[e90wraith]

Ok, I screwed up going to work today. I accidently bumped into a taxi while changing lanes while entering the freeway. I want to blame the small side mirrors that create a huge blind spot, but ultimately it was totally my fault. Luckily, no one lost control of the car or got hurt.

So attached are images of my dents. I have a big dent on top of the left rear wheel arch and a small one on the left rear door. My colleagues at work suggested that since there weren't any sharp creases, they might be candidates for paintless dent removal (PDR). I think the door is definitely a PDR candidate, but how about the one on top of the wheel arch? Are there any experts on PDR? Do you think it's doable? Can someone recommend a PDR shop in the LA area?

I'm really interested in mainly getting dent out. I'm not really obsessive about the paint - I can live with the scratches on the paint. I can re-paint later, especially since it's a jet black (easy match).

P.S. The pictures show a lot more scratches than you can see because of the bright flash.

Any help will be greatly appreciated.

[brian32e]

no way man -- you really need to get that fixed at a real body shop. I've seen PDR and the only time it looks ok is if the dent is round, like if some kid threw a basketball at your car and it left a dimple in your panel. You're just going to be throwing your cash (albeit not much) away because it won't look quite right. Plus there's those scratches in the paint...in a black car...yikes.

we all make mistakes, just suck it up and pay to fix it. It's not like this is an econobox -- it's a BMW.

[graves4r6]

I think you gotta go to the body shop..
sorry to see your baby.

[HRC]

Body shop, sorry to see that happen, glad it wasn't worse. BTW, try adjusting your mirrors out more so you don't see your rear quarter panels from the normal driving position.

Danny

[Chesmu]

agreed with all of the above... body shop.
don't feel super-bad, though. there is a HUGE blind spot secondary to those side mirrors. I've noticed that I have to give a real good over-the-shoulder look when I swith lanes to the left because a SUV could be hiding in that blind spot.
Sorry to see the damage. Good luck.

[KL2DC]

that's not gonna be cheap...sorry to see that. Hope everything works out...

[David328M-Sport]

Damn, sorry to see the damage. Thankfully it is minor, you were not hurt and it will be fixed.

You can eliminate the so called blind spot very easily by adjusting the mirrors outwards. Most people set up their mirrors to see the sides of their cars on the inner egde. This is not correct because the mirrors are to be set up to see the traffic in either lane next to yours.

So once you have the mirrors set in that way, you should not have any blind spot. It may take some time to get used to, but it works.

All the best with your repairs.

[Chesmu]

Originally Posted by David325Australia

You can eliminate the so called blind spot very easily by adjusting the mirrors outwards. Most people set up their mirrors to see the sides of their cars on the inner egde. This is not correct because the mirrors are to be set up to see the traffic in either lane next to yours.

So once you have the mirrors set in that way, you should not have any blind spot. It may take some time to get used to, but it works.

I see your point. However, putting your own car's side on he inner edge does give yu some perspective about where exactly that car next to you is. ESpecially on our flat US spec mirrors.

[HRC]

Originally Posted by moocow

I see your point. However, putting your own car's side on he inner edge does give yu some perspective about where exactly that car next to you is. ESpecially on our flat US spec mirrors.

Try it though, you'll get used to driving with it that way, the correct way!

Danny

[hotsand5]

damn that sucks man, I can see that being around the $1,000 mark to fix and paint like OEM. Pony up and be pround of your baby.

[e90wraith]

I wish it was only $1000...

Looks like I'm going to have to shop around for a good body shop. I received a quote at a local body shop today for $1850. This is a discount from $2250 according to the manager. He wants strip the paint all the way to the front door to blend the paint - I thought jet black was easy too match?!? Also, he wants to remove the rear bumper to buff out a scratch ~0.25 inch long. (I can live with the tiny scratch on the bumper.) Maybe what I need to do is to get the PDR guy to remove the dent on the rear door (looks totally doable), then have the body shop do the wheel arch and repaint. Maybe that can bring down the price to ~$1000.

[hotsand5]

DAMN!....sorry man, I didn't see that the door was also dented, thought it was just the fender and everything else was scratched. Sorry that this happened, but I still hope you can fix it somehow.

[Romulus]

Originally Posted by e90wraith

I wish it was only $1000...

Looks like I'm going to have to shop around for a good body shop. I received a quote at a local body shop today for $1850. This is a discount from $2250 according to the manager. He wants strip the paint all the way to the front door to blend the paint - I thought jet black was easy too match?!? Also, he wants to remove the rear bumper to buff out a scratch ~0.25 inch long. (I can live with the tiny scratch on the bumper.) Maybe what I need to do is to get the PDR guy to remove the dent on the rear door (looks totally doable), then have the body shop do the wheel arch and repaint. Maybe that can bring down the price to ~$1000.

It sounds like he wants to do it the right way.. any body shop that works on panels without taking them off the car is shady.. By him wanting to take it all apart says to me that he's got his act together.

Originally Posted by David325Australia

Damn, sorry to see the damage. Thankfully it is minor, you were not hurt and it will be fixed.

You can eliminate the so called blind spot very easily by adjusting the mirrors outwards. Most people set up their mirrors to see the sides of their cars on the inner egde. This is not correct because the mirrors are to be set up to see the traffic in either lane next to yours.

So once you have the mirrors set in that way, you should not have any blind spot. It may take some time to get used to, but it works.

All the best with your repairs.

as wraith can attest to, that's a very very expensive risk to take.. why not spend an extra second and look over your shoulder?

[HRC]

Originally Posted by Romulus

...as wraith can attest to, that's a very very expensive risk to take.. why not spend an extra second and look over your shoulder?

You still can, and should, but the point is driving with those side-view mirrors adjusted correctly.

Danny

[jlouies]

I have a similar dent that happened the same day as yours. My friend backed into my car on accident. I've got a quote of $1,4500 from a very good place in Glendale, Bistagne Brothers. I'd get a quote from them if you can, they are hands down the best at fixing damage like this perfectly.


Here is a picture of mine

[JSpira]

Originally Posted by e90wraith

I- I thought jet black was easy too match?!? .

As far as I know, black is rather hard to match.

[e90wraith]

I totally feel for you, jlouies. I got a better estimate from El Segundo and Jim & Jack's auto body shops in El Segundo, CA. They gave me a quote of $1350 and $1260, respectively. Does anyone know whether either of these shops do good work? El Segundo Auto Body was very friendly, Jim & Jack's less so. However, I'm told Jim & Jack's is the highest volume auto body shop in the LA area. I'm not sure that's a good thing...

[jimf15e]

Originally Posted by David325Australia

You can eliminate the so called blind spot very easily by adjusting the mirrors outwards. Most people set up their mirrors to see the sides of their cars on the inner egde. This is not correct because the mirrors are to be set up to see the traffic in either lane next to yours.

Correct. Your mirrors should be set up so that there is no overlap as you progress from the left side to rearview to right side. Like has been stated, this is usually done by angling the side views out further than normal - you shouldn't see your car at all.

[LEDZEP]

You are going to need a body shop to fix that. First, you have a lot of paint scraped off. Second, whether you think so or not - that metal is creased. I had a small round dent (I actually think a lawnmower threw an acorn) in our previous Subaru Outback and used a dent repair guy. He fixed it perfectly.

What you have there is collision damage. Body shop.

[JamieA]

Condolences.


Get thee to ye olde body shoppe

[LEDZEP]

Originally Posted by JamieA

Condolences.


Get thee to ye olde body shoppe

Either that or a nunnery.

[JamieA]

Originally Posted by LEDZEP

Either that or a nunnery.

LMAO - have you ever seen a nun drive a car???? !!!


I thought you would appreciate a proper use of the archaic