body work

[kilade]

So I got a big, round, clean dent (18in X 18in) right underneath my gas tank door (a little diagonal towards the back) on a 99 solara. Anyways, I have been approached by 3 strangers in the middle of driving around town saying that they can fix the damage for real cheap $500-$800. Body shops have quoted me $1800-2100. Is this a scam? Has anybody dealt with this type of people before? I have rejected the offers because I don't wanna get taken. What do you guys think?

[Chinky420]

if you take pictures, maybe we can figure out what the cheap method is that they are using to be able to lowball the work like that.


i say this because you describe it as a big, round, clean dent, which to me, means that there won't have to be any re-painting, and that the dent only has to be popped back out and it'll look alright.

if that's the case, then it could be that they plan on just using a gimmicky method, like using hot and cold to make it pop itself out, or by using some sort of brace to pop out the middle of the dent, so it's back to where it should be.


if you're worried about the job getting done right, with out the possibility of having complications delay the readiness of your car, then get it done professionally.

if you are looking to save some money, and can afford to deal with jackassess who may be able to fix it back to OEM (or may not), who may mess up your paint, who may not even be able to paint match it (if they end up chipping the paint), then go with the shady guys. because i'm willing to bet that the 500-800 is for a basic attempt at dent repair, and probably won't guarentee the workmanship.


now if these guys are coming from another shop, and they have the facilities to be able to pull panels, hammer them out, sandblast, mix paint, and primer and paint, then go for it. at that point, even if they mess it up, they have the resources to be able to fix it.

but if they're working out of their own garage at home, then it's not worth it, IMO.

[amabsolute]

look for a place that specializes in dent repair (without repainting) up here in ontario we have one called dent wizard they do magic. i had a softball size dent above the gas cap cover, all the body shops asked round 1000-1500 for repair(they wanted to repaint half the danm car!). dent wizard ask 250 and the panel looks just like new.

[nisargo]

i had a small dent near that area so i opened the plastic side cover from the inside of my trunk and hammered it with a rubberhammer and bought a $10 duplipaint from autozone (the exact color) and painted over the spots where it was scratched and now you can barely tell if there was a dent or not..dont spend $2000 on something like that im pretty sure there are cheaper places where they can fix your dent and it should take about $400 if you want it done professionally.