Topchef2b

Got this in the parking lot at work , wondering if anyone has any idea what is the rough cost to fix this?

alexyanglaw

It cost me $80 to fix the dent back to perfect condition.

I am in L.A, and my body shop is: Marco auto body.

http://www.marcosautobody.com/

Krytech

My condolences...

I had something similar fixed a number of years ago for around $150 and they came to me to do it. Luckily there was not a scratch in the paint or a crease in the dent so some PDR is all I needed.

How does yours feel when you touch it, can you feel a crease of any kind?

Sanjuro Makabe

I got an identical ding 2 weeks back, paid ~$100CAD, http://www.richmondautospa.com

3 hours work, extremely happy with results, near invisible now

I'm in Vancouver BC, Canada (shop is in Richmond)

in my opinion, a ding is a ding, its an eyesore and I'd pay anything to get rid of it...we love our cars!

edit: oh and similar to yours, the dent has a crease in it, that means the metal is already stretched, and depending on the professional doing it, it won't be 100%, if done well, it should be barely noticeable...good luck

Topchef2b

That's the price range I am looking for, unfortunately, I am in Nor Cal so far the only quote I got is $450....

justthinking

I would be interested to find a good plce for dent removal in n. cal too..
BTW..anyone know how the shop remove these dents?

Distalero

You may not like the answer, but in general they "access" the reverse side of the sheet metal and sort of rub it out with various tools, using a strong light with a grid on it so all angles of the surface can be seen. This "access" I refer to frequently is actually drilling a small hole somewhere where it won't be seen, doing the massaging, and then plugging the hole as the last step.

This whole technique came from the 3rd world where money is very scarce, but it is, in my opinion, worth it's weight in gold here, if the tech is good at it. The good ones will tell you straight up if they can do it or not. Usually if the paint is cut, they won't. I was able to talk my way in when I used the service a couple of years ago, so I watched a little bit of it. Apparently there are (or were, then) different techniques, so watching was greatly frowned on, but I let the owner drive my car (it was hotrodded with a roots type blower) and in return he let me watch his guys do their thing.

To find one in NorCal just go to the phone book, or google online, go in for a quote, ask around if you have the time.

alexyanglaw

wow...$450...that price is a bit high just to fix the dent, please keep looking for the shop with better price

misterng

http://homepage.mac.com/dentexpert/PhotoAlbum29.html

cvkatigbak

Less than 100 bucks. Then you can probably buff it.

myinternetsucks

should be about 60-75 around where i live. there are a million paintless dent repair shops and even a ton more that are mobile shops that come and remove dents while your at work.

itcrashed

http://www.dentpro.com

$90

tivoboy

This is just the reason why I bought that 300$ playing card dent repair warranty, I knew this type of dent would DING me at some point, and I'd like to be able to just get it done free, no hassle.

Good luck finding a repair, shouldn't be more than 100$,

Sanjuro Makabe

it depends on the shop and the specialist doing it, the dude that did my car was a professional who took courses and usually work on high end cars such as Ferraris and Astons...he explained that while most people need to either remove the door panel or drill holes to access the other side of the door, he doesn't...

He asked me to roll down the windows and was able to access the panel without drilling or removing the door panel, he then inserted a metal rod to massage the majority of the dent out, at the same time he heats up the dent as well as Hammer/Chisel it (its not really a chisel but similar). I'm assuming he had to even the dent out so when he massage it so everything becomes even.

It was amazing watching him do it and he explained further that Mercedes uses high quality paint and has many layers of it, therefore there is this "orange peel" effect on the paint, so his last steps were to produce that effect around the dent by using the hammer/chisel again (it was really painful to see him do that) but it really does work...then I had it polished and waxed, etc....the dent is now invisible

misterng

Try it at your own risk!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItSWESEVOUA

Sanjuro Makabe

This method should work on dents, but if the dent contains a crease (such as a door ding), it won't work because the metal is already stretched. (I know coz I tried it hah)

In that case, PDR can fix it..

TB5...

Science RULES!

Topchef2b

Thanks guys, I will give the hairdryer and air compressor method a shot over this weekend.

Since there is paint damage, I have been quoted (from couple of the places) that would cost me more than $150 for the complete fix.

misterng

If it doesn't work, give Sal a call. He's in the SF area.

SAL/Dent Expert 650 349-3368 or dentexpert@mac.com

woedee

Did you manage to take care of this? If so, how much, where & pix plz

G2low

Ive heard of pulling dents out with a plunger.

I dont have first hand experience, but i would recomend doing this in a garage so your neighbors dont think your weird.

woedee

One method that I just learned of today was with dry ice!?!??!