I don't have any experience but I would do the same thing. Take it to a trusted body shop and pay to get it done correctly! I don't have the issue on my car.
I'm wondering whether the bottom of the fender is welded or are there some bolts that can be loosened to move it in and out?
I figure that the door can be shimmed out but I'm not sure which is the best way. Maybe Brampton Builder could enlighten me?
Ugh, my '88 Daytona Turbo came in looking like that (both sides). Dealer adjusted the doors & fenders & made it right before delivery, tho I spent 2 sleepless nites fretting over it. Went there to see if my car was delivered on a Sat am & it was just coming off the truck. They were closed till Monday - thought I was going to blow a vein - LOL.
Net is - doors & fenders are all adjustable & easy to align. Would have expected they wouldn't have these sort of issues any more, guess the "retro bit" doesn't just apply to the styling !
I would have it looked at in regard to damaged car reworked. They should have to disclose that. Tell your private shop look at closely. Factory line shld not misalign like that.
Yes, mine is bad like that, too. Passenger side where my doors meet is off and there's no way I'm taking it to the dealer and was just going to live with it, but we have a very high end body shop nearby so I should probably take it there.
So, nobody has gone through the realignment process yet? I was wondering if loosening the bolts and moving the fender would require any paint work to touch up the old bolt location marks on the fender.
I was able to change my appointment to tomorrow! Wish me luck! I experimented with the valet mode this evening to be prepared to drop it off at the body shop tomorrow. It seemed to work fine. You can switch in and out of valet mode only when you are stopped.
Here is the comparison after the body shop visit.
Before
After
It's not perfect but it is better. Even though it looks like the door can come out a bit, I'm just going to live with it for now. They called me about an hour after I dropped it of to tell me they were done and the cost was $54.00. When I picked it up, I asked if I would need to touch up any paint around washers or fasteners where the fender was moved and they said that the fenders on these cars are so thin that they are able to move them without loosening any bolts!
Apparently they know where to apply the force without denting the fender or splitting any paint. They definitely moved it up and in because there was a large gap between the fender and the hood and that is closer now.
They also mentioned that they have had other cars in their shop that had fenders pushed down from mechanics leaning on them.