I picked up my SeaMist Green Pearl 2004 Outback last week. With 350 miles on it, a deer decides to skid into the front quarter panel near the wheel and put a nice dent in it. Bummer !! No other damage...hood is fine, bumper is fine, driver door is fine, headlight assembly is untouched. All seams line up fine. I only need to have the quarter panel replaced...

 

One shop quoted $550 using a new Subaru panel and they will paint it and blend the paint into the adjacent door. Then clear coat both. He said he will not need to blend the paint onto the hood since it is on a different plane and will reflect the light differently so any color mismatch would not be noticed.

 

Another shop quoted $1350 and will do the same but also wanted to blend the paint spray onto the hood. I also noticed from their quote that they included a long list of parts they will need to swap out the qtr panel. The first shop just needs the qtr panel and a few clips, he said.

 

I asked the first shop if they could simply paint the new qtr panel off the car and then install. They said "we cannot match the paint perfectly and it will look bad unless we blend the paint into the adjacent panel...Only a hack would paint the panel off the car."

 

I am a mechanical engineer and work in a technical field but know little about paint or body work. To me, it seems that they should be able to get a paint mix formula from Subaru, paint and clear coat the qtr panel, and install it...And it will match. What's with this overspraying into the adjacent panel on a car that has no fading or wash swirls or even a scratch. I haven't even put my first tank of gas in let alone wash the car yet. Is paint match technology that far behind the rest of industry?

 

I welcome advice on what to have done. I plan on keeping this car and don't want it to look painted 5 years from now.

By the way, our local Subaru dealer does not have a body shop. If I went to a Subaru dealer with a body shop, would they be able to match the paint better (by using the same paint the factory uses) than an independent shop?