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Thread: Damaged rear quarter panel

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jan 2018
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    1996 E36 328is

    Damaged rear quarter panel

    I recently bought an 1996 328is that has a bit of damage on the rear quarter panel. The damage is fully visible in the photo below. It goes from the very top of the panel all the way down to the sideskirt panel. (Previous owner says he spun out and hit a pole). The door is not damaged at all. I am weighing my options, which are to either

    1. Get it repaired at a shop

    2. Order this replacement kit, which is a bit wider than stock, and get it replaced. https://www.bigduckstyle.com/product...eplacement-kit
    This kit will even replace the undamaged side of the car. I realize it will only replace the top half of the damaged side, and I would have to still get the bottom half repaired. I expect this option may be more expensive, but atleast I will be able to fit wider wheels on the rear in the future.

    3. Leave it alone. The car was cheap because of the damage, and im planning to build this car into track/drift spec, so it may take more damage in the future anyways. But still, I hate driving around with a huge dent.

    I've never dealt with any type of repair work, so I need some advice on what to do. Is it worth repairing? Replacing? Any advice welcome.

    rqp1.jpg
    Attached Images Attached Images

  2. #2
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    The hidden support structure around the door may need some work along with the jack structure area. Thats why the sharp bends in the area. The door opens and closes OK? That rear window may not open or seal. But if it is a track car just make sure it drives straight. I think it may cost over $3000 to repair Thats a lot of welded in special edges and curves.

  3. #3
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    Unless you are really good at body work that is pretty major damage and will be expensive to repair. To fix it properly the sheet metal would have to be cut loose and a lot of hammering and/or hydraulic pulling would need to be done.

  4. #4
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    take out plastic covers on the inside, hammer it out and leave it. i think theres no solution besides that one that makes financial sense

  5. #5
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    If itll be a dedicated track car, i would just hammer it out like samy said and spray it with some aerosol and call it a day. Its alot of work there to do it right.
    Like mentioned above, just make sure it drives straight and get an alignment to make sure.

  6. #6
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    Don't use a hammer on the panel like that unless you want to stretch the metal and make a nasty job of it.

    I would start by removing the trim for access. I may be tempted to try an airbag in the space first, having slapped out a dent in the same area on mine I can tll you access is not great through the access panel. You could end up cutting out inside.

    You do not hammer at the middle of a dent like this you try to push it out then work from the edges towards the middle to avoid stretching as much as possible.

    While it has risks if it cannot be pushed a reasonable sized stick of softwood will allow you to transmit force to the panel if you cannot directly reach it.
    No warranty of any kind implied or given and no liability for any loss, damage or injury, no matter how incurred accepted.

  7. #7
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    Does California have what's called a salvage title? That car was totaled as far as value goes in that accident if it was reported. Def needs quarter panel, rocker and floor work. Damn lucky the door opens and closes.

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by woody328is View Post
    Does California have what's called a salvage title? That car was totaled as far as value goes in that accident if it was reported. Def needs quarter panel, rocker and floor work. Damn lucky the door opens and closes.
    Door catches are designed with accidents in mind to be openable. You can get a dent like that with relatively trivial impact.

    A quarter "rolling back" away from the door like that is pretty common and doesn't mean anything with regards to damage or not of B pillar.

    That dent needs an initial pop out, probably focussing on top town where the radius is. You could slide hammer it but that's unnecessarily rough, especially if drilling holes as opposed to nail welding
    Last edited by E36328Coupe; 05-06-2018 at 06:18 AM.
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  9. #9
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    Inside a BMW.

    @ 4:40 you can see the underneath structure of a quarter panel on a BMW 7 14:40 the rocker panels. If only the outer skin is damaged you can do a quick fix for looks only but you cannot see the interior structure... Track cars have roll cages right? The amount of labor and the low value for the car is why it was salvaged not repaired. Unless you are Arthur tussik

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wR2f-q4WPfs

    This is a better smaller repair still a lot of work
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aIRlmTz5Nes
    Last edited by gc325is; 05-07-2018 at 12:16 AM.

  10. #10
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    Thank you all for the feedback. I am going to try what many of you said which is to get access behind the dent and get a better look of the damage, and then attempt to pop it out. As for the rocker panel, seems like there is not much I can do there without the right equipment and experience.

    Whether or not I can manage to smooth it out a little bit, this weekend or next I will take it to a shop and get an estimate. I'll keep you guys updated.

  11. #11
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    Pretty easy to get a stud gun and a slide hammer...that'll help too if pushing it out isn't working or available.
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  12. #12
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    ^ True but a push or airbag in there would be best first start. Yanking studs on that will raise peaks. I've slapped out crease way further back through the small steel access panel
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  13. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by Deus Ex Machina View Post
    Unless you are really good at body work that is pretty major damage and will be expensive to repair. To fix it properly the sheet metal would have to be cut loose and a lot of hammering and/or hydraulic pulling would need to be done.
    I second this , I had that happen to my poor old 318i some 5 years ago. was quoted around 3K NZD to repair it, the guy was going to cut the quarter from another car and weld it there, just around the seams, it can be done but you are better off not doing it, mine had more issues too from the accident so I had to wreck it. These are dont cost what they did when they came out some 20 years ago so wont be worth doing it by replacing the whole thing unless you try it yourself. Sorry man.

    BUT, if you take it all off and go at it like some others here suggested there is a good chance you might get a good deal of it straightened out?, maybe then some tack welds and pull the rest out from the out side? go for it I say. worse case scenario, you end up turning it into a drift mobile mad max style.
    Last edited by MisterM52; 05-08-2018 at 05:26 PM.
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  14. #14
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    ^ All I'm saying is, if that was mine, it would be looking 90% straight within 3 hours of getting the rear quarter trim off.
    No warranty of any kind implied or given and no liability for any loss, damage or injury, no matter how incurred accepted.

  15. #15
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    With the help of a friend I managed to bang out a good portion of the dent. Will take pics tomorrow. From the inside of the door panel, the dent was not directly in contact with the inner-metal (not sure what its called) so it doesn't seem so bad. I also put on a new sideskirt that I picked up at Pick-N-Pull for 20 bucks, which covers up most of the rocker panel dent, which I am fine with. Will still be taking it to a shop to see if I can get the rest filled in with Bondo and a respray.

  16. #16
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    https://imgur.com/a/6XL3RPr

    Forgot to update you guys with pics so here they are. I ended up getting the panel bondo’d from a nearby shop, ended up costing $300 and it looks great in my opinion, cheap and easy fix for a drift car. Don’t mind the mismatched black and green at all, in fact it makes it look more like a drift car anyways.

    Also picked up some clean M3 wheels, and installed coilovers along with a bunch of other small modifications. Drift build coming along nicely 😁
    Last edited by shadze36; 01-21-2019 at 09:43 PM.

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