Understanding Car Scratch Repair for Birmingham Drivers
Coventry Body Shop is not in Birmingham. Our one workshop is in Wyken, on the east side of Coventry, under a mile from University Hospital Coventry. The trip is longer than a hop across town, so it makes sense to send photos first, by WhatsApp to +44 7903 105777 or through the Send enquiry button (or call the same number), before you make the trip.
Scratch repair depends on depth. A light mark in the clear lacquer can often be machine polished away, depending on how deep it goes. Once the scratch reaches the colour or the primer underneath, polishing will not remove it and it needs paint, from a touch-up to a panel repaint. A paint touch-up is from £49 plus VAT (£58.80 including VAT). A scratch through to bare metal should not be left, because the metal can start to rust.
On a panel repaint, the scratch is filled where needed and primed before the colour goes on. The colour is mixed to your car's paint code and finished with clear lacquer, and the new colour is blended into the paint around it to help hide the join. All of the painting is done by the company director, a former Aston Martin technician and painter.
We also have pages for drivers in Coventry and Solihull.
The Cost of Car Respray in the UK: What to Expect
The price of a respray depends mostly on how much of the car is painted and on the state of the bodywork underneath. A car with dents or flaking paint needs more preparation than one with tired but sound paint.
Our prices are "from" prices. A single panel repaint is from £150 plus VAT (£180 including VAT), and a full body respray from £1,495 plus VAT (£1,794 including VAT). The final price is set after we inspect the car, and the quote shows the price, the VAT and the total.
A full respray takes 3 to 7 days, depending on the work. Every respray is done in our spray booth at the Wyken workshop.
Advanced Auto Body Repair Techniques
Not every dent needs paint. Where the paint has not cracked, paintless dent repair may be able to work the dent back out, depending on its shape and where it sits on the panel, and the existing paint stays on the car. It is priced per panel, from £90 plus VAT (£108 including VAT) for a small dent and from £185 plus VAT (£222 including VAT) for a medium one.
Bent panels and some bigger dents can be straightened by panel beating, then filled where needed and painted. A panel dent repair with a respray of that panel is from £175 plus VAT (£210 including VAT). A bolt-on panel that cannot be saved, such as a bumper or a front wing, can be replaced.
We do not cut or weld metal panels. If your car needs that, we will tell you and recommend a garage we have trusted with welding work before.
Paint Correction and Colour Matching Expertise
Paint correction is machine polishing that can remove swirl marks and light scratches from the clear coat, depending on how deep they go. The paint has to be clean first so grit is not ground in. Each pass takes a little off the surface, and we have a paint depth gauge for checking the paint thickness.
Paint fades over the years, and the same code can vary a little between batches. Our colour matching uses the manufacturer's paint code, specialist colour mixing and a spectrophotometer.
Bumper Repair and Respray Services
A scuffed bumper corner can sometimes be handled as a SMART repair, which aims to keep the work to a small area. Some cracks in a plastic bumper can be plastic welded and filled.
If a bumper is too badly broken, it can be replaced instead. Where paint is needed, the bumper is painted to your car's paint code in the spray booth. A bumper respray is from £210 plus VAT (£252 including VAT).
Accident Repair and Insurance Claims from Birmingham
If you claim on your insurance, we prepare photographs and a quote for your insurer, and we can deal with the insurer for you if you want.
We are insured, but we are not an insurer-approved repairer. Ask your insurer how it handles a repair at a body shop you pick yourself.
Our accident repair work covers dents, scrapes, cracked bumpers and bent panels, but not metal cutting or welding. Every repair has our 6-month workmanship guarantee, which starts the day you collect the car.
Vehicle Paint Protection Solutions
Machine polishing and paint protection are carried out at the workshop. Stone chips and scratches that go through the lacquer still need a repair rather than a polish.
Fresh paint has to cure before it is protected, so after a repair or respray, ask us how long to wait.
Choosing a Coventry Bodyshop from Birmingham
Before you book with any body shop, ask how long the guarantee lasts and whether it starts when you collect the car. Check whether the price is fixed or a starting price, and whether the quote shows the VAT. It is also worth asking who will paint the car, and whether welding is done in-house or sent to another garage.
At Coventry Body Shop, the guarantee is 6 months from collection, and the quote shows the VAT and the total. Prices start as "from" prices and are set after inspection. The director paints every car himself, and if a car needs metal welding, we recommend a garage we have trusted with welding work before.
If you book from Birmingham, you drop the car off and collect it at Wyken, as we do not offer collection or delivery. A small inspection is free. A deep inspection is from £200 plus VAT (£240 including VAT) and comes off the bill if you go ahead. No deposit is needed to book, and a booking can be moved or cancelled free.