I was pulling into the parking lot of my building today and someone left a shopping cart at the side of the road next to the driveway. When I pulled in, I had to wait for some kids to cross on the sidewalk in front of me. It was REALLY windy here in Toronto this afternoon and while I was sitting there the wind pushed the shopping cart right into my passenger's side door. I could see the shopping cart coming and new it would hit me but couldn't go anywhere with the kids in front of me (I contemplated running them over but decided against it). Long story short, my fender and passenger door now have three ugly dents in them. I'm going tomorrow to get an estimate on the repairs. Each ding is about the size of a quarter (there are three of them). They are about 5mm deep and none of the paint is cracked around them. Any ideas on what it would cost to fix this kind of thing?

SJ

 

I can't help you on any estimates, my last car was a Saturn that didn't get dings and *knock on wood* my P5 hasn't been hit yet. Sorry to hear about the damage though, that really sucks.

 

make the store who owns the cart pay for it. They should be keeping better track of their carts.

 

I had a similiar experience with a shopping cart in front of my house. My advice go to the store and get them (their insurance) to pay for it. Look on the cart for the store number and call one of the stores so u can determine which one it came from. They will pay either the cost of repairs or your deductible, whatever is lower.

 

Otherwise, these dents are simple fixes. Since the paint is not cracked and the dings a pretty minor, they can be rolled out. This is done by drilling a small hole into the door jamb and inserting a specialized rod with a roller on the end. With proper lighting, mirrors, and viewing angles, the dings can be rolled out and you will never know they were there! When they are finished, the repairers plug the hole with a rubber plug. This is how most dealerships take care of lot dings (and believe me, there are lots and lots of them!).

Of course, this isn't something you can do yourself. It takes specialized training. But, it is cheaper than a body shop and repainting, plus your factory paint will still remain intact.

-Jerry

 

Thanks for your advice - I got an estimate of $523 from the dealer for the repairs. Unfortunately, my deductible is $500. I'm going to call Zellers on Monday to see if they'll at least share the cost with me. If not there's always small claims court...

SJ

 

Sloppy Joe....I am sure that estimate was from a regular body shop....look in the phone book under body repair for a place called something like Dent Doctor...or Dent King....its something like that...and I have been told by others on the board that they ARE in canada....the price of the repair for THEM to do it....is more like 75 to 100 Dollars US to do a entire panel....their procedure is similar to what jstand6 described...MUCH cheeper than having a regular body shop fixe them the old fashioned way....

 

And not only is the "Dent Tech" type repair cheaper, it is better. A body shop might have to use a puller, which means drilling a hole in the panel, filling it with bondo, sanding, painting - a lot of hassle for nothing, and no matter how good of a job they do, it's still paint work.

I have had several dings removed the Doctor way - and you would never know - a well trained person will get those dings perfectly smooth.

I wouldn't be surprised if the body shop just uses the Dent Doctor people, but charge you $500+.

But hey - give the store the $523 estimate, and see what happens. Then do the Dent Doctor stuff and pocket some cash for your inconvenience.