Fender Dent: DIY Pull, PDR or Fender Swap?
 

Looking for opinions here based on community experience. My front driver side fender was hit and run while parked. No note. This is not a concourse show car (155k miles, 1999), but overall in good shape cosmetically. However, I am not vain and priorities keep me budget minded. I DIY all my mechanical needs, and have done limited body work in the past. I'm not sure what direction I should go:

1. DIY Pull: pick up a tool locally and try to pull it myself. Touch-up paint to match. I pass right by a harbor freight daily https://www.harborfreight.com/pneumatic-dent-puller-69718.html

2. Get PDR Quotes

3. Buy a used front fender in the same color for about $300. It would be about a 3hr round trip, approx 4-5 hrs of my time to swap out? So about $300 and one work day worth of time.

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If you are looking for the most ideal budget option id say research first. Call around at least 4 shops to get a solid idea on what to expect with a PDR to that extent. If the quotes are higher than $300 which i dont doubt they could be, id suggest getting the fender IF it matches the same color and isnt damaged. Doing it yourself is definitely the cheapest however that also comes with cheap work as I assume you arent in the profession of PDR and it can come out looking not so great.

Definately PDR. My guy would say, "Gravy".

My passenger door looked equally damaged. 45 minutes later (and a few "thrown in" ding repairs)... and $275 dollar later... door looked as good as "new". Body shop pegged repair at ~$1500.

Hit a couple exottic dealerships in your area... ask who is their guy. Repair. Profit.

PS You might have a slight crease upon conclusion... paint may be necessary. Good luck.

Thanks for the replies! I had one highly rated PDR guy take a look yesterday and he said there was nothing that he could do for it and wouldn’t want to stand behind any attempts. He recommended I replace the fender, and in that case I would try the suction tool to see what I could DIY before replacing. I will get more PDR estimates this week.

I've used PDR for years,hundreds of times and in my opinion that PDR guys brain is gravy. Just buy a fender. No way that's going to PDR and even if he could he's going to charge a hell of a lot more than $300.

JBauer, you would be correct! Second PDR guy gave me the same honest assessment as the first- replace the fender. I will work on tracking a good one down.

If I can remember... later I'll send my guy a copy of the pics... see if my assesssment is correct. My guy is solid with the Lambo, Mercedess, McClaren... etc. dealerships in the Coachella Valley. I've confidence in his ability, and him having been doing it for 20+ years. :cheers:

PS If anybody would pay more than $300 to have that ding repaired.... cuckoo.
PT Barnum would be proven correct

I guessing he's going to laugh when he see the pics.

New or used fender is the way to go in this case.

Was looking for some bumper cover repair articles... stumbled upon my guy's website.

You can tell by his before/after pics that all is not lost on OP's ride.

Desert Dent Repair | Mobile Dent Repair

If I'm looking at it correctly, the upper part has a crease with the paint already chipped off, so PDR is out of the question.

My suggestion is to look for a junkyard unit with matching paint.