Hey guys
So on my countryman there is a decent size dent/scratch on the hood (about the size of a quarter) .. along with a bunch of small scratches on the bumper im guessing this is from a run in i had with gravel on the freeway

Anyways anyone have any idea how much i should expect it to cost to get these fixed?

Thanks for the help

 

you should be able to get a free estimate from a local body shop. if i had to guess i'd say around $1500. i put a clear bra on the front of mine right after i got it and it's held up great for the 2 years it's been there. the windshield on the other hand... i'll have to replace that in the spring, i'm sure it will take more of a beating this winter.

 

sigh, thought it could be expensive. There are a few body shops that i know of that i could look at, also a mini specialist.. not sure if they do body work though. Any idea if mini dealers can do .. i guess like a small paint job on the scratch?

Ill definitely have to look at this clear bra! There are a lot of dirt roads around where im living currently and rocks seemed to always get on the main roads :(

Good luck with the windshield! On my old volvo i had a crack in it for a few weeks and it kept getting bigger because of the summer heat. But i didnt think i would get a dent already after getting the mini, its only been 3 weeks.

Thanks for the reply!

 

the dealer MIGHT be able to do it based on how bad it is, it's doubtful that it would be cheaper to have them do it rather than a local body shop tho. the clear bras are nice. professionally installed they cost quite a bit, but really save the front of your car from dings and nicks. i picked up a kit online and did the install myself which was a COMPLETE p.i.t.a. but it came out pretty good and so far has held up better than i expected. kit covers 1/4 of the bonnet, the front bumper, headlights, fog lights and the top surface area of the rear bumper.

 

I ended up doing a bit of shopping around over the weekend at some body shops and it looks the general consensus is that ill need the whole hood repainted and one or two dents taken out. Another option was to just take out the dent with a pointless dent removal and fill in the scratches which would be cheaper but not look as nice.


I'm thinking that I should just wait until December or first week of January and have the whole hood repainted after my girlfriend and I finish a lot of our major road trips. Just going to put some wax on it in the mean time.


Defiantly considering getting the clear bra, I think this is the website originalclearbra.com but full hood cover, lights, bumper (I'm really liking the idea of the top rear bumper as well). From what I can figure out it should help a lot to keep the paint nice and scratch free. I'm guessing if there was a dent you could do a pointless dent removal. On thing I did read was that sometimes the clear bra may discolor with age?


Overall though the clear bra sounds like the best option to protect the front in the future, glad to hear it held up better then expected :D

 

You need to take it to a detailer that knows Paintless Dent Removal (PDR), not a body shop. $1500 is ridiculous and a respray might not be needed.
Where in CA are you?
I had 5 dents removed that ranged from dime to quarter and it cost me $300. And another that was about 2-3 inches in length that cost $200.
Are they scratches or chips? How many and how big? Post some pics. I would go to a detailer site like autopia.org or autogeek.net and ask there.
If it was me, I'd have the dents removed and depending on the scratches (how bad and where), I'd repair them. Some detailers can fill in scratches and touch up with touch up paint.

 

^^^^^ +1
yelp Paintless Dent Repair and pick a guy that does just that. should be $100-$150 if easy access.

 

Hey guys, thanks for the replies :D

I talked too two mini dealers over the weekend as well about PDR who said they could do it for about $150 range. Would the dealer be a good choice for this? Im fine paying the extra price as long as its done correctly sort of thing.

But currently i live on the central coast, but im from the bay area and my girlfriend is from LA so we travel up and down alot

I took some quick pic, i was a little busy today so ill see if i can post some better ones later. The scratch is about 1/3-1/2 inch long and there is a shallow dent about the size of a dime/penny.

 

The dealer probably sources out the PDR work. Choose whoever you feel comfortable with. Did anyone offer a solution to repair the scratch?
Google "auto key scratch repair" and you can see some results of detailers fixing key scratches.

 

I found a body shop in Santa Barbara i may bring it to since they have good amount of experience with minis, they said depending on how bad the scratch is i may be able to just do a fill (they want to look at it in person). Some rough estimates if the damage is overall minimal could range from $150-300.

I been noticing some discolored spots around the hood the last two weeks (maybe 1 mm big) im guessing from tiny pieces of rock and maybe something to do with the clear coat. Alot of them have been going away as i been washing the countryman, hoping the rest will go away (maybe about 10~15 of them around the hood and bumper).

Anyways hoping to get this finished up around the first week of December :P and getting the hood at least with the clear bra if they feel it needs a repaint..