Bodyshop repairs, paint and wheels in South London
The bodyshop deals with the damage you can see: a car that has been hit, a bumper scraped down a bollard, a supermarket car park dent, kerbed alloys, tired paintwork and rust lifting through an arch. It sits on the same site as the workshop, which matters more than it sounds, since a knock hard enough to move a panel has often disturbed something underneath it too. We quote from the vehicle itself rather than from a photograph, take insurance work and self-pay customers on the same terms, and guarantee our workmanship for three months.
See photos of real jobs from our workshop
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- Written quote before any work
- Mon–Fri 8am–8pm · Sat 8am–5pm
A bodyshop is two trades held to one standard: panel work and paint. Both have to be right or the eye finds the join. Ours covers collision damage where panels are repaired, replaced or sectioned to the manufacturer's own method, localised SMART repairs to a single scuff, dent repair where the metal is straightened and the panel repainted, alloy refurbishment, corrosion repair on sills and arches, headlight restoration and resprays. Colour decides whether a repair is visible from three metres, and a paint code alone will not get you there, because factory batches vary and weather moves a panel away from all of them. We also turn work down honestly. Some damage costs more to put right than the car is worth, and saying so in week one is cheaper than finding out in week three.
The first step is looking at the car in daylight, with the panel clean, which is why we would rather you brought it in or let us collect it than sent pictures. Once the estimate is accepted the vehicle is booked in around the parts arriving, then stripped, pulled or panelled, filled where the method allows, primed and sprayed to a mix matched against the panel in front of us. Trim clips, seals and single-use bolts are costed at the start rather than appearing later. Before you see it again the paint is flatted and polished, the panel gaps are compared against the undamaged side, and any parking sensor, camera or radar unit disturbed during the work goes back on properly. Where the manufacturer requires that unit to be recalibrated afterwards, we arrange the recalibration and it is costed into the job from the outset rather than left for you to chase.
Bodywork is priced on what the repair genuinely requires, which is the whole reason we want to see the vehicle first. Smaller jobs become a fixed figure as soon as we have looked: scratch repair from £60, a dent from £260, an alloy wheel from £105 per wheel. Collision work starts from £299 and is broken down into parts, paint materials, labour hours and fixings, so you can set it line by line against somebody else's quote instead of comparing two totals that hide different assumptions. Nothing is asked for up front: there is no deposit on bodywork, and the invoice is settled when you collect the car. On an insurance claim that same breakdown goes to the engineer acting for your insurer and we deal with them directly. If stripping the car exposes damage nobody could have seen from outside, the work pauses and you decide what happens next.
What we do
Collision and accident damage
Impact repairs from a light knock to structural work, quoted from the stripped car and repaired to the maker's method.
Dents, scratches and small damage
Localised repairs to individual panels, where the aim is to keep as much of the original factory paint as possible.
Paintwork, respray and restoration
Whole-car colour changes, faded or lacquer-peeled paint brought back, and clouded headlamp lenses made clear again.
Wheels, welding and rust
Kerbed and corroded alloys refinished, and rot cut out and replaced with fresh metal rather than hidden with filler.
Why drivers choose us for this
Quoted from the car itself
We look behind the damage before putting a figure on it. An estimate written from photographs has not seen the crash beam, the bracket or the pushed-back headlamp mounting.
Colour matched to your panel
The mix is chosen against the actual paint on your car, not the code alone, and carried across adjacent panels where metallics and pearls demand it.
Panel shop and workshop together
Damage that reaches past the bodywork into steering, suspension or cooling is handled here rather than subcontracted. One quote covers the whole repair.
Insurance or paying yourself
The same standard of repair and the same itemised breakdown either way. If you are weighing a claim against paying directly, we will price it so you can compare properly.
Get a price now
Enter your reg and pick the work. You get a real range from our own rate card before you commit to anything.
- Free, about 30 seconds, no sign-up
- Parts, labour and VAT included
- 12-month workmanship warranty
- Collection across South London
“It’s rare to find a garage you can truly trust. Fair price, brilliant customer service.”Thinushan K. · ★★★★★ Google
Prefer to talk? Call 020 4629 9469 or WhatsApp us.
Common questions
Do I have to claim on my insurance?
No. You are free to pay for any repair directly, and the two routes run differently rather than simply costing differently: a claim brings an engineer, an authorisation stage and a record on the claims database, while paying yourself means the quote we hand you is the whole conversation. We quote the job the same way for both. Get that figure, hold it against your policy excess, and the decision usually makes itself.
How long will my car be off the road?
A single scuffed panel or an alloy wheel is usually a day or two. A repair involving several panels, replacement parts and blending across the car runs into a week or more, and paint needs time to cure properly between stages. We give you a realistic date when the parts are confirmed rather than an optimistic one at the estimate.
Will the new paint match the rest of the car?
That is the whole craft of it. We spray out and check a test card against your panel before committing, and on metallic and pearl finishes the colour is blended into the neighbouring panels so there is no hard edge where old meets new. Paint on an older car has weathered, so matching the code alone would leave a patch that catches the light.
Can you deal with mechanical damage caused by the accident?
Yes. Impacts frequently bend a suspension arm, crack a radiator or upset the tracking, and a car that has been straightened still needs its geometry checked. Because the workshop is on the same site, the mechanical work goes on the same job sheet instead of becoming a separate trip to another garage.
Can I choose my own repairer, or do I have to use the one my insurer names?
You choose. Insurers maintain their own approved networks and will steer you towards them, but the car is yours and so is the decision. Tell your insurer you are using KITH Cars and we will deal with them directly. Be aware of what changes: an insurer typically guarantees work done inside its own network, and outside it some policies ask you to cover a shortfall if our figure and theirs differ. Read your own policy wording, or send it to us and we will go through it with you before you commit to anything.
Is there a courtesy car while mine is in?
Yes, subject to availability, at 30 pounds plus VAT a day - 36 pounds a day all in. We would rather quote a real figure than advertise a free car and recover it somewhere else in the bill. Ask when you book and we will tell you straight away whether one is free for your dates.