Unfortunately, traffic incidents and dents are a possibility when you’re a car owner. While you are familiar with your own driving skills, you have no control over the skills of others, and at any point, you might walk back to the parking lot to find that someone has dented your car.
There are many different ways that a car can become dented or damaged. A fender bender or a sideswipe from another car could leave a sizable dent or scrape. Dents can also be caused by bikes, balls, fallen tree branches, grocery store carts, and even heavy hailstorms.
What is the Average Cost of Dent Repair?
Fortunately, because dents are a common incident, dent repairs are as easy. But having a dent repaired, and repainting your car can be a time-consuming and costly hassle. The cost of the average dent repair is between $125–$500+, but the actual cost to repair your dent will depend on the process, the type of car you drive, and other factors.
What is Traditional Dent Repair?
Traditional dent removal involves pounding the dent out of the car’s external body to a degree that’s workable, and then sanding down the area. With meticulous skill, layers of bonding material is applied to reshape the dented area to replicate the original form, and after sanding, paint is then applied to match the rest of the body.
This repair method is more economical than paying for replacement panels. Do not attempt to fix the dent yourself, else you risk invalidating the warranty on your car and the value of your vehicle will drop. Instead, consult a local collision repair shop on what type of repair is best for your car.
What is Paintless Dent Repair?
Paintless dent repair is a process where the body of a dented car is reshaped using specialized tools so that it looks exactly as it did before. There is no need to repaint, so you don’t have to worry about paint-matching the dent area with the rest of the car. The process of paintless dent repair might be less work intensive, but it’s still complex and requires the expertise of a skilled tradesperson.
First, a technician assesses the damage. The contours and angles of the dent are mapped out, The technician takes special care examining the shape, size, and position of the dent on your car.
Next, to gain full access to the dent, the technician may need to remove accessories, body panels, lights, or interior panels from your vehicle.
Finally, technicians use specific tools to apply pressure, carefully pushing the metal back into its original position without affecting the paintwork.
What Can’t Be Fixed with Paintless Dent Repair?
Unfortunately, not all problems can be fixed by paintless dent repair. Paintless repair is only a suitable solution for dents where the paint is intact. It shouldn’t be used where there are scratches, scrapes, or chipped paint, or where the paint is peeling or bubbling.
Paintless dent repair is also unsuitable where the metal has been stretched out or warped to the point that it couldn’t simply be reshaped.
Factors That Can Influence the Cost
The cost of traditional, and paintless dent repair is influenced by a large variety of factors. The size of the damage should be the first consideration. Generally, dents are thought of in three categories.
· Minor dent damage. This is typically smaller than a quarter and can be fixed quickly and easily. Dents of this size don’t always require a technician and can cost between $50–$200. Most common dents fall into this category.
· Moderate dent damage might be between 1–2 inches and are often caused by a foreign body. These repairs will often need extra work and will take longer, so they are usually $2,000–$5,000 to fix.
· Severe dent damage. Severe damage is much larger, often deeper, and requires more time and far greater skill to repair. These repairs can cost up to $10,000 and should only be completed by experts at an auto repair shop.
The position of the dent can also increase costs. For example, dents in hard-to-reach places will be more expensive to fix. If a car has multiple dents, such as is common with hailstone damage, the repair job will be more labor intensive. Overall costs and costs per dent will both increase accordingly.
Other factors that could influence the cost of your dent repair include the age of your car, the type of car you drive, and where you go to get it fixed.
