Long story short: My dog dented my 8 (really... I'm not kidding). Body shop estimate was $985. Dr. Dent took it out in about 1.5 hours to 98% perfect, w/o painting. Cost: $150 + $25 tip. I am so happy :D - Now my dog gets to live to see another day... (kidding!).

Short story long: My 65 lb. extremely athletic chocolate lab - Hershey - tipped over an old torchier-style lamp in my garage and dinged the 8 on the corner of the rear quarter panel (near the gas flap). I watched it happen from accross the street - like in the movies, in slow motion ("Noooooooooooooooo!") . The dent was roughly the size and shape of a hotdog at 45 degree angle to the body lines. It was right on the edge of the panel where it transitions from the fender to the trunk. (Sorry, I didn't take any pictures).

Called my insurance and learned that "dent -by-dog" goes about as far as the old "my dog ate my homework" excuse. It is considered collision - so, a higher deductable and higher insurance premiums in my future, if I file a claim.

Decided to look into the options before filing a claim. Had one paintless dent outfit look at it and he said "no way, I wouldn't touch it" because it was too close to the gas flap and he wouldn't be able to get his tools behind the dent. So, I went to the body shop for an estimate: $985 to pull the dent and paint the whole friggin' panel - unbelievable! But they were cool enough to recommend another paintless dent guy - Dr. Dent.

Dr. Dent showed up 15 minutes early for the appointrment, took one look at it and said "No problem." I told him about my experience with the other Dent guy. He knows of the firm. He didn't exactly bad mounth them, but said they were "better suited to easy dents". He pulled back the trunk liner, removed the left rear light cluster, and got to work. I didn't want to hover, so I just came out every 20-30 minutes to see how it was going. It was interesting to see him work it out with his tools.

I am really pleased wit the results. I am now a believer in paintless dent removal. The key is find an experienced operator. This guy is a one-man outfit whos has been doing this for 14 years. He takes alot of pride in his work.

Cheers!
Bob

 

Here's a link to pictures of Hershey "the amazing, car denting dog": http://www.sierrasojourns.com/hershey/

Cheers!
Bob

 

pretty dog

 

Thanks. We've had her almost 2 years now. She's a really good dog. She has a lot of energy and a LOT of passion for playing fetch. in fact, she was going after a tennis ball when she body-checked the lamp into the car.

I couldn't get mad at her for the dent in the 8. It was my fault for not cleaning up the garage.


Bob

 

Nice dog, glad to hear the dent came out ok!

 

I've had about 2-3 door dings (people have no respect for anyone elses cars) -- no bigger than the size of a quarter. I had a guy who has his on business come out and take some dings out on my car and my friends. We figured we'd get him to do both at once and get a cheaper price. The price was fair (I don't remember exactly how much) and they came out good. I think the whole process works if the person doing it knows what their doing and has had a LOT of experience. Glad yours worked out okay. Although $150 might seem a lot -- it definitely beats the $900+ from the body shop plus if you would have to rent a car or whatever.