It can happen quickly – set back a little too far when leaving a parking space and your car has a dent. In the car dealership, repairs with painting can quickly become expensive. In this article, you will learn how to repair a dent on the car yourself, when it is better to see a professional and what cost-effective alternatives there are.
Repairing dents on the car yourself: These are your options
Dents on the car itself are quite possible - provided they are not too large or difficult to access. There are various options for repairs – our overview shows you some of them:
- Suction cup: You place a suction cup in the middle of the surface of the dent. If you now pull it away, it pulls the sheet metal that was previously curved inwards outwards with it.
- Glue gun: With special glue gun sets from the trade, you can remove minor dents on the car. To do this, apply a hot glue to a button or handle included in the set with a glue gun and press it against the dent. Then pull it outwards and pull the dent out of the sheet metal. Do not forget to carefully remove the applied glue with a spatula.
- Rubber mallet: Use a rubber mallet to remove the dent on the car from the inside. To do this, you must first disassemble the interior trim. Heat the tray with a hot air gun. Now carefully push the rubber mallet from the edge of the bump in a circle and work your way from the outside to the inside.
When proceeding, make sure that the sheet metal is not overstretched outwards. In addition, there should be as little damage to the paintwork as possible. Otherwise, the body could start to rust.
When is dent removal by a professional worthwhile?
Removing a dent in the car door yourself can save you a lot of money. You can often get a glue gun repair kit for as little as 100 to 150 euros. The suction cup is even cheaper – with an investment of no more than 20 euros, the repair is done. However, the cost of removing the dent on the car is not always decisive, but rather the type of damage. In these cases, you should leave the work to a professional:
- Dents with a large area, which even involves several components of the body
- deep dents where the paintwork has been damaged
- Damage in a hard-to-reach place
- Special paintwork (e.g. metallic paint)
- Car doors of convertibles (risk of damage to other components)
But it is also often financially worthwhile to visit a so-called dent doctor instead of undertaking hours of experiments yourself. For simple dents on the car, the costs are surprisingly low at about 35 to 120 euros. If the paint has been damaged, there are also expenses for filling and painting. But even then, you can get away well with costs of 300 to 500 euros.
The alternative: Have the dent on the car repaired by a dent doctor
A dent doctor is the name given to service providers who offer the so-called smart repair procedure. You can easily remove dents and other damage such as scratches or stone chips using special working methods. The dent doctor offers you several advantages:
- usually no repainting necessary
- thus no risk of color differences
- Fast execution
- No loss of value of your car
This often means that you have to remove or even completely replace vehicle parts. This saves a lot of money compared to conventional repairs.
Dent on the car: Does car insurance pay?
If you have caused the dent on your car yourself, your fully comprehensive insurance will pay for it. Whether this is worth it depends on your contract: In the case of minor damage, the deductible is often higher than the actual damage. After all, you do not have to fear a downgrade if you report it. If an unknown person has damaged your car, he or she must pay for the damage. Only if the police cannot identify him can you report the costs of your fully comprehensive insurance.
Do you need a rubber mallet to remove a dent on a car? You can order high-quality hammers online from Motointegrator.