I took some pics. I knew what to look for, but someone elses eyes might miss it all together. Just like a musician knows when they miss a note, but 9 times out of 10 the audience never notices. I'll get the pics up and posted as soon as I can.

 

Have done this in advance of hail; never really had it tested. Have also used cushions from two-seater lawn furniture (whatever they call those things). Don't forget with hail there's usually wind--you might need some bungees or tie-downs to keep the comforter / cushions, etc. in place. Good luck!

 

Sorry to hear about the hail storm. I do paintless dent repair for a living here in the Puget Sound. I do high-end retail. My suggestion is to check out ultra dent on the internet. The owner has technicians listed for just about all states. If this ends up being a dead end, PM me and I'll check around for you. It's really important that you get someone with experiance and patience! I can't stress that enough.

The mini is a steel car so no matter what the temp outside, the dings and dents are there for good unless someone releases the pressure that is holding them. The commercials you see for the "dent popper" is fake, just a waste of money, so please don't go that route.

Depending on the level of damage a hail car can take me one day to five days to finish. I charge about $350.00 per/day. Others go for the kill. I don't.

Again, if you have any questions PM me and I would even be willing to call you. I'm very sorry.

 

I did a careful wash this morning, I found one place on the door that the paint had been chipped. I'm trying to take pics... but since she's British Racing Green, you can't see the dents without standing at a certain angle. I used Photoshop to circle the dents (no I didnt put them on the car.. Oh yeah.. any suggestions on where to purchase touchup paint????

 

Yep, those are some pretty good hail dents ! But I didn't see any that look like PDR won't work.

Just be glad you have insurance to pay for that... Ka-Ching !!

That chrome piece on the door can be replaced, no biggie.

And, ps, you have some SERIOUS water spots.

 

The pic of the chrome piece was taken before I washed her. Shoulda put that disclaimer in.

 

Sorry to hear about the hail. I too will vouch for the amazing results from PDR. We had a hail storm literally two hours after I bought Carmen. Took it in for repairs, and she looks good as new.

 

I agree....

Your car can be fixed & look great again. It's your baby & it hurts you to have it like that. So let the PDR guys do their magic & it will be perfect again.

 

You are correct, it hurts ME to see my baby this way. I'm currently talking to a couple of places around town and getting estimates. And who knows I may take the words of Cybergypsy... and not see the dents as scars, but as a the survival of life..... (or something to that effect)

 

Are all these shops giving you estimates for doing PDR ? ...or conventional body work ?

Unless you get at least two PDR technicians who tell you PDR won't work on your damage, do NOT allow anyone to fix your car conventionally (hammering, sanding, priming, painting).

 

Get those dents repaired via Paintless Dent Removal techniques, hands down. Conventional body work requires sanding down, bondo (filler), primer, re-repaint. You don't want to get into that mess! Those are 12th century repair techniques that should be banned but most body shops loves them because they can charge top $$$ for repairs and hold your car hostage for weeks, months to no end.

PDR preserves the original factory finish as the PDR technician massages back the dent to its original shape! No paint, no bondo, no sanding, no diminished value!

I would get a head start with Dent Wizard www.dentwizard.com. They are the top dogs of the PDR industry. Always try to find a reputable PDR tech to do this type of work.

 

I promise (and cross my heart) that I'll only allow a certified PDR technician work on Miranda. And 'if' I can't find such a person where I live; then I'll not have her worked on. On the DentWizard locator, the only place in the city I live is at a Pontiac dealership. I'll call them first thing Monday, to inquire as to whether their PDR tech will work on my Miranda. Except for the scratch on the door, I can live with the rest. As the body shop for my Mini said "Motorers shouldn't worry about little scrapes or dings. They're just evidence of a life being lived."

 

No big deal that Dent Wizard is showing up as working at the Pontiac dealership. Just happens to be where they have a contract to set up shop. They work on all makes and models of cars (although I'm sure there are some they hate because they're a bear to work on).

And any body shop technician that tells me not to worry about scrapes or dings is not laying a finger on any of my cars.

 

Watch this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sYqBxkMJrmo
PDR is simple, quick and works.

FYI, I reversed over a bike. Log story short it cost $700 to fix, and that was with a new piece for the bumper and some touch up paint etc. No complete respray. If it was on a metal part of my car I would have gone with PDR, but it doesnt work the same with plastic.

 

Interesting video... I haven't watched PDR being done in over a year. Still amazes me.

I'm surprised he was able to use PDR on that particular dent. It appeared to be right on that body panel crease. Must have been just below it.

Cool.

 

I'm in HSV, also and I've sweated through these storms with you. I'm sorry any of us has to get whacked by hail. I've stood looking out the windows of Von Braun II at Redstone hoping like heck that the hail would fall on all that open farmland, but alas, you're here to tell a sad tale.

These things can be fixed.

 

MINI of Nashville said that?? None of those guys would live with Miranda's pain. A stone ding, maybe, but this is markedly different (no pun intended).

 

Plastic bumpers can be repaired using similar techniques to those found in PDR. Nowdays you don't need to spring for a new bumper cover as most damage can be repaired to perfection.

 

Actually that quote came from the original pre-launch 2002 MINI "Book of motoring" marketing materials.

 

Very sad to see those pictures... However, - on the bright side - it can be fixed and look as good as new..... Let us know how it all turns out...

And we all know - It's not just a car!!! We love our MINIs as if they were children....

Donna

 

Oh. That's good. I know sales are way up, but the last thing we hope to see is an unconcerned dealer.

 

The bike had shredded my lower black trim near my exhaust, but yes the bumper itself is almost nearly perfect, only a very very slight deformation now in the plastic.

 

That is sad! we had a hail storm out here a while back fricken huge i could see them falling in front of me, but my gf was nice enough to pull her honda civic out of the garage and i put my mini in. ; )

 

You better marry that one !!

 

Ditto!