Passenger Door skin

[mshelby]

Hello all,

Someone backed into my front passenger door on my Plymouth Grand Voyager. It looks like there is no structural damage so I can just replace the outer door skin.

If you are familiar with this door, the skin is separated into "above window area" and "below window panel." I only need to replace the lower panel.

I thought about replacing the whole door, but it would cost me $400 for a door plus getting it repainted, etc.. whereas I can get the outer skin from the dealer for around $200.

The way I see it I could do most of the removal work myself to save money. I thought I could remove the door off the hinges, then pry off the old outer skin and then take the door to a shop and have the new skin painted to match and re-applied.

Has anyone ever done this?
If so, will I really save anything by doing it myself?

The catch is that the skin is only avail at the dealership.. so I know the part is automatically overpriced....

Any advice or help will be appreciated.