Happy Holidays!
While attending a holiday dinner in a richy rich neighborhood. A 99 year old retired Dr. backed his SUV into my parked Red R/T over the holiday. The left rear door skin panel will have to be replaced. No broken glass, door frame doesn't look damaged.

The body shop said I won't see any difference after they replace the door skin & blend the driver door & rear quarter panel together, then re-clear coat everything.

The nice Dr. was trying to leave the scene until I chased him down a half-a-block away. He said "I couldn't have hit your car sir, I didn't FEEL a thing".

I told him "It must have been tough taking your driver's test in a horse & buggy".
For the adult version, just add the word F*** between every other word.

Should I be pushing to have the whole car repainted? Or I'm I asking for trouble(opportunity for paint flaws)?
The factory finish already looks great.
Will the difference in the paint be visible 3-5 years from now? Fading?
What are my options?
Thanks!

I think you would have a hard time getting the insurance co. to agree for a repaint of the entire car. And like you said you may be asking for more trouble than it is worth. If you can find a good shop, they should be able to blend without any trouble. Good luck.

I had my rear quarterpanel smacked on my Dakota. It was red. I had it re-painted by one of the local Dodge Dealerships. It looked like new when I picked it up. I had a really nice factory paint job too.

They will sand down a large section of paint surrounding the area, so as to blend the paint in and make it look new. The clear coat will also be redone.

Considering how much they give you in the settlement, you may be able to get the car completely refinished. I would also push the issue that you had to run after the guy as he was "leaving the scene of an accident"

that really sucks...sorry to hear it

MY 2cents...
Do NOT have the whole car repainted...you will regret looking at all the little paint lines at the edges of mouldings etc. let them fix the sections they have to and be done. Keep the car nicely waxed at all times and if they do a nice job matching the paint you won't really notice.

Is this the Inferno Red? I was rear ended lightly, just enough to scratch up the paint. Took the car to the dealer and was sent to the Dodge Certified body shop that they deal with. I think that you may want to do the same. With a new door skin, the door will be repainted totally. I was told that with the Inferno Red they could not blend the paint. What the shop had to do was strip down the bumper and repaint it. The Inferno Red is a 3 layer paint job, if I recall correctly and cannot be blended, hence the repaint of the entire bumper. As for fade these cars are so new that there should be virtually no fading this early in its life.

Thanks!
I feel very confident with the body shop here in town. After to talking to several people today, lets just repaint/blend the left side first.
Even the insurance company asked why the local donut dippers didn't arrive.
The EPD don't usually appear on-site unless an air-bag deploys, someone is injured, or car(s) have to be towed/blocking traffic.
And especially if both parties have exchanged info theres no need.

Yes, I think Inferno Red Pearl Coat is the color name.
I also heard somwhere the Red was hard to blend...But if it doesn't look right, it gets redone.

had my red rt repaired the drivers door got scratched and they painted it and the new hood and the paint mathed real good. if your body shop is good they will have no problems.

Ive painted on a few Magnums in my shop and got good results matching Gray, Inferno Red, Midnite Blue. I wouldnt want a new door skin, get a new door. When you put on a skin, they tend to always rust out around the edges where the skin is folded over. Factory dips them in rustproofing and its not a problem. If they will guarantee the skin for the vehicle life, you could accept that. I own my own body shop and I wont accept it. I even prefer a good used door to a skin....I WONT skin a door period.

Hello,
I guess there's 2 ways to fix it. I don't know any body shop that guarantees their work against rust for the lifetime of the car. Not even the manufacture.
I've owned my cuda for 21 years now(16years since repainting), and couple bubbles are coming through. I wish the body shop would repair it at NO CHARGE.
The body shop owner said the repair was to DC specs/procedures & does not void any manufacture warranties.

I'd be afraid that a new door frame assy. may not fit properly or other problems. I'll be patient, check out the door skin job , if it doesn't look good enough then I'll just request a new door. The job isn't complete until it's accepted by the customer...right??? And besides, I'm not paying for it...

I value everyone's opinion!
Thank You All!

A lot of body shops these days will guarantee their work for as long as you own it. That would be the ONLY way id accept a skin, and get it in writing. There are two ways to put on a skin, one is just glued on and other is welded on. Welding will warp a large flat metal panel unless extreme care is taken and it may or may not need some bondo work. A new/used factory door will be identical to the one on your car so it will fit as good or better than the original. I often get seams much better than the factory ones because im willing to play with it a few minutes where the factory sticks it on and thats where it stays. Whatever you do, good luck and always avoid parking anywhere near SUVs, lol. I got my vette backed into at intersections 2 times in one afternoon by the SOBs.