Rear quarter panel body damage question..

[GoNoGo]

Fast-running deer outta nowhere ran into the side of our '23 Suburban HC while was cruising 63-mph on a long straightaway. Deer's head first connected the mirror, then her body impacted the rear panel just behind the passenger door.

Doors seem to open and close properly as does the mirror's motorized stem. Of course camera 360* is partially out as well as the lane change detection and I forgot to test the lane keep function.

Anyway, does the rear quarter panel appear to be repairable with particular attention on the 2 creases, also the right-side door-jamb GAP was stretched to the rear 5/16" at the handle. I really-really-REALLY hope the entire panel won't need cut out and replaced.

 

[swathdiver]

Fast-running Kamikaze deer outta nowhere head butted my '23 Suburban HC while I was cruising 63 mph on a long straight local hwy yesterday afternoon. Her head first connected the mirror and her body slightly impacted the passenger door handle but mostly the rear panel.. fortunately seems perfectly drivable.

Does the rear quarter panel appear to be repairable with particular attention on the 2 creases.. and other concern is the door-jamb itself was pulled slightly rearward (at the passenger door handle).. opening up the door gap about 3/8" at the widest. These ^^^ are my biggest concerns, bondo repair or EEK !! cutting out and replacing the quarter panel sheet metal from the doorjamb to tail-light.

Doors appear to open and close good, retractable step squeaks now, but can't see any warp. Mirror stem still pivots okay and I duct-taped a little spot mirror so I can see. and both doors open and close. The retractable step makes a squeaking noise but I don't notice it warped or misaligned (as compare to the passenger side step.

View attachment 395919

View attachment 395920



View attachment 395922

Take it to a PDR guy first. That stands for Paintless Dent Repair, you'll be amazed at the dents they can fix without painting. He can't fix your mirror though!

This is where mine is going to be repaired tomorrow:

Best Dent Repair in Treasure Coast FL-5* Rated-Free Quote

Paintless dent repair company in St Lucie County, Martin County, and Indian River County. We specialize in dent removal on all year make and model vehicles.

bonesdentrepair.com

 

[n4gkj]

PDR aint going to fix that....
those creases and stretched metal are beyond PDR...

that will have to be replaced or filled with body filler.....

i feel for you... i had a "new" 2021 tahoe with similar damage last year...
i was mad and then sick.....
after i got it back from bodyshop i traded it in for a 2023...


good luck!!!!

 

[swathdiver]

PDR aint going to fix that....
those creases and stretched metal are beyond PDR...

that will have to be replaced or filled with body filler.....

I'm no expert but the guys around here did this with compound shapes:

Auto Dent Repair - Modern Paintless Dent Removal - Jensen Beach FL

Modern Paintless Dent Removal of Jensen Beach FL provides mobile dent repair for small and large dents, dings, creases, hail damage. Call 772-229-2900!

www.moderndentremoval.com

 

[MassHoe04]

That stinks!

On the brighter side:
Once you get past your deductible, sky's the limit on the repair budget!
Anything is possible...


Maybe dentless can do something with this I don't know.

If there is a bank lean on it and being a new model, I am sure the bank will want it repaired to factory specification and new condition.

Since it is basically new, I would actually want to have a qualified shop cut and replace properly rather than a few quick hits with the hammer and fill the rest with body filler...
Fight for your right to get back to original condition.

 

[Stbentoak]

We had a similar situation with a new Bronco Sport. 1700 miles,but it got into the rear quarter that tied into the roof.
Long story short, they totaled it and paid us 4K more than we paid for it. Insurance didn’t want to pay the 4 months wait at the body shop and the shop said it would be a very difficult repair and no guarantee it would be perfect again…

 

[GoNoGo]

.
Thanks, I'll go visit some reputable PDR places, I could probably live with some small creases & minor imperfections as long as the major dents are removed.

I don't have any bank loans nor live in an area where I have to keep up with the Joneses

.

 

[DuraYuk]

It's a cut out and re weld situation. PDR is not going to fix that. Insurance may even total it.

Resale value will be diminished as well. Sorry about your luck at least your ok..

 

[MassHoe04]

I'm no expert but the guys around here did this with compound shapes:

Auto Dent Repair - Modern Paintless Dent Removal - Jensen Beach FL

Modern Paintless Dent Removal of Jensen Beach FL provides mobile dent repair for small and large dents, dings, creases, hail damage. Call 772-229-2900!

www.moderndentremoval.com

Dents in their website gallery were bigger than I ever expected!
Pretty impressive.

I looked and saw one company describe removing dents 44" long.

Does PDR work for large dent removal?

Paintless dent repair, paintless dent removal, pdr is the right choice for large dents or small dents. Learn more in today dent repair blog about why pdr for large dents works.

www.americandentspecialists.com

I guess technology and technique has advanced since I first heard of the process being used! We'll just say that was a "little" while ago and just leave it at that... LOL

 

[WalleyeMikeIII]

You are going to need a qualified body shop.
Good news is, for any animal damage, it’s considered “act of God” and covered by comprehensive, so doesn’t count as an accident.

File a claim, find the best body shop you can, and let them go at it. End of the day it’s plastic and Steele; nobody got hurt but Bambi…so pick up the pieces and move on.

Around my parts right now, the body shops are all backed up…and parts are a challenge.

My recent repair took 3.5 weeks and they preordered the parts..

 

[swathdiver]

One body shop near me has over 100 cars in the yard waiting to get into the shop or waiting on parts. They're not taking any new jobs until June.

The two PDR guys had a week's delay in getting in. Good time to be a body man!

One of my uncle's had a body shop and I would go to work with him as a boy. When my '80 Toyota Corolla was seemingly totaled in a rear end collision, he chopped it in half and put on a new back half from another Corolla and his daughter drove it for years. We couldn't tell that anything was done. He was good.

 

[Stbentoak]

My wife got clipped in Dec on the nose of her Jag….It just got fixed last week with no parts needed. Body shops are a minimum of three months down here and some of them just flat out cannot get the body panels especially of very new vehicles….

 

[Pro299]

That's a panel replacement, but not totaled. Got sideswiped last month in the same spot. Panel and bumper cover job next week. $7K.

 

[GoNoGo]

Not sure I want to go thru months of bodyshop drama right now, mom just got her Frontier pickup out of the bodyshop after 3.5 months of waiting.

Bolted a temporary mirror to the stem body but then discovered the drivers door glass got badly scratched by the shattering mirror yesterday, it's a large area too... darn-it.

 

[ivin74]

Fast-running deer outta nowhere ran into the side of our '23 Suburban HC while was cruising 63-mph on a long straightaway. Deer's head first connected the mirror, then her body impacted the rear panel just behind the passenger door.

Doors seem to open and close properly as does the mirror's motorized stem. Of course camera 360* is partially out as well as the lane change detection and I forgot to test the lane keep function.

Anyway, does the rear quarter panel appear to be repairable with particular attention on the 2 creases, also the right-side door-jamb GAP was stretched to the rear 5/16" at the handle. I really-really-REALLY hope the entire panel won't need cut out and replaced.

View attachment 395919

View attachment 395920



View attachment 395922

Is the quarter panel out of aluminum? Aluminum is harder to work with and the PDR guys might not wanna mess with it.

 

[ivin74]

. Body shops are a minimum of three months down here and some of them just flat out cannot get the body panels especially of very new vehicles….

That's about right, same issue we had when back in January. I called like 12 shops and they were all booked for 8 to 10 weeks.

 

[swathdiver]

Is the quarter panel out of aluminum? Aluminum is harder to work with and the PDR guys might not wanna mess with it.

These ain't Ferds! Steel and double walled steel at that. Harder to work with but easier to replace panels.

My daughter backed into a tree in September, that was a $5500 bill!



Her boyfriend backed into my truck and that's why I'm headed to the PDR guy tomorrow. Will post before and after pics.

Can't wait to see their car insurance rates after they tie the knot! LOL

 

[H1Chester]

It took us 6+ months for a new grill to show up from a buzzard strike on the highway last summer. Fortunately the buzzard only punched a hole in the grille plastic mesh part and knocked off a few shutters without damage to the shutters. Grille itself was $1300.

 

[swathdiver]

Here's a video from the guy who is fixing my dents today:

 

[GoNoGo]

Wow, hope I can find a PDR guy here with skills like yours (bones dent repair)