[CalCarNut]

Oh hell no. No Versa^!!!!!!

I rented my daughter an Altima. She was okay with it..although the CVT transmissions were 'funky'. I guess she appreciates her Land Cruiser a bit more after lol.

[Vegetable]

Got my car back this last Friday..Shop did an excellent job.. absolutely perfect blend.. Not in a million years would I ever know there was ever any work done to this car. I've looked at it in all types of light and it's all perfect Gaps between bumper and fender/door and fender are absolutely perfect and there is no wind noise, leaks or anything. I wish I had a better camera to show you guys how awesome the work is, but here are some crappy before and afters anyway. Thank you all for your support.. Now time for the devaluation thing, which I am still confused about.. Calling an attorney tomorrow.

[tturedraider]

Looks great! Glad it all worked out. I'm curious, did you take any pics of it disassembled?

[Vegetable]

Originally Posted by tturedraider

Looks great! Glad it all worked out. I'm curious, did you take any pics of it disassembled?

No... But I did see it disassembled.. There was no back or side window, no driver's side door, no bumper, and the rear quarter panel had just been installed.. Not a pretty sight, but it turned out great... My insurance company (AAA) asked to see all pics along the way to justify the price, so I'm sure I could get some photos if I asked. They (AAA) asked me if they could ask my shop to bondo the rear quarter and I refused.. I think I made the right choice.

[bavarianride]

Originally Posted by Vegetable

No... But I did see it disassembled.. There was no back or side window, no driver's side door, no bumper, and the rear quarter panel had just been installed.. Not a pretty sight, but it turned out great... My insurance company (AAA) asked to see all pics along the way to justify the price, so I'm sure I could get some photos if I asked. They (AAA) asked me if they could ask my shop to bondo the rear quarter and I refused.. I think I made the right choice.

Without bondo of the rear quarter, was the rear quarter cut out and a new one swapped in?

[BavarianFanatic]

Originally Posted by bavarianride

Without bondo of the rear quarter, was the rear quarter cut out and a new one swapped in?

It clearly says "rear quarter panel had just been installed".

[elusive]

Just like new Good job on getting a new 1/4 rather than bondo.

[bavarianride]

Originally Posted by BavarianFanatic

It clearly says "rear quarter panel had just been installed".

Wow that's a big job. I misread it as rear bumper installed.

For that damage maybe a metal panel straightening is less intrusive than panel replacement?

[iconoclast]

Originally Posted by Vegetable

Got my car back this last Friday.

the body shop only painted the quarter. they did not blend into the door. they probably only shot the clear into it if that. the rocker was not blended either or c-pillar leading into the roof line... they basically only painted that panel and masked the rest off. i am willing to wager if you put a meter on driver door then put the meter on passenger door it would read the same or marginally different. any photos of it in the shop when you went to see it and the parts were off? i think the quarter was repaired not replaced that is why the gaps are perfect. read both sides with a meter as well. i am fairly confident that was a repair not a replace. get the insurance printout stating what was paid for. i don't think insurance paid out for a new quarter or if they did body shop didn't do it and pocketed difference.

[BavarianFanatic]

Originally Posted by iconoclast

the body shop only painted the quarter. they did not blend into the door. they probably only shot the clear into it if that. the rocker was not blended either or c-pillar leading into the roof line... they basically only painted that panel and masked the rest off. i am willing to wager if you put a meter on driver door then put the meter on passenger door it would read the same or marginally different. any photos of it in the shop when you went to see it and the parts were off? i think the quarter was repaired not replaced that is why the gaps are perfect. read both sides with a meter as well. i am fairly confident that was a repair not a replace. get the insurance printout stating what was paid for. i don't think insurance paid out for a new quarter or if they did body shop didn't do it and pocketed difference.

You know, it IS possible to do good work right? A shop that takes their time and does things correctly can easily ensure all panel gaps are correct and, believe it or not, it IS possible to match a color without extensive blending. I'm not sure what you're basing your observations on...

[Earthmaster]

no point in arguing just paint gauge that shit and done.

[iconoclast]

Originally Posted by BavarianFanatic

You know, it IS possible to do good work right? A shop that takes their time and does things correctly can easily ensure all panel gaps are correct and, believe it or not, it IS possible to match a color without extensive blending. I'm not sure what you're basing your observations on...

i know it's possible the shop i use now does great work but i am fairly certain the insurance company did not pay for a quarter replacement and if the body shop pushed hard enough and it was paid out they didn't install it. the door isn't blended. i can see the deviation in paint color in the original photo. rear quarter is darker grey and isn't the lighting because the sun is hitting it dead smack on the quarter.

in this photo you can see it better



put a meter on it but i can see they did a panel paint and not a blend. you need between 10-12" to do a blend and they definitely did not do that there.

again, ask for the insurance write-up on what the estimator saw assessed and wound up paying out. there is a line by line breakdown. you are entitled to a copy of it. especially if you're going for a diminished value claim. once you see the write-up you can see what you were supposed to get and what you wound up getting. i would love to see a photo of how it looked when the OP saw it at the shop since he came in when they "just installed" the quarter. there would be substantial welding and sanding all around the edges and take a great deal of labor. not a 1,2,3 install.

[Vegetable]

Originally Posted by iconoclast

i know it's possible the shop i use now does great work but i am fairly certain the insurance company did not pay for a quarter replacement and if the body shop pushed hard enough and it was paid out they didn't install it. the door isn't blended. i can see the deviation in paint color in the original photo. rear quarter is darker grey and isn't the lighting because the sun is hitting it dead smack on the quarter.

in this photo you can see it better



put a meter on it but i can see they did a panel paint and not a blend. you need between 10-12" to do a blend and they definitely did not do that there.

again, ask for the insurance write-up on what the estimator saw assessed and wound up paying out. there is a line by line breakdown. you are entitled to a copy of it. especially if you're going for a diminished value claim. once you see the write-up you can see what you were supposed to get and what you wound up getting. i would love to see a photo of how it looked when the OP saw it at the shop since he came in when they "just installed" the quarter. there would be substantial welding and sanding all around the edges and take a great deal of labor. not a 1,2,3 install.

There was some welding on the new QP, but not excessive.. three spots if I remember correctly. I'm with AAA and have life, auto, and home owners insurance with them so I told them no bondo and all OEM parts or else they would be cancelled. They agreed but wanted all photos of the repair along the way. There was a blend into the door, but not sure about a blend into the roof. I have the itemized sheet somewhere, most of which makes no sense to me. I just signed a check from AAA to my shop for over $8,000 so I'm assuming AAA was happy with their work and will have no problem recovering that money from the party at fault's insurance. In unrelated news, I just reached 1,000 posts!

[iconoclast]

can we see photos of the repair along the way?

very curious to see the work because if they paid out for a new quarter on that and the shop completed the work i will switch to their policy. fact.

[BavarianFanatic]

Originally Posted by iconoclast

can we see photos of the repair along the way?

very curious to see the work because if they paid out for a new quarter on that and the shop completed the work i will switch to their policy. fact.

Believe it or not, YOU are in the driver's seat when it comes to insurance claims. You're entitled to (and pay for) restoration of your vehicle to pre-accident condition. If it wasn't full of plastic filler prior, it shouldn't be after either. The insurance company, and many shops, will often offer up the easy fix first. But, in the end, they're obligated to satisfy the policy holder unless they've included specific clauses in the policy allowing otherwise.

[iconoclast]

Indeed. As per policy their job is to make you whole but in many instances on a vehicle over a year old they can or may use used parts or aftermarket. It is in the policy on most insurance companies also if the adjuster does not side with the body shop they will write up what is required to repair not necessarily recommended. If a panel can be repaired instead of replaced and does not pose a safety concern or functional issue it will most likely be written up that way. Example being if my door is dented, I can push and request an entire new door skin but more than likely insurance will only cover a repair not replace panel. I am so skeptical about a entire quarter repair for something like this and if it did go through the body shop has a great opportunity to roll a customer on the repair and do a repair to pocket the difference.

I hope the OP got exactly what he was promised and it was done as requested but judging by the paint it doesn't look like there was a blend because of the deviation in hue between the quarter and the door. there is basically a cut-off down the panel. 10-12" are needed for a proper blend... the door glass, glass molding, handle/lock, would have to removed and blended in to about 1/4 of the door then the handle would have to be sprayed too so it doesn't stand out against a blended door.

post the pics of the repair and or photos/video of the meter reading and if i am wrong i'll never post on here again... if i am correct then i suggest the OP pursue compensation for not being delivered what was requested and promised.

[iconoclast]

Originally Posted by Vegetable

There was some welding on the new QP, but not excessive.. three spots if I remember correctly.

replacing a quarter properly should look like the photos below not three spot welds:

[IK6SPEED]

Originally Posted by iconoclast

replacing a quarter properly should look like the photos below not three spot welds:

Thats a hack job, not a proper quarter panel replacement. Lol
The panel isnt cut in the middle of nowhere. Its removed at the factory spot welds and then spot welded back into place and the joints on c pillar and rocker panel are either welded up at the edges or secured using special adhesive and metal fillers.

[Humdizzle]

As long as your happy with the work that's what matters. It's extremely hard to match metallic paints. Pictures aren't going to pick it up you would have to physically see it in person from different angles. What a detailer sees vs what an average person sees might be different.

And I would try to file a claim for diminished value. As soon as someone sees an accident on the Carfax you're going to have to take a few thousand off the asking price

[iconoclast]

Originally Posted by IK6SPEED

Thats a hack job, not a proper quarter panel replacement. Lol
The panel isnt cut in the middle of nowhere. Its removed at the factory spot welds and then spot welded back into place and the joints on c pillar and rocker panel are either welded up at the edges or secured using special adhesive and metal fillers.

The body work on that vehicle was for an S4 to RS4 conversion. On the B5 RS4 only came in Avant (Wagon) variant. The cut on the rear quarter had to match the cut that could be made on the OEM rear RS4 quarter:



Another Conversion:




Otherwise if it was a full quarter the cut would have been made higher up in the pillar and the welds would be done at that point and smoothed out along with area key areas as seen below. Either way I applaud you for bumping up a three year old thread to share your opinion and views on the topic.

[IK6SPEED]

Originally Posted by iconoclast

The body work on that vehicle was for an S4 to RS4 conversion. On the B5 RS4 only came in Avant (Wagon) variant. The cut on the rear quarter had to match the cut that could be made on the OEM rear RS4 quarter:



Another Conversion:




Otherwise if it was a full quarter the cut would have been made higher up in the pillar and the welds would be done at that point and smoothed out along with area key areas as seen below. Either way I applaud you for bumping up a three year old thread to share your opinion and views on the topic.

Thank you, I thought it would be important for others searching how a quarter panel is replaced to know that what you posted is not a proper way a qaurter should be replaced and that shops dont just cut in the middle of a panel and smother it with bondo.
I do understand what was done with the RS4 quarter panels but just thought I’d point out thats not how it should be done when you replace a complete quarter with a new one for the same vehicle.
Thanks for taking the time to reply

[iconoclast]

Agreed...This is not a typical quarter panel replacement. I was only showing the beads for the weld, the sanding and the finished seam to use as an example that "three" spot welds would not be the case in a quarter replacement. I am still fairly certain that a meter would read higher on the driver's side than the original which would imply a repair not a replace. In any event the PO may not even have the car anymore but I would love to know the answer.