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Replacing Front passenger fender


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So I have a 2013 LS. My front passenger fender is dented. Im looking online for replacements and theyre not cheap (not painted). Well on the discount parts and carparts .com they have ones that are 55bucks primed. they come with rocker molding holes but not turn signal holes. Would it be difficult to drill the holes necessary and be cheaper to have it painted or just buy ones from the dealer and have it installed and painted? i dont want to spend the money and come to find out that itd be easier and cheaper to just have the shop do everything. any input would be appreciated.

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found out we dont have turn signal holes. they make it sound like thats something thats needed. also my model doesnt have rocker molding holes so no need for those either. only 26bucks for the fender primed on carparts.com. think ill take it to maaco, they said itd only be like 150 per panel color match and clearcoat. called gm 300 bucks just to paint the fender... wat a rip. i also have messed up bumper front and back the corners snapped off due to people hitting my car. i can get the f and r bumper plus fender for 333.75 shipping included. painting at maaco for 450 roughly. spend under a grand and you can replace all that just in case anyone was in the same predicament as myself.

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thanks for the input. im going to be holding off on it for a little a bit. my car is almost paid off so when it is I'm going to look into just getting the after market bumpers and getting those installed. but i called the guy from the maaco near  me and he said he can get the paint code and it'll be1% off from the original paint cause of natural fading.

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haha yeah i know right? natural fading shouldnt be a problem on my car, i mean my car is only 3 years old so if he pulls the code for my spark then it should match no if ands or buts. and the dent isnt bad but the way it dented it bent the lip that the plastic underlining of the wheel well tucks up above. all the bumpers and the one fender is a little scratched. its really not too noticable from afar so im not worried about it for now.

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As Tozzi and Ray said, a good body shop can make any minor dents or in your case some panel movement exposing the wheel well lip look like it never happened. With the plastic lip now outside the fender crimp edge..it will quickly become a rust issue..so at least have that cleaned and fixed..unit replacement  would probably be a tough DIY job since even minor impact can move mounting brackets slightly out of place..also remember that the front half of the fender area is a plastic type material and part of a separate unit starting at the front side vertical seam..

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Hellspawn5692, it's not about having the paint code, the same paint will have different shades depending on the material, and color of primer or base coat that is under it. a good painter will know how the color will change according to what is painted on, and  will mix the color to compensate for the change so your car will match all around. 

just keep in mind that if you have to sell the car later on, the less obvious it is that something happened the higher the price someone will pay and the easier it will be to sell your car.

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The paint code and matching has nothing to do with primer, or basecoat underneath. 

 

The he paint code serves at a benchmark for the factory color. That color if mixed properly will be exact to the original color from factory. 

 

Now, most major paint manufactures (DuPont and PPG) have variant chips. This allows you to pull the paint code in the body shop computer. It will list the factory code and every variant it will have for matching purposes. You take the variant chip book to the car and start comparing chips. Then once you find the correct chip you mix that variant. From there you still might have to tweet a bit but for most cases it's fine. 

 

Another thing is you do not panel paint just the part. Even all major insurance companies pay to blend both adjacent panels for seamless color. Once done properly you will never notice. 

 

Other factors with painting can be air pressure especially with pearls and metallics. I used to be in that buisness and dealt with it daily. 

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What bluer said. people that gives you excuses of why the paint does not match just dont know what they are doing or are just too lazy to do it right. 

i had my rear quarter painted on my other car and yes they blended the panels and they matched the color on the car. the only reason i know my car qas repainted is because i was the one taking it to the body shop, and its on the carfax.

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