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I need medium size dent repair advice

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vmmf

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Discussion starter · #1 ·
My wife was backing up and dented our Rav4 hatch door. I have already ordered the left size rear reflector which she broke. I'm looking for advice on how to better repair the dent on the metal. The paint was not severely affected and I have seen paint-less repair kits of various sizes which include different tools. I was just wondering what tools do you consider important given my specific dent size. Should I consider PDR Rods or only the dent puller + glue + plastic hammer? Do you have a kit you have successfully used in the past that you could recommend? Also, while I'm a big fan of doing things myself I would like to know if you recommend going to a professional instead. Thank you


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#2 ·
In my opinion the cost of going to a paint less dent removal person is relatively inexpensive. This doesn't look like that bad of a dent. I think that by the time you buy the tools you are well on your way to having a professional do it. Ive used them twice. The first dent you wouldn't know it was there when he was done. The second one was in a crease of the door but even that one was almost invisible.
 
Discussion starter · #3 ·
svenster said:
In my opinion the cost of going to a paint less dent removal person is relatively inexpensive. This doesn't look like that bad of a dent. I think that by the time you buy the tools you are well on your way to having a professional do it. Ive used them twice. The first dent you wouldn't know it was there when he was done. The second one was in a crease of the door but even that one was almost invisible.
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Thank you very much for your advise! I will ask around for some quotes to do this
 
#4 ·
Can't tell from the picture, but if the welded edge of the panel is bent, the damage even though looks small may be too much for DIY and may even require a panel.

Would be easier to know if you post a pic of the inside. Then an experienced guy can tell you more.
 
Discussion starter · #7 ·
Just Another Guy said:
Can't tell from the picture, but if the welded edge of the panel is bent, the damage even though looks small may be too much for DIY and may even require a panel.

Would be easier to know if you post a pic of the inside. Then an experienced guy can tell you more.



I'm sending you some more pictures for you to see better
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#9 ·
Have tried to repair lesser dents and damage myself using some PDR tactics with limited success, and a couple of times practically made matters worse. Might be better to take the RAV4 to a PDR pro. From experience if taking it to a body shop they also will want to assume that the bumper cover will need to be removed to check for underlying damage, since the impact was hard enough to break the reflector lens.
 
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Discussion starter · #10 ·
Blogson said:
Have tried to repair lesser dents and damage myself using some PDR tactics with limited success, and a couple of times practically made matters worse. Might be better to take the RAV4 to a PDR pro. From experience if taking it to a body shop they also will want to assume that the bumper cover will need to be removed to check for underlying damage, since the impact was hard enough to break the reflector lens.
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I have already purchased a reflector and I will be installing it. I will make sure I take pictures of the underlying bumper. How much have you paid to have your car dents repaired by pros and how well have they been able to fix the them?
 
#12 ·
vmmf said:
I have already purchased a reflector and I will be installing it. I will make sure I take pictures of the underlying bumper. How much have you paid to have your car dents repaired by pros and how well have they been able to fix the them?
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The dents I have had fixed by pros (local body shop) on our RAV4 were blinkin' expensive to have repaired even though the dents were not very bad, but I can't see any difference between the repairs and the rest of the body even after years. There is no evidence of any repairs either on the outside or inside. Hopefully the damage to your RAV4 will be much less pricey to fix and the outcome will be first rate.
 
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#13 ·
I don't like the crease at the bottom. But a very good repair guy may be able to manage without replacing the panel. Back when cars used beaver metal a crease would force a new panel.

Years ago when a guy pulled out in front of me in a turn lane I managed to hit him in the door, could not swerve left due to stopped traffic filling lane. Could not swerve right without going into a 10 foot deep ditch. Just had to let it happen.

Bottom line I needed a grilll bumper and hood. There was less damage than you have. It was a dime size dent at the hood and grill. I was almost stopped when I hit.

Was told unrepairable.

Hopefully with these modern lighter cars you don't have that issue.

Now where I live there is a line of repair places called carsmetics. Some good some not so good. When checking for someone, 5 years ago their dent repair fees were 300.00 per panel.
 
Discussion starter · #14 ·
Blogson said:
The dents I have had fixed by pros (local body shop) on our RAV4 were blinkin' expensive to have repaired even though the dents were not very bad, but I can't see any difference between the repairs and the rest of the body even after years. There is no evidence of any repairs either on the outside or inside. Hopefully the damage to your RAV4 will be much less pricey to fix and the outcome will be first rate.
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Based on your experience how much would your local shops charge for my dent in the pictures?
 
Discussion starter · #15 ·
Just Another Guy said:
I don't like the crease at the bottom. But a very good repair guy may be able to manage without replacing the panel. Back when cars used beaver metal a crease would force a new panel.

Years ago when a guy pulled out in front of me in a turn lane I managed to hit him in the door, could not swerve left due to stopped traffic filling lane. Could not swerve right without going into a 10 foot deep ditch. Just had to let it happen.

Bottom line I needed a grilll bumper and hood. There was less damage than you have. It was a dime size dent at the hood and grill. I was almost stopped when I hit.

Was told unrepairable.

Hopefully with these modern lighter cars you don't have that issue.

Now where I live there is a line of repair places called carsmetics. Some good some not so good. When checking for someone, 5 years ago their dent repair fees were 300.00 per panel.
Click to expand...
Thank you very much for sharing your valuable experience
 
Discussion starter · #17 ·
The local repair shops said they could not repair this dent without removing the door and painting it again. I didn't even ask for a price. I simply bought this KIT and did the work myself. I'm not a pro but I think it was pretty good for my first job of this kind. The system in real life looks worse than in the pictures but it is still a significant improvement
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#18 ·
The main thing is, as long as you are happy with the outcome, that's all that counts. I bet if you look close enough at cars in parking lots in your area you will find nearly every car has minor marks and probably 33% or more has significant but not major issues.
 
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svenster
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