RX-Nut

Well folks,

Looks like I am the first casualty of rude and people of no class..

As I was exiting a store, I witnessed a lady fly open her Murano door and hit the right back side of my 8. OH THE HUMANITY. Before I could get out to stop her or even take a license plate she was gone like a bat outta hell.

Now I am left with a beautiful ding on the right side of my 8 just after the freestyle door but RIGHT on the car's bodyline. This absolutely bites. I could kill that lady if I saw her again.

Anyhow, I took it to a dent shop to get a professional opinion. His estimate was $390 or so, which really didnt bother me as much as what he said he would need to do.

Because of where the ding was and how sharp it is (imagine someone took a nail and placed it on the bodyline and tapped it with a hammer) the only solution is to drill it and pull it out. With this, he would have to repaint the entire section (a good portion of the back quarter and the freestyle door) to blend the paint throughout as just painting the drill spot would be very obvious.

Now I dunno what to do. Should I leave it as is and live with it, or should I go ahead with the operation. Man this really sucks. The guy says he promises it'll look like new, and will take 3 days. However, I'm not so certain he can match the Titanium Grey with it's special blue hue and all. I guess I'm lucky it's not Velocity Red, because I know that would be even harder.

Fellow 8 owners and future owners.. give me some guidance..

Lensman

Don't let him do the job unless he can source genuine Mazda Titanium Grey paint (very likely he can) and then suffer for 3 days whilst he restores your car. I've seen amazing paint jobs on damaged cars and if he's as good as he says (perhaps get some references from owners of cars that he's worked on before - if he's good he'll give you names) then it'll be as good as new. That scratch will be a thorn in your side if you don't sort it out and after all this time your car deserves better.

I REALLY feel for you and I'd be gutted (as we say here)! Best of luck to you with sorting this out.

wakeech

christ... some people, huh??? i mean, for god's sakes, that's WHY there's such a thing as ACCIDENT INSURANCE...

that's really too bad man.

i'd say go for it.

BRx8

oh man, sorry about that, Nut...that's aweful, especially on a brand new car...i dunno what i'd do if i were you...i mean it's happened to me too but about a year after i bought my car and they had to repain the whole back quarter panel...they didn't do a very good job matching the paint...

i guess it all depends on just how bad the ding is...your car is silver so scratches and imperfections won't show as much as say, a black car...but i KNOW how you feel now that it's not as perfect as when you first got it...oh do i know that feeling...

RX-Nut

Yup it sucks alright.. everytime I sit in the car that's all that comes to mind. It's frustrating..

I'll probably do as Lensman said and ask if they're able to get the genuine Titanium Grey. I hope they can.. if not, I dont think they can match that blueish hue that the T.Grey has.. even if they say they have computer matching.. no offense to the repair man.

But what do I know.. I'm no auto paint specialist..

Lensman

Make sure he uses Titanium Grey code 29Y. The RX-8 colour is apparently unique and not the colour used on the Mazda-6 or the Miata with the same name but different codes.

neit_jnf

I second this

Doug DeBug

That really sucks. I feel for you and we all dread that first dent or ding.

DeBug

RomanoM

Even in Hawai there's this crap. I would expect it here, where some cars look like they went through a dryer full of ball bearings.

When I lived in a small town in norther Arizona years ago some one hit my car when it was parked, not bad damage. I found there when I got back and apologized and paid for the repair up front. So, not all people are A-holes, just most of them.

I would have it fixed for 2 reasons, you'll get pissed every time you look at it and life is too short and second if moisture gets in under the paint is can do some damage. You do live in a state surrounded by salt water.

Jsuzuki

Sucks, sucks, sucks.
I started a thread a while back anticipating my RX-8 arrival and subsequent damage caused by idiots.

RX-Nut

Two very good reasons.. thanks.

Anyone know Mazda people personally? If so, can you find out if Titanium Grey 29Y is hard to get? On the surface it looks like regular ol' gun metal grey type.. but as we all know, in the sun it's different.. I figure if the repair guy says he can't get it, maybe I can try to get and give it to him..

How bout ibfubar and a warranty dude check? hehehe..

I'm trying my dealer, but they dont know at the moment..

eccles

Sounds like you took it to a body shop. Try a Paintless Dent Repair shop. I've seen PDR folks work absolute miracles on dents that you would think were there for all time. Your dealer can probably recommend one if you don't know of any in your area. But get a second opinion for sure.

RX-Nut

Actually that's where I went.. a PDR shop. He was saying it wouldnt be a good candidate for PDR as the ding is pretty sharp. He said it might crack or bubble up when pushed back out..

brothervoodoo

Hey Nut,

That recount made all of our collective RX-8 stomachs ache. So sorry to hear that, I would be soo mad too... Well, you did the right thing, killing the person would not be worth it. I just wish people treated each other with more respect...

RX-Nut

How about a little smackin' around? Hehe.. I know a guy who knows a guy.. :D

RomanoM

I'm glad that you ask! Fat Tony is having a special on smackin' this week.

RX-Nut

Ahh.. more queasy..

Well the PDR guys said they wont be able to get the Mazda paint, but are DuPont certified. They will take my VIN and do something to computer color match the paint. Hmm..

So I ask even if there is a special blue hue to it? They didnt seem phased by that as they reply, that shouldnt be a problem.

Arrrgh.. anyone know what kind of paint Mazda uses? Is it DuPont?!?

Aaaaaaaaaaaaack!!! Funny how such a tiny little thing can cause so much brain damage. It's almost stupid if you really think about it. But on the flip side.. it's my baby! Heheheh

commentator

Man, that hurts, I always park across two spaces, if people don't like it, too bad.

This brings up a question I haven't seen addressed or I have missed it. Just how good is he sheet metal on these skillets?

Wing

I hate people that do that to you!

My brand new tiburon it was 1 month old at the time. I parked at a mall. When I came out the entire front driver side bumper was pushed in! I'm lucky it didn't crack anything, so I pushed it out but it doesn't really line up properly anymore Been like that for 3 years, I just hope when I return at lease end I don't have to buy a new bumper, and pay to have the metal pulled out!

I really don't think they will notice, it's not too bad, although over time it's getting worse.

I have a dent similar to the one you are describing here. Happened at the dealership! I went to pickup my car and it had this huge dent in it! They pulled it out but now the paint is cracked. GRRR

RX-Nut

Yea, you can see very faint cracks in the paint at the "apex" of the ding.. I can only imagine it will get worse with time or through the routines of waxing I might aggravate it more..

DAMN.

Gamera

Aw Nut, I'm so sorry to hear this. Just unbelievable, that someone would NOT be taking care when opening doors, especially when their own car is relatively new. When (or if) she saw what she whacked, she probably freaked out. Or maybe not. Some people, careless and clueless.

Ten years ago, a lady clipped my door while it was open, in a parking lot. The entire door and front fender needed repairs. (The color of my Eclipse was actually very similar to the RX-8's Titanium Gray -- I think Mits called it Modena Silver). The shop guy was very confident he could match the color exactly, not that I had much choice, my door wasn't closing properly. It turned out surprisingly good, the color and metallic was pretty much the same. The thing I thought did look different was the clearcoat. I just thought it didn't look as shiny as the original. He added another clear layer, and feathered it slightly to the rear panel, and it looked much better. The downside was the feathered section felt slightly rough to the touch.

Best of luck with the repair, hope it comes out good as new.

plasmar

Have you thought about taking it to a Mazda dealership to get the ding repaired? It might be more expensive, but they will probably be able to match the paint exactly.

Also, some dealerships don't do in-house body work. See if you can find out which shop in town supports your Mazda dealership and go straight to them to save some cash.

Lensman

I'm getting conflicting information about the paint code since I posted to this thread. There are other (older) threads on the forum discussing the colour and its relationship to that of the Mazda6 and the Shinsen Miata/MX-5 Phoenix and the final conclusion was (based in info from Mazda USA) that the colours were all different. However people who claim to know are telling me different so does ANYONE have a definitive answer?

RX-Nut

True.. well I would assume since Mazda uses a different color code 29Y than the other greys it would be different. But that's just an uneducated guess.

As for my fate, I am still uncertain they can match up the paint seeing as they say they wont get Mazda Genuine.

Has anyone here dealt with a "DuPont Certified" shop? All they said was they would use my VIN and bam! The color will be computer matched..

RomanoM

It depends on the paint supplier. Mazda may actualy get their paint from Dupont or maybe PPG. Those are the 2 biggest suppliers in the world.

I guess you need to do more homework.

My body shop is a PPG shop and they always do a great job, but that is no guarantee that your shop will or that Dupont matches Mazda paint as well as PPG meets BMW paint.

I'd contact Mazda and see if they are willing to tell you who supplies the paint. Can't hurt.