Nobody likes coming back to their car and finding a new dent. It sucks! Especially if it’s not your own fault.
If you’re anything like me, it can cause you stress and be hard to forget about.
The good thing is, most of the time minor damage such as door dings and car park dents can be fixed easily.
This is the main benefit of PDR, it can be used to fix minor damage without invasive procedures.
Keep reading this article to understand the advantages, disadvantages, and long-term effects of PDR.
Advantages Of PDR
There are so many advantages to PDR, whether you’re the customer, a business, or a DIYer at home.
As a customer, you’ll often pay less for paintless dent repair than you would for auto body repairs.
There’s also a lot less turnover time on repairs.
Most of the time the work is done within a day or two and you’re able to use the car overnight.
As a business, you don’t need a set location to do your work. You can be a mobile PDR tech if you like.
This keeps costs low and means you can attract work from further afar if you’re willing to travel.
If you do want a home base, it doesn’t need to be fancy, just a modest garage or even a gazebo would do.
Finally, as a DIYer, you’ll be able to pull out minor damage at home without having to spend your hard-earned cash.
The most expensive kit on my list of “the best PDR Tools for beginners” will only set you back a hundred dollars or so.
This is cents in comparison to an estimate that a body shop would normally write.
Paintless Dent Repair Disadvantages
Despite the many advantages of PDR, there are in fact some disadvantages to PDR.
If you’re looking to get your car repaired or do the repairs yourself, I recommend considering the pros and cons of each repair method before choosing one.
I personally believe the paintless dent repair disadvantages to be less than the disadvantages of auto body. That said, not everyone would agree.
The Damage can be repaired is limited
The most obvious and restrictive thing about PDR is the type of damage you can repair.
Most major damage is better off repaired with traditional methods.
The main issue will be the paint. If the paint is damaged or cracked, you’ll not be able to make it look the same as before the damage occurred.
Thus it will need to be repainted.
This limits the type of damage that can be fixed to hail damage, door dings, and car park dents.
You’re not going to be able to PDR crash damage.
It’s not easy to do PDR
From a DIY perspective, repairing a car using PDR takes a lot of skill.
It’s not as easy as the TikToks or Instagram reels make it look.
If you want to do PDR properly and for the best results, it’s going to take a lot of practice and maybe even some training courses.
The same goes for auto body. That can take many years until you’re good at the job.
If you do choose to do it yourself, take time to learn the job before taking it to your actual car.
It’s very easy to overpull, peak, or stretch the metal. This will lead to you needing to revert to more traditional repairs and probably even the professionals.
Repair Quality
There are a lot of very competent PDR technicians out there, that can make your car look like new again. Don’t get me wrong.
But there are also a lot of people who can claim to do PDR and are very bad at it.
If you’re paying someone, make sure it’s a reputable company or somebody that you know can actually do the job.
Letting amateurs loose on your prized possession isn’t necessarily the smartest idea.
The rule “you get what you pay for” is generally one to follow. A lot of the cheaper services will be poor and from people looking to make a quick buck rather than build a respectable business.
Also, from a DIY perspective, if you want to do PDR on one of your own cars, I’ll put my neck on the line and say it’ll probably never be 100% right.
You can definitely make damage look better, maybe even 99% there. But unless you spend a lot of time mastering the trade, it’ll never be 100%.
And depending on the dent, some will never come out properly.
Paintless Dent Repair Long-Term Effects
Paintless Dent Repair is by far the best repair method for minimizing long-term effects and keeping your car as original as possible.
Unless the person repairing the car cracks the paint, Paintless Dent Repair has no long-term effects. The car will not rust or obtain any other defects as a result of the repair.
Because PDR is just pushing the original sheet metal back into place and doesn’t require any refinishing, your car will still be 100% factory.
This is huge if you own a car that’s a collectible and will hold extra value the more “original” it is.
Secondly, the more traditional auto body repair route can have a lot more long-term effects than PDR.
With a body filler repair, a lot of things can go wrong. Moisture can get trapped in it causing bubbling & rust. Paint can start failing if poorly prepped. Even worse, the filler can crack over time.
Don’t get me wrong this is rare, but, there are a lot of hacks and not every repair is going to be the best.
This is why it’s the best repair method for minor dents. It’s cheaper, keeps the car original and has no long-term effects on your car.
The only real paintless dent repair disadvantages is the fact that it’s a very limited repair.