ATL Body Shop?

[OverYonder]

Hi all-

I made contact with another car yesterday (oops) and am looking at replacing the front bumper assembly, drivers front quarter panel and possibly the left headlight assembly. No hood damage or vital engine organ damage. Have USAA insurance. Car is a mint condition (46K miles) '93 A Package in Red.

Any recommendations regarding a reputable body shop? I live in Decatur (30030).

This is my first post, so hello to you all-

Thanks

[Jack-MX5ATLanta.com]

Welcome! I'll try and find the place that kurt and tommy were mentioning in one of their posts. If I don't I'm sure one of them will chime in.

[MeFryRice]

I would look to see how much it would cost to fix it out of pocket. Since the car is older (even with low miles), it might not take much to consider it a "total loss". :(

Not sure how far they are from you but I recommend Magnum Collision.

[JennB]

I've had work done on three cars at Magnum Collision and I've always been very happy with the results. They are not the faster shop in the universe but they never rush, it's done right and that is why.

[thx712517]

Magnum Collision is good, they've done a bunch of Saturns in the past. They usually work with BMWs and Aston Martins, so quality is very good. I can't recommend Classic Collision off of 41, they suck ***. Capital Cadillac has a decent bodyshop and does a good job, and so does Mauldin's way up off of exit 14 or 16 or something off 575.

[BFH miata]

Support Spec miata racers! Sentry Paint and Body in the Lilburn area, they repainted my car and were very reasonable. Plus they know the ins and outs of the miata since they are racers.

[Jack-MX5ATLanta.com]

That's good to know BFH, I've always had issues trying to find good body shops.

[OverYonder]

Thanks for the help, guys. I'm going to a local shop here in Decatur for an estimate, but my USAA rep was mentioning that the shop might not use OEM Mazda parts for the repairs since the car is a '93. This ain't your average '93, though, especially body/paint wise. It was only driven 45K miles in 15 years and babied. The paint is (was) perfect. Body was perfect. Sheesh.

What to do, what to do... Do i need to find a shop that will use OEM parts for the body work? Never had to worry about this particular situation...

Thanks

[metalman]

OEM parts are preferable but expensive. Fitment of aftermarket panels is less then perfect, especially front bumper cover.
Front bumper cover is $275ish from local stealerships...and that doesnt include any hardware.
If the mounting hardware is wacked that adds up too.
I think you'll be looking at $220ish for a fender as well.
The headlight assy I should likely have used. New headlight assy components are crazy expensive but reasonable used.

Sometimes you can find nice used parts but not always. Used prices are about 1/2 of new, with used headlights being less then that.

[BFH miata]

I was lucky enough to find a clean fender via metalman when I took my car in to be painted.

[Doppelgänger]

Another vote for Magnum....for future reference :)