i'm looking for advice here. thanks in advance for any suggestions.

1999 dark blue NBS silverado ext cab.

it is a manual door, not an electric. this is not covered by my insurance.

several quotes were in the $1400-1600 range to reskin or reshell the passenger side door.

another quoted $900 for a bang and bondo repair.

two paintless shops said it was too severe

a third paintless shop quote $160 which if the work turned out unsatisfactory, could be applied to a repair (baiting?)

a new door shell is $550 from the dealer, or $250 aftermarket

a couple yards have quoted about $400 for a used door with glass.

One option I'm considering is buying a shell, paying to have it painted, then swapping over the glass and mechanism myself. Another option is to buy a used door, pay to have it painted, then swap it myself.

But i'm not sure if i'd need special tools for either of these options, and not sure how good of a fit I could expect, nor which model years are best.

any one with experience in this sort of project?

mike

 

besides craigslist and ebay, are there any websites that I could use to find a used door?

mike

 

I think your best bet is buying a used original door from a yard. Aftermarket usually never is exactly a perfect fit. And those doors are not that hard to take off yourself. Just make sure that you have good bushingswhen you get a used door cuz it will sag if they are bad. I really don't know of any website but your best bet would be a local yard.It should cost no more than $200 just to paint a door that has very minimal damage.

 

Thanks 04BLKCHEVY, for the bushing tip too. I found some these links

Pin replacement:
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_do_you...hevy_Silverado

GM hinge replacement:
http://www.gmfullsize.com/forum/showthread.php?t=108682

 

appears that at gmpartsdirect.com a door shell is $335+$74 shipping

GM part number is 15017224

still deciding which way to go. 1) new shell swapping the parts myself or 2) used complete door swapping the doors myself.

also not sure about how good the color match (dark blue) will be if just the door is repainted.

 

Either way your going to have to paint it. Just depends what body shop you go to. It depends on where they get their paint from and how good they are. Make sure you stress that you really want it to match. Sometimes they spray the half the front fender and part of the other door to do a blend and depending on the painter it sometimes comes out real good. Those are some pretty good websites you found there. Im assuming you have no glass in your door right now. I would go with the complete used door. Who knows there might be one in the yard with the same color(if its a stock color).

 

I see what you are saying. i was hoping not to lose my truck for the 5 days they are sking for. Instead, I'd just bring them the loose used door, they'd paint it, and I'd install it.

In a way, the door is minimally damaged. Glass, mirror, frame, reenforcement bar etc.. are all intact. Door still seals good. Minor creases. But the ridge (body line) is bent in by about one inch (a deer t-bone me one night) and it will not "pop" out. What I'd really like to do is to straighten the ridge myself to my satisfaction (am I capable?) then have a body shop clean up below the trim and paint below the trim. I have the interior door panel off already.

 

I ended up having it poked out by a paintless dent-repair shop about 6 years ago. I wasn't thrilled with the outcome, and less so with the shop, so I left it that. Now thinking about replacing the door with a pull from a yard.