So, back in March I got into a bit of a fender bender when I thought I had space but definitely did not. Swiped an older silver Toyota Camry on the way to work one morning while both of our lanes were turning right onto a busy downtown DC street. The other driver (much older lady) pulled up next to me after the impact, rolled her window down, and I frantically asked if she wanted to pull over to exchange information (we were in the two left lanes of a four-lane road). To my complete surprise, she said it was an old car with plenty of dings and dents and she didn't care. So I kept on going to work, twisting my side mirror to survey the damage while not wanting to pull over and create a traffic jam in the middle of the DC morning rush hour.
The damage...I was pretty upset. Very stupid mistake on my part. The first pic is immediately after I parked at work and surveyed the damage. It looked terrible, but this was mid-March and the roads were still icy and covered in salt.
After cleaning it up a bit with the napkins I had in my car to get the salt and grime off, I could see the actual damage. It looked like the door would need to be replaced, along with the black trim piece over the rear wheel well and a small nick that took the paint off in the corner of the rear fender. Luckily for me, the damage did not extend onto the front door or onto the fender itself. Still, I knew this was going to be an expensive mistake.
I went that same afternoon and got 3 estimates from area body shops. The estimates were about $1,300, $1,450 and $1,650. Being this was mid-March, I was about to pay a not-tiny chunk of change in taxes and decided to put off the repair for awhile. Then, life happened, and we ended up moving to West Virginia for me to accept a job offer. Throughout April, we were traveling back and forth to look for a house, and throughout May, I was busy wrapping things up at work and continued to put it off. We finally got settled in WV in mid-June when we closed on our house, and after getting reimbursed for our moving expenses through work, I decided to go and get some quotes from body shops out here, figuring I could now afford it.
Imagine my surprise when I go to 3 area body shops in our new WV city, and they clock in at $2,200, $2,400, and $2,300! I couldn't believe it and immediately regretted putting off the repair. Turns out labor rates for both body work and paint work are closer to $60/hour out here in WV compared to about $45/hour in Northern Virginia. I started scheming in my head that I could get the work done back in Northern Virginia, rent a car for the week while it was in the shop, and still come out less than the WV estimates. I let this simmer in my mind for about a week, not wanting to pull the trigger on that idea for the sheer hassle of it. I happened to get a half-day off work one day and decided to go out to some more shops and see if I couldn't get some better estimates. Made a list of 5+ additional shops to visit. First one, very informal shop with no office, proprietor takes a look at my car and calls a few guys for some numbers on parts (mostly the door needing to be replaced) and he says, about $1,400, $1,500 tops. I couldn't believe it! I made an appointment right then and there. I did go to 2 more shops that day and their estimates came in around $2,050 and $2,200. I decided to not push my luck and confirmed the appointment I made. Two weeks later, I drop the car off on a Tuesday morning and he's done with it by Friday afternoon. I'm ecstatic. Total payment was $1,484 and I will now be a lifetime customer of this great little shop I found.
Final result and it looks brand new again! Very relieved. I am also lucky to be in a much smaller area now with less traffic and a shorter commute, and consequently, less chances for myself to make a dumb mistake like this again. I will certainly be more careful in the future..
*TL;DR: Had body repair done after fender bender back in March.