[borisivan]

My kid's friend just backed my kid's car into an immovable object and has a pretty large dent in the trunk (not the top, but the side facing you if you're standing behind the car). It's pretty wide/large, about a foot or so in diameter, crease in the middle and paint damage where the crease ends at it 'ends' at the top of the trunk.

I trust the folks on the forum here, which is why I'm asking the following question.... it's for a 2008 Nissan Altima, though I'll semi-justify posting this question here since I may have the same question for my BMW some day.

We're good friends with that kid's parents and don't want to involve insurance. We'd also like to keep the cost as low as possible, and I don't mind having it repaired instead of replaced, and don't mind having it repaired such that I can still see a small mark/dent/paint imperfection.

A body shop in Manchester, NH, estimated $2,000 -- new trunk lid, professional paint, etc. For an high miles 2008 Altima, this sounds silly, whether paid out of pocket or via insurance (deductable, rate increase, etc).

What I'm looking for: Recommendations for a bodyshop who would bang out the dent to the point where it's pretty good but not perfect, and do isolated fill/paint-repair where needed, which I assume means it won't be perfect, but that works for me. It's a 16 year old's car and it's gonna happen again at some point, not interested in keeping it perfect.

Thoughts? I'll try and post a pic once I get one.

[whyzee125]

I don't know specific shops since I'm not from there but Maaco has shops in most areas and should fit your needs. They love doing halfway work on a budget.

[CSI]

I do not know if they do this for cars (they do it for houses) but I would think so, and it may work for your situation where you don't care too much about the outcome. Any trade schools in your area that may teach auto body? They may be looking for projects to work on? Just a thought.

[Torgus]

Post pics.

Is it just the trunk? If so, go buy one at a junk yard for $100 bucks or whatever the hell 11 yr old import trunks go for. You can install it in your driveway or better yet make the other party do it.

Maaco is usually cheap...but you get what you pay for.

[Prazision]

AMG Autobody in Dover, NH. Great pricing, and the guy is so particular that you will be hard pressed to see if the repair wasn't OEM.

[07GraphiteXI]

Why not source a used trunk lid from a junkyard?

http://www.car-part.com/

[borisivan]

wanted to say thanks for the replies, just realized I never revisited the thread. Found a reasonable place in New Boston that does restorations that had a connection that located a used one and the color match was perfect.

Worked out great and gave the kids a good lesson re: checking multiple places to get a decent deal..

Thx!