Well there I am adjusting the trash can next to my car and then suddenly a large umbrella (a table size one) falls on my car. I'm crushed because immediately after it falls off my car I see two dents.

I can handle a few scratches but now I got 2 dents. They are just a few inchies in front of the passenger side before the windshield. One is about 3 inches long and the other 1/2 long. (pics to come) My baby has some deep scares now.

But alas after I came to my senses they look like they might pop out easily. The paint isn't changed so from my limitied body work experience I hope they pop out.

So does anyone have any experience with this "Pop a dent" removal tool I've seen on tv?

 

Sorry to hear about your incident... I would be kicking myself too

I recommend against using the "Pops a dent" or any other "As seen on TV" dent removal tool. Those things simply don't work and in fact can cause more harm than good.

When it comes to dents (Provided your paint is still intact in the dent/damage area) your only alternative to restore your car to look good as new is to bring it in to a PDR (Paintless Dent Removal) technician. With special rods and other tools, the technician gains access to the back of the damaged sheetmetal panel and "massages" out the ding/dent until the sheetmetal goes back to its original position. All this can be done in less than 25 minutes, while you wait, with no paint or traditional bodyshop repair techniques, for less than fraction of the cost. The results are truly amazing and after the repair you will never be able to tell where you had the dents to begin with. The idea behind PDR repairs is to preserve the original factory paint finish, avoid repainting panels and also preserving and increasing the resale vakue of your car.

Given the described location of your dents, it seems to me the PDR technician will only have to remove temporarly the hood insulation material under the bonnet to gain access to the back of the dents. No problemo.

There are local PDR dent removal places and some even provide service to your home or office. I would start inquiring with the largest PDR dent removal company:

www.dentwizard.com

Read thier informative website and find out if they service your area.

The cost? Expect to pay between $50-$90 or more per fixed dent/damage, but it will be the best money ever spent, trust me!

Good luck and post some pics of the damaged area if you can.

 

I agree 100% - don't worry - you'll never know it happened after a good PDR service!

 

I'd be scared of dentwizard. That is the kind of work that you want to get done, but not the quality. I had a friend get work done by them and now that area look slike a cobblestone driveway. Worse than having a dent in the car! In the DC area, Dent Masters is the way to go. Ask for Paul. He will make any dent look perfect!

301-758-6088
www.dentmasters.com

Tell him Dan sent you and you can probably even score a discount!

 

Well thanks for the info folks. The only problem I might have is finding a place that my dealer (or MINI) will deam authorized for the service. Reason being is my car is leased and all repairs must be done by an authrorized place.

 

What!????

Dent Wizard and most PDR repair shops are frequently used by new car dealers, leasing companies and used car lots to fix and recondition vehicles.

That's baloney. PDR is PDR here and in China, so just take the car to a reputable place. the day you turn in the car from the lease, you don't even have the need to disclose the PDR repair to the bank at all.

But if you must (Never heard of baloney like that) then you'll have a receipt showing the repair. Often PDR repairs are guaranteed for the life of the car.

Geez!

 

If they repair is done good and you cnt tell where it happened then why would you tell them about it?

 

PDR is the way to go. Mini of San Francisco has one that they use. Your dealer probably does also.

 

I thought about that one. But I want to check where they suggest and compare prices. Or I mgiht just live with it till I'm closer till the end of the lease. I am only 11 months into my 24 so I have time. Time to curse at it and time to appropriate the funds to cover the fix.

 

A couple stories, I know how it feels when you mess up your own car. I didn't even have my car for a week yet, it still isn't a week yet. I hope more isn't to come.

I put 2 scratches in my 05 and didn't even have it for a week. I was swapping out the intake at night (on Monday), had the flashlight in my left hand. I went to the passenger door to open it. I bumped the flashlight with my other had and it flew out hitting the passenger door. It was a metal flashlight. 2 small scratches..

The day before that my girlfriend and I had her neise in the car and she threw up in the back of the car. Luckly it wasn't bad and I got it cleanded up without a trace.

Brad

 

Yah I got 2 scratches on the car but I think that they can be buffed out. I'm gonna get an estimate on these two if there deemed that they need fixing.

I hope you have the rubber floormats? Makes that problem much easier usaully. :smile:

 

Define dent, because if it's a large one and not a little one I've removed some dents from a friends car before

Here's what you do, wipe the surface clean, grab a plunger (this should be clean too, but that's up to you ) apply to door and pull Voila dent removed

 

There two small lines. One is 3 inches long about 1/2" wide. The other is almost round and just over the size of a quarter. I'll post pics when I get home from work.

 

Plungers = bad idea. Ditto for dent repairs made with "Dry Ice".

If you are going to do it, do it right

PDR is the only way to go, of course if you care about your car, otherwise use plungers that either do nothing or can overstretch the sheetmetal creating humps or high points... It is up to you.

 

i got my dings pushed out by dentwizard. It really depends on the person that actually does the work, but mine was done by the manager there since
my MCS got dinged at the dealer and they fixed it for free. It is
completely undetectable. :smile:

 

I'm interested in Free PSP.

 

Since I always get dents in my cars in parking lots I signed up for the pop-a-dent program at my mini dealer when I bought the car. ski

 

I tried "Pop a Dent". Won't work, took it back to Wal-Mart for a refund.

 

When I went to the MINI of Towson meetup a couple weeks ago, there was a demonstration from a dent removal company. They started the demo by taking a plastic-coated hammer and gave the door of a poor, innocent Cooper convertible one good wollop! Then, another guy walked up and 'massaged' the dent out of the metal. It took about 5-10 minutes. When he was finished, you couldn't tell where the dent had been!

Unfortunately, I don't remember the name of the company! Is someone out there who remembers who it was?

-Paul!

 

Wow, Dude... settle down.

PDR is as much art as it is science. You have to find someone who has been doing it for a while and who is interested in doing the job right. Just because I have the $ to buy a "Dent Wizard" franchise and tools doesn't mean that I have the skills necessary to effect a good repair.

The poster is doing exactly what he needs to do... ask a community of people for recommendations on a place that does a quality job.

Poster: Is there a local MINI club in your area? That may be the best place to ask...

 

Ouch! Sorry to hear about this. Best of luck getting it fixed right....on another car in the past - we used Dent Wizard - great job! My 2 cents...:smile:

Donna
02' CR/W MCS (gone to MINI heaven)
05' Cool Blue MCSC "Ariel"

 

No freaking way. There is absolutely NO PUKING ALLOWED in my MINI. I even have a barf bag in the backseat...just in case.

 

I'm going to keep one in there now. Said that the second she started complaining about her stomach.

 

agranger is absolutely right. My MINI took a little punch in the nose right above the chrome grille, right side, and I took it to a Dent Wizard franchisee in Seattle. He couldn't do anything with it. In fact, he made things worse by cracking the paint. He was apologetic and didn't charge me, but just because someone has a PDR sign out front doesn't mean they're any good at this.

I am going to see a Same Day Dent guy next week (thanks to a link on the Puget Sound MINI Owners website) -- he's assured me he can get the front body line back to 90+% of normal. Then I'm getting stripes and a bra.

 

Well here is the pic of the larger of the two dents. From my camera phone.

Look like its an easy fix? I hope so.