Mobile dent repair gone bad in AZ

[BlackBetty2017]

So I moved to AZ and within my first month of commuting to work, some debris (looked like some kind of rebar wrapped in plastic) was kicked up from another driver and tagged me almost dead center in my hood with 2 points of contact. Left me with a crease at the 1st POC and a nice scratch at the 2nd POC. Naturally, this stuck out to me like a sore thumb every time I walked out to the truck.

I googled some mobile dent repair guys near me and landed on one that had a handful of good reviews and he was close by (I always try to support local guys/businesses). He came out and quoted the hood for a pretty reasonable price. However, he would have to sand, fill the dent with putty, sand again, paint, and clear coat (vs just popping the dent out). Due to this I had him correct a scratch on the bumper from the wife backing into me. All in all, a quote of $525 (back in IL a body shop wanted $350 for the bumper alone).

He shows up early in the morning (5:30 AM or so) and gets to work in my driveway. He finishes up in about 3-4 hours and it looks pretty decent. You can't even tell there was a dent. I notice a little sagging in the clear and some other imperfections but he said he can correct after everything cures. I let the car sit in the garage for 24 hrs before driving to work the next day. After a few days, I start to really inspect the work. I notice a considerable amount of orange peel, a dust nib, some divots, lines/ridges in the clear on the bumper ledge below grill, and of course swirl marks. Just about all the clear coat imperfections you can imagine.

I call the guy back up and he comes out to correct these issues. Well, he didn't correct much and made other parts worse imo (I now have some holograms in my bumper and surface scratches in my quarter panel from over sanding). I end up calling a local detail guy and taking it to him for a professional opinion and quote. This guy was pretty fired up after seeing the crappy work done to my truck. He can fix the orange peel but the bumper he is not sure due to ridges/lines in the clear coat. At this point, I don't want the mobile dent repair guy anywhere near my truck.

I guess I am just posting for 1) moral support from other RAM owners and 2) to caution other RAM owners when using mobile dent repair guys. The guy that botched the job was transparent through the whole process so I don't feel as though he is a shady person... just not very skilled in spite of his years of experience. Then again, maybe I am too trusting.

My truck is a 2017 and it still feels new to me with 30k miles. The truck is mechanically sound, just a little imperfect now... and you can't tell unless you are up close. Am I being too superficial here? I am gonna have it fixed one way or another. The truck is leased but I like it so much I plan to keep this truck until the wheels fall of so eventually the exterior will take a beating. Even if I were to turn it in, I would just get another RAM anyway... no other trucks or cars out there that I like as much. And who is to say the new RAM wouldn't suffer the same fate?

Thought? Opinions? Suggestions? Words of encouragement?

 

[NoveskeFan]

That sucks, I don't think you're being superficial. I have a 2017 that someone door dinged on the passenger rear door...freaking hate people. It's small but sticks out to me. I want to get it fixed and am planing to take it to a shop in town because I fear the "fly by night" dent repair guys. Might be a bit more but at least I'll have peace of mind. Nothing wrong with taking pride in your vehicle and wanting it to look good.

 

[Iron Outlaw]

Honestly if I hired a mobile guy to do any painting for me in my yard out of a pickup truck for a lower price, I would expect subpar work from someone doing it in a shop for a higher price. Kind of like hiring a handyman to do work on your house vs a contractor.

 

[chrisbh17]

Yeah, unfortunately once I start hearing paint is necessary, I walk away from the PDR guys.

Granted, the few Ive taken vehicles to will just outright say they cant/wont do it if it involves painting.

They sure can do wonders in the right situation though....2 vehicles ago I had a ding right on the upper body line of a door so you ALWAYS saw it sticking out like a sore thumb. 10 minutes with a good PDR guy and you couldnt tell it was ever there. He even did a few more dings (on different panels....you only pay for one panel of fix) for me because it was so quick to fix

 

[BlackBetty2017]

Honestly if I hired a mobile guy to do any painting for me in my yard out of a pickup truck for a lower price, I would expect subpar work from someone doing it in a shop for a higher price. Kind of like hiring a handyman to do work on your house vs a contractor.

Lesson learned for sure. This guy apparently makes a living doing this very thing with RVs.

 

[G-Ride990]

Sorry to hear about this. How bad does it look? Can only you notice it because you know it's there or is it pretty obvious? Did you talk to the guy that did the work originally about reimbursement?

Pics? (If there are any they aren't showing up for me)

On a brighter note welcome to Az! Are you thinking about taking the truck to a shop and having it fixed? I have worked with a couple local shops that do outstanding work I'd recommend.

 

[Pull Ya]

In my experience a good PDR guy is worth their weight in gold. I agree it may vary from person to person. In the situation you described, my guess would be that your PDR guy was in over his head. When you start to talk about sanding filling and repainting, as you found, that work is best left to a good body shop.
Jay

 

[geotex1]

Take your truck to the most reputable body shop you can find out there before anyone touches it again. If the color match is good and what you are seeing is not really sanding marks in the filler, there might be a chance to correct it with another layer of clear, even if the whole piece/panel.

 

[Pull Ya]

My painter has a sign outside his booth. "Paint doesn't fix ****** body work"!
Jay

 

[BlackBetty2017]

Sorry to hear about this. How bad does it look? Can only you notice it because you know it's there or is it pretty obvious? Did you talk to the guy that did the work originally about reimbursement?

Pics? (If there are any they aren't showing up for me)

On a brighter note welcome to Az! Are you thinking about taking the truck to a shop and having it fixed? I have worked with a couple local shops that do outstanding work I'd recommend.

It is not terrible (my wife can't tell at all)... I am sure all body work guys/detail oriented people will notice right away however (I'm not a body work guy and noticed things were off after a short close up inspection). It is a combination of me knowing it is there and being close enough/at the proper angle and paying attention. I noticed the orange peel when my reflection was bumpy on the hood of the truck but smooth on the quarter panel. The bumper is probably the most noticeable (but again, need to pay attention). If someone is not right on top of it looking for imperfections, they probably won't notice. I do want to have it fixed and fixed properly. I am waiting on a quote from a new guy before calling up the PDR guy for reimbursement. I am not hopeful on that front (the guy quoting to fix suggested I get a lawyer... I will not be doing this however as I think it is silly). I will post pics tomorrow when I get some daylight.

Thanks for the welcome! I would love any tips/recommendations for anything related to our trucks especially in this summer heat.

 

[Pull Ya]

A 180 thermostat will make your truck run cooler.
Jay

 

[BlackBetty2017]

Front bumper pics with lines in the clear and one pick with over spray... can see tape line.

 

[BlackBetty2017]

These are the hood. Should be able to see the orange peel in the top reflection of myself and some clouds, surface imperfections (there are more but hard to capture), and a sag.

 

[Aaron2]

I checked out the pics and yeah...no bueno. The Arizona desert is tough on vehicles; that I can tell you from living here for the last 27 years. Rocks, sand, grit, dust. All of that stuff is constantly in the air. When I used to commute 26 miles on the freeway each way to work, I had to replace the windshield about every six months. I was always getting hit with rocks and debris. The front end of my cars always had rock chips. It was maddening.

Hopefully you can get this rectified. It's fixable, I think.

 

[BlackBetty2017]

I checked out the pics and yeah...no bueno. The Arizona desert is tough on vehicles; that I can tell you from living here for the last 27 years. Rocks, sand, grit, dust. All of that stuff is constantly in the air. When I used to commute 26 miles on the freeway each way to work, I had to replace the windshield about every six months. I was always getting hit with rocks and debris. The front end of my cars always had rock chips. It was maddening.

Hopefully you can get this rectified. It's fixable, I think.

I am prepared to replace windshield... added the non-deductible replacement option on my insurance policy. Such is life. Luckily, the truck is still mechanically sound and I am probably the only person that will ever notice these blemishes. And there will be more caused by the environment as you pointed out.

 

[madtrucker2016]

The old saying is you get what you pay for. Some things you really cant get fixed cheaply because the guy fixing it most of the times a F--kup so its a learning curve. I know how you feel trying to fix your truck and get F--ked over Makes my blood boil over.

 

[geotex1]

I'm sorry, man! Those repairs are totally amateur hour! Without being able to lays fingers on it, I go back to my original comment and taking it to a reputable shop for opinion because the pictures suggest the full thickness of clear is a problem and also was applied too thick at one time.

 

[BlackBetty2017]

So the detailer I took the truck to for correction initially said he could wet sand the hood but he was unsure about the bumper. I emailed him today and he won't touch any of it (as far as correction goes) as he thinks it is too much of a liability. I appreciate the honesty. He did say he can still detail it using an all-in-one polish and that should take care of holograms and swirls and of course make the truck pop. He quoted me $400 for that ($600 for compound and polish). I would still have the other blemishes. I did refer to youtube and it looks possible to remove orange peel without wet sanding.

Options I see are:

1) get it pretty and live with it
2) take it to a proper body shop and see what they say
3) depending on price, look into getting a sport hood as replacement
4) roll the dice and try to correct it myself with compound and polish using a machine and proper pad to level the orange peel and maybe improve the bumper lines - if the body shop says it is a big job and it can't really get worse.

It is a lease and it is up in March 2020. Maybe I turn it in and they don't notice/don't care. I do have an 80 mile round trip commute now that I am in AZ. Love this truck but the idea of a proper commuter is appealing.

Thoughts?

Y'all have been great by the way! Thanks for humoring me and my very 1st world problem.

 

[NoveskeFan]

I’d get a body shop quote.

 

[Whitd5]

Give it a few weeks. Kinda like after your girl ****** you off lol. Think about it and see if you care less after the initial hurt wears off. As soon as you drop hundreds of dollars on that, some idiot at Walmart will door ding you and the neighborhood cat will climb up there and scratch something. Guessing if you lease you don’t keep them for too long anyways right? Talking about your truck now... not the girl