Hi all! I'm new to the board. Found it via a link from the official owner's lounge board. Anyway, I'm here because....

Some jerk bashed in the front of my MINI the other day while I was parallel parked. Wah.

I had thought the damage was limited to my front license plate mount -- thank you, California, for requiring those! Never thought I'd be saying that -- which was crushed. Unfortunately, today I discovered that somehow they managed to dent part of the hood as well, right around the MINI emblem:



Bummer. Must have been an SUV or something, to do damage so high and so low, without leaving so much as a scratch in between.

Can anyone give me a ballpark of what the dent should cost to fix? It's pretty noticeable, being right there in front and all. Bleagh. Also, is this the kind of delicate body work that I should only have the dealer do? Or will I get just as good results from a local body shop?

Thanks in advance!

 

Agh, that sucks! Another one of my big fears. People are such a**holes. And I don't know what it would cost to fix. I just wanted to sympathize.

 

Oh, I'd say around $400. Sorry about the lowlife.

Welcome to NAM!

 

Sorry to see your damage. Too bad the person wasn't honest enough to own up to it. Or perhaps it was someone in a big SUV that was talking on a cell or had the music so loud they didnt know they hit your MINI. Jerk.

 

There is an outfit( a person actually) around here (Reno) called the dent doctor. As long as there is no paint missing, he can "massage" out dents (from the inside...never saw anything like this process)like that appears to be. had a similar one in an old Porsche and the body shop wanted a fortune....He fixed it perfectly for $75! (10 yrs ago that is)

The car lots use him to fix similar dings... again when there is no paint missing...looks perfect when this guy gets done and I understand it is now a franchise! Check it out! These guys spend a long time learning the technique!!

Some people are just jerks and do not leave their insurance info...that is assuming he/she even knew they hit you!

Had a tahoe back in to my second car while I was standing there and she actually tried to get away...I stopped her in the parking lot and filed a hit and run complaint! Her insurance paid up in a hurry but i did not drop the complaint! served her right...A***hole!

Good luck with it!!

 

Yeah, sorry about the situation. It goes to show how people these days really lack genuine integrity. Sheesh! Looks like it could be repaired for no more than $500. Good luck!

 

Wow, thanks for all the speedy replies! This place is really hopping compared to the owner's lounge board. ;^> Maybe I'll get an estimate from one of those "Dent Doctor"-type places....

 

I had a guy hit my first MC, cracked the chrome bumper (it was an '03) and took off some paint. I went to the best body shop in town and they wanted about $400. A lot of that was to replace the chrome bumper piece, so I would think yours would be less than that, especially since it looks like there's little or no paint damage.

This is why I'm terrified to parallel park in Seattle. I've sat in coffee shops and watched people hit other cars trying to park, and then drive off when they realize they're not going to fit. It is fun though to listen to the bums heckle people that can't parallel park.

 

Whoa...sorry to see this. Very sad. As for the other guy...

 

Try finding a "Paintless Dent Repair" type of place. It appears that there is not a crease, so they should be able to pull out the dent without leaving any marks of any kind. They will have to remove the emblem to do it, but I think this could be a cheaper fix than you may think, thank God! Removing the emblem, pulling out the dent, and putting the emblem back should cost less than $150.

Drew

 

FYI, the dealer doesn't do body or glass work. They send the car off to a local reputable shop to have it done. Go to your dealer and ask the service rep. what body shop they use around your area. It might be cheaper to go through your dealer, but could also be more expensive. Go to local shops FIRST, and see what price they give you, THEN go to the dealer, find the same shop(s) and see what their price is.

Good luck!
-Cody

 

Sorry about your denting.

Before you resort to a body shop & having paint work done, go to a paintless repair place. Look in the phone book or call & ask your dealer who they use. From what I see in that photo it should be doable.

 

Where are you located? Someone may be able to recommend a place to you depending on your location. If your in the Chicago area, a guy with the username "Kenchan" on this site (a MINI owner!) might be able to fix it as he does PDR.


Sorry about the dent! Hopefully it won't take much to fix .

 

I'm in Santa Monica, but for the right shop, I guess I'd be willing to go anywhere in the LA area.

I did get a thoughtful reply from someone in the insurance industry. He warned me that more damage may have been done than is visible, and suggesting that the only prudent thing would be to have the whole hood checked out, rather than trying to fix it cosmetically on the cheap. Of course ee may have been protecting his interests, as it were, but he seemed sincere.

I'm generally the cautious (and compulsive!) type, so now I'm thinking I should just have the dealer handle it when I take the car in for its one-year service in October....

 

I didn't think about that, but the insurance rep is probably right. It could have thrown the hood off a bit and cause further damage. It is at least worth having someone look at it.

 

Dent Wizard can likley repair it...for about $125.00 or less

 

to push out a door ding my dealer quoted me $99 but if it needs paint I would expect more

 

4 years ago, I had my Subaru repainted (different color, and an expensive color mix)... A week later, the dealer accidently dent my hood.

They called a "paintless dent remover" and told me about it. It turned out that the job was flawless !

You should call a place like that and try it before reclaiming your insurance.

 

So sorrry
I live on 73 rd street in new york and people just don't care about cars in the city it's war here I have a dent on my roof one on the hood and a scratch buy the gas cap
The gas cap scratch some one was resting there back door of there van on the car and I was so lucky my girl was walking by and car(her job is to walk by her every mourning) and caught him he had the nerv of telling her it's the city all cars get scratched in the end allstate gave me $260 for it
give it some time the pain will fade