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I've used the "Ding King" befoe... the do-it-yourself kit that you can buy for about $15-20 at auto supply stores. It would probably help for a bowl shaped, shallow dent... the kind of thing where your Big-butt Aunt Margarate bent over too near the MINI and left a dimple 4-8 inches wide. It is NOT going to help much with a door ding where the impact happened over a very small surface area... like the edge of a door bouncing into a very small area on a large panel.
You should be able to find a paintless dent repair place that will massage this out from behind (as long as there is no paint break or crease in the metal). It will cost less than $100 (more than likely... I'd guess around $75) and should make the ding dissapear. It should require no painting, so no possibility of missing the shade and having a 2-tone car.
If you give your city location here, someone just might have a place to recommend for paintless dent repair or you can check with your local MINI club or yellow pages for info (try the former first).
Best thing I ever did for my MINI is to find a REALLY good paintless dent repair (PDR) guy. I've been through one hail storm, one door ding, and two bonnet dings (in addition to one wreck which was not a PDR job). Strange as it seems, I was also recently graced w/ another small ding above the rear wheel arch, driver's side that'll be going in for PDR soon.
I recommend checking w/ local MINI owners, inquiring around the MINI dealers, and asking other area car enthusiasts. Some PDR guys are better than others, so be picky. The guy I use is a MINI owner himself and works on a lot of local MINIs as well as other really nice cars. He knows his way around the access points on a MINI, is extremely reasonable, and understands MINI owners attachment to their cars (...no small feat). Establishing a relationship based on common enthusiasm helps, too.
My MINI's been through a lot but you'd never know it. Let the pros do what they do best I say. Experience, know-how, and raw talent are worth their weight in gold.
Now if I can only find someone who can deal w/ paint chips as flawlessly (on my MINI's side...I do have a clear bra).
which was not a PDR job). Strange as it seems, I was also recently graced w/ another small ding above the rear wheel arch, driver's side that'll be going in for PDR soon.
