Ok, a deal came up near me for a 94 LT1 extremely cheap. Of course, the catch is the car was hit, and pretty hard in the passenger quarter panel/bumper area. I know nothing about body work, but it seems like it might be an expensive fix. Anyways, I'd be taking it around for estimates, I wouldnt be looking for a perfect fix, just something to make it presentable.
Here is the picture. Ballpark on a fix?

 

Im going to say aroung $3000 if the frame was damaged but maybe $2500 if it wasnt. Was it just the rear part? You can buy the rear filler panel and the rear bumper and just have them fix the quarter panel for alot cheaper.

 

Nobody can just fix that quarter. It's junk. really I'd stay away from that unless you want it for a parts car. That rear looks like a nightmare and may never be the same again. Or you'll be one of those people that always have to bring the car back for some clunk or grind etc.

Got any other picks? Say of the other side and different angles. Then I could tell you if there is frame dammage for sure. If I had to guess now....I'd say yes. At the very least some suspension damage.

 

Well there are a few ways to fix that quarter panel. The easiest would just be to cut off the old and weld in a new but i know for a fact that most good body shops can put that on a machine and pull it out. Ive seen worse and you couldnt even tell by looking at it now.

 

If its driveable just go to some shops and get some estimates. If its not you could put it on a flat bed or have one of the guys come out and look at it. Most places have free estimates anyways.

 

I'd venture to say the frame's pretty tweaked back there. As posted above I'd probably stay away from it too, it will most likely never be the same. Go around the car and look at all the gaps. A lot of times an impact like that will transfer enough energy through the car to screw all the gaps up. It's basically untelling what all else on that car is hurt. From that one picture we can already see it needs a quarter, at least one tail light, the valence is damaged, the bumper is gone, the energy absorber is probably toast, the inner wheelhouse and trunk floor are most likely bent, the frame is probably bent, and you may have damaged supension as well. To do it right, ummm.....unless you can do it yourself aka "free labor" it ain't worth it. And if it's not done right, well, it will never be "right." It probably wouldn't be quite perfect anyway, but if you half-way fix it, it's most likely gonna haunt you.

I've seen people that could "fix" that quarter, and it would probably look straight, but in all honesty, for the amount it would cost to fix that quarter the right way, and retain some of the rigidity that was put there by the factory, it'd most likely be cheaper to put a new quarter on the car.

You could take it around to get estimates for sure, if you want it bad enough and it's cheap enough why not. If it's that cheap you could always buy it, part it out, take the profit and buy one that's not wadded up, or it would make a good parts car.

 

In all honesty, that car WILL be mounted onto a rack, checked and pulled because the rear uni-body IS bent; new 1/4 welded on, new rear-filler panel, new tail light assembly, fix the hatch assembly, New Bumper cover....

The first estimate was probably about right from any reputable shop. $2K-$3K should be about ball-park for that job; mainly due to the Rack time, and a complete 1/4 replacement.

Figure $50-$80/hour for any collision shop to do the work, plus parts.

 

A good body shop won't waste the time of trying to save the quarter and just replace it. Sure anything "can" be fixed, but is it worth fixing vs replacing, or the old kink v bend rule. The quarter will be pulled somewhat to straighten out the structure so the wheel well can be fixed or replaced. But the car is going to spend a lot of time on the frame rack.

As was stated before the other quarter I would imagine has to have some damage. A unitized car transfers the impact throughout the chassis. A hit that hard has to result in secondary damage.

Free labor may be all well and good but unless you or the 'buddy' who does the work knows what's up the car is better left alone. Just be prepared to pay a pretty penny to get it done right. Looks like one of those jobs that the body man always finds more damage than what's on the estimate.

 

i agree with others, i dont think that quarter can be saved. the frame looks bent to me.

 

id say its only worth it if the car has low miles an is cheap

 

i work at a body shop and we just did a lot of work on a camaro and after we got everything on the body fixed we took it for the first test drive and it turned out the rear end was damaged in the wreck as well so be careful since that car was hit make sure the control arms and panhard rod dont have any bends or show signs of stress