YotaNewbie

Last night it was so windy here in Boston that when I got into my car to go to the gym, the wind actually pulled the door away from me and basically hyperextended the hinges. There's now metal-on-metal creaking and groaning whenever I open and close it, and the seams are no longer lined up.

I already called my insurance company so I know it's costing me at least $500, but does anyone have any idea what the total cost might come to for damage of this type? There's very little visible damage except for on the trailing edge of the fender and the leading edge of the door, however the noise and fit issues indicate the problem could be expensive.

Bummer.

toyotabull

the door and the fender are going to have to be repaired, maybe a little bondo and paint, then the hinges will have to be lined back up on the vehicle and the door maybe. I've got a truck like that, god father backed into a T-post, replaced the door but didnt straighten the hinges. cant tell you a price, but I would guess 500. Go to a body shop and get a quote before you pay your deductable. The insurance company usually writes you a check for the damages quoted minus your deductable.

4runnerteen

Well I would say quite a bit. But insurance should cover it. If not your looking for a new door and hinges. And Thats hoping it didnt bend the quarter panel and anything else under it. If some of the supports on the fender are broken then your looking a little bit of a pricey repair... I would just turn into insurance and wait..... sorry about the door though. It sucks that has to happen to a nice 4runner like yours. Wish it happened to a ford or something haha. Hope it all works out nice though.

akaphilly

no clue on the price . but ya man.. it was windy yesterday!! sucks about the door tho. look around for quotes. isnt maaco wicked cheap

4runnerteen

Maaco is wicked cheap but very bad work... My brother used to work at one and they prep nothing and do nothing the way it should be done... I wouldnt go to maaco. Do a little research and find the best body shop around your area and then make a trip to have them do a quote. Take the truck with you so they can inspect the damage and get a more accurate quote. If your going to have to pay the Deductable on it anyways mind as well get the work done at the best quality that you can.

YotaNewbie

Thanks for the replies. I'm awaiting the call from the appraiser my insurance company is sending to look at the damage, so I'll know more soon. To the naked eye it doesn't really look that bad, but the sound it makes when I open and close it is like fingernails on a chalkboard.

I guess that PS3 I've been saving up for will have to wait a few more weeks

avalonracing

Your title description is a work of art. If you've ever seen Tommy Boy you knew exactly what the problem is. Good luck on the repair.

cosmophonic12

Happened to my friend, he was backing out with door open and his quad rear grab bar caught his door did the Tommy boy thing. 2500 dollars later and its now fixed. The door went so far forward, it damaged the fender. Too bad, you should have told your insurance company it was vandalized. You’re now going to be surcharged or non renewed for the collision for the next 3 years and out of pocket on your deductible.

okie81

All I can say is...............WHAT'D YOU DO?????????

YotaNewbie

I'm not going to be surcharged because I didn't hit anything; the wind literally blew the door out of my hand - I couldn't hold it against this gust - and bent it forward. This one is categorized as an "act of god" and goes on my comprehensive, not my collision.

I'll still have to pay the $500 deductible, but that's it.

Also, it did damage both the door and the fender, and none of the seams match up properly anymore. The edge along the roofline is about a quarter to a half an inch above the same edge on the rear door, and the leading edge of the door is making contact with the fender. Opening it sounds horrible and when I drive wind howls in through the seals now.

spindleshanks

I did the same thing on my Taco. The body work cost about $2k, although I only had to pay a $500 deductible. They had to put a new door skin, new hinges, new fender. new clearbra on the fender. The door has lined up perfectly since. They did a good job.

MunkeyTX

Surprising how often this happens isn't it?

While I was working as a 'service agent' (glorified carwasher) at a car rental place, I managed to do this to a BRAND NEW 300M when they first came out. I just plum forgot to close the door after writing down the mileage while I was backing out of the garage...kinda happens when you're in and out of 20 to 30 cars a day.

Then there was the time that I reversed over a U-haul tow dolly in a new Dodge p/u...then there was the time that I got a new Montero stuck in the field behind the shop...then there was the time that I wrecked a Neon trying to be the first person to get tickets to OzzFest...

Miracle they kept me on for 5 years huh?

4runnerteen

lol I would have fired your ass after the 300m incident haha. But its all good. You got out without a law suit haha.

But good thing the insurance has got your car all taken care of dude. Good luck with it all.

rocket

iTrader: (1)

Why don't you try replacing the door hinges with used ones? It sounds like the cosmetic damage is minor...if you can live with that, go search for a pair of new (used) hinges from a junkyard, YT classifieds, and craigslist. You should have no problem finding them for $20-40. Swap them out, problem fixed.

Nuthuts96

iTrader: (1)

That's what I was thinking! plus no insurance claim...

pattycakes77

iTrader: (2)

Sometimes it's not just the hinges that get bent, but actually the mounting surface in the door jamb as well. There is a trick to bend the hinges sort of back into place as a temp fix but without looking at it I can't really help you. It involves bunching up cotton shop towels and putting them in the hinges and slowly shutting the door to work out some of the damage, and then bending the door in various directions until the latch lines up with the striker again. This may alleviate some of the rubbing between the door/fender but usually you need to pry the edge of the door back to clear the fender. I would say that if you're having it fixed by insurance to leave it alone and let them deal with it since it's VERY possible you'll create more damage using the techniques I mentioned.

It's amazing how much damage wind can do.

YotaNewbie

Well, the insurance appraiser came and looked at my truck last Friday and gave me an estimate of about $800 to fix everything. It included painting both the fender and door, replacing the hinges, a bit of body work where the metal got dinged, etc.

Even though insurance is willing to pay a bit above my $500 deductible, I think I'm going to see if I can find a body shop to just handle replacing the hinges and make the door operative again. As pattycakes77 said, the mounting surface for the hinges just below the A-pillar are visibly bent outwards so I don't think it's something I could fix myself, but by the same token the exterior doesn't really show any signs of damage so I'm not sure I want to put more money than I have to into this thing.

pattycakes77

iTrader: (2)

If you felt like taking the door off you could put a block of wood on top of where it looks bent out and strike it with a BFH (Big F'ing Hammer) and see if you can bend the damage back a little so the door will fit better. The block of wood might keep the paint from getting damaged or mangling the metal in the jamb too much. However, messing with taking doors off and adjusting can be a real nightmare if you don't know what you're doing. Sometimes things don't like to line back up easy later on

Good luck

YotaNewbie

I had my truck in the garage last week to have the oil changed and tires rotated so I decided to see what they could do about the door. They were able to bang/bend it back into basically perfect shape for $85, so we've got a happy ending here.

I'm still going to need to put some touch up paint on where the paint got chipped off, but the door is working normally.