Did you just get a dent in your car?
Maybe you accidentally backed your car up into a pole that you didn’t see. Or maybe an errant shopping cart flew across the parking lot at the grocery store and hit the side of your car.
Whatever the case, it’ll be important for you to arrange to have dent repair done right away. It’ll make your car look great again and stop a dent from bringing down your car’s value.
Before fixing a car dent, though, you should see what the dent repair cost is going to be. A car dent repair shouldn’t cost too much money in the end. But it could cause your pockets to take a slight hit.
Today, we’re going to discuss several factors that will affect what auto dent repair is going to run you. Find out more about these factors below.
Where the Dent Is
The average car lasts for somewhere between 11 and 12 years these days. And when people keep their cars for anywhere close to that long, it’s inevitable that they’re going to get a few dents here and there.
Some people will end up with dents in their doors. Other people will get dents in their bumpers. And there are even people that will find themselves with dents on their roofs, often caused by hail.
The location of a car dent is going to play a big part in how much it’ll cost to get it out. It’s usually easier to get a dent out of, say, the middle of a door than it is to get one located near the edge of a door panel out.
You should consider where a dent is located when you’re trying to calculate the dent repair cost you’ll face. It could be an important factor when you go to pay for auto dent repair.
How Big the Dent Is
Car dents come in many different sizes. There are some small dents caused by shopping carts and some big ones caused by car accidents.
You should assess the damage that was done to your car when it gets dented and see exactly how big of a dent was left behind. The larger a dent is, the higher your dent repair cost is typically going to be.
That being said, you shouldn’t necessarily freak out if you find yourself with a big dent in the side of your car. It might not look very nice at the moment. But that doesn’t mean that a mobile dent repair service won’t be able to get it out with ease and make your car look like new again.
You should, however, be aware of the fact that your dent repair cost is usually going to increase when you have a big dent on your hands. It could very well take a little more work on the part of a service to fix it.
When the Dent Occurred
Generally speaking, you should try not to put off car dent repair for too long. If you don’t make it your mission to repair a dent in your car, it could make it a lot harder to fix down the line.
If the body of your car was creased at all when it was dented, it could result in small portions of your car rusting. And once your car begins to rust a little, it’ll only be a matter of time before it’s rusting a whole lot.
You can prevent rust from forming on your car and spreading by having a dent repaired ASAP. You can also keep your dent repair cost on the lower end of the spectrum by acting quickly.
If you wait too long to fix a dent, it might ultimately take way more work to fix it. That is going to send your auto dent repair bill skyrocketing, and it could also have long-term consequences on the appearance of your car.
What It Will Take to Fix the Dent
When you bring your car to a shop to have dent repair done, there are a handful of different methods that they can use to fix the dent in your car. They’ll be able to choose the right method based on the location of a dent and the severity of it.
In certain instances, a shop will be able to remove a dent from your car within just a few minutes. But in others, they’ll really have to work hard to make a dent in your car a thing of the past.
Ideally, they’ll be able to utilize a method that’s called paintless dent repair to remove a dent for you. This method is quick and painless and should make your car look like a dent wasn’t ever in it when everything is finished.
Paintless dent repair tends to work best on cars with small to medium size dents in them. But you might be able to fix bigger ones, too, depending on the circumstances.
Regardless of which method you choose to use to repair your car, it’s going to have an impact on the price that you pay. Your dent repair cost will go up or down based on the method that’s used.
Who Will Repair the Dent
If you ever find yourself with a dent in your car, you shouldn’t have any issues tracking down a brick-and-mortar or mobile dent repair company to assist you with it. There are certainly plenty of them scattered throughout the country.
At this time, there are well over 100,000 auto body shops in existence. Many of them would be more than happy to lend a hand with car dent repair.
But you should be careful about which shop you trust to set you up with dent repair services. They aren’t all going to charge the same prices for them.
You might be able to save yourself a nice chunk of change by choosing one versus another one just up the street. It would be well worth obtaining multiple quotes from shops before choosing one over all the rest.
It would also be worth doing your homework on the shops in your area to find out:
- Which ones have the most experience
- Which ones have the best reputations
- Which ones are located in the most convenient places
- Which ones can help you with a car dent right away
- Which ones offer warranties on their dent repair services
The last thing that you want to do is toss the keys to your car to a company that you can’t trust. You’ll definitely regret doing it later if you take this approach.
How Soon the Dent Will Need to Be Fixed?
As we alluded to earlier, you don’t want to let a car dent linger for too long. You want to have it fixed as soon as you can, so that rust doesn’t begin to develop.
But at the same time, you don’t have to get a dent fixed the same day that it happens. It’s just important you get it repaired within a few weeks.
If, however, you have some reason why you need to hurry, you can usually convince a car dent repair company to fix your vehicle right away. But you should prepare to pay a little bit extra for it in this case.
Rather than rushing through the car dent repair process, you might want to encourage a company to take its time. This will provide you with an opportunity to get a better deal on repair services.
Which Coupons Are Available for Car Dent Repair
Because there are so many car dent repair companies throughout the country, you should be able to find coupons for the services that many of them provide. These companies will often hand out coupons in an effort to motivate people to reach out to them.
You shouldn’t be shy about taking advantage of these coupons when they’re made available to you. Using one could save you a significant amount of money on your total dent repair cost.
Find Out What the Dent Repair Cost Will Be for Your Car
Getting a dent in your car is not a good feeling. It’ll make you hate the way your car looks, even if you only have a tiny dent in it.
But fortunately, you won’t have to live with a dent for very long. You can have it fixed up in no time if you want.
You can also keep your car dent repair cost on the lower side by taking a few simple steps. Take what you learned here today and apply it when you’re repairing your car.
Get more auto repair tips by reading our other blog articles.