Oh - it just loaded. I'd get more estimates.

Yuk!

I happened to come across a video on FB but I couldn't share it. It was turkeys pecking at a very shiny new car. I think they could see their images in it. A woman took the video so, maybe, someone on FB in their home town would tell the owner what happened. The marks looked exactly like the ones on your car.

Do you have a photo that shows the whole area? Not just the scratches?

What labor do they have to do to the body of the car? I can't tell what panel this is on, but did it get creased? Dinged? From the picture it only looks like paint damage.

The annoying part is the paint, it’s a pearl white. Repair guy said that’s 3 coats of paint Also said the whole door needs done to match, which is best.

Sounds like that shop will do it right! And yes, those lovely pearlized colors are a P.I.T.A to match. Pretty but makes repairs harder.....

Oh, forgot to say, that quote is from the auto body shop of the dealership where I leased the car.

Tell me about it. I bought touch up paint which also comes in 3 bottles and the pearl bottle never makes it look right. (My last car was pearl white also).

I really just want white but I think all they make is pearl white anymore.

My car is plain old white and is a 2014. There are still non-metalics made. Some dealers may not stock plain white as pearlized is more popular. And if you're buying a new car, the dealer will try to move vehicles off their lot before offering to find you the color you want....unless you push them.

Car surfaces have paint layers and then a top layer called a clearcoat. If you dab on touch-up paint, it's unlikely the color will match and it's also unlikely the surface will be smooth. The gouges will be there and visible but a different color.

If you have the job done at a competent body shop, this door will look like it did before, with a completely smooth surface of exactly the right color and shading and no trace of this damage.

It depends what you want as the end result and what you can afford.

Well I won’t be renting a car. I’ll Uber home & Uber back. I’m not going to use insurance. My deductible is $500. But I don’t want a claim to show on my insurance for them to raise my rates.

Get an estimate at a stand alone body shop. Sometimes dealership's body shops are higher. But you also know what to look for/ask as part of that separate estimate. :-D

Check with your agent - within the last 6 months, my wife had an annoying but non-serious "parking lot damage" area to repair. I called to ask my agent what he suggested and he said State Farm doesn't track claims for which the total repair cost is less than $1000 and that such a repair doesn't get considered at all for premiums. That's under $1000 for the total bill from the shop, before considering deductibles and who pays what.

The repair estimate came to $1055. I called the shop, explained my situation and asked if they could round it down. They did and agreed to a job cost of $995.

PS, I've found that body shop estimates in my area can be surprisingly close in amount from one to another. As I have a low deductible, I don't bother getting several estimates any more. I've found a shop that does consistently good work, they're on the preferred list for my insurance company, and I just go directly to them. With a more extensive and expensive repair, the cost difference is the insurance company's issue. I'm more concerned with the quality of the work. I'd rather not be such a regular customer, although thankfully it's always been for annoying appearance things and nothing major.

Unfortunately I think this price is about right. I recently had our car in for repair, our neighbour backed into the driver's door. It looked like minimal damage but they had to remove the rear door and paint it so that the new paint blends perfectly. There's nothing worse than seeing 1 door a slightly different colour than the others. Our bill was just shy of $900 and they had it for 3 days.

Well, you could just take it to Maaco.

I haven’t read all the responses, but I would get some more estimates. When I had to replace my bumper, I went to a couple of different places. The first shop didn’t quote the repair with a new bumper that was original equipment, and came in higher than the second smaller shop that did. The bumper came bare and had to be painted before installation. For the bumper, a new running light, installation and paint it was 800.00 and they guy told me the paint on my car was a hard to match color.

My husband has had to go through the same thing with his vehicle, also a pearl finish. His situation is compounded because it happened at work (UAH) by a university grounds employee.

They wanted Robert to take it to the dealership, but he knows that they do not have the best reputation for their bodywork. He refuses to have anything done to his vehicle that will devalue it or will not be guaranteed for the life of the vehicle.

Notice that two costly items were the paint and paint supplies. Color matching the paint is tough and may be done with color sensor equipment. I think that you have a clear coat over the top of the paint. To repair and not be obvious, most of the side of the door will be stripped of clear coat and repainted, then a clear coat applied.

There may be plenty of left over paint. Ask for some of it.

i suggest you get estimates from places other than DEALERSHIP... always WAY more money. I had a front headlight go out. just happened to be in area, so stopped in parts dept. of dealership. the BULB was gonna be something like $35 or more... then there would be "labor". I have 2 of those auto parts chains near by, both had very similar prices. had BOTH front bulbs replaced since they were original to my 04 Sante Fe. they put them in for FREE... total for both bulbs and install... less than $30!

i'm frugal (some say cheap) but but use that estimate as a starting point. i'd go to body shops and come right out and say... beat this price and you have my business. also let any competition know you're still "shopping"... your repair isn't something that really needs immediate attention.

i needed a new tire sometime over past year. had flat, OLD tire couldn't be repaired. figured tires sorta come in pairs... sure i bought them as a pair. had three tire places within walking distance of each other. told each I was "shopping" but buying real soon... not riding on spare any longer than needed. only one was willing to negotiate... he gave me a 10% discount on one quote that was lower than his... he got my business! I even contemplated getting a membership to Costco, but their prices were no better than strictly tire places.

Car repairs are expensive. I would definitely get two more estimates before making a decision. My experience is that Dealer's prices are higher.

Don't have time to read the whole thread.... BUT.

My 2017 Kia also has the Pearl paint. When we picked it up from the dealership there was a DEEP ding on the hood -- from a rock that flipped up when they drove the car in to the dealership.

They were able to do a touch up without repainting the whole hood. You cannot tell where it was damaged at all.

It can be done!!

pudgeder, sounds like your incident was a dent that was pulled with no paint required. I've personally done that type of body work myself. It's not terribly difficult unless the dent is in a crease or curve.

Not the same situation here.....repainting is clearly required.

jemdandy, a body shop's color matching (and mixing) is computerized and done with custom batches for each job. There won't necessarily be anything "left over" and any paint that sits will change color over time anyway.

A friend of mine has a car that's exactly the same model, color and year as mine. The two cars were purchased 3 months apart. Parked side by side, the colors are very obviously different. In the old days, the shops referred to color formulas and purchases of OEM paints. That's why in the old days repaired areas were so obvious to see, paint matches were poor. It's much better now, repainted areas are almost impossible to detect.

As others have said, please get another estimate from a non-dealer body shop.

Costs at dealer anything are always higher than stand-alone.

I'd get at least 2 more estimates from reputable body shops. I still wonder what the heck made those scratches...and if it was keyed purposely that is just terrible :-(

Did the dealer's body shop offer any opinions as to how the damage was caused? I would think they could make an educated guess based on experience. It is a shame! For sure, get more estimates from non dealers.

They had absolutely no clue.