recommend me a body shop for door dent repair+side skirt paint and install

[zzz3]

so i decided to repair my dent and get the 2010 oem side skirt installed and painted at the same time. so far i have gotten a quote for $250 to install/paint the skirt and $750 for the entire thing (install/paint and fix dent; needs to be hammered according to estimate) from Velocity in Markham. i also have a rough estimate from chipmaster in markham for $770 to fix the dent and paint match.

are there any other shops people can recommend preferably in mississauga/west end or else where? should i stick to velocity? if there is a lot of consensus on any one shop in particular, i dont mind the drive to markham for great service/price. i would like to get this done next week when the skirt comes in.

EDIT: pictures





i can take some more pics if it will help.

[Soyabean]

Wow. I would recommend Richard at street performance. He does great body work for a great price

[sol_searchin]

That looks really gouged, Seriously the proper way of doing this is to replace the door skin. Other wise you'll have a pound of bondo on your door lol.

[zzz3]

Wow. I would recommend Richard at street performance. He does great body work for a great price

is there a way to pm street performance (sorry i dont know their user name)? i want to send them the pics since markham is a little far, so i wouldnt mind an estimate first.

[zzz3]

That looks really gouged, Seriously the proper way of doing this is to replace the door skin. Other wise you'll have a pound of bondo on your door lol.

lol a new door is expensive, im not sure about a skin though???

someone posted this in the other thread


im tempted to try it lol

[S.F.W.]

is there a way to pm street performance (sorry i dont know their user name)? i want to send them the pics since markham is a little far, so i wouldnt mind an estimate first.

no, Street Performance is not on the board.

[FLIPDADY]

lol a new door is expensive, im not sure about a skin though???

A new door skin for a Mazda 3 is about $89.00, it's the paint and labor that's expensive. A lot of bodyshops replace the door skins only.

Your damage doesn't look like it had affected the side impact beams so I think you can get away with just the skin instead of the whole door shell.

[zzz3]

should i buy the skin (and from where)? would it make the job cheaper/easier? or will the shops do this for me?

[FLIPDADY]

should i buy the skin (and from where)? would it make the job cheaper/easier? or will the shops do this for me?

Where are you located? You can get the door skin from any of the Mazda dealer affiliates on the forum.

For bodywork contact Richard @ Street Performance for a quote. His number is 905-946-0990.

[sol_searchin]

I would honestly get the skin replaced at a quality Mazda body shop, No offence to street performance but the guy's at Mazda do this daily, and it does take some skill to get a perfect alignment of the skin and I've seen many places **** up. It won't be as cheap as bondo-ing the door, but you won't have a wavy painted door lol.

[zzz3]

Where are you located? You can get the door skin from any of the Mazda dealer affiliates on the forum.

For bodywork contact Richard @ Street Performance for a quote. His number is 905-946-0990.

mississauga. ill pick it up from qew or mot depending on who i go to first. also this is dumb, but what exactly is the "skin"? is it the outer part or some layer inside?

I would honestly get the skin replaced at a quality Mazda body shop, No offence to street performance but the guy's at Mazda do this daily, and it does take some skill to get a perfect alignment of the skin and I've seen many places **** up. It won't be as cheap as bondo-ing the door, but you won't have a wavy painted door lol.

arent mazda body shops just 3rd party contractors? i tried to get a quote from qew's body shop, assured automotive, but they were closed early. anybody deal with them?

[jonjon72]

mississauga. ill pick it up from qew or mot depending on who i go to first. also this is dumb, but what exactly is the "skin"? is it the outer part or some layer inside?



arent mazda body shops just 3rd party contractors? i tried to get a quote from qew's body shop, assured automotive, but they were closed early. anybody deal with them?

You are partly correct. Most dealerships (all makes) usually go through a 3rd party.

Street Performance is the most referred and best place on this board to get body work done. They do work for dealerships and deal with insurance claims.

[zzz3]

ill call them tomorrow and try to get a estimate (anyone have their email so i can send pics?). thanks for the suggestions everyone, its going to be either street performance or velocity.

[sol_searchin]

I'm not in the GTA but I know of a few that have in house collision centers

[barack osama]

street performance! thats where thanu31 goes for all his car care needs

[She_Prime]

arent mazda body shops just 3rd party contractors? i tried to get a quote from qew's body shop, assured automotive, but they were closed early. anybody deal with them?

I've dealt with QEW Mazda a lot and bodywork included. They never used Assured Automotive though. It was always ACE Collision on Speers Rd. (down the street from the original location). Their work is superb. I've gone to them for a number of issues (through Mazda referral and otherwise).

[jonjon72]

ill call them tomorrow and try to get a estimate (anyone have their email so i can send pics?). thanks for the suggestions everyone, its going to be either street performance or velocity.

Richard doesn't provide estimates from pics. He needs to see the car hands on to give a more accurate price.

[zzz3]

I've dealt with QEW Mazda a lot and bodywork included. They never used Assured Automotive though. It was always ACE Collision on Speers Rd. (down the street from the original location). Their work is superb. I've gone to them for a number of issues (through Mazda referral and otherwise).

thanks, ill check them out as well.

Richard doesn't provide estimates from pics. He needs to see the car hands on to give a more accurate price.

lol i just left a voicemail asking how to send pics , i guess ill have to wait till tuesday or wednesday to get an estimate.

one thing i forgot to consider is how am i going to deal with the possibility of not having a car for 1-2 days (the paint process will take a day at least right)? do they provide a rental? its not like i can hitch a ride or bus it easily back to mississauga...

[zzz3]

UPDATE
i have visited 10 body shops in the past week or so. i also managed to get the parts from Joe that ill need for the repairs - door skin and tape (the black trim that goes over the pillar and runs across the top of the door frame). the entire job requires 3-4 days so im aiming for may 24th when ill have access to two cars since ill be with out my mazda3 for 3 days at the very least.


the following below is a breakdown of the shops and their estimates (mitchell system) in order of preference/impression/feedback:

Linwood Motor
affiliate body shop for MOT, nissan, subaru and hyundai. the quote i received was for 1300 or about 1200 cash. this included blending of both read door and front fender, rust proofing etc. they had a lot of brand new (dealer inventory) mazdas etc. in for repairs. they were also quite professional and explained everything not to mention having good reviews.

Street Performance
everyone on tm3 goes here. i received two quotes, one for replacing the skin and one for replacing the whole door shell (keep and transfer window, side mirrors etc. into new shell). the price was slightly better than the other shops 1000 for skin vs 1300 for shell . richard took the time and explained to me skin vs. shell, short term vs. long term and his personal views. the only problem though is that he was the only shop to recommend a body shell. all of the other shops were surprised at the suggestion of this when i mentioned it to them.

Uni-Body Collision

yes i have read and gone through the complaints on tm3. i made sure to ask for rich who was very honest and friendly. he quoted me almost 1100 for pretty much the same things as linwood motors. what i appreciated was the tour he gave me of the facility and the paint room as well as an example of a skin they replaced on dodge journey (looked excellent). i would have gladly setup an appointment with rich today because of the facility, his overall demeanour and estimate as well as it being much more convenient than the other locations had it not been for the tm3 reviews. i am unsure about this one and whether to gamble and see if uni-body collision has "changed".

Assured Automotive aka Oaktown Collision
recommendation from John, they are QEW Mazdas affiliate body shop. the first thing that struck me and still does till this day is their main entrance/loung/office. it is the forest hill/lorne park etc. of body shops with marble floors, spiral stair case, leather lounge chairs etc. they also had a couple of nazi sleds parked out front (new 760li/s5/benzes) lol. i thought it was going be expensive to say the least but the quote was reasonable; a little ovver 1000 cash and included the same things as the others. they also happen to be caa recommended and not to far from my house, however the only review they have on google seems to be a shill post (posted by a reviewer with same name as the person i received an estimate from ).

KKT Auto Collision
i saw a recommendation here on tm3 and some other forums as well. spoke to jack who was very helpful and gave me the same quote as Uni-Body Collision. the only negative is that his shop is very small (just like many of the body shops on heritage road). However, this is not a objective indicator of whether his shop is good or bad and is just a way for me to narrow down my selection (albeit through a subjective manner unfortunately).

Chipmaster Markham
RFD recommendation. spoke to ron when i was first hit but decided to visit him in person for the first time yesterday. he was very helpful and went over my options. he explained to me the third alternative (and only person to offer this) was to replace the whole door with one from a wrecker/junk yard. it would save time/money and labour; rust would not be an issue. the quote for this was around 1100. the problem here is that in an ideal situation i would find a mint door for cheap and it would be an easy swap/paint/blend, the reality is that this is a risky proposition since the door is used and could be potentially damaged in one of many ways. there is no way to know what im going to be getting until the part is paid for.

Velocity
this was a peculiar one. peter recommend me to them initially for painting skirts/install. so i decided to stop by (since its on heritage road) and get a proper estimate. total was $600 to replace skin and repaint lol wtf? when i asked them what about blending and removing handle/turn signal/headlight, they said that they would do all that (even though it was not on the mitchell estimate). to add to the confusion, there is a decked out 911 (gt3?) in front with velocity logos i have no idea in regards to the quality of their work or the accuracy of their estimates (and wtf is up with the 911), but i dont think i want to find out.

Auto Magicians
i saw this on google, decided to drop by. showed my some pics of their work on a continental gt. gave me an estimate of $1000 and promised me a whole bunch of stuff such as removing a small nick and scratch, rebuff, polish and detail a week after the repair. also said the estimate included blending and installation of skirt. the problem here is that their missisauga shop does audio and body repairs, their actual body shop is in toronto. So im quite sure that once i get an actual estimate, it is bound to go up when run hrough the mitchell system (the estimate given at the time was written).

BMC Auto Collision
i believe they are avante mazdas affiliate dealer. i saw jeff the biz's recommendation for this shop (freddie in particular) and decided to drop by. Freddie was very quick and thorough with the estimate, came out slightly higher than the others over $1200 cash. regardless, it doesnt matter anyways since this is very far for me and inconvenient to say the least.

Carstar
right by my house so i decided to stop by. as i was being given an estimate, i was asked if i had gotten other quotes. i said i did, and when i was given their quote, they realized it was much higher by the look on my face . they asked me to show them the other quotes so i went over streetperformance's estimate. they then proceeded to nitpick through streetperformance's quote and question richards ability/estimate instead of trying to offer and reach a compromise. i cant rule them out for now solely because of the location. thats not to say i am considering them at moment.


Thoughts
i learned that all estimates are automated and based on a database (usually the mitchell system), hence the similarities in quotes. the differences arise in labour rates and estimated time for work. Everyone provided me an estimate based on the mitchell system expect where specified (chipmaster and auto magician).

i found richards (streetperformance) suggestion of door shell vs. skin to be quite the conundrum. every body shop with the exception of chipmasted (who wanted to replace the door with a used one) recommended the skin and even questioned/laughed at the recommendation of a door shell. they all said it was unnecessary and even though the mazda3 is know to rust, with the proper reseal of the skin and rust proofing the area of repair, it shouldnt be an issue. Linwood and BMC also insisted that regardless of how i repair it (and even if it wasnt damaged), the mazda3 should be rust proofed by krown every year.

the other aspect of the issue is finish and appearance. richard indicated that the reseal will not match the factory machine seal, but all the other body shops claim that this is nothing to worry about and that it will look fine (close enough enough to be a non issue).


Conclusion
the issue of rust is the only thing making me question skin vs. door shell; not so much the seal appearance of door shell vs skin (the door will be closed 99% of the time for spaghetti monsters sake). furthermore, the door shell is approximately $300 more and in the grand scheme of things it translates to a lot of money saved or spent (approx. 1000 vs 1300).

subsequently, i did not anticipate in my budget for mods this year that some amoral ass clown would dent my door and run the **** away. i have about 1100-1300 left which i must now spend on this shit or else face the possibility of rust if i leave the dent exposed any longer. i will visit the top 3 shops (linwood/streetperfomance/assured automotive) in a couple of weeks with parts in hand to setup a date and finalize a lower cash price if possible. im guessing my parts from joe should be here next week along with nextmod parts at the latest next week.

conclusion, i am disappoint.


Questions
what do you think about body shell vs. skin? is replacing shell unnecessary? would the prevalence of rust be higher for one method vs the other?

what shop would you pick in the same situation or circumstances (budget/review/location)?

any other recommendations/solutions (i.e. body shop, alternative repair methods)?

finally, i will need to sell my new 2010+ OEM 4dr/5dr unpainted side sill/skirt from nextmod since i am short on funds for repairs. What is a reasonable price to ask for this? im thinking $200?


References/Reviews of Body Shops
http://www.torontomazda3.ca/forum/sh...Dent-Shop-List

[Dreamliner]

You're going all over the GTA for relatively minor body-work? Wow, you've got too much time on your hands buddy. I used BMC and found their work to be flawless, a perfect match on a 4 year old car and meticulous. Read my review of them.

Unibody did work on a vehicle I drove (not mine). The quality was sub-par (paint spray on the gas cap, and on surrounding plastic) plus the interior was dirty when they returned the car (they didn't even bother to clean the shop dust off the dashboard).

I've never been to SP but I personally like a shop that specializes in one thing (either body work or mechanical work, not both) since it makes me feel like they know what their doing.

Stay away from the shop near Linwood called "Antica Autobody". I had a horrible experience just getting an estimate from one of the guys, not to mention the place is sketchy as hell.

[zzz3]

You're going all over the GTA for relatively minor body-work? Wow, you've got too much time on your hands buddy. I used BMC and found their work to be flawless, a perfect match on a 4 year old car and meticulous. Read my review of them.

Unibody did work on a vehicle I drove (not mine). The quality was sub-par (paint spray on the gas cap, and on surrounding plastic) plus the interior was dirty when they returned the car (they didn't even bother to clean the shop dust off the dashboard).

I've never been to SP but I personally like a shop that specializes in one thing (either body work or mechanical work, not both) since it makes me feel like they know what their doing.

Stay away from the shop near Linwood called "Antica Autobody". I had a horrible experience just getting an estimate from one of the guys, not to mention the place is sketchy as hell.

i visited most of them in one day when i was at nexmod and friends place in markham/richmondhill so i didnt mind. the others are near my house.

the dent looks minor but the skin needs to be replaced and now its a big deal (going to take 3-4 days) since its coming out of my pocket (a $1000+ is a lot for a student like me). i just want to make sure that i am making the best decision and that there arent any consequences in future. the car is new as well and i have to think long term since ill be keeping it for a while, hence the issue of rust (if skin isnt sealed right).

i appreciate the heads up on antica, it looked pretty rundown to me as well. and yeah maybe im a little too thorough/ocd , ill stick to linwood most likely.

[sol_searchin]

I wouldn't replace the door shell thats pretty stupid, pick a shop that your comfortable with and get it done.

[zzz3]

Got the car back a few days ago. Went with Linwood Motors in the end since they are close to MOT and happen to be their body shop (as well as for a few other dealers). The price wasnt that much more than Street Performance and they had a faster turn around time. 9/10 only because i have to go back to get the rubber strip at the top of the door frame fixed as it is a bit loose, otherwise the paint job is flawless.


Also if anyone is interested in a dented but painted (38R) door shell, let me know before i haul it to the scrap yard

[aZuMi]

Car looks good. How's the paint match? It seems pretty good from the photo, but what about in the day time?