Hi. recently, someone kicked my bumper and left ugly dings on my bumper. What should I do? Bodyshop? Can bodyshop fix this problem? How much will it cost on average. Thanks for your input. Bye..

AMG C Klass:

Try to find a dealer who knows the guys who do the paint-less ding repair. It seems that they are magincians; they use proprietary "spoons" to massage your metal back, without breaking the paint, and without needing to repaint or use Bondo. here in Columbus all the Merecedes, Porsche, etc high-end car dealers use these guys.

However, if the dings are in a crease, or the paint has been broken or crazed, you may have to go to a body shop.

But these guys will let you know if they can do it, since you don't pay them until they are finished and they have brought your baby back to "normal". Often they can come to your place of business, and do it in your parking lot. The process takes great skill and some "massaging", but it sure beats having to try to repaint a small section and matching colors, etc......Andras

Hi. thank you so much for your sound advice. My only concern is that the bumper is not a metal one. I think it is polyurethen or something.. Can ding doctors work with this kind material too?? Thank you again.

AMG C Klass:

I don't think so. The secret to their ministrations is their metal tools, which they use like the apocryphal "Italian metal beater" - slowly but surely moving the metal until it is back where it belongs.

In fact, this is how the "panel beaters" did their work for Ferrari, Maserati, etc. when they "beat a new body onto wooden bucks I have also repaired my chromed grill surround by slowly hammering the metal, for over an hour, in little segments, slowly and methodically, until the deer strike was erased. It is not perfect, but unless you look closely, you can't see the slight waviness. But still a far cry better than spending over $200 for a new one or living with a concave grill surround. I had to remove the grill and the surround to do this - but the removal was the easy part.

If the bumper is part of a spoiler, or is very thick plastic, there might be a way of "thunking" it back into shape from the inside, but then you would have to remove the bumber. The Ding Doctors would also have to get access to the backside, whether it were plastic or metal.

And finally, if the paint is broken, then you have no choice but to have it repaired professionally, unless it is painted black, and then you have a better chance of blending new with old.

Please do yourself a favor and go see your MB dealer - he is aware of these guys and can help you. I'm afraid that with this InterNet, where we can't see things, a visual inspection is worth a thousand words....Andras