Grrrrrr! Someone Dented My D-side Door--advice?

[ultraviolet353]

I have a 1994 318is. Woke up this morning and noticed that my driver side door has a nice sized dent (must have happened in a parking lot last night). I have included a pic but it is hard to make out since it is a black car. The dent is about 14 inches long 6 inches wide and runs along the rubber trim on the door. I have absoilutley no experience with body work. What should I be aware of? Are there different methods of fixing what I assume is a common repair. What is a good price for this? Will the whole side of the car have to be repainted? Should I go through my insurance or will that just jack up my premiums? Any advice/help would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

['89 635 csi]

No pic!?

[ultraviolet353]

sorry--here it is

['89 635 csi]

Is there a crease in it?

[ultraviolet353]

i am not sure what you mean by crease, but if I would not describe the dent as having a crease.

[B3M2W5i]

well it might juss pop back out if you hit it from the inside or you go for the pops a dent hahah.. it might work or you could try to go to a local body shop and ask them to pop it out for you and hopefully you wont have to paint it

['89 635 csi]

I guess what I'm asking is, can you just take the door panel off and knock it out?

[ultraviolet353]

I wouldn't know how to do it-nad if that is the case (hopefully) I'd rather spend the money to have it done right.

[supark]

I don't think the dent-popper will work on something that large, but you might try it and if it doesn't work just return it (Schucks let me do this for a full refund).

If the dent runs along where the molding goes, you could try removing the molding and drillling a hole where it mounts (so the hole is out of sight) then screw a sheet metal screew into the hole and use a slide hammer to pop the dent out (or you can just use some pliers and yank on it). I'm not sure if you can pop it out from the inside...

Freakin people though huh? My car got hit and run last week - thankfully the only thing that got damaged was the mirror.

[ultraviolet353]

If I take it to a shop what is a good price?

[NeverLeaned]

thats too big for the those cheapo dent pullers. If you get the real deal with the rivet gun, you could properly pull it out, but unless you have experience pulling dents, best case scenario you will still have a very wavey spot where the dent was, (you will also have to shave off the the rivet pins, sand, prime, and spray)

If you want it fixed right you should take it a body shop, but I'll warn ya in advance that BMWs are automatically more expensive then your average car. I got this dent in my fender..... best price to replace and spray from a good bodyshop was $1250. (that price includes spraying my front lip, and rear wing though)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v242/gws...es/f89242f6.jpg


I went through insurance to get mine fixed. But, in my case, I watched the guy back into my car.... His insurance is paying the whole bill, and mine insurance will be unaffected. I think a friendly call to your insurance company regarding making a claim would help clarify whether your premium will be affected or not.

[supark]

Yeah, the problem with a dent that size is that it can stretch the metal, so when you pop it back out, it's still deformed.

My local bodyshop (pretty reputable from what I've heard) only charges about $40 an hour. Bring it around to a few places and get a feel for your options. If it's ridiculously expensive, you always have the option of getting a used door at a junk yard and just have that repainted and installed in your car.

[Gator]

There is another alternative called "Paintless dent repair". Do a google serach for it. A national chain is also Ding King. These franchises are able to take out dents without damaging the paint so the panel doesn't need to be painted. I've seen pictures of some amazing work they have done but have not personally used them yet. However, I plan to do so in the near future.

[NeverLeaned]

Originally posted by Gator@Dec 15 2004, 03:47 PM
There is another alternative called "Paintless dent repair". Do a google serach for it. A national chain is also Ding King. These franchises are able to take out dents without damaging the paint so the panel doesn't need to be painted. I've seen pictures of some amazing work they have done but have not personally used them yet. However, I plan to do so in the near future.

[snapback]251510[/snapback]

Its too big for that, that works for dings.