No matter how careful you are with your car, there’s always the chance some goofball will swing open their door and damage your vehicle. Regardless of fault, a minor dent or door ding can leave you looking for the best way to go about repair. If you haven’t considered paintless dent repair vs. traditional auto repair, then you haven’t done your homework.
If you care about maintaining your car’s value and restoring its finish back to factory condition, PDR is the first option to look into. When you compare paintless dent repair vs. traditional auto repair, PDR gets the job done faster, in a fraction of the time and cost.
The only question to ask is whether the damage your car has sustained qualifies for a PDR repair job.
How do I know if my car is eligible for paintless dent repair?
PDR is the process of re-working the metal back to its original condition. It does not require new paint, filler, primer or any chemicals to get the job done. As long as the technician can get access to the dent from behind a panel or the dent can be pulled, it’s likely that you can get PDR done to your vehicle.
Medium Crease Dent Shallow Crease Dent Big Body Line Dent
On the other hand, if the damage done to your vehicle exposes any metal underneath-it means the paint has been scratched off. PDR uses the car’s original paint so if too much paint has been damaged, you may be out of luck and may require traditional auto repair.
PDR repair time vs. Conventional auto repair time
The traditional way of repairing your car can take up to a week because it requires more steps within the repair process. PDR can be done within a day because it cuts out those steps as well as the wait time in between.
Traditional method for repairing damage
To repair body damage, a mechanic will need to sand off the existing paint. If the damage is deep, it will require filler. The filler will need to align perfectly and smoothly with the rest of the vehicle’s surface and so it too will require sanding.
The surface will need to match the bodyline of the vehicle before it is prepped with primer. It can take multiple coats of paint to get the colour to match perfectly with the original paint of your vehicle.
Only after the painting process is perfect can a clear coat be applied to complete the repair.
Method for paintless dent repair
The PDR process completely cuts out the need for filler, primer, multiple coats of paint, and the wait time involved in each step. A technician simply needs to get behind the dent using straight-line tools in order to push the dent back and reverse the damage.
If the paint isn’t scratched off, it is durable enough to move with the metal without cracking. In most cases, a healthy polish finish will be enough to make the dent like new. In the worst-case, you may need a bit of touch-up paint from your dealer to ensure there’s no evidence of damage ever existing.
PDR repair times rarely take more than a few hours unless the damage is severe. Hail damage repair can take the longest because there are usually dozens of dents to repair.
| Paintless Dent Repair Time | Traditional Auto Repair Time | |
| Hail Damage | 2-3 days | 2-3 weeks |
| Door Ding | 1 day or less | 3-7 days |
| Minor Damage/dents | 2-4 hours | 3-5 days |
Save costs and increase value with PDR vs. conventional repair
PDR saves you from paying additional hours in labour and cuts out the cost for additional parts and material. When comparing traditional auto repair vs. paintless dent repair the cost will always be lower if your vehicle can be repaired by PDR.
Monetary value
The costs aren’t the only reason PDR saves you money. You also need to account for the value that it offers. PDR offers you a way to maintain the original paint on your vehicle, which increases the resale value. Not only do you save money on repairs but also you make more money whenever you sell your car.
Intangible value
How much is your time worth to you? Having your car back in one day vs. a week is also a huge bonus to PDR. How much of an inconvenience will it be to either rent a car or find alternate solutions to you getting to the places you need to be? You can be done with the entire affair in a few hours and rid yourself of the unnecessary anxiety and inconvenience of conventional auto repair.
PDR is the ultimate solution for dent repair
How much time do you really want to spend thinking about dent repair? Wouldn’t it be easier to get the whole process over within a day vs. a week? Choose the environmentally friendly option that saves you money on costs and increases the value of your vehicle. Car dealers and insurance companies LOVE PDR and have been recommending this option for years.
When comparing paintless dent repair vs. traditional auto repair, it’s always the same result: If you can get your car fixed with Magic Dent Repair it is hands down your best option!.
Want to know exactly what it will cost you? Use our PDR cost estimate tool and get an accurate and honest quote on restoring the damage on your vehicle.
