. Good luck.

mandyfig · 10-03-2007, 04:07 PM

Yes, pics! Then we can go at it.

mobilezen · 10-03-2007, 10:14 PM

The hardest color to match is silver and grey. If your highlander is not that color, you should be ok. Any reputable dealer should be able to match the color just find. I would go to the dealer and see which shop they use.

***humanoid*** · 10-04-2007, 02:13 AM

Had to merge both of your threads. Please post in the appropriate forum next time and please don't cross post, thanks.

Pb · 10-04-2007, 04:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by humanoid

Pics would help us to answer your question tremendously.

+1

Show pics. Lots of scratches can be repaired or improved by polishing with a real buffer.

srinim · 10-06-2007, 07:19 PM

Thanks for your replies...How do I post the photos? Pls help me.

***humanoid*** · 10-06-2007, 07:20 PM

Join http://photobucket.com/ its fast and free.

After you join Photobucket you can download your pictures from your computer to Photobucket. After the images are downloaded they will assign four links, EMail & IM, Direct Link, HTML tag, and IMG code.

The IMG code is the easiest to use. Just right click on the IMG URL tag and it will say copied. Now when you are posting in a thread just right click again and left click on paste. The link will be displayed, not the picture. To see the picture before you post hit the Preview Post button and voila, you have pictures.

Another way with Photobucket is right click on the direct link. This link can be used to re-direct a user to the image on your photobucket page. Also the direct link can be used to post pictures here. Hit the

button, insert the direct link and the picture will appear without hitting the preview post button.

srinim · 10-06-2007, 09:33 PM

srinim · 10-06-2007, 09:35 PM

I have just posted the photos...car color is Metallic Grey....pls give me your suggestions...even if i spend 1250$ will I get back the original look of teh car?

Thanks for all your inputs.

srinim · 10-10-2007, 01:07 AM

Anyone who can suggest me after seeing the photos?

pch316 · 10-10-2007, 10:53 AM

You should take your car to the body shop. That scratch is looks pretty bad to buff off with a buffer. The correct way to repair the scratch is to paint over the damaged area and blend with other panel. The reason to blend with other panel is so the color would match. Good luck.