Apparently too much junk

sandman2234 · Jan 31, 2012

Well, I have had my F350 for about three months, about 5K miles, and have officially torn it up. I was putting the 5th wheel trailer out back (first time it has been back there) for storage since I didn't plan on using it any time soon and went to drive around the Ford 7710 and the truck started spinning in the soft sand. So I backed up to get faster run at it and it moved a couple of feet before I realized I wouldn't make the corner around the tractor. So I backed up again, but the rear of the truck had moved over during the spinning and CRUNCH went the rear fender when it hit the bush hog that sits across from the tractor. I was mad at myself for not making it more than 3 months without tearing up a fender (always knew I would probably hit something with one).
My question to you guys is... do you just replace the fender, or are they repairable? Seems to be some sort of plastic, not fiberglas, kind of like a bumper on a newer car.
What is this little problem going to cost me, since I don't do body work or paint?
David from jax

Craig Clayton · Jan 31, 2012

Could you post a picture of the fender? The members do not want to poke fun at you because you have already admitted the Bush Hog ( jumped out behind you ).

Craig Clayton

Qapla · Jan 31, 2012

Are we talking dually? This is something insurance should cover.

Regardless of replace or repair it is bound to cost more then the deductible.

jeffsw6 · Jan 31, 2012

Aftermarket DRW fenders can be bought for $300 - $500 for many trucks. Check on like discountbodyparts.com for a starting place.

sandman2234 · Feb 1, 2012

Although I have insurance on the truck, I am probably not going to worry with that. It was my own stupid mistake and I will pay for it. Just looking to see if anyone has a price range of what it costs to buy (thanks for the link Jeffsw6) a new fender, and have it painted. I realize labor and paint costs vary from place to place, but was just looking for an estimate.
It is a Dually or DRW F350.
David from jax

Diamondpilot · Feb 1, 2012

In my area a good guestimate on paint is $450 per panel on a vehicle. So for example say you needed a fender and door painted it would be $900. This is painting only.

Chris

SLHawkins · Feb 1, 2012

Dave from Jax,
Did you just crack it, or knock a big chunk out of it? I cracked the fenders on my first two duallies and was able to get both repaired and repainted without having to replace the whole fenders. They are made of fiberglass and it is not a complex job (for a bodyshop) to do. Replacing the whole fender is simple too, as they just 'bolt on'. Depending on the route you go, I suspect you are looking in the range of $300-$500.

Hawk

Soundguy · Feb 1, 2012

post a pic of the damage. I'd be surprised if it wasn't something that could be stabilized fromt he underside with say.. epoxy and a backer like a strip of roof tin, and then put body filler on the top and sand perfect and contour, and then hit the door jamb sticker for the paint.. buy a pint of it, single stage , and tape off the side of the truck and reshoot the fender itself.

I had to do that on a drivers side door that someone crunched in a parking lot a few weeks ago on my f250. unless you look for it you can't tell.

I used nason syn enamil .. single stange.. shot the entire door even though damage was basket ball sized or so.. plus a softball sized spot too.

don't feel bad.

My gooseneck shaved soem of the rhino liner off the top lip of my rear bed.. a few weeks ago..

my electric gate swung closed on me as I was backing out and left a scratch on my front aluminum wheel..

i could go on.. but you get the picture.

this won't be the last damage you do to a vehicle.. so don't feel bad about it.. just fix and go on.

fwiw.. I've already done some resectional paint on my dually that I've owned for less than a year...

did i mention carquest does a bang up job matching oem paint via door codes! and bondo is darn cheap too!

soundguy

sandman2234 · Feb 3, 2012

First time posting of a picture from my phone, Let's see if I can make it work. David from jax

Fixemall · Feb 3, 2012

Bond it and gravel guard both sides of the truck, it is low enough that it will not show.

Soundguy · Feb 3, 2012

yep.. that's a clean break.. fix it from the rear of the damaged panel with some backer material like roof metal and epoxy.. bevel the break, bondo skim coat after sanding, then finish sand, match paint.. shoot and go.. probably forget about it and never know it was there..

SLHawkins · Feb 3, 2012

Yeah, that is minor damage. A body shop can fix that up lickity-split. Some bondo and a shot of paint will have you squared up.

Hawk

sandman2234 · Feb 7, 2012

So far body shop 1 and 2 say "nope", got to replace it. With my lack of experience and limited time to shut the truck down, I may be buying a replacement fender and playing with this damaged one when I get time. Might be a good idea to have a spare around 'cause apparently I am prone to breaking them.
Wonder what type of epoxy would work on this plastic? I talked to a "plastic repair guy" who typically does interior parts, and he "passed" on it also.
David from jax

GPintheMitten · Feb 7, 2012

I don't know if a spare fender will be of much use, because the next time it happens it will be on the other side.

SLHawkins · Feb 7, 2012

GPintheMitten said:
I don't know if a spare fender will be of much use, because the next time it happens it will be on the other side.

Yep, you can just about count on that

toddbailey · Feb 7, 2012

sandman2234 said:
So far body shop 1 and 2 say "nope", got to replace it. With my lack of experience and limited time to shut the truck down, I may be buying a replacement fender and playing with this damaged one when I get time. Might be a good idea to have a spare around 'cause apparently I am prone to breaking them.
Wonder what type of epoxy would work on this plastic? I talked to a "plastic repair guy" who typically does interior parts, and he "passed" on it also.
David from jax

The shop may be trying to save you some money it may be cheaper to buy a used fender paint it and install it than to pay the hourly shop rate to do a quality repair (fix,sand,prime,sand,tape off rest of truck,paint) wouldn't take much to rack up some serious $, VS just sanding, priming, painting then installing new fender!

Diamondpilot · Feb 7, 2012

toddbailey said:
The shop may be trying to save you some money it may be cheaper to buy a used fender paint it and install it than to pay the hourly shop rate to do a quality repair (fix,sand,prime,sand,tape off rest of truck,paint) wouldn't take much to rack up some serious $, VS just sanding, priming, painting then installing new fender!

Thats the way it works. I had a buy back into my brand new F-150's tail gate back in 2002, truck was a 2001, at lowes with a piece of wood he had sticking out the back of his van. It put a small dent about the size of a playing card. Long story short a new tailgate at $900 was the fix. They said by the time they pounded it out, filled, painted, ect the cost was a wash because of the many hours of labor. Just as cheap for his insurance to get me a new one.

Chris

beppington · Feb 7, 2012

sandman2234 said:
So far body shop 1 and 2 say "nope", got to replace it. With my lack of experience and limited time to shut the truck down, I may be buying a replacement fender and playing with this damaged one when I get time. Might be a good idea to have a spare around 'cause apparently I am prone to breaking them.
Wonder what type of epoxy would work on this plastic? I talked to a "plastic repair guy" who typically does interior parts, and he "passed" on it also.
David from jax

The shops probably make a lot more $, & faster, selling you a new fender ... big profit with just a few mouse clicks, plus a small amount of time to take off the broken one & install the new one ... versus paying one of their guys to spend time fixing the broken one.

Soundguy · Feb 7, 2012

that's why you don't take it to a shop.

100$ worth of stuff from napa or car quest woulod fix that fender .. could start it on a sunday morning and be driving it monday..

soundguy

sandman2234 · Feb 8, 2012

Soundguy said:
that's why you don't take it to a shop.

100$ worth of stuff from napa or car quest woulod fix that fender .. could start it on a sunday morning and be driving it monday..

soundguy

If it were fiberglas, I would already have it done...
Still trying to figure out what epoxy will work on that plastic.
David from jax
I called the local ford junkyard (dedicated to Fomoco only) and IF they had one used, they start at $500. (I can get it to the house from discountbody for just under that, new).
Me and the first body shop parted ways when it asked if I had filed an insurance claim, glanced at the fender, and started writing down my VIN. I asked him what he was doing and why and he said "to see what options it comes with". I told him I wanted a price on the fender, not a printout of the truck. I think they take the vin so they can file a CARFAX incident on it, which really isn't something I want done, saying it was in an accident when it was just the plastic fender. CarFax doesn't stipulate, just lists the accident.
David from jax