How much does car scratch repair cost in Kent?
Typical scratch, scuff and panel respray prices from a Tunbridge Wells body shop, and what actually moves a quote up or down.
The honest answer is that a scratch on a car is not one job. A mark that has only gone through the clear coat can be polished out in an hour. The same-looking scratch that has reached primer needs filling, priming, painting and blending. Those two quotes will not be close, which is why a photo is worth more than a price list.
What we charge from, today
At Signature Auto Repairs in Tunbridge Wells, localised scratch repair starts from £80. Bumper repair and respray starts from £150. A full panel respray starts from £300. Those are starting figures for straightforward damage on a typical finish – not a promise that every car will land on the floor.
If several areas need doing on the same visit, the combined price is usually well below adding the individual jobs together. Setup, masking and paint mixing happen once.
The four things that change the number
Depth first. If you cannot catch the mark with a fingernail, it is often still in the clear coat and a machine polish may be enough. If you can catch it, colour or primer is showing and it needs a painted repair.
Then the panel. A flat door skin is simple. A curved wing, a bumper corner or anything tight to a handle, sensor or light takes longer to prepare and blend. Metallic, pearlescent and three-stage paints also take longer, because a hard edge in that kind of finish reads as a patch in daylight.
Insurance is a separate decision. If the excess is close to the cost of the repair, paying privately is often cheaper and keeps the claim off the policy. We will say so when that is true.
How to get an accurate figure
WhatsApp or email two or three photos in daylight: one of the whole panel, one close, and one from an angle that shows depth. We come back the same working day with what the damage actually needs and a price to do it. No visit required until you want one.
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