First of all, here are the pictures (9 total):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFaFk2k2PzY
My sister damaged the right-front passenger door of our BRAND NEW (not even 5 days old) Mitsubishi Ralliart. He right-front passenger door is now scratched and dented in the middle, with the bottom part of the damage sticking out a bit. The door's skin has lost its structural integrity now. It's flimsy. The damage is obviously noticeable, but it's nothing huge.
SO I take it to Mitsubishi and they tell me they need to replace the door shell. Cost: $1900 (CAD, which is around $1850 USD).
I take it to another body shop, and they say they can fix it by replacing the skin. Cost: $1100 (around $1000 USD).
I go back to Mitsubishi and tell them about the skin, and they say they can do that as well but then I need to sign a waiver that if the door rusts, it's not their fault (I don't know if this is because I have a rust module or not and whether that's going to void its warranty). Cost: $1400CAD
Then I take it to this ghetto-looking body shop. A mechanic I know and trust recommended the guy working there, saying that he does everything himself (from cutting to welding to etc.) and has 30+ years experience. So even though I'm skeptical due to its ghetto-like image, I trust the guy who recommended it. Over there, I was told he can fix it by just bringing the dent back out (with a suction? or hammer?), then he'll heat different points of the door so the metal shrinks a bit, and then paint over it. He assured me it'll look exactly like it was before.
What do you guys think? I mean, it's not a big damage, and I don't see why it should cost almost $2000. On the other hand, I want it to look like brand new again. I don't want any traces of the accident. The last guy toldl me several times that he can order the shell or skin if I want to, but that the good-old fashioned way of fixing it will do just fine.