A scratch on a car door: what does the cost of the repair depend on?
By AZ Carrosserie · Published on · Updated on
The cost of a scratch depends on its depth, the part affected and the colour to be matched. An isolated scratch is dealt with by spot repair, without repainting the whole panel. In Geneva, AZ Carrosserie gives no figure over the phone without seeing the car: the area and the photo in the form are enough for the quote.
How much does it cost to repair a scratch?
No figure is given over the phone without seeing the car: the same scratch is priced differently depending on its depth and the part affected. Send the area and the photo: the quote costs you nothing.
Send the area and the photo through the form: you receive the amount before you drop off the car. What needs doing, what can wait and what it comes to are written in it, and nothing goes ahead without your approval.
Does the whole panel need repainting?
Not always. An isolated scratch is dealt with by spot repair: only the damaged area is redone, and the original paint stays in place around it. A panel marked along its whole length is repainted in full, so that the colour matches, taken from your car’s paint code.
A dent where the paint has not cracked takes a different route: it comes out without repainting. See Hail or door dent: does it need repainting?
Is the quote I receive final?
The quote is free. It is based on the information you send. We then go through it with you, and your car is seen before anything starts.
Your request arrives as you filled it in. We reply within 24 working hours, on the number you left.
What if something else turns up when parts come off?
A bumper hides more than you can see from the pavement: a bent bumper reinforcement bar, a broken fixing, a torn-off sensor. The quote, however, was based on photos.
At that point, we stop dismantling. You receive the new amount before work resumes, and you decide: we carry on, we put the car back together as it was, or you book it in again later. Nothing is added to the bill without you saying so. If it is an insurance claim, the additional amount goes to your insurer.
A sensor hidden behind the bumper adds to the cost. The Swiss Insurance Association points this out: replacing or repairing sensors, or the electronic components they use, costs considerably more. Source: Swiss Insurance Association, “Assurance automobile : tendances et tarifs” (in French), accessed on 01.10.2026.
What to send to get a figure
A scratched bumper, a windscreen chipped on the motorway bypass: you photograph the damage and mark the affected area on a diagram of the car. You do not need to learn any workshop jargon.
The diagram in the form has 17 areas you can mark, from the bonnet to the two door mirrors. You tick what it is: scratch, dent, deep dent, broken part, broken glass.
What you receive, in order
- You photograph the damage, close up, then from a little further away.
- You receive the estimate. The quote is based on what you sent, then reviewed with you. The repair starts after your consent, never before.
- You collect the car, and compare it with your photo, from the same angle.
A scratch on a door is not an emergency, but it cannot be priced from a distance. Mark the area on the diagram in the form and attach the photo: that is all it takes to get started.
See also: Paint and spot repair, among the workshop’s services.