Car scratch repair cost in Australia
Most car scratches cost $150 to $300 to repair professionally, and a bumper scuff typically runs $350 to $500. Deeper damage needing plastic repair before paint sits around $450 to $680. Almost all of it lands under a typical comprehensive insurance excess of $650 to $1,200, which is why most people pay for the repair outright rather than claiming. Every price here is indicative — the real number comes from photos of your actual damage.
Free and no-obligation. Two photos and your suburb is all it takes.
Car scratch repair prices by damage type
These are the indicative bands our operators quote across Australia in 2026, for cosmetic damage repaired on site at your home or workplace.
| Damage | Typical cost |
|---|---|
| Paint chips and light scratchesStone chips, key marks, car-park scratches through the clear coat | $150–$300 |
| Bumper scuff or scrapeCorner scuffs, kerb rash on plastic bumpers, car-park scrapes | $350–$500 |
| Cracked or gouged bumperDeeper damage needing plastic repair before paint | $450–$680 |
| Small dent with paint damageTrolley dents, door dings where the paint is broken | $100–$400 |
| Kerbed alloy wheelGutter rash and scraped rim edges | from ~$150 per wheel |
| Dull or scratched paint (whole panel)Oxidised, hazy or lightly marked panels needing a machine cut and polish | $250–$600 |
Indicative only. Multiple areas of damage on the same visit usually cost less than the sum of the individual repairs, because the technician is already on site with your colour mixed.
How deep is the scratch? That decides the price
Run a fingernail across the scratch. What it catches on tells you roughly what you are paying for:
- Your nail glides over it — the mark is in the clear coat only. Often it lifts out with a machine cut and polish rather than paint, the cheapest outcome available.
- Your nail catches slightly — the scratch has reached the colour coat and needs colour-matched paint, blended into the surrounding panel. This is the $150 to $300 band for most cars.
- You can see grey primer or bare metal — the scratch is through to the substrate and needs filling and priming before colour. Higher in the band, and worth fixing sooner: exposed metal starts corroding, especially in coastal suburbs.
Mobile repair vs panel shop vs DIY
The same scratch has three very different price tags depending on who fixes it and how.
| Option | Typical cost | Trade-off |
|---|---|---|
| DIY touch-up kit | $30–$130 | Cheapest, but a visible blob or colour mismatch is common and can cost more to correct than the original scratch. |
| Mobile cosmetic repair | $150–$680 | Repairs only the damaged area, at your home or work, usually in 1–3 hours. Not suitable for structural or collision damage. |
| Panel shop respray | $400–$1,500+ | Prepares and resprays whole panels. The right call for structural damage, rust or multi-panel collision work — but you lose the car for days. |
What actually moves the price
- Depth. Clear coat is cheapest, colour coat is mid, bare metal is dearest because it needs filling and priming first.
- Paint type. Solid whites, blacks and reds match readily. Metallics, pearls and tri-coats take more skill to blend and sit at the top of the band.
- Size and spread. One 10cm scratch on a door is a straightforward repair. The same length spread across two panels needs blending on both.
- Panel and position. A flat door skin is easier than a sharp body line, a bumper corner or an edge next to trim that has to be masked.
- Age and fade. On an older car the technician matches the faded colour in front of them rather than the factory paint code, which takes longer to get invisible.
Does it cost more in Sydney than in regional Australia?
With a panel shop, often yes — metro workshop overheads and labour rates flow into the quote. Mobile repair evens a lot of that out, because the technician brings the same equipment to your driveway wherever you are, with no workshop to pay for. Touch Up Guys operators work across metro and regional territories Australia-wide, and the main local variable is travel to outlying suburbs, which your operator raises upfront when quoting rather than adding later.
Should you claim on insurance instead?
Usually not, and the arithmetic is quick. A typical comprehensive excess is $650 to $1,200. If your repair quote is $300, claiming means paying your excess — more than the repair — and then carrying a higher premium and a damaged no-claim bonus into renewal. We walk through the full comparison, including the cases where claiming genuinely does make sense, in is it worth claiming insurance for a car scratch?
How to get an accurate price for your car
No guide can price your specific damage — depth, paint and position decide it. What takes two minutes is getting the real number:
- Take one close-up photo of the damage and one wider shot of the whole panel, in daylight.
- Send them with your suburb through the online quote form.
- Your local operator reviews the photos and comes back with a firm, no-obligation price, usually within 24 hours.
There are no call-out fees and no hidden extras — the price you are quoted is the price you pay, and eligible repairs carry a 5-year workmanship warranty.
Common questions
How much does it cost to fix a scratch on a car in Australia?
Most car scratches cost $150 to $300 to repair professionally when the damage is cosmetic and confined to one area. A bumper scuff typically runs $350 to $500, and a cracked bumper needing plastic repair before paint runs $450 to $680. These are indicative mobile repair prices — every job is quoted from photos of the actual damage, because size, depth, panel and paint type all change the number.
Is it cheaper to repair a scratch or claim on insurance?
For almost all cosmetic damage, repairing is cheaper. A typical comprehensive insurance excess in Australia is $650 to $1,200, while most scratch and scuff repairs cost $150 to $500. Claiming would cost you more than the repair before you count the premium increase and lost no-claim bonus at renewal.
Does the colour of my car change the repair cost?
It can. Solid colours like white, black and red are the most straightforward to match. Metallic, pearl and tri-coat finishes take more skill and material to blend invisibly, so they sit at the higher end of a price band. Faded paint on an older car also needs the technician to match the current faded colour rather than the factory code, which takes longer.
Is mobile scratch repair cheaper than a panel shop?
For cosmetic damage, usually yes. A panel shop generally prepares and resprays a whole panel, which is why a single-panel scratch repair commonly lands in the $400 to $800 range there and a full respray runs well over $1,000. Mobile repair treats only the damaged area and comes to you, so there is no workshop overhead, no hire car and no days without your vehicle.
How long does a scratch repair take?
Most scratch and chip repairs are finished on site in one to three hours. Your technician works at your home or workplace, so there is nothing to drop off and nothing to collect.
Do scratch repair prices vary between cities?
Less than you would expect with mobile repair. Panel shop rates vary sharply between metro and regional areas because of workshop overheads and labour rates, but a mobile technician carries the same equipment to your driveway in Perth as in Brisbane. What can vary is travel for outlying suburbs, which your local operator will tell you upfront when quoting.
Get your real price in 24 hours
Two photos and your suburb. A firm quote from your local operator — free, with no obligation.
Get Your Free Photo QuotePrices last reviewed 2026-07-20 and are indicative for cosmetic mobile repair in Australia. Your quote is based on photos of your actual damage.