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**PICS** OH NOOOOOO!!! MY RX-7!!!!!

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Drive to a body shop you trust, and show them the damage. They will give you a quote right there and then.
 
Originally posted by: warcrow
Originally posted by: jemcam
Black and very dark colors show damage worse than any other car. It is going to be visible unless it's repaired by a professional. No, the home dent kits don't work, at least if you want professional results.

Look up "dent wizard" or someone like that. As long as the paint is not broken, it is an ideal candidate. As for those who says it's easy to get to the back, you've obviously never worked in a bodyshop. Many times hoods are the hardest to repair because of the structure underneath the skin.
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The paint is not cracked, but I'm afraid of making it worse. How do I know if a body shop is reliable...and whats a good price? It was mentioned above that if it going to cost $300-$400 to repair, that I just get anew hood.
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It's hard to say what a good price is without knowing what the rates are in your area. Is it a metallic paint? Two stage or three stage paint? Any fading? To repair it the traditional way, the dents need to be worked out, and more than likely it's still going to have a skim coat of plastic filler in some areas. Then, paint the hood, and it may or may not be neccesary to blend the color into the tops of the fenders and bumper cover, then clearcoat everything. I could see this easily topping $400 if done the traditional way. Paint is very expensive and it's labor intensive. I'm guessing in your area the body shops get over $75 per hour, perhaps more. I think you could easily have 4 hours repair time plus paint and materials.

If there is no paint damage at all and the dents are all in one panel, less than $200 going paintless. BTW, paintless means they repair the dents without having to paint afterwards, and it's a very good way to repair these types of dents if there is no paint damage.
 
It was mentioned above that if it going to cost $300-$400 to repair, that I just get anew hood.
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Whoever said that has their head up their ass. A new hood for that car from Mazda is $846.95. The part number is FD01-52-310G if you want to call the dealer because you don't believe me.

Besides, if you get a new hood, it's even more paint and labor to paint the underside.
 
Whatever you do DON'T go to Maaco or any of those "We'll paint your entire car for 150 bucks" places. There's a reason they are so cheap...They do a crappy job. Who are you insured with? I would just call your insurance co and ask for a referal unless of course you are insured with Eastwood or some other fly-by-night shaky insurance co (in which case, you'll be refered to a place worse than Maaco).

Your insurance will not go up just from you making inquiries. If it does you need to find another insurance company.

BTW-That model RX-7 was the best looking one ever. The new RX-8 is one of the ugliest cars I've seen Mazda make. I don't care if it goes like a scalded ape. It is fugly.

Edit: Sh!t happens. No sense getting overly upset about it. You might want to have your trees trimmed though so it doesn't happen again.
 
Originally posted by: MercenaryForHire
Originally posted by: stev0
Originally posted by: KEV1N
Paintless dent repair!! Should be an easy job since it's on the hood and there's easy access to the backside (Hehehe). If there's no paint damage, you won't even be able to tell the dents were ever there.
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Paintless dent repair on the two dents in the door of my F150 is going to run 150, and they are going to buff the entire truck (this is from macco) As long as there is no major paint damage (ie: through the clear coat) the dents can be fixed for fairly cheap and you can buff the hood yourself.

Although, if you are getting quotes in the $400 range, I would buy a carbon fiber hood, you should be able to pick one up for 350-500.
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And it'll give you an extra 25HP at the wheels. 😉

- M4H
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IDIOT!!!!!!!*()Y!@! that is ONLY with stickers!~ hoods give you a MAX of 15hp! :|
 
I wouldn't buy any type of aftermarket hood. It only has to be off by 1/8th of an inch to look like crap.
 
Does the FD have an aluminum or steel hood? If it's steel, there's a good chance that PDR will work. Aluminum panels are more difficult to work with, and some PDR guys will refuse to work on them, or will charge a premium for taking dings out of them since aluminum doesn't have the "memory" that steel does. They may have to drill some of the hood bracing in order to get the tools placed properly - a hood is more difficult to repair than you may think!

My brother had acorn damage on the hood of his Miata (aftermarket steel hood, original is aluminum) all over. I believe it was close to $500 for everything (there were DOZENS of dents) but even under close scrutiny and fluorescent light I couldn't find any evidence of repair.

Best of all, with PDR you keep your original paint. Even a quality paint job will rarely come close to factory spec unless you spend several thousand bucks.
 
Originally posted by: MrDudeMan
Originally posted by: MercenaryForHire
Originally posted by: stev0
Originally posted by: KEV1N
Paintless dent repair!! Should be an easy job since it's on the hood and there's easy access to the backside (Hehehe). If there's no paint damage, you won't even be able to tell the dents were ever there.
Click to expand...

Paintless dent repair on the two dents in the door of my F150 is going to run 150, and they are going to buff the entire truck (this is from macco) As long as there is no major paint damage (ie: through the clear coat) the dents can be fixed for fairly cheap and you can buff the hood yourself.

Although, if you are getting quotes in the $400 range, I would buy a carbon fiber hood, you should be able to pick one up for 350-500.
Click to expand...

And it'll give you an extra 25HP at the wheels. 😉

- M4H
Click to expand...

IDIOT!!!!!!!*()Y!@! that is ONLY with stickers!~ hoods give you a MAX of 15hp! :|
Click to expand...

WTF, carbon fiber WITH scoops is 25! Don't argue with me, I wrote the Riceboy Manual! :|

- M4H
 
Even a quality paint job will rarely come close to factory spec unless you spend several thousand bucks.
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Any body shop that says they can match the quality of a factory paint job in all aspects is a liar. Ask an honest auto painter and he'll tell you.

Also, PDR guys should not be drilling any supports in order to do their repairs. If they have to cut or drill anything for access, they are altering the structure of the car and it no longer will react the way it was intended to. At the very least, he's exposed the metal to the air that needs to be sealed properly to prevent corrosion and/or rust. If they're well trained, ask them what ICAR, ASA, and manufacturer's recommendation are on PDR and drilling or cutting for access. They know they're not supposed to do that.
 
Originally posted by: Kelvrick
Whats so rice about the hood. Carbon fiber is lighter and so does have some benefit.

quick ebay link Doesn't look too bad to me, it'll match your paint nicely.
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The RX-7's hood is aluminum, so a cabon fiber hood wouldn't save much weight. Also, the problem with cheap cf hoods are the gaps on the sides and front. But, if he had to get a new hood, it'd probably be best to get one with vents to help keep the engine cool.
 
Yummy RX7! My bro was gonna trade in his '92 MR2 for a '94 RX7, but he figured the insurance and repairs (if/when it has problems) were gonna cost him his first born. Would've been a sweet ride if he got it. Good luck with your hood. 🙂
 
Originally posted by: JulesMaximus
Whatever you do DON'T go to Maaco or any of those "We'll paint your entire car for 150 bucks" places. There's a reason they are so cheap...They do a crappy job. Who are you insured with? I would just call your insurance co and ask for a referal unless of course you are insured with Eastwood or some other fly-by-night shaky insurance co (in which case, you'll be refered to a place worse than Maaco).

Your insurance will not go up just from you making inquiries. If it does you need to find another insurance company.

BTW-That model RX-7 was the best looking one ever. The new RX-8 is one of the ugliest cars I've seen Mazda make. I don't care if it goes like a scalded ape. It is fugly.

Edit: Sh!t happens. No sense getting overly upset about it. You might want to have your trees trimmed though so it doesn't happen again.
Click to expand...

I've heard that as long as you do all the prep work yourself, Maaco and Earl Scheib jobs turn out quite nicely. They say it's not the painting they do badly, it's the prep. Which is, of course, the more laborious part.
 
Originally posted by: warcrow
Originally posted by: Kelvrick
Whats so rice about the hood. Carbon fiber is lighter and so does have some benefit.

quick ebay link Doesn't look too bad to me, it'll match your paint nicely.
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Hrm...that is a badass hood! :-D
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You've been warned..... They look like crap because they don't fit right!

 
Originally posted by: PingSpike
Thats what you get for driving a nice car. If a branch fell on my pile, I'd just shrug and drive it to work.
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When 12000 pound of hail fell on mine, I looked up how much it would cost to fix, and then I decided that the dents added "Character" to my car and it would be better to keep them. Same thing with the dent my mother put in the trunk. And the random wiggly Tachometer. Heh.

Suchs about your car, but given your distress I was expecting to see pics of a long lying in the road with one half of an RX-7 on each side of it. Those dents are quite minor.

If I were you, I'd be happy it didn't hit the windsheild.
 
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