Dented Lancer - parking lot woes :(

[cyssero]

Hey fellas,

Well, as the title reads, my previously spotless Lancer has a dent in it from someone jamming their door into it. Such inconsiderate people in this world. I park as far away from the closest car as possible, make sure I'm well within my lines and even fold the mirrors in, still, there's nothing to prevent the stupidity of others.

Rambling aside, the car has a small, but noticeable dent in it. It really is small, I hardly noticed it until I went to clean it today and noticed the light reflecting off it. Some paint has come off and now I know it's there I'll notice it every time.

I have two choices - grin and bear it, or look into repairing it. It's just a new car and I don't even think my 13 year old Falcon has a dent on it, so I'm very tempted to fix it. Is it [s]possible[/s] feasible? Is it worthwhile for a small dent?

I will definitely take some pictures and share, but was wondering if anyone had any advice on issues like this and any idea how much it will cost.

It could easily happen again. But while the car still feels new I want to keep it like that.

Appreciate any advice, thanks!

[leevin]

yeah its def repairable man. on dads bmw, we went to a place and it cost "$50 a dent" up to 2cms i think haha. funny how it worked but oh well.
sucks how they didnt leave a note or anything.. karma is on your side now ...or so i hope.

[cyssero]

Cheers mate, $50 a dent sounds really reasonable, I've been reading on PDR which seems to be what they are all using these days, but they might need to get on the other side of the panel to do it which involves taking the door apart, just hope they don't screw anything up while I'm at it!

It's rare that anyone leaves notes these days. I knew a girl who smashed into another car, ran off, then came around later making sure no one else had left a note (so she could get rid of it).. ridiculous!

Anyway, the price sounds good so I'll check it out

[exaltd]

Taking our door panels off is easy anyway, so there shouldn't be much of a problem with cock-ups (As James May likes to put it). It's a matter of 3 screws and a bit of elbow grease...

I reckon these jobs are just a matter of pushing the dent back out and then puttying it so it won't be so noticeable - followed by touch up paint and a bit oif polishing... maybe you could do it yourself if you have time?

I don't know, i'm no panel beater but i reckon thats what they do...

-EXALTD-

[Mizta B]

Depending on the dent you can go to someone like Dentbuster that do "Paintless" dent repairs
Basically they dismantle the door.heat the panel from the inside to soften the paint so it wont chip or flake then they use special tools to massage the panel flush again. Touchup paint will cover the little mark left behind hopefully.
Iv'e seen it done and had my last car repaired this way a couple of times.the results are impressive and you cannot notice it.
Price per dent will vary depending on size.
Obtain a quote first then you know what you are up for.

[cyssero]

Thanks guys. Will take some before/after pics too.