What are the paintless dent repair limitations?
From parking lot door dings to all over body damage caused by hail, dents & dings have a negative impact on not only your vehicle’s aesthetics but it’s resale value. When it comes to getting car dents repaired, there are a couple of options, the most popular being paintless dent repair (PDR.) The second option is to take your car to an auto body shop. Paintless dent repair is still relatively new concept to vehicle owners and therefore, many questions to be answered about paintless dent repair limitations.
What is Paintless Dent Repair?
Paintless Dent Repair is a process of removing dents and dings from the damaged panel of a vehicle without the need to apply fillers and paint. By massaging the damaged panel, the PDR technician is able to encourage the metal to go back to its original shape using a small collection of specialized tools including metal pushrods, dent pullers/lifters, glue tabs, graphic LED lighting, and more.
To this point, if there is paint damage, PDR is most likely not your best option. Furthermore, if the metal has been creased, twisted, crunched, or torn – paintless dent repair is not an option.
Inexperience Can Cause More Damage
If paintless dent repair is done incorrectly, it is easy to make the damage worse than it originally was. This happens when an under-experienced or ill-trained technician is hired to repair your dents.
Paintless Dent Repair is NOT easy.
The perfection of the PDR technique requires quite a bit of hand-eye coordination and often years of practice, but the result is always worth it. No marks, no imperfections in the paint – just a smooth surface remains.
The chance of further damage can be reduced greatly by choosing a reputable company that specialized in PDR techniques.
Like anything else, both approaches have pros and cons. In this article, we will cover the cons of paintless dent repair and the primary difference between PDR & conventional body shop repairs.
Paintless Dent Repair Does Not Repair Paint Damage
If your vehicle was involved in an accident or collision, the paint was likely damaged. Paint chipping and scratching is a common side effect of a vehicle being involved in a wreck. Just as the name suggests, Paintless Dent Repair is “paintless.”
Paintless Dent Repair Shops Aren’t Always Available
Paintless Dent Repair has been around for nearly 75 years and there are thousands of experienced PDR specialty shops around the world but there might not be one in your town. If this is the case in your area, your best option is to do a quick search in the closest major city. The Hail Shop USA, like many other shops, offers a free pick-up & drop-off service within 30-45 miles of their shop.
To find a paintless dent repair shop near you, simply do a search for “paintless dent repair near me” or “auto hail repair near me” in Google or the search engine of your preference and do some research.
Many Paintless Dent Repair Shops Aren’t “Preferred” By Your Insurance Company
This isn’t always a “disadvantage.” Knowing what “preferred” actually means is very important. Paintless dent repair is any insurance companies preferred method for dent removal, especially if the dent & ding damage was caused by a hail storm.
For small to medium-sized dent repair, PDR is faster, cheaper, more efficient, and comes with a lifetime warranty. This saves your insurance company money because when it comes to auto hail damage repair, your insurance company covers damage that is categorized as an “Act of God.”
After filing a hail damage claim, your insurance company might refer you to their “preferred” list of shops to repair your vehicle. This is called “steering.” Steering is not only illegal but also comes with no benefit to the car owner. Insurance companies will partner with auto body shops in exchange for better pricing.
Final Thoughts
Choose wisely. Just as there are pros & cons to anything in life, there are some disadvantages that come along with Paintless Dent Repair. Knowing the type of dent damage your vehicle has, where you should take your vehicle for repairs, and what to be aware of when making any decision is key.