Rant: A full day on a 'simple' quarter panel turned into a nightmare

Had a 2018 Civic come in with what looked like a basic dent, but once I got the trim off, I found a huge section of bondo from a bad old fix that was hiding rust. Spent eight hours just cutting it out and prepping new metal. How do you guys price a job when you find way more damage than the estimate showed?

3 comments

3 Comments

blake32212d ago

That sounds like a huge headache, but is rust really that common on a 2018?

the_margaret11d ago

Honestly @blake322, rust can hide anywhere. Seen it on cars way newer than that from bad repairs or just living near the ocean. The real kicker is when insurance wrote the first estimate, they never even looked under the trim. Makes you wonder how many other shops just slap more filler over it.

zara_kelly2712d ago

Tell me about it. Found the same thing on a 2019 Silverado last month. Looked like a parking lot ding, but the whole corner was filler over a rotten patch. Had to stop the job and call the customer with bad news. Pricing it is the worst part, because you know they're going to be upset. I just take a ton of pictures and show them exactly what's under there.