ssjelite23

Unfortunately for me, I suffered my first door "ding" today, actually more like a door dent... some idiot opened their door way too hard, slammed on to the rear door on the driver's side (aka the "suicide door") and left a dent right in the middle.



Besides taking it to a body shop, I was thinking of trying one of those "dent" pullers you see on tv, although I don't think I'm going to get the one where you have to put glue on it to make it stick.

Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated...I don't know about you guys but having a new car with a dent isn't cool, the dent sticks out like a sore thumb! HELP!

JY-8

I had the same problem, i know how you feel now........=(
Those people are jerks!!!!
I ended up took it to body shop (i know people there) to fix it.

ssjelite23

i know, i mean, how hard do they have to open a door???

anyway, how was the dent on your door (large, small)? how much did the body shop end up charging you? what did they do to fix the dent? does it look like nothing ever happened to the door?

JY-8

the dent is not that big, but my car is black...it's so noticeable!!!
they charged me $ 200 can to repaint the whole door...i know, it 's expensive.
i heard that some stores only fixing dents/dings, they charge $100 for the first ding and $50 for the second one

ssjelite23

i can totally agree with you on how noticeable it is because i have a black 8 too! i'll have to look around for stores like that becuase i haven't heard of any of those where i live....did the body shop do a good job? was it like it never happened?

greese

Depending on how big the dent is, you can try a couple of things.

If they don't work a)don't get pissed at me and b)your worst case is a trip to the body shop so anything is worth a try.

My dad used to do this one on my Celica for larger door dings. Take a plunger and coat the seal/rim with Vaseline. Stick it on the dent to get a good seal and then pull. Hard! This will work on a dent that hasn't creased on you. The dent also needs to be larger than the plunger.

My brother had an 83 RX7 and people like to sit on the roof with their legs dangling into the car via the sunroof. OK, it was me. I was 13 and it seemed lie a good idea. He would get a lot of little dings on the roof. He would let the car sit in the hot Atlanta sun and then press an ice pack into the spot and apply pressure. He had some occasional luck with this working. The idea is that the heat expands the metal a little and the cold ice rapidly contracts it and pops out the dented area. Didn’t; work all the time but caused no harm to try.

Good Luck!

greese

ssjelite23

thanks for the replies. God of Thunder, is Dentpro a company? so you pay approx. $75 for the first dent then lower after that? do you have their number and maybe i can call them to see if they have a store out here in CA.

Greese, no worries man, i wouldn't get pissed at you, i'm pissed at the person who dented my 8! that person had NO reason to open their door the way they did...n e way, thanks for the advice, it's not a large dent nor is it a small one, i'll try to post some pics to show you guys the dent then when i do get it fixed, depending on the cost, i'll show what it looks like after...

thanks again fellas!

mqandil

I have used similar services similar to the dent pro in the Portland area. They charge $25-$40 depending on the size of the dent. Most dealerships use these sevices to fix their cars. They come to your place, and it takes on an average 15 minutes to perform. Results are fantastic, and 95% of the time you can never tell, of course unless the paint is chipped. Anyone wants help in the Portland area, please let me know.

Mark Qandil

ssjelite23

hey mark, do you know if there's dent pro or something similar in the Southern CA area?

JY-8

ya, the body shop did a good job on the door.
i hope you will get it fixed very soon, good luck.

JY-8

http://www.pops-a-dent.com/pop/index.asp
found this on the net, but i guess this is for large dents only

mqandil

ssjelite23, I really do not know anyone in Ca who does that, but my suggestion is to perform a search on the net for such a service in your area, or call several used and new car dealerships in your area, and ask to speak to their service department and ask them if they can hook you up with the people they use for minor dent removal. In fact the Mazda dealership here in town gave me the name of couple of people. Most dealerships are aware of this type of service, and use it reguraly and I would think some is willing to share the information....good luck to you..

Cheers

Mark

greese

Where is the dent anyway? You said the back door but where exactly? Could you remove a panel and push it out from the insde?

greese

ssjelite23

thanks for the replies. the dent is on the driver's side back door, aka the "suicide door" don't know why it's named that way, maybe people try to commit suicide with that door???
anyway, i probably could take out the inside of the door and pop the dent out, although i don't think i wanna mess around with the door of a brand new car so i may just leave it to the pros, since it may cost no more than $100, i hope...
i checked out that dentpro site, thanks, that'll really help a lot. i have to wait 'till mon. to speak with the dealership i bought the car from since their bodyshop is closed on weekends.
But i will definitely call around and find a good price but with a reputable job...thanks for the help and advice everyone, i really appreciate it. just wish i could remember the car/truck i parked next to that started this mess in the first place so i could return the favor...

TitaniumRX8MD

I too got my first ding today, but I went to Pep Boys and tried that "Dent King" Do it yourself repair kit and it worked. My ding was in the right rear quarter panel near the tire. I followed the intstructions and sure enough I was able to remove the ding. Best $20 bucks ever spent.

ssjelite23

was your dent near the "crease" on the panel? mine is so i was thinking of trying one of those do-it-youself dent removals but wasn't sure it could get the dent out of the crease as well...

TitaniumRX8MD

Yea it was where the tire flare bends

rx8ishprsn

hey i didnt take the time to read every ones reply so i dont know if any one said but if the dent is small enough you can probably use a plunger i had to do that on y moms car before

ssjelite23

nah, i read about those "urban legends" i guess it depeneds...i heard sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. Just like the one about the dry ice how you're suppose heat the car in the sun then put the dry ice on the dent or vice versa till it goes away...sometimes it works sometimes it doesn't...

anyhoo, i'll probably end up doing one of those pro dent removers, it doesn't sound like it's too expensive, unless they quote me price that ridiculous then i'll consider trying diy's first...

msrecant

I have used Dent Wizard a number of times on my Miata and now on my RX-8. Sometimes these places call themselves "paintless dent removal". Their CA locations are can be found at http://www.dentwizard.com/locationsusen

Watching them work is amazing. They are modern day metalsmiths. They work the metal from both sides, adjusting for the fact that the metal has been stretched. Usually the repair takes only a few minutes. Most of the time you can't tell it was ever damaged.

I have paid from $50 to $100 to have a dent taken out of a panel. Despite the price, I would still recommend these guys over any DIY solution. If you are interested, the Feb 2004 Consumer Reports magazine has a article on DIY dent removal.

The problem with a body shop repair is that often they don't just panel-paint, they paint the whole damaged panel, blend the new paint into the two adjacent panels and then clearcoat it all. Now you have paint on three panels that will age differently from the rest of the car's paint.

ssjelite23

thanks msrecant...i actually got their number a few days ago and will call them to set an appointment to get the dent out. It's good to hear that other people are recommending this co. thanks for the info