Independent garage SW London

[Robert Parry]

Morning All,

Can anyone recommend an independent Lexus garage in the Wimbledon area please? In particular for paint work. I have a slight scuff on my rear wheel arch and Lexus have quoted £3700 to repair it. I'm trying to avoid going through insurance if possible.

 

[Linas.P]

8 hours ago, Robert Parry said:

Morning All,

Can anyone recommend an independent Lexus garage in the Wimbledon area please? In particular for paint work. I have a slight scuff on my rear wheel arch and Lexus have quoted £3700 to repair it. I'm trying to avoid going through insurance if possible.

Sadly can't advise on garage, but you certainly doing a right thing - going through insurance almost never works out in your favour.  

[Spock66]

9 hours ago, Robert Parry said:

Can anyone recommend an independent Lexus garage in the Wimbledon area please?

I don't think you need a Lexus specialist, many main dealerships will have a local trusted independent body shop who will undertake such work, the quoted cost seems very high for the problem you describe.

I'd suggest shopping around locally and see what you can find.

[Sathax0422]

£3,700 to repair a slight scuff...That is a complete rip-off...Perhaps try Chipsaway (Link below)...This would come under SMART Repair, I believe...

https://www.chipsaway.co.uk/services/paintwork-scratches/

[Illogan]

1 hour ago, Sathax0422 said:

£3,700 to repair a slight scuff...That is a complete rip-off...Perhaps try Chipsaway (Link below)...This would come under SMART Repair, I believe...

https://www.chipsaway.co.uk/services/paintwork-scratches/

I guess this may depend on the definition of 'a slight scuff', and the paint, too, of course.

 

I'm aware that the cost of a professional repair/repaint is often greater than we would wish it.

[Linas.P]

£3700 is a lot, although I agree with Dave - we don't know the extent of damage. 

The "smart" repairs chip away does are trash... the problem is not how they look right away after the repair, but how they look after 3 years. If your goal is to fix the car and sell it right away, then perhaps the is a way forward (if a little disingenuous for the buyer), but if you planning to keep the car then certainly not a way forward. Colour matching will be horrible as usual and 3 years later the part will be decolorated and peeling etc. etc. You can't fix car paint on the cheap.

Now sure... some people are not as sensitive to paint imperfections as I am, so for some it may be "good enough". But if you want it done "right" then chip away is not the option.

[andrey77]

I re-paint whole car a month ago for 2300 with Paint Chip in Brent Cross  but the quality always depend of the painter.

[Linas.P]

If memory serves right, then it took you 3 attempts to get it right? 

[Bluemarlin]

On 4/12/2023 at 10:04 AM, Robert Parry said:

Morning All,

Can anyone recommend an independent Lexus garage in the Wimbledon area please? In particular for paint work. I have a slight scuff on my rear wheel arch and Lexus have quoted £3700 to repair it. I'm trying to avoid going through insurance if possible.

 

I know it's common for people to not want to claim for such things on insurance but, for what sounds like an expensive repair, it seems pointless to pay for insurance and then not use it.

[Linas.P]

It really depends how much you are paying for insurance... for me it was never worth claiming form insurance and that is why I personally have very bad view towards insurance overall, kind of exactly the point - "why am I paying for  this crap if in case of accident I can't even make a claim (well I could, but it is just disadvantageous to do it)". My insurance on average was over £800 for the last 10 years already and obviously it increased when I made claims on it. EVEN if it is not your fault... actually EVEN if you don't make claim, but merely mention to them about the accident (which contractually you are required to do - so called "notification only") it will go up.

So depending on how much you pay and how big is a damage, sometimes it is better to keep quiet. For example if your damage is £500 and you pay £1000 for insurance... and let's assume insurance will increase by ~20% for 3 years... well you better of not telling insurance about it. If you pay £280 and it is £2000 of damage then obviously it is better to let insurance handle it. Obviously it all comes down to being able to accurately estimate the cost of repairs - because if you think it is £200 and it turns out it costs £2000, then you will be out of pocket quite a bit. 

Unfortunately for me people who crashed into me were all idiots (perhaps part of the reason why the crashed) and every single time they would not agree it was their fault... at which point sadly I had no choice, but to report it and for their stupidity both their and my insurance went up. Even thought every time they could have solved the issue for £500 and forget about it. 

[MartinH]

I had the car touched up quite a lot by PaintChip in Brent Cross. Now after about three years, there is a noticeable difference between the panels that were painted and those that were not. They tried hard tho and restored the front door panel which had a nasty gash, so full marks for trying. I notice they now have a branch in Cranleigh and this might suit you.

[DavidCM]

It's probably a bit far out for you,but Jemca bodyshop in Bracknell did a perfect paintmatch on my Sonic Red RC.They're part of the local Lexus/Toyota dealership.