Maintenance is just part of having a car. Your car’s finish is up against wayward rocks, out of control shopping carts, distracted drivers, and so much more.
Dents and dings are part of the lifecycle of any automobile. When life happens, it’s important to know what to expect.
As you survey the damage from your latest brush with disaster, you might wonder about the cost involved with repairing the new dents in your car. How much is insurance going to cover? What about ongoing costs — do you have to worry about chipping or rust damage after the dent is repaired.
The process behind dent repair can be time-consuming and costly depending on the size and position of the dent. If you know what it will cost to repair scratches and dents in your car, then you can budget and start thinking about who will do the repairs.
Quick note… it might be tempting to grab an over-the-counter kit and try to repair the damage yourself, but you’ll just end up costing yourself more in the long run. If the dent isn’t repaired properly, you will have many more problems in your finish later.
Learning about the cost of such repairs will help you to make an informed decision on the location of service and technicians you choose.
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Paintless Dent Repair
The process of repairing a dent in your car can vary depending on the amount of damage done. While repairs depend on the size of the dent, most paintless dent repairs are quick and easy.
Paintless dent repair is typically very affordable, ranging from a baseline of $50 to $120 for a 1-inch dent. The larger the dent in your car, the more costly the repair will be. Most repair shops charge $10 to $30 for each additional half-inch.
To complete a paintless dent repair, a technician will access the area behind the dent to restore it to its previous condition without any damage to the paint. By using LED lights, they can see even the smallest amount of damage or texture to the panel of the vehicle. PDr can fix everything from hail damage to door dings, crease dents, and more, as long as the paint itself hasn’t been breached.
Technicians and insurance companies alike prefer paintless dent repair (PDR) to traditional dent repair from a body shop. It doesn’t void the vehicle warranty, and it makes a deductible more affordable.
You keep the original paint. You keep the warranty. You keep the condition of the vehicle like new. A true fix, PDR is safer and less invasive than a traditional repair.
Traditional Dent Repair
Traditional dent repairs are a larger job and involve larger dents and dings sustained from accidents, hail, and more. The job will cost more if the dent has paint damage. Any damage sustained to the paint finish which has caused it to be compromised requires traditional body repair.
Traditional dent repairs are usually very labor and product heavy, resulting in a higher cost and more out-of-pocket expenses.
Traditional repair is a more costly investment and more time-consuming. This process involves sanding, bonding, and repainting of the damage while also fixing the dent itself. This type of repair takes a minimum of a few days and can cost up to $3,000.
The traditional dent repair can also be more than just a financial investment, as it will be recorded under the carfax of the vehicle (unlike paintless dent repair).
This process uses fillers, welding, and layering of chemicals and paints to ensure that the vehicle is restored to factory-like condition.
It is difficult, however, to completely match some factory paint colors. Paint looks different in a body shop than it does in daylight (hence, the LED lights used in PDRs). The combination of light colors and metallic flakes to give silver/metallic-colored vehicles the shiny appearance in daylight makes it near impossible to match most factory paint colors.
Traditional dent repairs will appear on a carfax report, and further repairs may be needed over time as the bond wears down. The more invasive the repair technique, the more costly it will be in the long run.
Get Help With Dent Repair
In the auto industry, technicians have to maintain an incredible amount of discipline and attention to detail to complete regular maintenance or make even the smallest repairs on a vehicle.
With specialized tools and years of training, the technicians at JM Dent Repair in Lafayette constantly refine their skills to provide the best service possible in repairing your fender dents and more. For the best paintless dent repair around, contact JM Dent Repair today!