In a perfect Monday-morning error, I managed to just get the edge of a curb with my car and put a scratch on it. The scratch is about three inches long, pretty deep, and on the rocker panel right in front of the wheel well. Where it is, it’s difficult to see unless you kneel down, since it’s on the part of the panel that starts to curve under the car. Unfortunately, there’s metal involved, so clearly it needs to be fixed. No problem there. My issue is choosing how to repair it.
Edited to add - it's a 2015 Mazda 3 with 58 000 km / 36 000 miles. The intention it to keep it for as long as possible.
I’ve had it in to two auto body for estimates today, both recommended by my car dealership as places they take their cars. Both also have pretty good online reviews, but shop two has more and somewhat better reviews than shop one.
Shop One – said they would have to take the rocker panel off to blend the paint properly. Offered an hour and a half off the total time, since “you don’t really have a choice, so we might as well not charge you for all of the time.” Estimate: $350. Time: two days.
Shop Two Option One – took a look and said, “oh, you’ll likely just want to go with the patch option. It won’t be perfect, but no one will see it there so it doesn’t matter and it will prevent it from rusting.” Estimate: $95. Time: 1 hour.
Shop Two Option Two – shop two could also do the same thing as shop one, removing the panel and blending the paint. Estimate: $279. Time: one day.
I don’t know a lot about car repairs, so I’d love any thoughts on the best way to do this from a mustachian perspective from those with more knowledge and experience. Clearly Shop Two Option One is the least expensive choice, but I’m worried I’m missing something else here that I should factor into the decision. I'm less worried about the overall price than I am about making a good choice about how to get this done.
Is this kind of repair likely to be obvious? How obvious compared to the pricier blending option?
Will the patch lessen the value of the car? And does lessening the value even matter if I’m intending to drive it into the ground (which I am)?
Are there any benefits to going with the more pricey blending option?
Should I be at all concerned that one shop quoted two days and the other quoted one for the same job?