Rear-Ended 02.... Repair Recommendations

[soy_Henry]

Unfortunately I was rear-ended earlier last week. 

 

The damage is done. I would really just love to get my car back in the condition it was!

 

I have attached pictures on the damage caused by this rear-end collision. 

 

The insurance auto appraiser has already done his assessment of the damages on my car. His personal opinion or maybe policy of the insurance company is to replace those parts that have been damaged, remove/reinstall parts that have not been damaged, pull the rear panel, and paint affected areas.

 

In researching rear-end collisions in this forum I found one case in which the rear panel was replaced. The other rear-end collision post were about possible total loss cases(no conclusion was brought to those posts).

 

I am wondering what this community believes would be the best repair for this damage?

 

I have not taken it in to a shop yet. I am still researching shops in my area. I am located in the Bay Area. Are there shops you all recommend I should look into? 

 

 

[Tommy]

Ouch, always sad to see this.

Look very closely at the sides around the wheel arch. That area is kinked very easily but it looks you could be saved. If the sides are ok I would concur the appraiser suggestion. 

Edited November 6, 2017 by Tommy

[BarneyT]

That is very fixable, looks like you were lucky to not buckle the side panels over rear wheels...painful but not terminal...

[esty]

a good body shop with the right tools should be able repair the rear without replacing it...

[arminyack]

Garage Los Ponchos in Tijuana repaired my car with very similar damage...and blocked and painted the whole car for $2400. One year later, I am still very happy with the results.

[1972_Targa]

Here's a relevant link to your situation. BTW Gabriel at UACC replaced a damaged door and did a perfect color match on my Baikal Targa a couple of years ago. Highly recommended...

[TobyB]

That's a pretty easy repair.  You want something like a hot rod shop or restoration place

that likes to work on metal, not a collision repair place that swaps panels.

Somewhere that does a lot of metal work.

 

I can't tell from the pics- feel both rear quarters behind the fender arches, and see if it's

bulged at all.  As Barney notes, the rear buckles really easily.  It's not too hard to fix,

but if it did, you want to make sure it gets fixed.  And this is where any rust in the

rear parts of the arches rears its ugly head...

 

Having repaired several of those panels (often several times due to exactly that kind of love)

they're time consuming to get right, but it's always easier to repair than replace.

I'd expect estimates of up to 8 hours of metal/bodywork time to get it repaired.

And collision places HATE to write that much time for metalwork.  But resto/rod shops don't mind.

They have good people who like doing this sort of thing.

 

You might have a hard time finding things like license plate light bases, or trim rings,

so make SURE that the shops you get estimates from have real sources, not a price

out of a 1987 Mitchell guide.  When you get the estimate, it's very much OK to ask

for the adjuster that wrote it, and go through it line by line.  That's their job, and if they're

any good, they'll actually have fun doing it.  If you smell BS, draw a red line though it,

and move on. 

 

Good luck, it's not that bad.  It'll cost your insurance 3-5000 bux, tho.

 

t

 

[Mike Self]

Your pictures gave me shivers--I have a nearly identical Sahara roundie...

 

It never ceases to amaze me just how sturdy those tail light housings are--much stronger than the sheet metal  they're fastened to.  It looks like the right tail light took the brunt of the blow and wasn't damaged at all!

 

As as been pointed out, it's a relatively easy fix for a good sheet metal man--trunk floor wasn't buckled, trunk lid is OK and the quarter panels seem to be un-buckled, thus the damage is all in the rear panel and some of the trim.

 

Presumably it's the other guy's insurance company that's paying...don't let 'em cheap charlie you; simply tell you you want status quo ante...

 

good luck

mike

[silasmoon]

Bay Area recommendations are JP / Delia at A1-Autoworks in San Rafael or Casey Motorsports

That can be hammered out and painted. Sucks - but she'll live. 

[1972_Targa]

As best I know, both of these quality shops are mechanical only and offer no body work. I'm sure that they could offer great recommendations for shops that could pound this back into order. Delia/JP/Sean/Tom?