Well,

I did it - I side swiped a parking garage railing and banshed in the whole side of the truck, from the rear wheel to to the cab, bottom to top... no damage to the cab door, but a bit on the side there too...

F250, Long bed, Full Cab, Black (except for the part that's bashed in, of course)

I guess I need to look for a body shop and paint job.

Anything else I should be aware of???

Thanx!

g

 

sounds like it will need a new quarter panel welded on, just try and take it to a good shop so it gets done right

 

Ya, I got a $2,000 quote from a shop that was recommended by AAA and I'm gonna get a quote from Maaco and another local shop.

I gotta balance this against the age and life of the truck. If I was a total red neck, trailer trash, do-nuthin' I could ignore it and just keep on truckin' - but I love that damn truck and that gash looks like "Wash Me" on a truck that I haven't run thru a Truck Bath in a year!

At 250,000 miles, I'm gonna have a mechanic look it over and give some opinion as to whether this cosmetic fix is gonna be worth it? I mean, why give a boob job ot an grandmother?

g

 

Maaco was about a hundred bucks less, but the AAA shop is walking distance from my home so it avoids the logistical problem of getting to the shop to pick up my trauck when it's done.

One interesting note - the guy said that the new panel would be "glued" not welded on...

Other than that - he liked the shape of the "beast" given that it's six years old and has 250,000 miles. I guess that most of those miles being ground up in Texas saved the under chassi rust from salt and snow.

g

 

Gluing is more common these days. Im an insurance adjuster, I glued a roof on an 04 civic the other day. Its some pretty grarly glue/epoxy stuff that is used.

 

I'm not sure but can't you just buy a whole new/used bed for 2k?

 

Probably, but $1,200 of the estimate is LABOR!

I suppose I could also take the truck to Ciudad Juarez (across from El Paso) where I had the bed liner put in and got its current paint job for a couple hundred bucks... but $45 a hour seems to be the going rate in NJ (and, no, I don't have the expertise or time to even consider doing this myself...)

But thanx for the tip!

g

 

Ouch, I feel for you. Those dang garage railings always getting in the way. I'm sure you'll make the right decision on the truck and hope it turns out nice. Good luck.

 

Went through the same thing last summer with 250 '06 :~( The replacement bed would have been cheaper as it turned out, but paint was the decision maker. If I could have found a matching color, that would have been the way to go.

 

Thanx,

Yeah, I can't wait to get it fixed...

I take her in on Monday and have to rent a dinky little "car" for the interim...

Ugh!

g

 

Oh joy, a Furd Focus.

 

GeoDaddy, hope you have fun with the rental car while the truck is getting fixed. and hope it doesn't snow while you're stuck with the"dinky car" LOL........ but the bright side is that the truck will be fixed and soon she'll be back on the road. Let us know how it turns out.

 

Will do!

g

 

I sure hope they dont just "glue" the quarter panel on, there "spot welded" on from the factory and replacements should be "spot welded" back on. Or your gonna lose a quarter panel next time you go down a bumpy road...

 

Tests show that the new epoxy glues hold up better than welding in crash tests. They are a lot nicer to work with also. I've been doing body work for a lot of years and the glues are the way to go. We glue on quarters, door skins, roof skins, box sides etc.