# How much $$ to fix a dent? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 3, 2003, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-to-fix-a-dent/185927 "2003-07-03T02:00:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![saramamalana](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/74df32/32.png) [@saramamalana](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saramamalana)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2003, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-to-fix-a-dent/185927/1 "2003-07-03T02:00:55Z")
Friend A bumped into Friend B’s car. The damage was a dent about the size of a baseball (so A says), and is not keeping the car from functioning in any way. B’s dad took the car, a mid-90s Nissan Altima, to get an estimate for repairing the dent. He was told the repairs would cost a little less than $1000. A and I agree that this sounds like an awful lot. Should B and B’s dad shop around for other prices? I don’t know if location has anything to do with it, but we live on Long Island (so if anyone around here knows a good place in southwest Nassau, do tell!). OR does anyone here have a good idea of how much something like that costs to repair? ---
**Author:** ![teleute12](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@teleute12](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teleute12)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2003, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-to-fix-a-dent/185927/2 "2003-07-03T03:05:25Z")
If the paint isn’t broken, a mechanic can just pop it out by suction, and it’s really cheap. If the paint is broken, then there’s repainting and such to deal with, and it costs a lot more. Sorry, I don’t really have figures. ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2003, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-to-fix-a-dent/185927/3 "2003-07-03T04:40:13Z")
You can pick up a [“Ding King”](http://www.dingking.com/cart/product.asp?intProdID=222) for $20 and pop it yourself. As long as the metal’s not sharply bent, the paint’s probably intact and the dent will un-dent with no problems. For $1000, is the shop planning to replace the panel and repaint the entire car? ---
**Author:** ![Doomtrain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/0ea827/32.png) [@Doomtrain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doomtrain)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2003, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-to-fix-a-dent/185927/4 "2003-07-03T04:44:26Z")
Depends on where the dent is and the kind of car, but it cost $1200 for the body shop to fix an itty bitty dent in my front fender. Paid by insurance, at least. ---
**Author:** ![saramamalana](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/74df32/32.png) [@saramamalana](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saramamalana)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2003, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-to-fix-a-dent/185927/5 "2003-07-03T05:55:48Z")
I’ll have to find out if the paint was chipped, I don’t know (I haven’t seen the damage first-hand). I’m really asking for a friend who’s being asked to pay the $1000 since she’s the one that caused the damage. I’ve recommended the car get checked out at a place by my house that my family has trusted for years and who do very good business. I’m curious to see what they say if she takes the car there. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2003, 11:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-to-fix-a-dent/185927/6 "2003-07-03T11:42:13Z")
Does it cross panels? ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2003, 11:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-to-fix-a-dent/185927/7 "2003-07-03T11:43:16Z")
Oh, and on the repair estimate, what is the rate are they billing for labor? ---
**Author:** ![Hanna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b3f665/32.png) [@Hanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hanna)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2003, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-to-fix-a-dent/185927/8 "2003-07-03T13:12:07Z")
Wow. All this [damage](http://home.comcast.net/~pattis_garden2/jetta_deer.html) only cost $3800 to fix. Including some stuff inside the engine compartment. ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2003, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-to-fix-a-dent/185927/9 "2003-07-03T15:01:05Z")
“does anyone here have a good idea of how much something like that costs to repair?” Yeah, $1000… Of course if you can get behind it you can hit it with a rubber mallet (ABout $5) & it should come right out. Do not use a regular hammer.