Well hey guys, i have a series of questions, but I'll give you some brief history:
I have a 2007 BSP tC that happens to be hurt right now. Front bunmper damage, right fender, and headlight. I have already purchased new headlights so enough of that. My parents have not seen my car et and I need to get it fixed as soon as possible, i am a college student on a tight budget, no insurance claim unless necessary. Here are the questions:

I can get a new oem fender for a rough 200 unpainted or should i just pay 200 bucks for a pair of fiberglass fenders that have some zing, unpainted? Would material of fender be a consideration? I know its better to have metal, but might as well add some zing if im gonna replace right?

I can find those previous fenders on ebay and another website, but does anyone else know where i can find cheap fenders?

Has anyone heard of Earl Scheib? www.earlscheib.com They do a total car paint job for about 800 bucks. Their testimonials seem to be good, but i want to hear from a different website. The best package for paintjob is 800 bucks and everyone tells me theres no way that can be good.

Hmm, before making this post i thought i had more questions than that, but more will probably come along. Thanks ahead to all who answer.

Help?

 

short and sweet, you get what you pay for.

I would not recommend earl scheib to anyone!



Ever!






But being that you are on a budget, afraid of your parents and looking to avoid insurance, it is probably your best bet at the moment.



I guarantee you wont be happy with the results though.

 

^^ x2

and i'd be worried about palcement/fitting with aftermarket fenders.

goodluck

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/04-05...spagenameZWDVW

 

is earl schieb that bad?

 

YES!

 

Suck it up and go through insurance, that's what it's there for right?

 

what u mean Earl Scieb is Da Bomb!.....hahaha.....J/M!

Yea anywhere else would be better..Might as well spend mobey on quality Paint job...cuz in a couple yrs or so it will start 2 show..etc...

 

im 20, my insurance might will go up higher, i already pay 250 a month for me alone . . . = (

 

Go to the ebay link I sent.....buy one of those oem fenders.....$200.00......take it to a local paint shop and get in painted....probably around $100.00.....and take the old one off and put the new one on...simple to do. Only cost ya $300.00 and don't have to claim it on insurance.

 

don't put crap on your car, don't pay for somebody to do a crappy spray paint job on your car. don't waste money on shoddy parts and labor.

save up and get the job done right the first time. don't try and cheap out on it now and get crappy ill-fitting cheap fenders and cheap paint jobs that will look like crap in a year or two.

now you don't want to go through insurance? what did you do to your car? driving while impaired or just being stupid?

 

please, please, please... do not put your tC through the horror that is earl scheib (+miracle+maaco+etc.). those places are best left for 15-20 yr old vehicles in some major need of overhaul.

i say buy the parts urself and take the car in to get it repaired. it's best to leave the car at the shop so that they have a reference point to tint the paint color to match.

also, there might be some inner structure dmg by the headlamp mounting area or even frame dmg depending on the severity of impact. in the end, my best suggestion would be to file a claim with your insurance company and get ur car repaired properly.

 

well i hit a tree, but everything seems to be up to par, i fell asleep at the wheel, it was real minor. no frame damage at all. i was checking out this site, how does this place look? http://www.titancollisions.com/index.html Thanks again all

 

If there offering a full paint job for $199.00.......stay away.....what they do is they use cheap paint that will start to chip and fade within a year. A friend of mine is a service manager for toyota.....he recommended what I said before.....buy the fender....find out what body shop your local toyota dealer uses....take the fender there to get painted....and put it on yourself...very simple to put a fender on.

 

Yeah, I agree with everyone on this thread. Buy the fender and get it painted RIGHT.

Two cars ago, I had the front bumper repainted for cheap. Didn't even last me a couple months until the paint started chipping off... Like HUGE patches.

Get it done right. You already made a mistake by damaging your car. Don't make another one.

 

does anyone know the painting process scion/toyota (i.e. how many layers, etc.) does on their cars?

 

A half-assed layer of paint and a half-assed layer of clearcoat. Fin.