Hi folks,

I just bought a 2014 F-Type S V6 in Firesand Orange Metallic. I'm absolutely delighted with the car so far, as it's pretty much what I've been dreaming about. However, it sustained fairly extensive hail damage in a storm a year ago. The dealer claims they took it on trade for an Aston Martin and I am lead to understand that they intended to repair it. However, a few weeks ago there was another hail storm that resulted in an 8-month backlog at the body shops around here (so the dealer's story goes), so they decided to unload it as-is. I got an amazing deal on a beautiful car that could use some bodywork.

The bonnet took the brunt of the damage, and the recommendation from the salesman was to replace it and have the paintless folks have a go at the other panels (these sustained relatively minimal damage). I've never pursued any sort of bodywork on any of my vehicles, and I'm not sure how to approach it. In particular, can anyone offer a ballpark cost on a replacement hood and high-quality paintjob? Is it reasonable to expect a very close color/texture match on the new hood? Tips on identifying a quality bodyshop?

Thank you for your thoughts!

 

When my home town was hard hit by a hail storm a few years ago my Volvo wagon received some damage on its aluminum panels. Being insured, my focus was on quality of repair and not cost. Some of my acquaintances weren't as fortunate. The most fortunate of them sought and found the removable panels in the same color as their own and just switched them out.

My repairs were done at a paintless dent removal place. It was magic. All dents gone. All paint still original. I could not have been more pleased.

 

I'd love to find a replacement hood in the appropriate color and already did a brief search, but I'm not optimistic. The salesman had never seen another F-Type in Firesand - which probably doesn't mean much, since F-Types are rare in general in these parts, but I still don't imagine there are tons of them around, and finding a decent hood off one is likely to be tough. But I will certainly keep looking.