Door lock busted, metal bent in around handle.

rah7777777 · March 8, 2019

So my truck was broken into and they busted the lock. They hit the screwdriver in hard enough it bent the metal on the door.

Can a body shop fix that or they replace the door?

I’m just trying to figure out which direction to go with the repair and set my expectations. If they just “knock” the bent parts back out, can they get it back to perfect?

Im not a paint and body guy, so not sure how they usually do it. There’s a crease in the paint and just trying to figure out how they’d do it.

Odds are im gonna drop it off at the dealers body shop and say I want it fixed, but curious how they’d do it.

rah7777777 · March 8, 2019

boilers · March 8, 2019

Strip, bend, filler and spray!

Id want a new door though

SS502 · March 8, 2019

I wonder if the passenger door piece would fit where that one is. I know it would not allow easy use of the key if you needed it but really, how often do we need that? I have never used it (but I change my fob batteries when I do the smoke alarms in the house) but IF I ever did, could I pop it off to gain access to the key hole? I know this would not stop all thieves but maybe the (oxymoron here) stupid ones will move to the next vehicle if they don't see a key slot?

@pgamboa you have done enough door handle mods to know this answer

Edited March 8, 2019 by SS502

GN2018 · March 8, 2019

I'm with you on eliminating the lock. Even If the key fob stopped working, OnStar would work. This is BS how easy this is to get into the truck.

FYI - you're not going to get a new door. I feel your pain, but there's no way insurance is going to do that. Plus, if they ordered a door, they'd still have to paint it. It's not like they would order a factory red door and just bolt it on. Any time your vehicle is damaged, you lose. No matter how good the repair is, there just isn't anything like undamaged original. Sorry.

wforrest08 · March 8, 2019

If you really want to throw “them” for a loop install the Escalade door handles.

rah7777777 · March 8, 2019

In the end, I’m putting the solid cover on it. It will fit just fine.

Then running a battery tender cable to the grill in case battery dies. Then I can pump in 12v to unlock the doors.

And worse case if remote system goes out, I can can rip that cover off with a pick if you know right where to get it and key cylinder is under it.

Then going a step further and putting a metal cap on the cylinder in case someone does pop it off, it’ll just be a little harder and time consuming to actually get to the open key cylinder. Which can be busted in 3 seconds (literally!!! Got it on video)

rah7777777 · March 8, 2019

I don’t really want a new door, I’m just curious if a body guy can fix it back close to perfect.

My jeep buddy had same thing happen and they put on a whole new door.

Snowcamo · March 8, 2019

I'm with you on eliminating the lock. Even If the key fob stopped working, OnStar would work. This is BS how easy this is to get into the truck.

FYI - you're not going to get a new door. I feel your pain, but there's no way insurance is going to do that. Plus, if they ordered a door, they'd still have to paint it. It's not like they would order a factory red door and just bolt it on. Any time your vehicle is damaged, you lose. No matter how good the repair is, there just isn't anything like undamaged original. Sorry.

I just met a guy who's Chevy got stolen. That on star was disconnected/ turned off in 5 mins of the truck being stolen. Police couldnt even track it.

There has to be a legit way of making these trucks more difficult to break into and drive off with.

boilers · March 8, 2019

6 minutes ago, rah7777777 said:

I don’t really want a new door, I’m just curious if a body guy can fix it back close to perfect.

My jeep buddy had same thing happen and they put on a whole new door.

They can make it look new again. If it doesnt, make then fix it again! I wouldnt be surprised if you could see something super minor, but nobody would notice unless they had prior knowledge of the damage.

SS502 · March 8, 2019

31 minutes ago, Snowcamo said:

I just met a guy who's Chevy got stolen. That on star was disconnected/ turned off in 5 mins of the truck being stolen. Police couldnt even track it.

There has to be a legit way of making these trucks more difficult to break into and drive off with.

Some sort of kill switch located in a hidden spot. My Chevelle has one (not gonna post the location) but it is pretty basic and enough to piss a would-be thief off. Nothing is 100% obviously but making it harder makes me smile

rah7777777 · March 8, 2019

It literally only took 3 seconds for them to bust the lock and open the door. I'm amazed at how fast it was. I still hope they got ran over by a bus and died, but still impressed. haha

What it boils down to is insurance has sent me a check for $600. I've ordered a new key cylinder which i'll have to code myself (pretty easy to do) and I almost bought a set of take off handles for $200. So $250 for all the parts.

Then I realized the actual metal on the door is bent in, i didn't notice this before. i thought it was just the cover being jacked up (didnt look close enough on my end)

I took the guts out of the door and tried to lightly tap everything back into place and got it close, but not perfect enough for my liking.

if I take it to the dealer are they just going to tap everything back out a little better than i can and charge me $600 or are they going to actually going to fill it and sand and repaint it all so its really close to new again for that $600?

rah7777777 · March 8, 2019

3 minutes ago, SS502 said:

Some sort of kill switch located in a hidden spot. My Chevelle has one (not gonna post the location) but it is pretty basic and enough to piss a would-be thief off. Nothing is 100% obviously but making it harder makes me smile

My dad used to borrow his friends truck once in a while and to start it, you HAD to have the cigarette lighter pushed in, the left turn signal on and the parking brake set. All 3 had to be done or it would not start! haha.

outrag1 · March 8, 2019

The handle is not the issue as much as the crease in the door panel, at least as far as body work goes. Typically, even for a small spot on a panel, they would sand, fill, base coat the spot and then clear the whole panel to hide the fix.

As someone else pointed out, even with a new door, they would have to paint it and also blend into the fender and rear door to get it to match possibly.

Probably better off with new handle (painted to match), lock cyl replacement and fix the existing door skin.

Another option, if the paint is not cracked on door skin, is a paintless dent removal place like dent wizard. It maybe worth a try.

Snowcamo · March 8, 2019

Some sort of kill switch located in a hidden spot. My Chevelle has one (not gonna post the location) but it is pretty basic and enough to piss a would-be thief off. Nothing is 100% obviously but making it harder makes me smile [emoji3]

Totally my c10 had one and the new owner forgot and was like it wont start lol