A loooongtime friend I stopped to visit in Odessa, Tex. when I was through there last summer told about a friend of his who had an encounter with some of Texas finest "frozen rain". The fellow and his wife went to pick up a new F-150 at a dealer about 50 mi. away and then were on their way to a wedding that afternoon before heading back home. On the way from the dealer to the wedding they were hailed upon by some of the baseball sized hail. He pulled to the side of the road because they couldn't even see and, with his wife screaming hysterically that they were going to die, do something, it proceeded to break EVERY window in the truck and pulverize it so badly that the truck was totalled, without ever arriving home with it. Guess you wouldn't pass that by PDR for a "yes" or "no" would ya?

 

I would have had my hood pdr'd but some of the hail dents caused the paint to crack. Pdr guy should be able to say if it's salvageable.

If insurance pays for a new hood with paint you'll pocket that cash as well if you can get it pdr'd.

 

Thank you everyone for your input. I will be contacting my local PDR guys in a few days to get their opinion. I have been extremely busy with work and have not had a chance to get it looked at yet. Keep the suggestions coming

 

Ok so here is my latest. I caught up with a guy locally that does the PDR. I went by and spoke to him about working on my truck. We started talking and long story short, he asked me if I had the truck looked at by my insurance. Because I am too honest, my instinct took over and I told him that the insurance and a body shop looked at it. Then I made the mistake of telling him that I had already been issued a check for repairs and the amount I had. He immediately tried to tell me he would fix the truck for the total amount of the insurance check. I told him the only problem I had with that was I needed to buy the set of B-pillar trim to replace one that was dented by the hail. He tried to talk me into just replacing the one that was damaged and I insisted I wanted the whole set replaced. He finally said he would do it for $1300 and allowed me $200 for the set of B-pillar trim. The insurance check is made out to me for $1568, which was for body shop repairs.

Do you guys think this is too much? I am thinking it is. This is for the hood, two front fenders, cab including removing headliner, and tailgate. Any input?

 

Go to another PDR guy, keep your mouth shut about the insurance check, and see what he says. There's a good chance it's going to be a lot cheaper.

 

I will definitely do that this time. I hate that I am so honest sometimes! I have a couple more guys to check with. I'll let you know what happens.

 

X2

A good friend of mine is one of a few in this state certified to do PDR on airplanes and he moonlights during the hail season on cars, says that any panel you can gain access to is an easy fix if the paint is not chipped. Hoods, fenders and doors are his bread and butter. I've watched him work on some real golf ***** and he didn't come close to charging that much.

 

Yeah, that was my thinking when he tried to go for the whole check. I certainly appreciate your input. I wish I could get someone like that around here...

 

Well of course he went for the whole check you flashed some numbers that was given to you. Tell the next PDR guy that your wife had a PDR guy out and gave her a quote of $700 cash or what ever, and your shopping around. After he gives you his quote just ask some questions and tell him he sounds like he knows what he's talking about, and would like him to do the work. Depending on the amount of work??? If it's easy it should be under $1000.00. But if there is a large amount of work your low ball amount will just give him a big laugh.

 

I found a guy to do it today. He quoted me $972 for the whole thing including pulling the headliner. I asked him if that was his insurance price or cash price. He said he could do me better if I was paying cash. He scheduled it for Saturday morning so we shall see. They were working on a few cars when I was there and got to see how they work them out. Those guys were doing a really good job so I think I'll be ok. He is going to take out a few dings on the doors for me too. Thanks for everyones help. I certainly appreciate it!

 

Good luck!

 

Let us know how it went!

 

Finally got the truck fixed. The guy did a great job. The final cash price was $850. There was one dent on the hood that was really close to the edge that he couldn't get all the way out. You really really have to look for it to see it. I would say it is 97% gone so I was happy overall.

Just for reference, I saw two different names there. One was Five Star Dent Removal on a small enclosed trailer and Dings N Things on the side of a car. Both were from the Goldsboro area. Scott was the guy that worked on my truck and he did one heck of a job.

He was leaving today to go back home to work. He said he had 3,000 cars waiting on him when he got back. I was able to talk him into coming back one weekend and working on 5 other vehicles of family members. He was a stand up guy!

Thanks again everyone...

 

Awesome! Good job doing your homework, it paid off.

 

The fact that he charged $122 less then quoted says a lot about him right there. Good find!