Why Estimating the Cost of PDR is Not Done by Size Alone

There are several factors involved in estimating the cost of Paintless Dent Repair (PDR).

Size
Depth
Location
Access

Size: We first look to the size of the dent to determine cost. I will often use objects to compare the size of the dent to.
A US quarter is 1 inch.
A golf ball would be about a 1.75 inch dent.
A credit card is about 2×3 inches.
A baseball is 3 inches.
A softball is 4 inches.
A US 1 Dollar bill is 6 inches.

The cost to repair dents with paintless dent removal between these sizes start at $75 for a small dime size door ding to over $300 for larger dents.

Depth: This is one area that is often overlooked when estimating the cost to remove dents with PDR. When most people look at the dent on their car, they tend to look at it straight on. It is best to look at the dent from a 45 degree angle to also determine the depth and the “repercussion” area. This is the area that extends outside the initial impact area of the dent. This way when we estimate the size of the dent we also take into account this larger area. Using the objects from above as an example, the quarter would have to completely cover the dent, not just the impact area, without extending past the outside of the quarter.

I will discuss the location of a dent and the access needed to remove it in another post.

The dent above was repaired for a customer for an auto body shop in Forest Lake Minnesota.
This dent was about the size of a golf ball and was also deeper than a normal door ding.

Roof Hail Dent Access for PDR

One question I am often asked is how do we repair the hail dents on the roof of a vehicle.

With Paintless Dent Removal (PDR), the process we use to remove the dents is by accessing the inside of the panel so that we can gently push the dents out. We do not actually use suction or some “magic” method to “pop-out” the dents from the outside.

In order to make a proper repair with (PDR), we need to access the hail damage dents on the roof of the vehicle from the underside. We are able to do that by lowering the headliner of the car. The cars headliner is one solid piece that is held in by several screws, bolts, and clips. Once these are removed, we are able to lower the headliner down to rest on the seats. When done properly and by an experienced technician, the headliner can be moved out of the way without any damage.

See the headliner being removed from a truck in this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xaMYqpuOivI

Below is a hail damaged vehicle from some Minnesota storms. The roof of this Toyota has over 200 hail dents. This shows the access gained by removing the headliner so that we will be able to push out the hail dents.

If you are in need of hail dent repair for your car,
Contact Excel Dent Removal for an Excellent Repair.

Mini Cooper Small Dent Removal

A customer came by our Blaine Minnesota dent removal shop for an estimate to repair a small dent in the rear hatch of his Mini Cooper.

Small dent and dings like these can be repaired in under an hour while you wait.

I was able to repair this dent with no visible sign that it was ever there.

Cost to repair: $100
Time to repair: 30-45 min.

 

Paintless Dent Removal in Blaine Minnesota on a Mini Cooper

 

Chevy Cobalt Door Dent Repair

I have been busy lately with hail damage repairs from the recent storms in Anoka County, St. Francis and vehicles from the hail storms in St Cloud and Sauk Rapids.
While hail damaged vehicles can take several days to repair with paintless dent repair (PDR), I am able to get to some small dent removal on cars in between pushing out the hail dents.

This is a Chevy Cobalt that had a golf ball size dent in the door. I was able to provide an excellent repair and restore the damaged dent in just a short time while the customer was able to wait in the comfortable waiting area.

The cost of the repair: $125
Time to repair: 30 minutes

Before & After Pictures of Dent Repair on a Chevy Cruze