Repair or Replace: Body Damage to the C5

[Rain]

Slow 'Possum took out the front bumper in December and I have no idea when the rear qtr panel decided to crack. (its not that noticable right now)

And another lower angle of the same shot:

And the rear:

 

[RAP]

It doesn't look that bad to me to go the replacement route but what the heck do I know.


Have you taken it to a couple of pros for their opinion?

 

[6 Shooter]

I'd price both out to see what you are quoted.

FYI - It was cheaper for me to replace the front fascia on my 96 than have it repaired and painted.

Are you looking for show quailty?

Later . . . . . .
6 Shooter

 

[Rain]

Thanks yall

Only shop I took it by gave me an estimate of about 900$ for just the nose.
(they had already told me that they dislike working on Vettes because the owners are so picky) LOL!

 

[Alan76]

I take a 1/16 drill bit and drill a hole at the end of the crack in the quarter panel to keep it from cracking any more and see if others appear the front
replace it. that way you dont fix the quarter only to have more cracks the older the fiberglass the mor stress cracks appear my 73 has half dozen all
over Just my thoughts good luck
Alan

 

[bossvette]

the nose and tail bolt on, I bought a nose piece off Ebay to replace my damaged one. Bought a metallic red one then before I got around to putting it on there was a torch red one so I bought that and sold the metallic red.
There is even some brand new unpainted ones quite often. You would be supprised how many people replace a usable facia with a few scratches, picky Vette owners

If you are going to drive it alot you will get road rash. I have been told mine is repairable and once off I will repair it and keep as a spare.

 

[Rain]

Thanks for the tips and offers! Might need to road trip to NC as I AM a Picky Vette owner too - I want the best results but alas, am not sitting on the amount of money I used to have. HAHA!

 

[6 Shooter]

Looks like that blonde in your avatar

Thanks for the tips and offers! Might need to road trip to NC as I AM a Picky Vette owner too - I want the best results but alas, am not sitting on the amount of money I used to have. HAHA!

is high maintenance, get rid of her and you might have some more money!

 

[Rain]

no kidding! haha

spending all my money on spiked heels and brasso for the pole

 

[Rain]

Thats pretty wild! tree climbin dog! hahahaha

 

[John & Donna]

Well, the front bumper cover can be tricky to repair. The flexible material can sometimes have very fine cracks in it that you can't see after higher speed impacts, such as hitting a slow moving possum This means that you can put effort into the part to repair the cracks/splits you can see only to have a bunch more that "appear" after you get new paint on it. Then you have to re-sand the part and do more repair work, then repaint. In the end, it is less labor and quicker to just replace the cover. Most higher-end shops around here recommend replacing the bumper covers instead of repairing them.

The crack in the rear quarter could be repaired. However, before I simply had it fixed, I would investigate to see what caused it to crack. If it was some sort of impact, then life is OK. If it was caused by vibration or something strange, then you may need to do more work to keep it from happening again.

 

[Rain]

ttt for the night crew

 

[Terry Holtz]

I have a small crack on my rear bumper cover...I bought a used one without a crack to replace it with ...but now I'm thinking I should repair the original rather than risk the shop not getting the new cover to line up properly.

How hard is it to get the gaps factory tight when putting on a new rear cover?

Great thread Rain!

 

[vee93]

Rain,
You might want to take a drive north on 55 to Jackson and check out the Hardy Brothers. Both are Corvette specialists and have owned Vettes. When I finish fighting with my insurance company, they're gonna do the re-do work on my '93. If interested, give 'em a call: (601) 371-2562. If you decide to drive up, they're located on the frontage road on 55N. Take the Savannah Street exit to reach the north frontage road to 3746 I-55 South <(the south part is how they're listed), but coming from the coast it's north for you. Good luck with the repairs------friggin possum.

 

[Rain]

Thanks Vee

I have Jerry at Adv. Collision (referral from a friend who has two C3s and a C4 zr1) in Ocean Springs take a look at it.
Said both were repairable and quoted me under $600. Gonna give it a shot and go from there if I'm not happy with the repair. (I can stand to loose 600 to have it fixed by next tuesday)

Good luck to you on your Insurance fight
Rain

btw, Terry, did you go see Jerry? dont forget to say Robert Kline sent ya

 

[bluecoupe]

Better have that C5 blessed by a priest.

 

[bluecoupe]

Thanks yall

Only shop I took it by gave me an estimate of about 900$ for just the nose.
(they had already told me that they dislike working on Vettes because the owners are so picky) LOL!

Have you considered covering it with a spoiler.

http://www.ecklers.com/product.asp?pf%5Fid=38088&dept%5Fid=1738&mscssid=WF9VX0XBFHJL9NHS2W663C25UBW2BPB8

 

[Joe C]

rain, check your PM's

 

[Terry Holtz]

>>>>>>Terry, did you go see Jerry? dont forget to say Robert Kline sent ya<<<<<

Rain,...My sport brakes are painted and ready and my plan is to put them on before I go to Jerry's body shop, so that he will be dazzeled by the beauty and be inspired to do an even better job.

I was dropped as a child.

 

[Rain]

I was dropped as a child.

Weren't we ALL!




Painted the rotors and calipers on mine last night.. shesh - 5 years of road grime up in there..
went thru a dremmel wire brush attachment but I think it looks fine in the daylight.
(one thing I learned: THe lighting in my garage SUCKS!)
hahaha