A Ford pickup backed into my 2011 MCS causing dents on the hood. Unless the "responsible" party disputes my claim, not a single penny should come out of my pocket. Still, I wish my Mini didn't have to go through any kind of body repair.

The dents are small enough that the body shop might just try to hammer it out or fill it in. I'm not very comfortable with those kinds of cost-cutting remedies. I almost wish that the damage was severe that it warrants hood replacement.

Anyone with experience regarding this kind of body damage, please comment. How much did the repairs cost? How did the body shop repair it? Were you satisfied? Should I go to a Mini body shop?

 

If a PDR guy can work that ding out, that would be the preferable repair. With modern paints, you can't blend, so they would have to repaint the entire panel. Your car value goes down for being repainted.

As far as filling, remember you would be keeping your original panel. Replace panel, value goes down further. I'd keep an open mind about this, although most shops will change a panel these days since they will make more from the markup of the panel, than from the labor of the repair. Most people would advise getting three estimates. I'm going to say get one reputable body shop (who will probably replace panel and respray), and another from a PDR specialist. If that were my car, I'd go with PDR regardless of cost, if the repair was good.

 

Unless I'm missing something, I only see a small dent below the wing emblem and a little scratch on the grill surround.
Should be a simple fix. They'll probably try and suck out the dent, sometimes dry ice wrapped in paper will pull it out. If not, then they will
either pound it out from underneath the bonnet or drill it and fill it. Then paint and blend.
Shouldn't be too much trouble but it's still enough to bum you out, it would me.

 

I'm glad I consulted NAM because I've never even heard of "paintless dent removal" before. Thanks Blackbomber!

The emblem worries me, though. Though it seems unscathed the emblem is no longer on a even surface. The adhesive holding it on has begun to stretch. Since the emblem itself is not damaged I'm not sure if I can request a replacement.

 

You can take the emblem off. Just apply some heat (heat gun or hair dryer) and some dental floss. Heat it up abit (be careful if using a heat gun since the heat is more extreme than a hair dryer). Once it's warm work a little floss between the emblem and paint and wiggle it. It'll come loose. Also, there are 2 pins on the back of the emblem so pull it straight up. Easy. If it's not damaged they can reapply it after the fix.

 

Looks like something a PDR guy can do. The damage is pretty minimal. Sucks though :-/

 

I've been to two body shops so far and both estimators said that the dent cannot be repaired using PDR.

It turns out the seemingly small dent is just part of a larger damage. You can't see it in the photos, but there is now a significantly wider gap between the top grille trim and the grille itself. This suggests that the impact actually caused the hood to buckle. Also, I was told that dents on the edge of a panel cannot be repaired using PDR.

I really want an entirely new hood now. A new R56, too!

 

Yes, after a second look the ding is right on the edge of the bonnet which would make it hard to impossible to PDR it. 2nd pic looks like a gap in bonnet and grille but 1st pic looks ok. Maybe a straight on shot would have helped on that one.
Good luck, it's still not the end of the world even though it may seem like it.

 

That looks like a new hood and trim to me. $900 is my guess.

 

Should I go to a Mini body shop? Very very few MINI dealers, or dealers of any sort operate their own body shop. The ones that do are usually places with many dealerships serving many brands and are not "MINI" centric . . . finding a good body shop is like finding a good dentist . . .

If you can get the other guy's appraiser to agree to a replacement bonnet more power to ya . . . not that I said that was the best solution but from that damage I'd say good luck and please report back to prove me wrong cuz I don't want that insurance company.


I taught a little auto body repair and painting in the not so distant past and still keep my hand in it doing repair and painting out of my home garage for friends:

I'd call a PDA guy directly and have them over for a look see - most body shops don't do PDR work . . . they see it as competition . . . a PDA guy may agree but I don't completely trust what I'm hearing vs what I see so I'd go to a primary source

modern paints can be blended ... I can show you a technical sheet for Sherwin Automotive paint for a typical MINI color (including metallic) and the mixing instructions for a panel blend are right there . . . I my self prefer to spray the entire panel but that always increases costs for the simple reason more material is required. OTOH in my experience 90% of respray clear lifts after 5 years. A blend can minimize this area. It will still lift but does not look as bad as the entire panel peeling.

people panic at the mention of 'filler' or 'bondo'. This is an over reaction. I have seen a car where a fender was replaced with the wrong year fender, and filler was built up over an inch thick for several feet to change the counter of the panel ... OMG. And we've all seen dents just filled with 1/2 pound of filler, which is WRONG. On the other hand if you watch any of the car restoration shows you'll usually see that when the dents are hammered out, and/or patches welded in, the areas get a coat of filler which is then 95% sanded off leaving filler in the small imperfections that can't be avoided. High end cars get a complete coating of filler which is "completely" sanded off. The resulting filler is fractions - small fractions of an inch thick and if done properly 110% OK. Heck if you buy a new panel there is a good possibility the painter will need to use filler in places to repair imperfections already there!

Food for thought . . .

I'd get the guy to give me $200, use it to take the wife out to dinner and live with the pimple. It's a car . . .

 

My guess... $1500. If it's just the hood. You need to paint the hood, the fenders, possibley the bumper cover.

 

I talked to two PDR guys, and they both admitted that they cannot repair dents on the leading edge.

 

I have a similar dent in my bonnet from parking on the street. It's a little bigger and just to the left of the emblem. I got a quote from a PDR guy who said that he couldn't fix the edge perfectly, but he could get most of it out for $250. I haven't done it yet, though, since I'd be paying for it out of pocket, so I can't say how good a job can be done. If you do get it repaired, let us know what method and the cost.