So my fiance' stuck the front of her 00' Dodge neon a little to far out into traffic the other day and a Ford F250 grazed her nose denting the hood and scratching and gouging the bumper. the grill was also damaged

We took it in for an appraisal and the damage was $1500. They wanted to replace the hood and repair the bumper. Repaint it all and blend it with the fenders.

So I did some looking around and found I can get the brand new hood for $105, the bumper for $65 and the grill for $50. How much would painting the hood and bumper cost? Is it worth my while to buy the pieces and have them painted and install them myself? I would prefer to not have a claim on her/our insurance as the deductable is $500 (for her) and I'd prefer not risking having our rates go up.

 

Keep in mind that the panels you found are probably aftermarket. They generally don't have the same fit and quality that OEM panels have. You may have better luck finding the parts that you need at a junkyard. Atleast they'll be OEM and you don't have to worry too much about fitting. The labor to paint and install the parts is where most of the money is from. Do some shopping around and see if you can get a lower estimate. Just remember, anyone can repair the car, it's just the quality and pride the tech has in his work. If there is that much damage done to the car, you may as well just have the insurance pay for it.

 

Dude - go get a junkyard hood with no dents - painting it should be way less than $500 - probably closer to $300, including the top AND underside.

The "blending" is probably bullshit, too. Any shop worth their salt can paint a part to match the panels next to it with OEM colors. Blending is more for metallic paints, and when a panel needs to only have a small area painted and "blended" with the rest of the same panel.

$1500 is way out of line. Installing a hood yourself is a no-brainer - few bolts and a little adjustment and it's done. Get it painted, then slap it on.

Since the bumper is a painted bumper, any body shop oughtta be able to throw in that painting with the hood for another $150 or so. Do your own prep work, and you can save mucho dinero. Ask the shop the best way to fix the gouges yourself. If you buy a new bumper, do a little sanding to prep it - ask the shop what to do - a good shop will work with you and tell you how to save some money by doing things yourself, either on a new bumper or repairing the old one.

~HH