akmerc

After it got light today I went outside and looked at my car and there were two dents that magically appeared!!!



This is sort of a close up, that's the center crease of the hood towards the middle. I think something might have fallen on it from our garage, but haven't been home yet to check it out.

The other possibility was when it was parked at my wife's work yesterday someone could have walked by and smacked it?? I'm pissed! The car is four weeks old!

One estimate for tradiotional auto body was very informal and said to be under $1000 but over $500. Not to bad... I'm going in for another traditional auto body estimate from a shop that specializes in European cars.

akmerc

Now I'm waiting for a second estimate for repair. And this shop referred me to a guy that does paintless dent repair, that I'm going to call for posterity.

If he can't make it like new then I'm going to have to take it to the shop for the full meal deal. I'm curious to get the estimate tomorrow to see what the price will be for the shop that specializes in MB...

xXHotelCrazyXx

luckily those are easy to fix and wont require any paint work!

akmerc

Great news! We'll see what the PDR guys says tomorrow. I hope he feels that they are easy to fix as well!

kev10

That depends on the dent sizes, but I will think that it won't cost that much like $500 to fix the dents. When my car was only two weeks old, it was dented at the left rear door (a 1.5 inch crease) in a parking lot, and I was really pissed off. I went to Dent Wizard and got it fixed with $90 (the guy fixed it privately for me, while the official rate was around $160). After the fix, it is almost impossible to see. My wife still couldn't locate the crease, but I can as I know exactly where it is.

Per the Dent Wizard guy, a dent is easier to fix than a crease.

akmerc

Yeah, the $500-1000 estimate involves removing the MB badge on the hood and working the entire hood over until it's fixed.

I'll speak with the "Dent Dude" (highly recommended here locally) tomorrow, sounds like he does work like the Dent Wizard guy.....

xXHotelCrazyXx

The PDR market is very competitive, def call around for quotes before committing to one company, especially one who specializes in MB (they will have higher prices due to the fact you drive an MB)

akmerc

The auto body shop just came back with the estimate to fully redo the hood back to factory fresh. They are estimating $844 for everything (not PDR).

If I go insurance route that's not too bad, as long as they don't raise my rates!!

MBRedux

Have it spooned-out by Dent-Masters, Dent-Werks or some other paint-less iteration..

amdeutsch

Anybody willing to bet they will do PDR but have paperwork to show otherwise?

kev10

I am with you.

akmerc

That could be, but the owner of this shop is the one that referred me to the PDR guy, so probably not.

We'll see what the PDR guys says tomorrow.....

acr2001

It looks like an easy PDR to me! Assuming PDR works like normal on aluminum. Front end is aluminum on 2012!

akmerc

The first shop told me that. Anyone know how PDR works on aluminum??

xXHotelCrazyXx

Same as it does steel

AdidasC230

PDR works on alum for sure, land rovers are alum for the most part still and we do PDR on them all the time.

That should be like an 80 dollar PDR fix. No big deal. Good luck

akmerc

Great to know. Hopefully today the PDR guy in my area will be taking a look at it and either simply fixing it or giving me a quote today!


Then my torment will have been short lived!

akmerc

Good news! I went and saw the PDR guy today, he feels he can fully take care of the damage. He's going to do it tomorrow during my lunch break for about $120!

I'm curious to really see how well he can do, and am confident that it'll look great.

MBRedux

Great! Good luck!

PS: Make sure he knows that he is dealing with aluminum and not steel.

akmerc

Good point! I actually mentioned it when he was looking at it. He knocked gently on the hood and said "Yeah it is!"....

Again this guy comes highly recommended from any/ever source I can find in this measly town of Anchorage.....

MBRedux

The reason is quite simple, the tools for aluminum are a little different. The spread width of the tool's tip is larger for alum. than for steel, otherwise he could easily pinch it, which in this cold climate could crack the paint. A warmer than outdoor indoor parking garage would be very beneficial... the paint would be less brittle, and more flexible in a warmer environment.

jctevere

Don't get taken!!! It should cost no more than $300 to fix those two dents via PDR (and that is a bad rate). My guy charges $125 for the initial dent and $25 for every dent thereafter. Granted I am in a differnt place, but Long Island is usually more expensive than most areas around the U.S.

Don't let them BS you about that hood emblem either. It takes all of maybe 5 seconds to remove it, 5 seconds if you know how, 30 seconds if you look at it to figure it out first (yes, it really is that easy). I had a dent bigger than those two dents combined and it came out about 90%. Those small dents will probably come out near perfect. Anymore than $200 estimate for PDR and keep on calling!

akmerc

Thanks for the advice I don't want to get taken and this will be my first experience with PDR.

He has quoted me $120 for both dents.

Glyn M Ruck

Sounds fair to me

Good luck & get it behind you. I'm an **** Virgo & I would loose sleep until the dents were gone!

akmerc

Yes, looking forward to seeing his handy work. These dents can be seen from 20+ feet away, they just stick out like a sore thumb on my 4 week old beauty...

This is my fourth new car in less than ten years and by far the most incrediable and loved so it's gotta be taken care of!