I have a 5" dent in the right front fender of my 2003 S2000. The color is Y-52P Spa Pearl yellow tri-coat. The boy shops want to pull out the dent and paint the whole fender. Cheapest bid is $620. How can I get a guarantee that the paint job will match the original paint on the rest of the car?

 

I would do a PDR guy that dent isn't bad and just find a good paint shop.

 

Well painting the full fender is a start since you wont have just a spot that could look different. If they have the entire car they should be able to do test sprays to make sure the color matches. The yellows are really tough due to the amount of pearl in the paint.

 

I believe the fender is about a $400 part. So if PDR is NOT an option (but likely is on this one) then a bodyshop will be in the middle of repair vs replace. Depending on labor rates where you live, 4 hours of repair labor could equal the cost of a new fender. But a good shop will determine that for you.

As mentioned the Spa Yellow is a tri-coat paint and with the pearl is harder to match. A good shop should be able to do it. Depending on the state of the other paint around the fender they may or may not have to do a lot of blending on the other panels to match. Again, chose a well known, good shop in your area and they can work with you.

On PDR, I have seen some pretty amazing repairs. I have also seen a mechanically perfect repair, but visible still in the paint on a car with a lot of pearl in the paint. Our Tacoma had a dent in a quarter panel before we owned it. I can tell, because they obviously had PDR done to repair it and the panel is perfectly smooth, but the pearl in the silver paint was distorted so you can still see the repair if you look for it. The issue hear is that if the metal was stretched at all during the damage, this is not undone with the PDR process. So with very visible pearl in the paint, this can cause a different density in the pearl in that area once repaired that is visible to the eye. So make sure you talk to a very well respected and known PDR person and bring that point up with them.

 

Could PDR pop the dent out? Sure those guys are wizards. The missing paint has to be addressed and painting the entire fender rather than just a spot will lead to a more even finish. Its all down to how good the shop is and how long you let them work on it. Give them the car and tell them you want it to be excellent so don't rush it.

 

Find a good adult body shop. The fender can be removed and painted off the car. $620 seems like a bargain if done right and the paint matches.

-- Chuck