Slight damage to passanger side back wheel arch

[Travis]

My darling wife (could have happened to anyone) reversed into a pole today (the type that lays on the ground and is sometimes upright to stop people parking in a space. Anyhow she parked next to it and reversed to do a three point turn. We now have a blue stripe on the wheelarch and a slight dent. Some of the paint on our Bongo is cracked. We have got a lot of the blue off but it needs touching up. I dont think we will get the dent out unless the panel comes off as it is behind the wheel arch.

What shall we do?

Will one of those portable paint companys "chips away" be able to match the silver colour or should I take it to a body shop?

Has anyone had any experience with portable paint jobs?

Hope you can help I am feeling a little happier now

Travis

[francophile1947]

ChipsAway will match any colour you like without any problems at all. We used to use the local one, at the car dealer I used to work for, to tart up the traded-in cars before selling them.

[bigdaddycain]

Hi Travis, sorry to hear of the unfortunate scrape your bongo has gotten into! Weigh up the costs involved, Get a few quotes... A local forum member got a quote of £170 repair for a few minore chips inflicted removing decals from the nearside rear quarter, and sliding door...On the other hand, a local bodyshop charged another forum member £120 for complete repair (awkward rippled scrape) of same rear quarter,and sliding door, plus some localised scuffs on bumpers etc... Horses for courses really.

[Travis]

Many thanks hope this works, pictures of the damage

http://picasaweb.google.com/sptwilliams ... wrr3u-SPfg#

Travis

[bigdaddycain]

That's a pretty easy repair for a competent body shop that can use a dolly. The bodyshop i use would probably charge in the region of £80-£100 to get that as good as new.

[Travis]

Thanks for the advice

I guess they would have to take the whole panel off to repair the dent.

I suppose I could just get it sprayed, which might be cheaper...

Travis