So this bit of body rash showed up on my new-to-me 4Runner overnight. No idea how it got there.

Anyway, someone suggested Paintless Dent Removal. I think it's a mobile service. Anyone have any experience with this? Cost?


4-Runner dent - 1 by kpkina, on Flickr

May be fairly low cost if easy to get to the back side but creases can be concerning. A few hundred maybe. I had a few hundred hail dents done. Came out nice believe it or not.

I believe we had a decent thread on this recently. I think the consensus was that something like that is going to be harder to fix, but can be fixed...but you’re going to pay for the experience of the person that can successfully do that spot.

I’d guess $300.


Edit: Found it https://sigforum.com/eve/forums...0601935/m/2120099874

^Hey, thanks! I read through that thread. $300 does not sound like too much. I'll get an online quote from someone local.

Quote is $375-400, assuming it can be done at all. Well, it's only money.

Hmmm...heart meds, or car repair. Heart meds, car repair...

I’ve seen some pretty bad dents get massaged out by an experienced PDR person. Totally worth it to not have to get paintwork involved. I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve used PDR shops over the years.

I have a friend who does this for a living. He works mainly for car dealerships but does work on the side for friends/word of mouth. When I asked him he said to speak to someone in the service center at a large local dealership and they might have a name for you.

I had my car fixed this year after a car in front of me kicked something up off the road and put a nice dent with a crease in my car roof. The PDR guy did a great job and completely fixed it, and it wasn't all that expensive either. They can fix some pretty ugly dents so it's worth a shot to have them try to fix the one in your case.

It’s amazing what a good paintless dent repair technician can do.

My 2019 Chevrolet 3500 got hit hard from a SD hail storm last summer. I had it fixed here in Branson this winter. I was told by a friend who owns a body shop what ever I do don’t agree to a
re-skinning of my top. $8,000 damage and this tech removed all of my dents from the truck. Had it in the shop for 6 days, he worked on in over the weekend. I have been looking hard and can’t find one dimple.

So, following up on the paintless dent fix.... Upon examining the dent, he said a perfect repair would be tricky, if not impossible, due to the age of the paint. I told him to do his best, doesn't have to be perfect, just better.

Sure enough, after about an hour he informed me the paint was starting to pull away, and that he had to stop. If it wasn't for the paint, he could completed the repair. I said fine, and that it is still a vast improvement. He only charged me $200.

Immediately post-repair:

4Runner dent - 2 by kpkina, on Flickr

And after touch-up paint applied where needed:

4Runner dent - 3 by kpkina, on Flickr

The dent is only noticeable when the light hits it a certain way.

Character mark. Looks good to me.