running boards, rocker panels, curb panels repair?

[yeller beetle bug gal]

hi everyone! i confess to running over the curb at the bank and banging up the passenger's side rocker panel ...you cannot tell the rocker is damaged until you look underneath the car.

what are the panels made of? can the dent be pulled out? and... would it be less expensive to have the rocker repaired by a paint and body shop or to purchase a rocker from a salvaged NB and have it put on the car? what does it cost to have the panel repaired or replaced?

i've read a few posts about the rocker-that the panel is welded?

[Lnzbug]

I did the same thing at the bank! I'm just living with it. I have Charactre side skirts that should hide it but the hubby needs to paint them to match.

[yeller beetle bug gal]

what are charactre side skirts? ?
can you find them on the web?

[Lnzbug]

I borrowed this pic from amanda aka mentalvw. Ask Billsbug where to get it. He's the org personal shopper They aren't cheap but you might be able to get a deal on used ones.

[T168TUK]

I have the same sill/rocker damage, unless you cover them up with a kit its gotta be a new welded in panel for a proper repair

[rawr]

Pulling out dents is expensive. I would not even concider doing that. Buy Votex side skirts, have em painted and glue them over the old rocker panel.

[SMG]

Personally I'd rather have the job done right than use a band-aid to try and forget about it.

Votex skirts are $295 US, probably $200 for paint so you're up to close to $500 if you install them yourself.

I had my door rolled out straight again and repainted for $650 when someone slowly backed into me in a parking lot. I somehow doubt a rocker repair would be much more expensive than that.

I hope everyone who's using sideskirts as band-aids are properly treating the damage before applying them. If not, you're really have a huge bill at the bodyshop when your rocker rusts out.

If it was my choice, the less body parts I can have being held on by double-sided tape the better. I'd just find a good bodyshop and get it done right.

Peace!

SMG

[yeller beetle bug gal]

aren't the rocker panels welded onto the bug? rick is a very good welder, but how the heck would you get the darn things off? i mentioned it to rick once, he said it would probably be too much trouble to get the rocker panels off and to leave them alone. problem is, i want to get the car painted again, cannot tolerate the rock chips and don't want to slap touch up paint all over them. plus, i don't want dented rocker panels, gotta be perfect. a friend of mine owns capital auto parts in thomasville, ga and they have a '01 beetle that i could get the parts off of if i need them.

[rawr]

Originally Posted by SMG

I hope everyone who's using sideskirts as band-aids are properly treating the damage before applying them. If not, you're really have a huge bill at the bodyshop when your rocker rusts out.

If it was my choice, the less body parts I can have being held on by double-sided tape the better. I'd just find a good bodyshop and get it done right.

Peace!

SMG

I checked this a while ago. Votex with paint was half the price of fixing a dent in the rocket panel.

OF COURSE, you need to treat the dent with something band aid.

[SMG]

Where are you getting your quotes? The dealership or something?

You just need to find a good bodyshop. I know a guy who has been painting muscle cars for 30 years and his quote to paint my car was $2200 Canadian (1880US), and that's in Cyber Green which is a super expensive colour.

[rawr]

both prices was at the dealership. 6000 norwegian kroners to pull out the dent, smoothing and paint. 2000 for the votex plus 1000 paint.
What is the price for labour over there? Here it easily costs 125 patriotic dollars pr hour.

[SMG]

Yeah, that's your problem. It would probably cost me $7000 to get my car painted at the dealership.

I kind of have a feeling the dealer has quoted you for a brand new rocker, welded on the car and painted.

Find a reputable, old-school bodyman. Do you guys have any organizations over there of like, old cars and stuff? Ask around that crowd who does their work, you'd be surprised what you'll come up with.

Edit: Forgot to mention, labour in Canada for body work is like, $30-60 an hour at most shops, my guy is $35 an hour and puts down the best coat of paint you've ever seen.

SMG

[rawr]

My buddy 'Rambo' got a dent in hes rocker panel. He got the bump pulled out. Thats why i know that quote. and thats why i checked votex stills.

Canada sounds great. Maybe I'll move

[LadybugEwa]

Here's what I did with my awful rocker panels.
http://www.newbeetle.org/forums/show...repair+odyssey

[yeller beetle bug gal]

your beetle does look great!!!! how did he manage to get the dents out of the rocker panels?? mine aren't quite as damaged, but i definitely would like to have them repaired. where did you find the information on how to fix the panels?

jan

[BUGSTUFF]

Thought I'd chime in here - a couple of years ago, the tire shop that installed "Key Lime's" new tires placed the lift pads underneath the running boards instead of on the underbody lift pads. There were 4 "caved-in" spots where the pads were. My favorite local body shop was able to pull the dents out and repair/repaint everything for less than $700. Luckily, the tire shop paid for the damage and I gave the crew in the shop an "in-service" tutorial on the correct lift pad placement.

So, if the damage isn't too severe, the dents can be pulled out and repaired.

YellerGal, your case doesn't seem severe enough for replacement - take a ride down to your favorite body shop and get an estimate. Replacing the running board would be way too extreme and costly.

Good luck!!!