Hi All,

While this is not damage to my Olds, I was hoping to lean on the knowledge and expertise here to see what my options are for fixing the damaged trunk on my daily driver (2005 Chrysler 300C).

Long story short we just bought a bike for my daughter yesterday before leaving from a vacation on the Jersey shore. I've used the rack for years with no problems before, but clearly I mounted one of the bikes incorrectly and boy did I screw up!

Below are pics of the damage and I am wondering the best way to minimize the cost of repair. Is there a way I can easily prep for paint to save on some labor costs? Is this a do it yourself type job or should I not screw around with paint in such a visible area?

I really wanted to use this money for my Oldsmobile this fall so I'm frustrated and disappointed in myself!!

Thanks,
Bill

 

IMHO, no there is really nothing you can do to cut corners on that one. You will probably have to repaint the whole trunk lid. I don't see a way to cut and blend that in.

 

+1, but you could fudge it with some well-masked touch-up spray for a while, then see if it still bothers you.

- Eric

 

Sand out that section, then mask, prime, spray some touchup, add some clear and see if you can carefully wetsand it to blend in with super fine paper. I think it is possbile to feather it in if you are careful.
I think you can do an okay job, though it will still be slightly visible to your eye. Will look much better than it is now and it will prevent rust. Personally I would not spend the big bucks to repaint the whole lid on a 7 year old daily driver.

 

Thanks guys. I'm spending today trying to get over the frustration with myself for somehow causing this. But tomorrow I may make a go of trying to fix it myself after getting some estimates for reference. My guess is anywhere from $700-$1,000 to have the entire trunk painted and that is too painful a hit right now for me to take.

Rob - thanks for the instructions, I will most likely be giving it a shot. I watch any/all car shows where people simply sand, prime and paint with no one really being able to see the difference so I feel like I need to try. If it doesn't work (which is possible given my lack of skill at anything) I suppose I can always pony up and get it done by a shop.

Any recommendations on the sandpaper, primer and touch-up paint?

Thanks,
Bill

 

Looks like I've found a fortunate resolution to this self-made debacle. The first high volume body shop I took it too gave me a detailed estimate and cost of $700 to repair the damage, repaint the trunk and replace the emblems. I was expecting a number in that range, so I thanked them and said I would think it over and get back to them if I wanted to have them do the work.

Next I went to a small one man shop that I was actually going to bring my Cutlass into for a paint estimate anyway as I heard he does high quality reasonable work. Needless to say he was probably the nicest auto body man I've ever dealt with and he offered to repair the trunk for only $200. I immediately scheduled the work to be done this week and feel completely relieved!

Next we started talking about my '69 Cutlass and how I was planning to come see him with it anyway. He is eager to see the car and when he found out mine was brown got even more excited and took out a photo album of the brown Regal he restored after high school and it was obvious how proud he was of that car. We talked about a respray, hood stripes and perhaps a color change, but I could tell he didn't really want me to go that direction. Refreshing to know there are still nice guys out there who are not trying to gouge you for every dollar and just genuinely love cars as much as we all do...

 

Bill: Glad you found the "older" body man that will do the repair for a resonable price. I'm sure he will do an excellent job. He's trying to put food on the table, the multi/large shop is making the owner(s) rich! LOL! One similar to the multi/large here did a friend's truck and he was totally upset with their work/their attitude/truth telling. Glad he (the older)is doing it.
Aron

 

Me too Aron, I'm feeling good about it. And this "older" guy is about the same age as me

Bill