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So we had a storm roll through SE VA last Sunday and even though I had my car covered and well protected, the cover blew off and as a result, I got a couple dings on top of the right front fender. With another storm system heading our way tomorrow, I'm going to make sure it doesn't happen again.
Here's a pic of the dings, and my question is, do I bother getting them fixed, or let it be another chapter in the life of my car?
I'd certainly leave them for now as you're likely to get more before the winter is over. Then in spring you can assess all the damage before addressing it either DIY or at a body/paint shop.
Unfortunately, the only long term solution is obtaining proper storage for your car in bad weather.
Shallow dents like that can often be easily rolled out. I would check with a body shop before conceding defeat and living with it.
Look up "paintless dent repair."
From google:
Paintless Dent Repair is the process of removing minor dents, door dings, creases, hail damage, and in some cases severely damaged panels, with the use of specially designed rods, hammers, and/or glue pullers. The car maintains it's original factory finish.
Way back in 2005, we bought a new Ford Freestyle. It came off the delivery truck with some minor dents on each side where apparently some kind of strap holding the car to the truck was pulled too tight or something like that. We didn't want the car with those dents. The dealer's body shop did the paintless dent repair thing, and you'd never know the dents were ever there. It has always somewhat surprised me that they didn't fix the dents before putting the car up for sale. We did end up buying it and were very happy with it for almost 100,000 miles before trading it in.
I just bought a 2004 Porsche 911 Turbo Cab with 70k miles from the original owner. The car was garage kept but used as a daily driver. The body and paint are original with the expected paint chips. I didn’t notice until I washed it that there was a slight dent behind the passenger rear wheel just above the plastic wrap around bumper in the rear quarter panel. Once I saw it, it became the only thing I could see. I found a highly recommended paintless dent removal company. These guys are magicians! The individual removed my rear tail light, drilled a small hole and used a tool to move the metal out and along with tapping from the outside completely removed the dent. The challenge was pushing out the dent along the sheet metal fold along the edge. Took about an hour but the result was amazing. The price was very reasonable. If you decide to repair the fender, I’d seriously consider paintless dent removal as an option.
I just bought a 2004 Porsche 911 Turbo Cab with 70k miles from the original owner. The car was garage kept but used as a daily driver. The body and paint are original with the expected paint chips. I didn’t notice until I washed it that there was a slight dent behind the passenger rear wheel just above the plastic wrap around bumper in the rear quarter panel. Once I saw it, it became the only thing I could see. I found a highly recommended paintless dent removal company. These guys are magicians! The individual removed my rear tail light, drilled a small hole and used a tool to move the metal out and along with tapping from the outside completely removed the dent. The challenge was pushing out the dent along the sheet metal fold along the edge. Took about an hour but the result was amazing. The price was very reasonable. If you decide to repair the fender, I’d seriously consider paintless dent removal as an option.
I've already reached out to one local company, and they won't touch it...seems the metal is too thick for their expertise. I'm gonna keep looking though, if I decode to pursue the endeavor.
I would have never thought of the metal being too thick either. This is an interesting title to your thread. This is a place you can certainly get opinions.
I wonder if there isn't more to the story. Yes, the metal on older cars may be thicker, but that guy might also be concerned about what happens if the paintless removal doesn't work. With a late-model car, you can always fall back on the option of just getting a new fender or whatever. Not true with an older car. It may be that the shop just didn't want to risk leaving the fender on the '72 worse off than it is now if the process didn't work. Just a thought.
I wonder if there isn't more to the story. Yes, the metal on older cars may be thicker, but that guy might also be concerned about what happens if the paintless removal doesn't work. With a late-model car, you can always fall back on the option of just getting a new fender or whatever. Not true with an older car. It may be that the shop just didn't want to risk leaving the fender on the '72 worse off than it is now if the process didn't work. Just a thought.
I worked in used cars at franchised dealership for a long time, the paintless dent guys that worked on our cars all said the same thing. No, the metal is too thick and even as a favor to me would not attempt it. Note, most won't work on aluminum body panels either.
Most paintless dent repair people do not mess with old cars because the metal is thicker compared to the recycled beer cans of todays cars.
Down here in Florida the two guys I know come to your house and work on all classic cars..When either one are finished you can’t tell it was rolled out..I am amazed at there talent..Did my old Pontiac 2+2, my current 66 442 and my 70 car.. no problem
I’m in Bradenton, Florida. I used the Dent Eraser (Mickey Quinn and his son) of Sarasota. They are amazing. They are the go to team for all the dealerships. Came to Wheelbase Car condominium to do my car. Great folks and very talented.
I’m in Bradenton, Florida. I used the Dent Eraser (Mickey Quinn and his son) of Sarasota. They are amazing. They are the go to team for all the dealerships. Came to Wheelbase Car condominium to do my car. Great folks and very talented.
Jim
Wow, small world..I am in Sarasota..Mickey is the guy I am talking about and have used on mine and other friends classic muscle cars for years..In fact I will be calling him after Christmas as I have a couple dents in my el camino I need him to fix.
Last edited by Andy; December 17th, 2023 at 11:44 AM.
If you have full coverage on the car, you are likely obligated through the contract to file the claim within 30 days. Otherwise they might not pay for it. That would be my deciding factor.
If you have full coverage on the car, you are likely obligated through the contract to file the claim within 30 days. Otherwise they might not pay for it. That would be my deciding factor.
If you have full coverage on the car, you are likely obligated through the contract to file the claim within 30 days. Otherwise they might not pay for it. That would be my deciding factor.
Originally Posted by 72455
Good point...I'll file a claim tonight.
If it were me, I'd wait to see what the cost of the repair is first, then decide if it is worth filing a claim. The cost may not exceed your deductible, and if it doesn't, you won't get anything from the insurance company, anyway, but there will be a mark on your record indicating that the car did get damaged while in your possession. Could this be used as a reason to raise your rate at the next renewal?
If the repair quote does exceed your deductible, again, you might want to see if it's worth filing a claim. If the repair is, say, $600, and your deductible is $500, all you'll get from insurance is $100 plus that black mark on your record.
I've always operated under the rule that, if one of my cars gets damaged because of something that does not involve another driver or another party who might be at fault and who would thus be responsible for fixing my car, I don't file a claim with my insurance company unless the cost of the repair is at least equal to double the deductible. The purpose of insurance is to cover against catastrophic loss, not to cover minor scrapes and dings that I caused myself or that were unfortunate, no-other-party-caused incidents like the one that is the subject of this thread.
As I say, if it were me, I'd see what the repair cost is, then make a decision about filing a claim.
I've always operated under the rule that, if one of my cars gets damaged because of something that does not involve another driver or another party who might be at fault and who would thus be responsible for fixing my car, I don't file a claim with my insurance company unless the cost of the repair is at least equal to double the deductible. The purpose of insurance is to cover against catastrophic loss, not to cover minor scrapes and dings that I caused myself or that were unfortunate, no-other-party-caused incidents like the one that is the subject of this thread. As I say, if it were me, I'd see what the repair cost is, then make a decision about filing a claim.
This is some of the best advice I've heard on CO with regard to insurance. That's exactly how I look at it.
December 16th, 2023, 08:06 AM
