Paintless dent repair, or “PDR,” is a method of repairing dents in vehicles that doesn’t require extensive sanding, rebuilding, priming and painting. The process of traditional dent repair can be sometimes be expensive and time consuming, which can result in a vehicle being in the shop for days at a time. Therefore, PDR has become a popular repair option for both vehicle owners and auto body shops.

What kinds of vehicle repairs can be done with PDR?

Paintless dent repair can be used on dents, dings and creases. There are some other conditions that must be met in order for the PDR to be most effective:

• The model year must be after 1990. Vehicles made before 1990 have different manufacturing materials that don’t respond well to paintless dent repair.
• The existing paint must be in good condition, without cracks or abrasions with underlying rust.
• The dent, crease or ding must not be on the edge of a panel. The process of PDR requires some suction ability, and dents on panel edges do not have sufficient area around the dent to allow for proper suction.
• No prior dent repair in that area. Traditional auto body repair materials like Bondo do not respond to PDR techniques. The dent must be in an area that has not previously been repaired in any way.

Why is onsite paintless dent repair better than a traveling PDR team?

Traveling PDR teams sometimes prey on towns that have recently experienced weather events such as hail or tornadoes. They roll into town with brightly decorated vans touting nearly instant auto body repair services for desperate vehicle owners who have sustained traumatic and unexpected damage to their vehicles.

The problems with these traveling PDR teams are many:

• They roll out of town just as fast as they rolled in. There is no opportunity for consumers to have follow checkups if the dents were not repaired properly.
• The rate of consumer dissatisfaction for traveling PDR companies is disproportionally high. The entire business model of traveling PDR businesses is to repair vehicle dents as fast as possible to make as much money as possible in as little time as possible. This inherently translates to substandard work that is sure to disappoint.
• The quality of work isn’t cross-checked against anything. Many of the traveling PDR businesses are owned and operated by individuals who have no prior auto body repair experience. They are not held accountable for the quality of the work that they do.
• There is no guarantee, or warranty associated with traveling PDR businesses. Once the work is completed, the van leaves town, never to be seen or heard from again, unless another monetary opportunity comes along in the way of another big weather event.

With onsite PDR, customers can rely on the fact that their technician will be available days, weeks, months or even years later if they have questions or concerns about the PDR service they received.

• All the work is done by specially trained technicians who are skilled in all varieties of auto body repair.
• Onsite PDR is supervised and checked for quality control by mangers who have a vested interest in the local town and its residents.
• Rather than a business approach that takes advantage of people’s hardships, an onsite paintless dent repair service technicians have a business approach that starts with a desire to help people get the best service for their money.
• Perhaps most importantly, all the work is warrantied through the shop

For more information about paintless dent repair, please contact us today