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I have a very large dent in the driver door of my '02 e320 wagon. Quotes run $2300-2600 from body shops because they say a whole new door is needed (and then paint blended). It just doesn't look to be that problematic, and I would like to see if I can "pop it out" myself. I would like to access the exterior shell from the inside, but can't find any tutorials for this on the Internet. Unless it's much like removing the inside panel? But none of those videos take it far enough inside, only showing the guts of the door (for repairs like window or door actuator, etc.). Anyone have a good link for this?
Willing to try paintless dent removal kits, but the dent appears to be larger than what these kits address.
And in case you're wondering: no, I didn't do this. The only thing I'm guilty of is letting a friend borrow my car to make the trek to the campground bathroom while we were camping; she backed it up trying to avoid trees behind her, not noticing the tree in front while turning. Apparently it would have to be filed under my insurance (not hers) because in SC, insurance follows the car, not the driver. And even though I have a low $250 deductible, it will likely either 1) raise my premiums, or 2) cause the insurance company to total it given the cost of the 2 quotes I was given. Yes, my friend wants to make this right, but she's the kind of person who would need 10 years to pay off a $2300 problem unfortunately.
It is exactly like removing the inside panel. Once the panel is off and the window rolled up, you should be able to see the dent from the inside with a flash light. How easy it is to access depends on how near the center it is.
How easy it is to access depends on how near the center it is.
Thanks for replying. So I guess there'll be an opening near the center that I'll be able to see/work through based on what you're saying. The damage is just under the sideview mirror, perhaps slightly more towards the middle, but not exactly in the middle of the door. Worth a shot?
I have only been into the back doors on our 210s, but I am sure there is some sort of access to work on the windows. I have been into the front doors on quite a few other cars. There will be access to the outer sheet metal with the window up, but that is a substantial amount of damage. I would not expect it to pop out, but you might be able to improve it enough that someone could envision repairing your door. You may have to go to a more general type body shop rather than the high end shops.
Not a chance in hell are you just going to "pop that out" and have it look ok. Hit up your local pick and pull places, find a new door and have it painted or just live with it.
I'm in CA but had an incident not too long ago where I backed my girlfriend's truck into a pole going walking speed. It needed a whole bedside and some other stuff to the total of over $6,000. This was on a 2008 Dakota. We went through her insurance since it also follows the vehicle here. They repaired it and I have no idea if they went after my insurance or not. They had all my info and I haven't heard a word from mine about it or seen any increases. That was also the 3rd or 4th claim that my g/f had on her insurance that year for her vehicles. I don't believe her rates went up at all either.
Yep, you're right about me just biting the bullet already. I attempted PDR for hours yesterday without much luck. I could see the shell moving as I increased tension, but it would just pop right back into the damaged place when I removed the bridge. The dent is simply too large.
The only car insurance claim I've ever had was about 14 years ago when someone busted in a couple of windows to steal my backpack, boogie board, and CD's while hiking in Hawaii. So hopefully insurance will be kind given my record.
Take a toilet plunger to it. That’ll pop out most of that except for the creased part. Then take keyboard cleaner and freeze the dent, take a heat gun to it after. Some more of the dent will pop out.
Probably easier to replace the whole door. I’ve done it to my w210 when a psycho ex kicked in my doors. The paint matched up perfectly
I [ashamedly] did try the plunger method, but without any luck. The left side of the dent feels more firmly planted than the right -- the right seems to give a little. Maybe there's a crush bar or something on the left? Trying to avoid the replacing of the whole door since 1) it's super pricey from a proper body shop, and 2) I haven't had any luck in finding a blue door to match from any online and local junkyards. Alas, I may have to just file a claim and get the insurance company to do it, and hope it doesn't affect my premiums too adversely. Thanks!
Theory confirmed! Crash bar, huh. Okay, that makes sense as to why it didn't really budge with the PDR kit I tried. I'll keep searching through the junkyards. Thanks for the tip!
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