Door Replacement Question

[Mad_Maxima]

So here's my question.

My passenger side door was recently hit and it is dent in pretty bad, the estimate to fix the body work was around 300-350. Thats seemed pretty high for me so I'm trying to go about it a different way.
I found another door to replace my dent one but it is only the shell(no window, panel, handle, etc.)
So I want to know how easy or difficult it would be to take the window and everything from my current door and put it on the new shell.
If you know of any tutorials that have steps on how to do this or if you could list steps with pics or anything that would be great.
Thanks for reading,
Mad Max.

[Mad_Maxima]

Also if you think its just not worth the pain of changing it myself and it would be better to just let a mechanic do it, say so, and also what you would think a mechanic would charge to do that job.

[dave92cherokee]

Changing out the panel and handle aren't bad, you never mentioned if it had the mirror(if it's the front door) as for the windows they're a b#$ch to change and even worse if they're electric windows not to mention if you have power windows and door locks then you also have to take into consideration the wiring, and making sure that the new door goes on straight so that the hinges, locks, and body lines all match up right otherwise numerous problems would arise down the road. Is insurance involved at all in this or what? If insurance isn't involved for some reason like it's less than the deductable then if you know who did it make them pay for it as it's their fault, if you don't know who did it and ins. isn't involved then best to just let a mechanic handle it as they already have extensive experience doing that. As for the price that they quoted you for the estimate given the prices you pay at a dealer that's reasonable but I'd also check around at some other reputable shops before committing.

[Mad_Maxima]

It's the passenger side door on a '91 Mazda Miata. It has no power locks or window, just the old school roll up, only wires would be the speaker I guess. The shell that I would replace it with is just the door, no mirror, window, anything, only the door.

And my friend is the one who hit my car, that's why I'm trying to be nice about it and not have him pay a huge amount in repairs or insuranse premiums, but yes he will be paying for the damages, just trying to get him the best deal, somewhere in the 500 area hopefully.

I'll prolly call some mechanics and ask how much they would charge to change the doors out and also visit other body shops to see if I can find any better deals on the body work, but I'm thinking changing it out with the shell would prove to be less expensive in the long run, guess we'll see.

[dave92cherokee]

Have you checked around in the local junkyards to see if you can find a better door that might match the color car you have and have most if not all the pieces in it? If no local junkyards check online for salvage yards close by that offer shipping and you might get lucky. Manual locks and manual windows aren't that hard to install, does your car have a hard top or is it a convertible? If it's a convertible then that makes the window easier as you won't have to worry about working around the upper window channel and door frame.

[Mad_Maxima]

Its a convertible with a removeable hardtop, so no upper door frame.
Something like this
I still have like 4/5 days until the auction for the door shell is over, so in the mean time I will try to find a complete door, I just have to hunt down where my local junkyards are.