PDR : interesting interaction on my Porsche

[rfuerst911sc]

So my project 996 has a dent on the hood . It is dented up , the previous owner must have had the lid close and something dented the hood . Car is black . So I went to a local shop that has a PDR guy on site . He looked at it and said the metal is too stretched and he couldn't repair it ☹️ .

Went to another shop that was highly recommended and that shop said the same thing 😡 . What's going on ? They have pics plastered all over their websites of all this phenomenal work they have done . Dents MUCH worse than my quarter sized dent .

The dent is easily accessible from the bottom so the other day I decided what the heck let's give it a try . With a simple block of wood and a standard claw hammer in 10 minutes I had it 98% better/done . The paint on top is nicked but it was like that from the dent originally .

So why was I blown off by these shops ? Was the job too easy for them to be bothered ? I told both guys I am not looking for concours finish I just want the dent removed . Very strange . So I saved some money now I have to fill in with paint and clear . Anyone else have similar results with shops not wanting to at least attempt the repair ?

[Gogar]

They aren't willing to gamble on the possibility of fixing it 7/10 for you and risking your dissatisfaction. It's easier for you to risk bunging up your own car at home, for better or worse.

[rfuerst911sc]

Originally Posted by Gogar

They aren't willing to gamble on the possibility of fixing it 7/10 for you and risking your dissatisfaction. It's easier for you to risk bunging up your own car at home, for better or worse.

I find it hard to believe that every job they do comes out 100 % . But your point might be valid .

[Por_sha911]

People become super picky and get out a high power magnifying glass when the bill is handed to them. Suddenly, they want it to be 100% and claim the paint wasn't nicked before the work was done...

[sc_rufctr]

Maybe it was a combination of reasons. Were they worried about ruining the hood?

Or something like this: A friend asked me to cut her "small" lawn because she couldn't find a pro who would do it. I had it done in about 4 minutes. It took me longer than that to lift the mower out of the trunk of my car and fill it with gas.

[rfuerst911sc]

I made it 100% clear that the paint was nicked/chipped and stated it was no big deal if the chip got bigger during the dent removal . I was and still am trying to avoid as much Bondo as possible . But I know a tiny skim over this area will be needed .

I took one semester of auto body back in high school so almost 50 years ago . So I am not a highly skilled body guy . If I actually used a body hammer and dolly I honestly think I can get it near perfect minus the paint touch up . The whole experience with those two shops was just weird to me .

[Bill Douglas]

Have a look at youtubes on metal shrinking.

[Baz]

Yeah I use You Tube for everything. I will be replacing the Silverado water pump soon. Body work is on the menu for this winter.

I did some roofing work today. Was going to contact some roofing companies and then got to thinking how much easier it would be just to bust it out myself. Of course it wasn't a very complicated or hazardous roof job - otherwise I wouldn't have done it.

Little stuff like what you have there Rick - just bust it out yourself! It's SO much easier!

[masraum]

Originally Posted by rfuerst911sc

I find it hard to believe that every job they do comes out 100 % . But your point might be valid .

Sounds reasonable to me. With the number of Karens and Chads out there that would go online and post a sheiße review on every site they could find that these guys probably have to deal with, especially, gasp, a Porsche (pricks on the inside) I would probably turn it down too. Unfortunately, you'd have been happy to pay and would have been reasonable, but they don't know that. I'm sure that there are folks out there that are practically pros at seeming reasonable and then turning into dicks to get a free ride.

[look 171]

Yep, take 300 bucks from you but if it isn't perfect, they run the risk of losing 10,000 from bad review. Not worth the risk even if you told them it doesn't need to be prefect.

[rattlsnak]

My daughter’s 2020 RDX got caught in a hail storm recently.. there were easily 100+ small dings all over the place. I was surprised when State Farm said they preferred a PDR guy to repair them all. Well, he did and did a crazy good job. You cannot find any trace of any dings anywhere on the car.. and they were literally on every body panel… The estimate was @$3.5K..

[porsche tech]

Originally Posted by look 171

Yep, take 300 bucks from you but if it isn't perfect, they run the risk of losing 10,000 from bad review. Not worth the risk even if you told them it doesn't need to be prefect.

Amen! Somebody would slaughter them on social media or a car forum and damage their reputation. Covering your backside is getting to be a bigger part of doing business than actually doing business.

[stomachmonkey]

Originally Posted by rattlsnak

My daughter’s 2020 RDX got caught in a hail storm recently.. there were easily 100+ small dings all over the place. I was surprised when State Farm said they preferred a PDR guy to repair them all. Well, he did and did a crazy good job. You cannot find any trace of any dings anywhere on the car.. and they were literally on every body panel… The estimate was @$3.5K..

I've had cars golf balled due to TX hail and I'm beyond impressed what these PDR guys can do.

Cars came back perfect.

My only knock is they tend to get sloppy with interior panel fastners. Always find a few things missing fastners or not done right.

My Mazda, the drivers visor clip was broken. Pick the car up and he tells me he "did me a favor" and swapped the broken clip to the passenger side.

Told him that wasn't the favor he thinks it is, I prefer a broken clip on my side because it's easier to use while driving. I swapped it back.

What's been explained to me is the outcome has as much to do with the sheet metal gauge as anything else.

They did not want to touch my Tahoe because the sheet metal is so much thicker they don't really get the same result as thinner Japanese stuff.

Don't know how true that is, it's just what I've heard from two of these guys so far.

[crb07]

Send a pic to Carolina Coach Crafters and see if they will fix it. May be cheaper to replace the hood, not sure.

[2.7RS]

The 996 hood is aluminum

Good luck tryin to make it right and not noticeable. NFY

I'll give that shop a great review for knowing their stuff

[3rd_gear_Ted]

Try asking a paint shop to paint your car.
Most paint shops RUN from Porsche owners because their all considered to be Porcupines.

[asphaltgambler]

In fairness, most PRD Techs won't do hoods. Lots of real-estate where a good tech could spend hours and still not be able to get it to look right

[911 Rod]

Inverted porcupines

[DonDavis]

Hmm, well, all I can say is...pics.

Blah blah blah, pics, and then blah zee blah more pics.

[RANDY P]

Originally Posted by 2.7RS

The 996 hood is aluminum

Good luck tryin to make it right and not noticeable. NFY

I'll give that shop a great review for knowing their stuff

Exactly- it doesn't react the same way steel does.

rjp