Body work Vs. Body pannels
 

My poor miata has some damage (PO was a jackass) so Im curious as too which would be better to fix it up. Getting Bodywork and paint all at once and prolly footing a fairly large bill, or replacing some of the pannels, most likely mix-matched colors, and painting from there. I already know Im going to need to replace both bumpers. Also my trunk lid is very scratched up, I have no idea what the PO did but its pretty bad.

Since there seems to be a large amount of smashed NA's, for a 90 would any NA pannel fit? What kinda prices would I be looking at? Both rear fenders look like they've meet guardrails. The hood and doors are in good shape.

Body panels (doors, hood, trunklid, bumper covers, front fenders) will interchange freely across the whole NA range.

As an FYI- the rear fenders are not a simple bolt-on operation. Unlike the fronts, getting them on and off requires a grinding wheel and a welder.

One relatively inexpensive option would be to do what I've done with my '92- just say "It's an 18 year old car. It has a few dings and scrapes. Fuck it."

unfortunately I have a few more then just dents and dings...

First, is my drivers fender. Second, is park of my trunk. Third, is rear bumper, almost dead center.
Forth, is front bumper. Fifth, is fender again, gas door thingy.

Obviously I need to replace the bumpers like I said

New bumpers, a small bit of bodywork and a repaint. Used bumpers are cheap. Paint unless your doing it yourself costs about as much as the car is worth.
Sell it and buy one in better shape? The main question though is a car 18 years old, how much money do you want to throw at it?

front bumper and fender are very fixable, rear bumper maybe, maybe not. Is the bumper itself warped and sagging by the rip? if not, it's an easy fix for a body shop, i do it all the time.

I see no reason to replace quarter panels unless there is rust or the whole thing is smashed to hell.