Well it’s been a bad day. My girlfriend broke up with me…driving home I was a bit absent minded and going around a pole in my parking garage I hit my 6 month old 4 runner. The back side of the 4 runner was scratched up and two of the side panels fell off the car. I’m wondering if anyone knows how much this sort of damage costs to repair? Do I need to have a dealership do the work or can I go private? the good news is the body of the car isn’t really damaged just these detachable side panels.
Any advice someone has would be greatly appreciated!
Go around to a dealer (body shop) and a couple of independent auto-body shops for estimates. Unless the panels are mangled it shouldn’t cost TOOO much.
You will get several posts on here stating that dealerships are akin to the anti-christ but that is untrue (I am exaggerating). Go to a shop that has a good reputation. I have seen body side moulding or cladding go from $40 up to $400. Only an estimate will tell.
Thanks guys! That was really helpful. since 4 panels are damaged, but not mangled I’ll hope for the low hundreds for repairs.
The trim panels are no big deal, it’s painting them to match that can be expensive…If your car is leased or financed, then your full-coverage insurance should pay for it…