i just got an estimate on some body work. i don't have the skills to do it myself and this guy has some pretty good references. this is only the 1st estimate i got and i will get more before i get the work done. i was just curious what you guys thought. the work includes the rust spots,dent,& primer. he wants 3 grand,and no bondo will be used. here are the pics of my carrust spots (photobucket.com/albums/a13/6pak/)

The price should be your secondary consideration. Your first question is are they capable of doing a good job. You need to check their work and ask for references of cars they have done that you could see. If you like their work, then get their quote in writing. A lot of body shops will quote you a get you in the door price and then it goes from there. You have to be very skeptical when dealing with body shops. There are a lot of dishonest shops out there.

The price should be your secondary consideration. Your first question is are they capable of doing a good job. You need to check their work and ask for references of cars they have done that you could see. If you like their work, then get their quote in writing. A lot of body shops will quote you a get you in the door price and then it goes from there. You have to be very skeptical when dealing with body shops. There are a lot of dishonest shops out there.


Exactly as he said, Also And please dont take this as being critical. The pics show a fair amount of rust once someone gets started on this you are going to run into alot more outer wheel house area, possable rocker panels etc... I would consider that quote a starting price they will definitely be asking for more to fix the car. especially when they say no bondo thats going to require NOS or repop panels and if they use repops there will be extra time in fitting these and they will charge accordingly. My recommendation; if you have the time and location to do it yourself I would. If you take your time you will be surprised how nice a job you can do, plus if you dont like the way something comes out you can correct or live with it "Your choice" not the body shop. But if you do the body shop route I would make sure of there history, performance and if this will be a constant job for them or something they do when they feal like it. If you search the site you will find many stories of peoples cars being in the shop for a long time and the owner gets frustrated and ends up finishing the car himself. Whichever you do just be cautious and dont under estimate your own skills. Plus you may have alot more fun knowing you did it yourself.

3 grand? sounds like a bondo job by the looks of the car, be carefull who you pick

Yeah, that is a very low price for the amount of work that will have to be done.

I have very serious reservations about repairing your car for $3,000 using no plastic filler. As a matter of fact, that ain't gonna happen. Using patches and plastic filler will be over that price. There is just too much to do.
As said earlier, there will be other places that will need repair that you can't see from the outside that will make the price even higher. Good advice on doing it yourself. You could buy a decent Mig welder and other tools required to do the job for $3,000 and you will learn a lot and be very satisfied with your accomplishments. Help is right here on this board. Lots of it.

Have you taken a look at the floors and the trunk. With that much rust I would suspect the floors are in need of repair. If you are going to pull the engine, you might be better off to do that and either media blast or chemically strip the paint off the sheet metal. That would allow you and your potential body shop to see the extent of the work to be done and get a better up front estimate. If you have not read " Confessions of a Body Shop Owner " do so now. http://www.camaros.net/cgi-bin/forum/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=3;t=003401;p=0

If you can see that much rust BEFORE pulling the car apart you can bet that there will be problems around the front and rear windows. $3 grand seems awfully cheap and I suspect you will be into 3 to 4 times that amount if done by a body shop.

I'd ask for a re-bid, and ask another shop to compare.

If there is no bondo for $3K, its a helluva deal.

Definitely get a few more bids. If you have the time, take a body repair class at a local trade school if you have one in your area. Right off the bat you can change those fenders yourself. That would probably knock a Grand or so off your bill.

unfortunately, I don't see any way someone could repair that amount of rust, dents and dings for $3K. With wire mesh and fiberglass and bondo maybe, but not new metal. Theres a LOT of hours just cutting, welding, massaging involved in patching up a car. I am a newbie when it comes to body work, but I borrowed a mig welder, practiced, practiced some more and now I am making good progress on the car. Takes time and patience, but what a great way to know it's being done well and save a ton of money! I vote for going for it on your own if you having any desire to do so.

NO BONDO !
MY CAR HAS NOT A DROP OF BONDO !

I have not heard this one in a while , I am glad for the overhaulin TV show because they have millions of dollar's at their disposal and when you see them putting on a new repop fender or 1/4 GUESS WHAT THEY USE ?????????????????????????????????????????????????? ?????????????????????????????????????????????????? ???



BONDO !

YOU CAN NOT HAVE A OLD WITHOUT BONDO !

the only people that will even say that nowadays is body shops trying to take your cash , and car owners that DID NOT do their own body and paint work and are going on what a body shop owner told them ,
done right a repair with bondo can not be seen by eye , car's that are ultra straight down the side's are not that way from a lack of bondo they are that way because THEY HAVE BONDO !
they are not a camaro on earth that does not have bondo or some type of material used to flaten the panel's ,

Speaking of "bondo", is it not a fact that the plastic fillers of today are far superior to "bondo"? What's wrong with a little filler here and there to make a wavy panel smooth/straight? I would rather have a bit of filler to get the body straight then be obssesed with a "bondo" free car. No offense meant to the original poster with that comment.

I got a quote a couple of months back to have my '67 repainted and if you look at the pictures you can see there is no rust, a bit of body work that needs fixing and some panel gaps fixed. They wanted $3000 for just that work. My biggest fear when I have it repainted is orange peel, god how I hate orange peel.

Sorry, I agree with the rest, $3k for that job is pie in the sky.

Speaking of "bondo", is it not a fact that the plastic fillers of today are far superior to "bondo"? What's wrong with a little filler here and there to make a wavy panel smooth/straight? I would rather have a bit of filler to get the body straight then be obssesed with a "bondo" free car. No offense meant to the original poster with that comment.


Bondo is a name used because the first company to make body filler was the Bondo corporation. The original stuff was not very good and it was often used improperly, hence the bad rep.
Even though the bondo name is still around with the Dynatron Corp from Atlanta, the name BONDO is generically used for fillers. Along the same lines as calling all tissues a Kleenex.
The BODY FILLER today is far far superior to the old stuff.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with it when used properly. I repeat, PROPERLY!
About the original post, I can see no way to get anything more than a cave and pave (beat in the rust and cover with filler) job for the $3K.
If someone says "no Bondo" it should be a red flag for two reasons, one is it's extremely diffivcult and expensive to do. Two, the top notch professionals I know never call it Bondo, it's always filler.

BTW---I got a pretty low bid for the initial work (welding in of new quarters & tailpan) done on my car, and there were a lot of naysayers about that... it worked out well for the quality of the work and the price... but not the amount of time...

http://www.camaros.net/forums/showthread.php?t=8517

I don't reget it, even considering the amount of time it took.

I also love those zero bondo quotes. I alos like when magazines show cars with tons of body mods and the car is in bare metal. Love to see that same car prepped without hitting with a coat of plastic.


Metal work should be done so only a min amount of filler is needed. It should be done to aid in gettinb the panels dead straight not to fill dents or even worse rust.


I will be honest and say that you are looking at a $10-12k exterior job on that car. By the way to the guys who want to hang apanel and try to help, that usually adds to the price as it has to be redone anyway. Nobody is going to do work over unknown repairs.


Good luck with your repairs. Check out Goodmark's site they list actual pricing to change panels. They now do their own work.

Bondo is a name used because the first company to make body filler was the Bondo corporation. The original stuff was not very good and it was often used improperly, hence the bad rep.
Even though the bondo name is still around with the Dynatron Corp from Atlanta, the name BONDO is generically used for fillers. Along the same lines as calling all tissues a Kleenex.
The BODY FILLER today is far far superior to the old stuff.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with it when used properly. I repeat, PROPERLY!
About the original post, I can see no way to get anything more than a cave and pave (beat in the rust and cover with filler) job for the $3K.
If someone says "no Bondo" it should be a red flag for two reasons, one is it's extremely diffivcult and expensive to do. Two, the top notch professionals I know never call it Bondo, it's always filler.


bondo will always be bondo they can change it make it yellow blue green red ? it will still be bondo , tissues will always be kleenex , an adjustable wrench will always be a cresent wrench , a can of pepsi coke dr pepper or any other soft drink will always be a POP, TV dinner's will always be TV dinners they can call them instant microwave meals tyson dinner's food club deluxe instant meals but they will always be known as TV dinners , these nick names stick like glue , everyone knows what a license plate is so why are they called TAGS ? ever see a set off klein tools locking plier's ??? no ?
me neither but if refered to as VISE GRIPS you know exactly what they are ,
how about a monkey wrench ? funny how these names stick ,

a can of pepsi coke dr pepper or any other soft drink will always be a POP

Depends on where you live... here all soda is called "Coke". Where I was raised (Illinois) it was called "soda".