How Much Does Car Scratch Repair Cost in Melbourne?
Everyone wants the price first, so I'll give it to you straight: most scratch repairs I do around Melbourne's north land between $150 and $500. That's usually less than the excess on your insurance — which is exactly why most people just pay me directly and leave the insurer out of it. Here's how the pricing actually breaks down and what pushes a job up or down.
What you'll pay, by type of scratch
Light surface scratches — $150 to $250
These are the ones sitting in the clear coat only — trolley rub in the Pacific Epping car park, a brush down the side from a hedge, the marks your fingernail glides over without catching. Half the time there's no painting involved at all; I can cut and buff them out. Usually under an hour and the panel comes up like new.
Standard scratches — $250 to $500
This is the bread and butter: damage that's gone through the clear into the colour underneath. Door scratches, car-park scrapes, key marks. Now we're sanding it back, matching the colour to your panel, laying base coat and clear, then blending it in. Most of these take me two to three hours in your driveway and you genuinely can't find the repair after.
Bigger jobs — $500 and up
When it's down to bare metal, runs across more than one panel, or it's a long deep gouge, there's more prep, more paint and more blending. A keyed VW Golf I did in Mickleham ran across the front door and rear door — two panels, so the price reflects that. Even then, it's often still under what you'd hand over as an excess on a claim.
What actually changes the price
How deep it is
Your paint is layers — clear on top, then colour, then primer, then metal. A scratch in just the clear is a quick fix. The deeper it goes, the more steps to build it back up. Quick test: drag your fingernail across it. If it catches, it's through the clear and it'll need paint.
How long it is
A 5cm scratch takes less paint, prep and time than one running the length of a door. Pretty simple — bigger damage, more work.
Where it is on the car
A flat door panel is straightforward. A sharp body line, a curved bumper corner or a guard takes more skill to blend so the colour carries around the shape without a visible edge. Metallics and pearls add to that because the flake has to sit right from every angle.
The colour itself
Solid white and black are the easy ones. Metallics, pearls and three-stage colours take longer to match and lay down. A rare or custom colour might mean I order paint in, which can add a day before I can book you.
How many panels
Each panel is its own prep, paint and blend. One scratch crossing a door and a guard is effectively two jobs in one, and the price moves with it.
Why mobile usually works out cheaper
I don't run a workshop with rent and a roller door eating into every job, so my pricing tends to match or beat a shop. And because I come to you — your home or your work, anywhere across Craigieburn, Epping, Broadmeadows and the northern suburbs — you also save the bits people forget to count:
- No dropping the car off and picking it up
- No fuel running back and forth to a workshop
- No hire car while it sits in someone's queue for three days
- No taking a morning off work for it
Should you claim it on insurance?
Most excesses sit around $500 to $800. If your repair quote is $400 and your excess is $600, a claim does nothing for you — you'd pay more out of pocket and still cop it on your no-claim bonus and next year's premium. Get the repair quoted first, then decide. For the small stuff, paying direct is nearly always the smarter move.
How to get a real quote, fast
I quote off photos. Take a few clear shots from different angles in good light, send them through, and I'll come back with a fixed price — usually within a few hours. What I quote is what you pay; no "found a few extras" on the day.
Get your scratch priced
I'm a mobile paint and panel repairer based in Craigieburn, covering Broadmeadows, Epping, Lalor, Greenvale and right across Melbourne's north. Send photos or call me on 0493 932 068 and I'll sort you a quote.
