Auto body repair & detailing: Hood and bumper cost for replacement and paint, 2009 toyota corolla, canada web site

Question

Photo of hood   My daughter is at college in Boston. She slid on the ice and damage the hood of her 2009 Toyota Corolla. Took it into a repair shop and they are estimating to replace the hood and front bumper for $2,900. Based on the photo - the repair estimates seems excessive? What would be a general range of cost for this work?

Answer
Hi Mike!....An estimate for $2900 Dollars, just to replace a hood and bumper, ( as long as that is all the damage is ) in my opinion, is definitly high. I checked out the Cross Canada web site for you, and the average cost for a hood for this vehicle is $225 Dollars, and the bumper cover is $175 Dollars. Total so far is $400 Dollars. In the paint department, average cost to refinish a hood, is 3.0 hours, and the bumper cover is 3.5 hours. So another $325 Dollars. Now at $725 Dollars total. There will be obviously time needed to remove and install the new parts, another 3.5 hours, for $150 Dollars. Up to $875 now. To do a proper job, the fenders will need to be blended. Average cost on this is 1.0 per fender. $100 Dollars. Total now is $975. Materials will also be added to the cost as well...It is usually based on a specific amount per hour...So far, the labour hours in your case is 12...On average, material costs can be around $27 Dollars per hour. So another $324 Dollars. TOTAL cost from my estimate is $1299 Dollars...This is just an estimate obviously, and also going on an average rate of $50 Dollars per hour. Rates here in Canada where I live are $75 Dollars per hour, and even calculating prices at that cost, would still be much cheaper in total than your $2900 Dollar estimate....My advice, is to get them to show you the estimate, and explain to you, line by line, what each operation involves. Also, you might like to get a couple more estimates from other shops....Hope this helps you out....Thanks....Dave