Paintless Dent Removal

[Rich126]

Has anyone used this method for door dings and dents? Approximately how much does it cost?

And, if anyone lives in the metro NY area, any recommendation on who to use if I decide to persue this.

[jbaj007]

Used it 1 mo. ago. $90 for the first panel, $75 for the second. Works perfectly on small areas (door dings); works OK on larger depressions (~1/2"). That's westside LA prices (where MBs outnumber Chevys, and Lexuses are more common than Fords)

[1991 560 SEC]

I saw it demonstrated at the C Class intro last year and it works. They dented a door on a C 280 with a baseball bat,then removed it completely.
Give it a try!!

John

[G-Benz]

Had it done for the first time in 1990...sold on it from that point!

Between careless kids and parking lots, I have mine done so many times I get a Christmas card every year from the dent shop!

NY is probably a bit more expensive than most areas. I pay between $50-$65 for each ding depending on size, and sometimes they will take out lesser ones that are found for no charge!

Best cosmetic improvement value for the money!

My buddy owns a shop. As long as there is no crease in the metal they can do some amazing stuff. A few years ago he sent some of his guys to Spain after a big hail storm.

[1991 560 SEC]

Parking lots suck ! People have no respect for other people`s property.
I always try to park safely, way out in the back forty !

John

[ymsin]

I have tried this before and find that how successful the process is depends on the position of the ding, and the nature of the ding itself. Generally, IMO, dent removals are not conducive on MB coz the body metal sheet is darn thick and hard. Compare this with a Japanese car, the dent repairs work much better with a smoother and refined finish.

The W124 had a dent removed by the door, and if one trains the eyes hard enough, you'd notice some crumples and unevenness.

Whereas the Honda doesn't even suggest the presence of the dent that was there before.

When I bought my 87 300SDL recently I went to the Dealer (Vern Eide) in Sioux Falls, South Dakota (we're in America, guys!). It had nine dents on the right side and hood. They had someone take them all out, total cost to me was only $140.00.

Checking with a dealer might be valid, because the metal is heavier, as stated above.

About six years ago, soon after buying my first Benz, I went through a horrific hail storm. I called my wife on my cell phone and told her my car was ruined. At the next town I stopped under a canopy to look at it. Not one single dent nor ding! I was shocked as well as being ecstatic!

About two miles from where I was hailed on so severely is a big car lot. I stopped a few days later and walked their lot. ALL brands, including, but not limited to Lincolns and Caddies, had dents, large and small, all over.

Benz is better, tried and proven.

Best regards,

[Rich126]

If hail won't dent the paint, then just what do these people do to give me door dings!?? They must be trying to dent the car...

Rich,

Well, they do do some serious damage, but think about the sharp edge and the force with which some people open their doors.

And, some people love to hate those of us who buy these fine cars, they think we all paid $50k and up for them, if they only knew the truth!

My best advice is to avoid them at all costs. I, too, many times park my car way out in the boonies. I can use the exercise, anyway!

Also, I drive my Benz, and I mean drive it - 36k to 40k a year, so just have resigned myself to a few blemishes. Now, if I ever convince my wife to let me buy one to park and coddle and rarely drive, I'll be sure to let you all know!

Best regards,

[JCE]

If you have a good body shop you trust, they may have a preferred paintless dent remover. My body shop said they went through quite a few promising companies before they found one that lived up to their expectations. The body shop turned away my repair requests until I had tried the dent remover first! (Using them for 20+ years helps, I guess ). I am calling the paintless people next week and will post some pics of before and after, if there is any interest.

[jsmith]

Dent Wizard is a popular franchise and there are some in the NY metro area. It can be a racket as some PDR guys charge $75 just to come out and see. I think $50 - $60 is possible as I was given an estimate of $50 for a dime sized ding here in NJ.

Another body repair service I am looking into is "Chipsaway" as PDR does not address rock chips, "keyed" doors etc., that involve paint damage. It is also an "in your driveway" type deal. They have a site at http://www.chipsaway.com but I find little mention of them outside of some other car forums. They claim they have been around for 20 yrs. Anyone used this service at all?

[500sec]

Paintless dent removal only works if the guy knows what he is doing.I work for a used car dealer and we have it done to all the cars we ship to PA.........Rich if you want to call him the # is 1800-883-0951....DENT-DEVIL.He is pretty good tell him u got his number from James at the car place.Chips away works to if you get the right guy.It is time consuming to do correctly(I was trained to use the C/A system to mix and applie the paint)




Have a great day
James

PDR does work if the circumstances is correct (i.e. no crease, guy knows what hes doing)

I have had a lot of my cars done in the past, i got hail storm and one of the benzs got damaged outside (only reason other one didnt have probs was because it was in garage).

The metal is thicker so it withstand it better than the honda, but not better than the F250. nevertheless, still did almost 5 grand in damages.

All fixed and looking good now. Try dent wizard, its pretty cheap usually like couple hundred or less. I had my whole car done from hood to roof, to trunk, to both sides of car for little over a grand.

[ymsin]

JCE - before and after pics would interest my curious mind.

Regards from where we sit.