Expert: William Forster - 8/23/2008

Question
I have a Jeep Cherokee with the driver door not shutting properly. When it is open it isn't level. On the opposite side of the door where the side mirror sits, it looks like it is separating from the rest of the vehicle. It looks like it just needs to be welded back together. How much would something like this cost to get repaired?
Thanks

Answer
Tim, the door has been left go too long with an alignment problem. I bet if you look around the door latch and upper hinge you will find additional cracking of the sheet metal. I've seen this many times, and there is no easy permanent fix. I've replaced several doors with this very condition, and the ones I fixed I didn't guarantee around the block. I can't give you a price- but this is going to cost plenty. Finding a good used door is nearly impossible since all these doors were prone to this condition. Welding is a poor fix unless you can back it with a sturdy piece of sheet metal- that's nearly impossible in the area you are describing. A new door will exceed 500 dollars just for a bare, unpainted door. I would expect to pay a minimum of 300 dollars for a cob job fix, and in excess of 800 dollars for a proper door replacement. Could EASILY be higher depending upon the cost of parts.