Dent Removal

Evening guys.

Well (and please excuse my French), some f***ing arsehole has driven into the back passenger side door of my S2 and scarpered . I'm not sure when it happened, only noticed it today, but it certainly wasn't there on Wednesday when I washed it.

Its had quite a clout by the looks of it, the lower section is pushed in in such a way that the bottom corner lip is pointing outwards where it should be flush with the rear wheel arch. The bump strip is also no longer attached in the middle, so presumably its been pushed in behind that somehow as well.
Fortunately, the dent seems quite smooth and wide, so theres a possibility it could be pulled or knocked out from behind. I might try one of those 'sucker' type dent removal things, has anyone had experience with them? Failing that, I'll just replace the door as its really annoying to look at.
Sorry for the outburst, I'm just really fuming as the bodywork on that car was excellent and very straight up until now, and I can't believe someone has whacked it one then drove off without leaving so much as a note.... but then I'd be naive to expect anything else in this day and age really wouldn't I....

Ciarán

This post has been edited by Ciaran on October 21, 2007 10:02 pm

Hi Ciaran

Sorry to hear you have been the victim of hit and run. From your description of the outward pointing corner it sounds as though that bit of the door frame has distorted. If so pulling the dent out will not correct everthing. There is a lot of access holes on the inside panel of the door once the trim is removed. If you also remove the rubbing strip (3 screws) you should get a much better idea of how serious the damage is. Try pulling with a sucker first but I suspect it will need pushing out from the inside.

Regards

John

Hi John,

Thanks for that. I fear you're right, I'm able to get my fingers in behind the bump strip and the metal has bent there too, so it will probably need knocked out rather than pulled.

I'm wondering what has done this, its a bit too low down to be a bumper, especially with how low the back of an XM sits. There's no paint damage whatsoever, so its as if it was pushed in by something low and soft, towbar with a rubber boot on it perhaps?

Anyway, will get the door card off some time this week and see what its like.

Cheers

Ciarán

Ciaran, I'm sorry to hear that. Someone kicked the wing on a BX I used to own once and left a dent. I was so angry when I saw it - complete with muddy footprint - so I understand how you must feel.

I bought a sucker-thingy off ebay for a fiver and that popped the dent out nicely. They work best when you can get a decent purchase on a flat area, they're not so good for smaller dents.

If you can find one as cheap as I did, go for it and give it a try. You won't have lost much. I've used it several times since so it's been a good investment!

The anger I can imagine. As for myself I feel less of that as I advance in age
Had 2 doors replaced (=renewed) on my accident free XM in a relatively short time.
A nice old lady drove into the NS rear a few months ago. Door renewed, also the rear bumper. Total cost 900,000 yen. The car is insured for 2.3 million yen. Beginning of this month the other side: front door dented, mirror ripped off by a truck on the motorway. Glad to be alive. Remedy again renew door, inner panel, etc. Some parts are on back order so now driving a Nixon. Fortunately I have good insurance. They act instantly and pay out directly to the dealer/repair shop. The repair work is top notch. No way you can see panels have been resprayed

This post has been edited by Jan-hendrik on October 22, 2007 12:06 pm

Stu, that must have been infuriating, its one thing when it was an accident, as in my case (well, I think it was accidental anyway), but wanton vandalism like with your BX would just make me livid. Complete wasters some people, they obviously don't appreciate the time, money and effort that some people put into their cars.

Cheers for the tip about ebay, I hadn't thought about looking there for a dent puller.

Jan, thats an unlucky few weeks by the sound of it! Good thing you have a decent insurance company by the sounds of it, who actually pay out in reasonable circumstances, unlike the cowboys here who throw every concievable obstacle in your way. Glad your barge is in one piece, could have been much worse, especially with the truck incident!

BTW, whats a Nixon?

Cheers

Ciarán

This post has been edited by Ciaran on October 23, 2007 08:01 am

Can we have your insurance company in the UK

Over here they will turn round and say that no XM is worth more than a sidelight and write it off.

My insurance company tried to justify their valuation of my 2.5 estate with petrol saloons, xanita's and MOT failures!

[QUOTE]BTW, whats a Nixon?[/QUOTE
Actually it's a Nissan Tiida. I'm not sure if I am permitted to mention it here.
http://www.nissan.com.au/tiida/
My dealer gave me this vehicle for the time I can't drive the XM. It is almost new, only 4500 km driven. I think the dealer rents it. Insurance pays.

Can we have your insurance company in the UK

Over here they will turn round and say that no XM is worth more than a sidelight and write it off.

My insurance company tried to justify their valuation of my 2.5 estate with petrol saloons, xanita's and MOT failures!

When I moved to Japan a few decades ago I was already familiar with insurance companies' practices in Europe. They were quick to take your money, but slow, indifferent and inactive when you needed their help. Not much seems to have changed since. The scene in Japan was an eye opener. There have been a number of accidents I have been involved in, most of them minor, and the insurance companies have always been extremely quick and helpful. And that's what people expect when someone takes your money. There are a lot of companies competing here and if one does not live up to expectations, they can forget it. Customers move on.

HI Ciaran,
Sorry to hear about your dent in the rear door. My V6 suffered a similar insult from my parents neighbour who backed into it some time ago . She said cheerily she hardly felt anything when she hit it and couldn't believe the damage when she looked, however at least she owned up. The door is dented in the middle below the rubbing strip. I bought a rubber vacuum puller, pulled with all my might, and nearly took off backwards a couple of times when the thing lost grip. Now I have a very, very slightly less bowed door with two or three circular shaped `outdents' in it from the suction cup I think it would be better to get the door card off and push from the inside although having seen the metalwork in the way in the door I think you would need some good levering tools to really pop the dent out. Sorry to say but t might be better to get another door from a 'reseller' or have it done professionally if you want a really good job.

Hi Paul,

That's something I was worried about, overdoing it and putting an egg on the surface.
I think I'll have to get the door card off and see what things are like inside, as you say. New door might be the way forward

Ciarán

Looks very like what used to be the Almera over here, don't think they still make it though. That one looks a bit Renault Megane-ish actually....

Ciarán

in my experience the best way of treating insurance companies is to tell them at the outset that you are going to bitch and moan about everything and they would better to settle sensibly before you tie one of their operatives with for weeks with endless letters. They have a lot of leeway - I've got their offers up on average by 30%. I never let them write my car off and instead demand a settlement cheque in exchange for taking full responsibility for the repair.

Back on the subject of dents, wasn't there a really good film someone posted a link to, where you saw a dent being chilled with some frozen gas aerosol and then heated gently with some sort of blow heater. The dent popped out like a dream in the film.

Yep, but it was the other way round. Heat with hair dryer and then freeze with a can of freezing stuff (you can get cans of CO2 from plumbers - used to freeze pipes). I have a can ready, but haven't got round to trying it out on my dents yet.

Hi All,
On the video clip the hair drier comes before the freeze spray .Just go to youtube and search dent removal or try this http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=miNykNl-0NM
There's also a similar method using a chunk of dry ice but in that the ice is first so perhaps it doesn't matter which way round?.

Cheers, Carl