General Dent advice

[loveshandbags]

After looking at grimwau's posting showing the picture on the 'inside' access would apear to be very limited for a push. Maybe in the UK it's different but I would be amazed if a 'dent remover' repair guy could remove loulou's dent. When a job is being priced it's down to the cost of materials and labour. The time taken for all the 'dent pulling and pushing' might be better spend with a bit of filling and focusing on getting the respray right. IMHO the dent is too close to edge to allow the dent to 'pop' but hopefully I'm wrong and loulou can avoid a re-spray.

I would also recommend that loulou gets a proper quote and put's the claim process in action. If the neighbour wants to 'cough up' the money as opposed to having a claim through his insurance at least he wouldn't be able to retract his 'offer'.

This morning I received a letter from RSA in relation to my own claim stating that they have provisionally agreed with the quote that I gave in and it is being completed on a without predjudice basis. What this means is that they can legally back out at any stage of honouring the claim.

 

[jrkitching]

I was replying to the person who said that they would need to remove the inner wheel arch and wheel as there is no access through there.

That's a good point - any professional dent remover who's talking about removing the wheel & arch liner has either misunderstood the position of the dent (in which case the OP needs to question the validity of their estimate), or they're a complete cowboy.

...I would be amazed if a 'dent remover' repair guy could remove loulou's dent...

I'd be surprised too. Apart from the difficulty of access, I'd say there's been too much local stretching of the metal for this one to come out with an acceptable result. I'd expect the lowest part of the dent is pushed hard up against the central pillar.

If it were mine and an older car, I'd fix it myself cheaply with a bit of filler & paint, but on a new car I'd want a professional bodyshop to be doing this one. The OP is fortunate that the person responsible has accepted liability & if they want to keep the cost to a minimum, they could use a local independent, rather than a main dealer (who'll likely farm it out to a local independent anyway). As to where to go, personal recommendation is everything & it might be worth another post in the bodyshop section.

 

[Murano16v]

Seriously for a good dent man it should be a doddle. If you look at the photo that Grimwau posted you can see the door shut area in the bottom section of the picture and it does not appear to be double skinned. Sometimes they'll drill a little hole somewhere for access which will be hidden behind trim etc. I had one on rear Panda arch and the guy remove the rear light drilled a small hole and went in that way.

Check this out

 

[306maxi]

That's pretty amazing, but I would imagine that smaller dents are probably harder to remove though. Not sure I'd be keen on someone drilling a hole in the B pillar to repair a dent though.

 

[loveshandbags]

Seriously for a good dent man it should be a doddle. If you look at the photo that Grimwau posted you can see the door shut area in the bottom section of the picture and it does not appear to be double skinned. Sometimes they'll drill a little hole somewhere for access which will be hidden behind trim etc. I had one on rear Panda arch and the guy remove the rear light drilled a small hole and went in that way.

Check this out

Good video Murano 16v . At 4.5 hours and at say a labour charge of €75 that would have cost €337.50. Hopefully some magic can be 'worked' on loulou's car.

 

[fifi77]

I have been reading this thread with interest since I picked up a small dent on my car last week. It's on the driver's side door, quite high up. It's like a small dimple, just under the size of a penny. No idea what did it. It's upsetting me quite a bit because the car is only 3 months old and I've been so careful . I'm considering getting someone to come out & look at it, but someone told me it might be too small to repair.

 

[loulou]

Thanks to everyone for all the useful advice. I took it to a recommended local body shop this afternoon and they have quoted £200 to remove the dent and respray the area to match. Looking at some examples of their work they will do a very good job. The neighbour is happy with this quote so this time next week my car should be back to how it was Thanks again for all the help. Cheers!

Lou

 

[jrkitching]

I took it to a recommended local body shop this afternoon and they have quoted £200 to remove the dent and respray the area to match.

That sounds fair and reasonable and it's good to hear that everyone's happy. A traditional repair should make it as good as new & I'm pleased you've avoided the trap of paying £120 for a paintless repair & then not being satisfied with the result.

 

[jimboy]

Thanks to everyone for all the useful advice. I took it to a recommended local body shop this afternoon and they have quoted £200 to remove the dent and respray the area to match. Looking at some examples of their work they will do a very good job. The neighbour is happy with this quote so this time next week my car should be back to how it was Thanks again for all the help. Cheers!

Lou

Very happy things have turned out all right,

 

[loveshandbags]

Thanks to everyone for all the useful advice. I took it to a recommended local body shop this afternoon and they have quoted £200 to remove the dent and respray the area to match. Looking at some examples of their work they will do a very good job. The neighbour is happy with this quote so this time next week my car should be back to how it was Thanks again for all the help. Cheers!

Lou

Thanks for coming back to us Lou. That price seems very keen to what I had been quoted on the old Sport (it was €450- Irish prices ). I cann't stress the importance of spraying metallic 'black'. I would have a professional check the work before you accept that it was done to your satisfaction - you may have to pay a little for their expert opinion.