No car owner wants to pay a hefty fee for repairing the structure of their car body. However, after an accident, whether you are hit by another vehicle or you crash into an object, you might have structural damage that can affect your vehicle’s safety and performance. In this case, you need to calculate the total car body repair cost for your make, model, and year of car.
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5 Most Common Car Body Repair Costs
Here are some of the most common car body repair costs you need to know as a car owner and driver.
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Broken Windshield – $50 to $900
A broken windshield can occur for a variety of reasons – whether that be an inanimate object thrown at your car, a stone or rock, or you hit something with your vehicle that causes a cracked window.
As strong as the windshields are, they are brittle and can succumb to windshield damage quite easily.
- Stone chips and stars could be repairable for a lower cost, coming in at around $50 per mark on your windshield.
- However, large and complex cracks that are difficult to repair and take up the entire span of the glass will range from around $200 to $900 on average.
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Smashed Bumper – $400 to $1,500
Instead of using metal bumpers like in the olden days with used and heavy cars, modern vehicles on the road today use plastic bumper covers to save money, improve aerodynamics and performance qualities, and increase pedestrian safety in the event of a crash.
Although the plastic bumper covers have many benefits, they also have some negatives – like being more delicate and exposed to the elements.
Even a crash at just a few miles per hour or a foreign object that could hit the bumper can cause damage.
- When looking at the total car body repair cost for this fix, you are typically in the range of between $400 for a repair and refinish of hte paint and the dent, or around $1,500 to fix a bumper that needs replacing and repainting.
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Paint Chips and Scratches – $50 to $1,500
Almost every car has undergone a paint chip or scratch in its lifetime. Depending on where you live, this might be more frequent than others. If you live in the city, chances are your car has been scratched or dented numerous times.
Certain paints, like pearl paints or those with luxury finishes, will require more labor work and more billed hours when repainting the exterior of your car. In this case, you can expect the car body repair cost to be much higher than vehicles with normal paint.
Depending on the scratches’ depth, severity, and location, repairing scratches could range from a quick DIY job to a complete refinishing. If there are dents and creases, this adds time and effort and increases the car body repair cost.
- Just using a touch-up pen or a small repainting job can cost as little as $50 for the car body repair cost.
- However, professional refinishing may be needed depending on the length of the damage, the severity of the damage, the frequency of the scratches, and the type of paint used. In this case, you could spend up to $1,500.
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Door Dents and Fender Dings – $50 to $150
Another common car body repair cost to consider when purchasing a new or used vehicle is door dents and dings that can occur from foreign objects, crashes, or accidents. Paintless dent repair has become a hit in recent years, significantly lowering the total repair costs and prices associated with replacements of your car.
If you find the back of the body panel accessed in your vehicle, paintless dent repair can typically fix the issue at a very low car body repair cost. However, if you can’t access the back panel and cracked paint, this could lead to a higher repair price.
- Drivers and car owners can expect to pay between $50 and $150 for most-sized dents and dings on their car.
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Suspension Damage
Your suspension plays a huge role in the performance and safety of your vehicle. Costs can vary dramatically depending on the damage to your car, the type of car you have, and the location of the damage. Since the suspension system is made up of various parts, you can expect the car body repair cost to be higher than that of other fixes.
The suspension is one of the most crucial components of a car. Many people assume that the horsepower, torque, engine, and style of the car are the most important, but the suspension is imperative to a safe and efficient vehicle. The power generated by an engine is useless if the driver can’t steer in the correct direction.
The main job of the suspension is to increase friction between the tires and the road, which enhances the steering control. The extra grip ensures a good level of control and stability by the driver. The roads we drive in in the modern world can vary between locations. You might drive on a smooth road for a few miles, and then switch to a bumpy country road.
Since the suspension works to adapt to ever-changing conditions, this total car body repair cost can sometimes be higher than other necessary fixes. Without a structure to come between the wheel’s vertical energy and the frame, all of the wheel’s energy would be directly transferred to the frame, which would cause the wheels to lose contact with the road. If this occurred, you would have an extremely high car body repair cost.
The main symptoms or signs your suspension needs to be replaced can help clue drivers in to any issues with their vehicle and the potential of having to pay for a car body repair cost.
First, your car may begin riding a bit roughly. This means that the smooth turns and easy braking and accelerating doesn’t occur anymore. Every bump in the road may cause more of a bounce than previously, which is a sign your suspension will need repair.
Second, you may feel the car drifting while you’re turning. This means that the shocks are no longer working properly to keep the car stable against gravity during the motion of a turn. If you feel this, you will need to take your vehicle to an auto body shop to pay for the car body repair cost.
Lastly, you may feel the body of your car jumping forward and downward when you apply your brakes. This effect can actually cause you to have less of a chance at stopping your car quickly when needed, which can have a higher incidence of an accident.
To fix the suspension, you will have to pay the average car body repair cost for the following parts:
- Strut and shock absorber replacement typically cost between $488 and $597 on average.
- Wheel alignment generally runs between $115 and $302 for most cars.
- Ball joint replacement typically costs owners between $225 and $285, increasing the total car body repair cost.
Why is auto body repair so expensive?
You may wonder why some of the car body repair cost prices can be so high compared to other maintenance procedures and routine fixes in your car. Individual cases can vary depending on various factors, so even a rough guide will not be able to predict how much you will have to spend on your specific car make and model.
Auto body repair takes time to get the vehicle fixed and back running on the road in optimal condition. Most repair shops, mechanics, and dealerships operate in the hourly labor range of between $75 and $150 per hour, depending on the complexity of the job and the skill of the professional.
Considering this, it is easy to see how the average car body repair cost can skyrocket for some procedures.
In addition, luxury cars are always more expensive to repair since they have pricier parts, additional high-tech options, and complicated systems that require intimate knowledge of the specific parts. Crash sensors, parking sensors, and other technology might also be damaged along with structural components, leading to higher car body repair costs.
The Bottom Line
Figuring out the total car body repair cost can help you save money on unnecessary fixes or prevent problems from worsening over time. Since most common car body repairs are necessary to keep your vehicle functioning at a high level, you should expect to pay around $1,500!
Paying the car body repair cost for your make, model, and year of vehicle will ensure that you stay safe on the road. Although you may not think you need to replace suspension parts, need to fix paint chips, or replace the dings and dents in your car, not remedying these problems can lead to bigger issues in the future.