People often ask us how much paintless dent repair costs. I usually lead with,” Our service starts at $165”. We use an industry standard pricing guide to determine the cost of your repair. Honestly, there are a lot of factors that go into preparing an estimate. All dents are not created equal, and just like snowflakes, no two are the same. The first thing we look at when determining how to price a repair is the size of the damaged area and location of the damage on your car or truck. The basis for our pricing is size. We measure from the outermost point of moved metal to the other outermost point of moved metal. That is to say if your thumb fits in the center of your dent, it most likely is not a one-inch dent but two or three if we are looking at all displaced metal. Then we look at depth. Some dents are shallow, but some can be deep, and others so deep the metal is actually stretched (think of a sweater on a hanger that leaves a stretchy hump on your shoulder).
Once we have used our specialized lights to see and measure the extent of damage then we look at where the dent is located on your vehicle. For instance, front fenders have multiple paths of access our trained technicians can use to get a tool behind the dent to massage the metal back to its original position. Rear quarter panels are quite the opposite. They are usually welded to the vehicle and getting a tool behind the damage can be quite tricky, if not impossible. We call this Obstructed Access. If getting a tool behind the dent is not an available option, we move on to Glue Pulling. In this type of repair, we use glue
, and specialized tabs to pull on the damaged metal which is much more detailed and requires more attention to detail and longer repair time. Both of these, obstructed access and or glue pulling will increase the price of your repair.
Next, we look at all other factors that will directly affect our plan of attack and determine the exact price of your repair.
Does the damage involve a body line? (That’s a crease or curvature in the panel that is supposed to be there). We can repair most body line damage but again, it takes longer and is more difficult. The next question we want to answer is what is the panel made of? Is it aluminum? Is it High Strength Steel? We can repair both, but again…..it’s more time consuming, and difficult.
Another question we ask ourselves is do we need to take anything apart or out of the way to access the damage? For instance, if your damage is in the liftgate of your Chevy Equinox, we will need to pull the interior panel so as to access the back of the dent. Once the repair is complete, we will put everything back together just like we found it. If there is larger damage to the roof of your car or truck, most likely we will drop the headliner to get access to the underside of the metal.
All of these factors go into each and every estimate we prepare for you. So, when someone asks me how much a repair costs, I tell them if it’s a 1’ or smaller dent with no bodyline and open access you’re looking at around $165. If your damage is considered medium, say 5-7 inches, your repair would start between $385 to $495. If you came out of the store and found a buggy up against your passenger front door and found 12” of damage on a bodyline in your aluminum door behind the crash brace you’re probably looking closer to $1500. Then there’s the whole category of Hail! (I’ll save that for another post so keep an eye out) From experience hail repairs can range anywhere from $1500 to $15,000. We just had a customer with a 21 Toyota Highlander that was involved in the hailstorm from November 2022 that impacted the Perryopolis, California, and Connellsville Pa area. The damage from that storm was particularly nasty! His total repair was $15,000. We were able to save his panels, but that repair definitely challenged our technicians!
We use two ways to determine the cost of your repair. We have a price guide we use for smaller,less difficult damage,
and we use an industry standard software called Mobile Tech RX. We input your cars information, then the details of the dent and we get a proper estimate that we will email to you, and your insurance company if need be.
Sending us pictures along with your inquiry is a great step in getting the process started. We can pull lots of information from photos even if you don’t think the pictures show what we need. You can fill out a form on our website
that will give us important information and you can upload pictures HERE . We will put together an estimate and call you right away. If you’re not sure how to take a picture of your dent, we put together a short video to explain how in 4 easy steps. First, make sure the damaged panel is clean. Step 2: Take the picture at an angle, if possible, try to line up a reflection on the dent. Lastly, make sure you are far enough from the dent so we can see WHERE on the panel the damage is.
Putting together an estimate is no easy task, but we take our time with each client to ask the important questions so we can provide you with the clearest most accurate estimate we can. That way you know what to expect and have a firm understanding of best- and worst-case scenario as well as how we estimate damage, and how much your repair will cost.
If you are ready to move forward on getting your car or truck repaired and looking as good as new, you can call or text us at 724-554-1756. You can also email us at info@dentrepairnow.com You also have the option to stop in at our shop located in Robinson Township. Our address is 4699 Campbells Run Road Pittsburgh PA 15205 We’re right next to I376 (The Parkway) just off of the Campbells Run Road exit if you’re coming from I79 or Downtown Pittsburgh. There’s a Marathon gas station on your left. We are right next door to the gas station. If you’re coming from the airport area you have to use the Ridge Road exit and then turn right. We are in between Bishop’s diner and the Marathon gas station. You do not need an appointment, but we do recommend calling first so we can be sure to have a technician available to you.
