Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:safford in tysons... theve done great work on my fords

who would expect so from an alfa romeo dealer?

the work they've done to a couple of my fords, 2 cmax's so nothing exotic like a gt 40, but the prices were very comparable to other mom/pop body shops in the vienna/tysons area.

just because a body shop is attached to a dealer, doesn't mean the prices are going to be high...

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:following and thanks so much for the details 11:11.

I have a question if anyone is still reading. We have a big dent in a fender but looks like it could be a good candidate for a pointless dent removal. Also we'll clearly need a new bumper. Would you go to separate places for these repairs? (a dent removal shop and then the mid-teir auto body place)?

11:11 here. I would take it to paintless dent removal first and have them work on the fender, then go to get the bumper replaced. Now, because the bumper needs to be replaced, the body shop may choose to blend the paint into the fenders, unless you tell them that you don't mind having a slight mismatch between the bumper and the fender. Depending on the manufacturer, the paint comes with a slight mismatch anyway. This is a judgment call and depends on the car. Human eyes are very sensitive to mismatches in bright greyscale "colors" such as white and lighter shades of silver/grey. Google the infamous "Tesla Paint Mismatch" issue and the resulting pictures are predominantly of white cars even though we know the issue was pervasive for all Tesla Model 3 in the early production cycle.

Thanks so much for this background and recommendation. (Although I don't see Dent Wizard, only Dent Master in Tysons)
In our case the wrecked "bumper" is generic looking gray plastic thing (not painted Mazda blue like the fender).

Anonymous wrote:following and thanks so much for the details 11:11.

I have a question if anyone is still reading. We have a big dent in a fender but looks like it could be a good candidate for a pointless dent removal. Also we'll clearly need a new bumper. Would you go to separate places for these repairs? (a dent removal shop and then the mid-teir auto body place)?

11:11 here. I would take it to paintless dent removal first and have them work on the fender, then go to get the bumper replaced. Now, because the bumper needs to be replaced, the body shop may choose to blend the paint into the fenders, unless you tell them that you don't mind having a slight mismatch between the bumper and the fender. Depending on the manufacturer, the paint comes with a slight mismatch anyway. This is a judgment call and depends on the car. Human eyes are very sensitive to mismatches in bright greyscale "colors" such as white and lighter shades of silver/grey. Google the infamous "Tesla Paint Mismatch" issue and the resulting pictures are predominantly of white cars even though we know the issue was pervasive for all Tesla Model 3 in the early production cycle.

We used maaco in Sterling when our neighbor’s child scraped our brand new car (less than a month old) with her bike handle bar. They did an amazing job. The scratch was deep and about 8 inches. About $400 and they repainted the whole door with a perfect color match.

Anonymous wrote:safford in tysons... theve done great work on my fords

who would expect so from an alfa romeo dealer?

safford in tysons... theve done great work on my fords

following and thanks so much for the details 11:11.

I have a question if anyone is still reading. We have a big dent in a fender but looks like it could be a good candidate for a pointless dent removal. Also we'll clearly need a new bumper. Would you go to separate places for these repairs? (a dent removal shop and then the mid-teir auto body place)?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:D and V autobody in Sterling does great work.

How old is the car? If you don't really care about perfect panels and just want something good enough, you can try Caliber Collision.

The car is 3 yrs old but less than 10,000 miles (thanks covid). I’d be more interested in seeing if some dents could be repaired, etc. and not full on replacement parts. DH is more a perfectionist about our cars. Not sure how this will go because it’s our 3rd car and for our kids to drive. We’ll see what the estimates say.
But I don’t understand how this relates to Caliber Collision?

PP here. There are generally three tiers of body shops in existence

Bottom Barrel: They will hammer out panels, avoid replacement, lots of body filler, and generally the repairs will come out wavy and the paint will look dull and certainly not match. We had a Nissan Sentra repaired by one of these body shops - we didn't really care what the car looked like, just not driving around with a door smashed in. If you have a beater, this is where you take the car.

Mid Grade: Shops like Caliber Collision will do a decent job, replacing panels that need to be replaced. Generally, the panels will be smooth, but the paint matching will be problematic, and the clear coat may contain minor imperfections. The detail work in the gaps, around trim areas, etc, will be questionable but you won't see it anyway. If you have a car that's a few years old and still looks nice, you may consider taking it to one of these shops. This covers *MOST* people.

Higher Grade: Shops like D&V autobody that will produce perfect panels and nearly perfect paint matching, nearly indistinguishable from the OEM paint after the repair is done - professionals will be able to distinguish it. The clear coat will also be perfect and glossy. You pay a little more for body work of this quality, but it's worth it if you have a fairly new car that was damaged and you would be bothered by cosmetic issues of a mid-grade repair.

BTW, depending on the dent size, type, and location, they may be more cheaply repaired with paintless dent removal. I would always use that as the first option. Dent Wizard in Tysons Corner is my go-to shop. I have had a variety of vehicles repaired there, from Japanese to German, to Italian.

Anonymous wrote:D and V autobody in Sterling does great work.

How old is the car? If you don't really care about perfect panels and just want something good enough, you can try Caliber Collision.

The car is 3 yrs old but less than 10,000 miles (thanks covid). I’d be more interested in seeing if some dents could be repaired, etc. and not full on replacement parts. DH is more a perfectionist about our cars. Not sure how this will go because it’s our 3rd car and for our kids to drive. We’ll see what the estimates say.
But I don’t understand how this relates to Caliber Collision?

D and V autobody in Sterling does great work.

How old is the car? If you don't really care about perfect panels and just want something good enough, you can try Caliber Collision.

Outside insurance, if it matters. Thanks.