Looking for a panel beater in Dublin that's not a rip off

mark085

hi,

can anyone on here recommend a good panel beater in Dublin preferably south Dublin that isn't a rip off any of them around my way Dun Laoghaire are very expensive that charge about 3 times what it should be i used to know a couple of lads that were reasonable but there retired now so any recommendations would be much appreciated, thanks

Whatwicklow

How do you know what it should cost?

Prep and paining a car hasn't been cheap in a long time.

User1998

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122691590#Comment_122691590

He’s right. I know lads that charge €200 for the first panel and €150 for each panel thereafter, and they do an absolutely fantastic job. Yet every time I mention it on here I’m told it must be a shite job and that price isn’t possible etc etc

And to the OP, this guy is fully booked with a few traders and doesn’t take on new clients

mark085

ive went to get quotes and there’slads charging 3 to 4 times what it should be the older fellahs that used to do it are retired now they done it at a fair price hence why I’m looking for recommendations

extra-ordinary_

what car?

mark085

vw Transporter

Few bits to be done on passenger side

M3CS

I enquired with a few last week about getting a front bumper touched up after scraping a corner of it against a pillar. I got quotes between €300-380 to do the small section and blend it in. When I asked how much it would cost to do the entire front bumper I was told €600.

Is that the going rate to paint a bumper nowadays?

User1998

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122692041#Comment_122692041

Nha thats quite expensive, although I’m sure there are places that would charge even more

mk7r

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122691831#Comment_122691831

It isn't possible and thats why people say it, its over €100 for paint and clear with any sort of quality for a panel. How are they supposed to completely strip the panel (door locks, handles, or remove bumper) clean the panel, repair any damage, mask, epoxy prime, bake, high build primer, bake, sand, paint, clear, bake again, sand and polish and re-assemble for 40 quid maybe? and thats without VAT

I don't know any quality places that deal with traders because they always want cheap cheap cheap and the quality of the places that deal with traders is generally awful and guaranteed to fail. I have inspected many cars for people in cases of claims against poor repairs, including in main dealer cars for sale and its always the same story, cheapest worst job possible that stands out a mile to anyone who knows what they are looking at and definitely wont last.

Whatwicklow

It's the turn of the century since I seen anything near to 150/panel

User1998

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122692246#Comment_122692246

2 panels resprayed and blended into the front door for a grand total of €350 cash. As you can see its a brilliant job too. There was substantial damage to the door before. The front bumper was also hanging off the car and he fixed that free of charge. I await your reply.

And by the way around my area its actually the more expensive places who give VAT receipts who are fully booked with traders not just the cheaper guys.

mk7r

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122692737#Comment_122692737

The fact the window seals were taped up rather than removed tells me all I need to know. Pure rubbish, it's going to be peeling from the top of the door within a couple of years.

The panels are also very clearly not keyed properly, that's exactly the kind of stuff I'm talking about. Looks shiny for sale (probably not great in reality) but won't last.

User1998

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122692902#Comment_122692902

Why would I lie about how good it looks? I have nothing to loose or gain here. I can promise you it looks absolutely perfect in person. Especially for an 11 year old car. All I did was put it through a €5 petrol station car wash before taking them photos. But whatever floats your boat.

kdevitt

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122692902#Comment_122692902

It may or may not be a crap paint job, but you're just guessing at stuff here. You've no idea how well that panel was keyed prior to painting. Theres also no requirement for a window out, or trim out job on this. The painter should be painting up to the swage line and then blending just above it.

I've had crappy cheap jobs, and great cheap jobs - and great expensive jobs, and some crappy expensive jobs too. One of the best paint jobs I've seen was an E30 painted in a shed - laid down enough paint so a wet sanding and compounding resulted in a mirror finish.

And I'll never look at a photo like that above to determine whether the results are good or bad - just takes one funky angle to show up a multitude of sins.

mk7r

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122692999#Comment_122692999

Im not saying it didn't look shiny when you collected it, I'm saying it's not done correctly and it won't last, you have provided clear evidence of that with your photos.

You also may not have the eye to look for poor edges or filler shrinkage which is common on cheaper jobs but often goes unnoticed until it gets worse.

mk7r

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122693017#Comment_122693017

You can clearly see the panel key in the photos, it would have been keyed prior to priming and that key is very obviously poor based on the shine still visible.

There is absolutely a requirement for the trim to come off as the whole panel will need to be cleared after the paint blend is done and you can't key under trim that's still fitted.

I have many years experience in this field, I know a bad job from a good one even from photos.

kdevitt

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122693043#Comment_122693043

You can clearly see absolutely nothing from that photo - and you have zero idea how much work was done before or after that photo was taken.

Tell me where you have all that experience from so I can know where to avoid.

mk7r

There is no point in keying the panel after the primer has been applied so the work that was done is done in those photos..... It's very clearly not done correctly to anyone with even weeks in the business

User1998

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122693021#Comment_122693021

You are probably right maybe I don’t have as good an eye for it as you do, but I would have basic skills on how to spot a badly repainted panel or accident damage, and I genuinely cannot see any signs of it. I sell cars myself so as a trader and for joe public this is a great job at a great price. How long it will last I can’t guarantee but can’t the same be said for any job? Basically the point I’m trying to make is that there are still lads out there who don’t charge an arm and a leg to repaint panels and on the face of it do a really good job.

User1998

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122693057#Comment_122693057

So how much extra do you think it should cost then for a ‘proper’ job in terms of materials and labour? Because a lot of places would quote over €1000 for a job I paid €350 for. I have no interest in paying extra to cover the overheads of a fancy building, the receptionists wages and all the administration costs. Just the materials and labour of a guy in a small workshop.

mk7r

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122693251#Comment_122693251

I guess that depends on the rate the place in question would be charging, from a materials standpoint I see about 200 in paint, primer, clear etc there.

I don't have any pics of the before damage but assuming they did some pulling on the door then the whole inside and windows, window reg etc would need to be removed to protect the now exposed metal from the welding process. That's about 2 hours on one of those.

If you allow 2 hours for bodywork and filler, then baking in the oven, another hour for cleaning and keying, 1.5 hours for painting and clear coat, another bake in the oven, cut and polish and refit the handles and trim another hour or so.

Call it an honest 8-9 hours of labour. Even at 50 euro an hour that's 6-700 for the job

endacl

Most places have their books full with upcoming insurance jobs where they get paid what they like. To clear a few hours for a punter’s punto, they’ll up the cost to make it worth their while.

kermitpwee

Most paint jobs look okay for the first 3 to 6 months. Only time will tell if its a good job

Patrick2010

Crofton motors in Kimmage get great reviews for their body repair but they are always booked up.

RINO87

OP...you mentioned it's a Transporter. Is it a T4 by any chance? If so be wary of where you source the panels. The ones from Just Kampers and the like are not the best fit, in my experience, all required some fettling, which will add to the costs. Steel Wizards in the UK are a much better fit, especially if its a RHD and you need to do sliding door sills

mark085

its t6.1 doesn’t need new panels just bit of filler and paint job

mark085

can you send me you details and ill soin out for a quote during the week maybe