Body kit or body work- what would you do?

I'd like to sound ya'll out on this little dilemma. My wife's '02 Golf TDI has accumulated a number of dings, dents and scrapes over the years (blame it on those tight urban parking ramps and spaces, she says). We haven't tried to fix any of them yet, but I've gotten estimates of over $2000 to pull, putty and paint these 4 or 5 trouble spots back to new conditions. It's not worth the money to us, but it might be worth it to fix these problems before we sell and cash in our paper equity on the car. I can imagine a Tiguan in my future, a couple years from now.

When I look at the location of these flaws, including the rear bumper cover, front bumper cover, and the rims of the wheel arches, it occurs to me that most of these dents and scrapes could be hidden under fender flares and a body kit. Looking at some eBay prices, it looks like I could get the parts for under $500, plus installation.

Would this be a better way to go? Could the car be appealing as one-half a project car ("just add your own favorite performance mods")? Should I repair it to stock? Or should I sell it as-is, at a $1000 cosmetic discount? What would you prefer, as a buyer?

so you are asking if it's okay to spend silly $$ to hide the flaws? body panels are supposed to get dings over the years. let it be. let the owner decide what he wants to do with the dumb dings

Repair to stock conditions is more favorable to sell.

Since you intend to sell the car immediately after "reconditioning" the exterior, why not take to car to Maaco? (and run away with the money)

dude! this week i saw a maaco commercial that said for this week you can get your whole car repainted for freakin 299!!!! that cant be done well...do they do just exterior or do they do engine compartment also?

arvina said:

dude! this week i saw a maaco commercial that said for this week you can get your whole car repainted for freakin 299!!!! that cant be done well...do they do just exterior or do they do engine compartment also?

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exterior only.

If the bumpers need replacing--- that costs extra

20IndigoBlue02 said:

exterior only.

If the bumpers need replacing--- that costs extra

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If the bumpers need sanding-that's extra too. OK maybe not but if there is anything but smooth paint they ding you more for it. They will charge for filling the dents and the quality will be exactly what you can expect for the money spent. I'd sell it as is.

yea it's a used car let it be, you'd never get your money back

There's usually a cheap way to get bodywork done, but it can take some effort on your part. For example, I recently had a minor "incident" with someone sliding through an intersection and nearly T-boning my car in the snow. I swerved to avoid them and ended up glancing off a telephone pole, which ended up cracking the front bumper cover. My insurance deductible is $500, but for $200 I can get a new bumper cover and I can get it painted for another $100 or so (not looking for perfection, just close enough) and that saves me $200 and the hassle of having to deal with my insurance company, not to mention the increase in my insurance deductible.

It's a 5 yr old car. Some dents are considered normal wear. Let it be.

arvina said:

dude! this week i saw a maaco commercial that said for this week you can get your whole car repainted for freakin 299!!!! that cant be done well...do they do just exterior or do they do engine compartment also?

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Maaco whole car special includes pretty much nothing.

The paint they use is $5/liter. Most paints are at least $50/liter for a reason! The job includes painting over most things unless you tape them up yourself and you will see distinct lines where the tape was placed on the edges.