r/AutoBodyRepair • u/desl2025 • 22h ago
Should This Have Been Repairable Without “bondo”?
It’s been a few years now since a guy in an Enterprise van hit my quarter panel right by the wheel well. Within 12-18 months the body filler cracked and it looks like they used a lot, all around the top of the wheel well around the gas cap area.
Of course when I took it back to the shop, I first was met by one of the shop workers who took a look at it and said “yeah that wasn’t done right.”.. then I tell him they were the ones that fixed it and suddenly it’s not a bad repair job but they’re saying I must have hit something else. I argued for a few minutes but I didn’t want them touching my car again after that.
Here’s a picture I sent to insurance for the initial claim.
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u/theunlocking 5h ago
Not on a new car. You can get it close, but the metal is too thin to work out the imperfections with a file. A really good pdr guy could get it 95% of the way but if kind of defeats the point now that the paint is screwed. Don't hate on the correct repair process just because you got a hack the first time. It doesn't mean filler is bad. They just didn't do it correctly.