How do i fix small parking lot door dings?

There are shops that can 'pop' out small dings. There's also some Do-it-yourself options, as well. I'd rather prevent door dings than fix 'em, so I tend to park further away from the rest of the herd.

 

The technicians usually go by names like "Dent-Pro". You might do a search in your area or call up a few body shops or detail shops and they can refer you to a person they use. In CA you can expect to spend approx. $50-$80 to remove a small dent but they generally charge much less to pop additional dents. It really depends on the location and how easy it is for them to access both sides of the panel.

 

I don't know if this company is national, but they are in the southeast.
I have used them several times on different cars over the last few years and they have always done a great job, pulling out dents that I thought I would have to take my car to the body shop for. The last time that I used them, they not only pulled the dent out, but compounded the paint and took away the paint from the car that hit mine and only charged me a little under $400.00 and I know this was at least a $1000.00 repair job at a body shop.
The name of the company is "Dent Wiz", just call 1-800-dent-wiz ----and they will come to your car and give you an estimate before anything and they are great.

Most work done is around $100.00 and they come to your place of employment and do the work in the parking lot.
No, I do not know anyone employed by the company.

 

One thing you might consider is the color-matched body side molding. You can buy it at the PC Shop (or other places online) and install it yourself; or you can have a professional do it. Total cost to have a pro do my 2009 was $211, which included parts and labor.

Here are the benefits of the body side molding, in my opinion:

- It helps to prevent some door dings from happening (if installed at the correct height).
- If you already have dings, it will cover some of them.
- The dings that you do get (or that you already have) won't "catch your eye" as readily, as the lines of the molding will visually distract someone from "fixating" on the dents. When you have a large, smooth expanse of sheet metal, every little dip or wrinkle really stands out. The added molding will break up the open expanses and help hide the dents.
- And finally, IMO the body side molding makes the GII Prius look more "streamlined". I believe that it has improved the look of my car. And the color matches my car perfectly. It looks like original equipment.

Best wishes,

Frank

 

My last "ding" wasn't a ding at all, someone turned too sharply , either backing out of a space beside me or coming into the space. Their bumper dented a gouge into the lower panel back of my door.
That was the "ding" that I was so proud that "Dent Wiz" removed, I knew I was headed for the body shop, but I thought I would give them a try.

 

Do you have a company there called "Paintless Dent Repairs"? Or something similar?

 

I googled that name in the online yellow pages and didn't find anything.
But, then Nashville is at 3/4 of a million population now and business pop up and down all the time.

 

Dent Doctor is one of these services and did a good job for me. For a fraction of what a body shop would charge.

 

I tried using an air duster and hair dryer to repair some minor dent on my other car and it does work. There is a youtube on this procedure.

 

We covered ours with dalmation spots.
$12, and two hours.

 

In my area (Orange County, CA), Mike M. at Auto Reconditioning in Orange County and Riverside County, California (949-715-3200) did a wonderful job of "re-virginizing" the front right door of my 4-week old 2010 Prius, for only $150.

The door had a small dent, a very small dent, and a tiny dent (but no paint damage) from the rubber-covered back bumper of the car that backed into it.

The body shop wanted $999 for removing the front bumper, the right headlight, the rear-view mirror, the right little window, the right front quarter panel, and the door's rubber window molding. Then, sand it down, "fix" it, and repaint (more than just the door) the base paint, the Bliz. Pearl, and the top Clear coat. Another shop guessed $1200 to $1500. GASP.

So, instead of all of that taking apart and putting together again, Mike (with 13 years experience, he says) came to my house and spent one hour carefully "re-virginizing" the door (removing nothing but the dents).

I am just a very satisfied customer (big smile).
Thanks, Mike