Paintless dent repair fills a valuable role along with other vendor services, such as paint touch-up, striping, and wheel restoration; and it pairs perfectly with conventional repair, whether as a complete replacement service or as a way to minimize further body work.
Pricing
As a general rule, the price for PDR is set by industry insurance standards. On average, commercial businesses can expect to pay approximately 50% of this standard. In practice, see the following common costs of repair:
Please note that this is a simplified overview. The price of a repair can scale up or down depending on any number of factors involved, and each repair is unique. For this reason each vehicle is priced accordingly; we do not offer a flat per-vehicle rate.
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General dings and dents
Base price is $50 for the first panel + $20 for each additional panel.
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Moderate damage
$75 - $150 approximate cost.
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Heavy damage
Heavy damage is estimated per job and in-person only; expect $150/hr with an average repair time of 1-2 hours.
Quality of Work
This is an excellent question! Unfortunately, the automotive industry currently has no allowance for quality control over the dent repair trade. Very little schooling exists, and there is no official certification to help identify a technician’s level of expertise. Therefore, the quality of service provided by two different PDR technicians can vary greatly, regardless of his promise of a full repair.
Generally, you should expect perfection for common repairs on modern vehicles. When establishing a work relationship, inspect the technician’s repair before you ever promise payment for his labor. The area should be free of any distortion and paint damage; anything otherwise can indicate an unskilled technician with an unsteady hand.
The longer a car is tied up in the repair process, the less time it’s visible at the front of your sales lot. But let’s be realistic, not all damage scheduled for dent removal can be repaired completely, even by the best PDR technicians.
Don’t risk a costly alternative. A partial repair using PDR can often be the solution that saves you both time and money. We’ll even make an unscheduled visit to assess and repair the damage.
Customer Service
Customers are the life of your business. You wouldn’t exist without them. A skilled PDR technician is, in a sense, a valued extension of your Sales team. His service goes well beyond a routine inspection of your inventory. In fact, his reputation as a trustworthy and capable tradesman can greatly influence the public’s impression of your business, and can indirectly increase foot traffic and sales.
We prefer to establish a friendly, first-name relationship with you and your Sales and Service representatives so as to address any customer concerns at all stages of a car sale.
Luxury, Exotics, & Classics
For most modern manufactured vehicles, the PDR approach is generally the same, but exceptions do exist with certain classes of vehicles.
What additional factors should I consider for when PDR is an option?
Regarding luxury cars, the removal and installation (R&I) of interior trim can require more labor, often simply because there’s more of it. Further care must be taken to avoid damaging sensitive wiring and electronics. Also, the addition of enhanced adhesives, sound-deadening technology, and various forms of exterior paint protection can make seemingly simple repairs many times more difficult.
Sports cars and exotics are generally identified by the substitution of carbon-fiber instead of metal for use in the manufacturing of the exterior paneling. While dent repair is not at all recommended on carbon-fiber panels, for most consumer vehicles which fit in this category, those manufactured before 1981 are safe to repair.
Additionally, manufacturing methods are much different today than they were many years ago. Older cars are a treasure, and you’ve gone to great pains to make sure yours stays that way. A technician must apply his skill in PDR with the same amount of care that you’ve shown in preserving your aged vehicle. This is especially true where the sheer size or length of a vehicle may pose a problem for a technician’s largest and longest tools, and on those vehicles that still retain the original, factory paint.
