What're your first dent thoughts for a daily driver ("freeing" vs. unpleasant)

[TmanP]

I got my first door ding on the Camry the other night - a decent-sized one that two PDR estimates I got today put at around $150 to fix, or $300 in total with the two other more minor blemishes on the car that were less bothersome but that I'd probably fix at the same time). I'd say I go to some trouble to avoid dings and dents, not taking tight parking spots and the like.

I'm trying to decide whether to leave it alone ("it's a daily driver, and subsequent dings will be less unpleasant") or to fix it ("keep it in good shape since you're going to have the car for a while"). I plan to keep it for 5-7 years more or so, and my philosophy seems to suggest that keeping it in better shape will delay the next car shopping trip, but that's not for sure by any means.

Despite being a 10-year-old Toyota that's a daily, it's quite clean (a solid 8.5/10 in terms of condition, I'd say), and I try and keep it clean and in good shape. I have no delusions about its conditions or value - it's not mint or anything, and a very pedestrian make and model, but it's in very good shape for its age - no rust/scrapes, no warning lights, new tires, clean interior, good mechanical shape, etc. Its current value sits around $10-11k.

What's your philosophy - save the money or just eat the cost and fix it so I don't have to think of it any more? Thoughts?

 

[Skippy722]

On a 10 year old vehicle I’d definitely let it be and save the money assuming the paint isn’t damaged. I’ve got a few minor dents, you can see them if light hits it right on my Ram I bought new almost 2 years ago that have been there for about 18 months. I accidentally dropped, tried to catch, and subsequently basically threw a front facing car seat into the side of it lol.

 

[JWC86]

If it were me I would wait until I had a couple more and get them fixed but I also understand wanting to keep it "mint".

 

[Kira]

The decision is subject to too many circumstances for a single, catch-all philosophy.

I do remember a spoof in MAD Magazine where the first dent was a $50 option on a car.

 

[R18Civic]

I've got so many scratches, dents and dings in my 2009 Buick now - Mostly from my cousins son which I know were intentional as he's a kid with a severe case of ADHD whose parents don't believe in medication - that I've just said f**k it. Eventually I'll save up enough money to get everything repainted and the dings and dents corrected but right now I'm just covering it up by keeping it as shiny as possible.

It was in immaculate condition before my cousin got a hold of it and his son went to town on it.

 

[TCL]

On a 10 year old vehicle I’d definitely let it be and save the money assuming the paint isn’t damaged. I’ve got a few minor dents, you can see them if light hits it right on my Ram I bought new almost 2 years ago that have been there for about 18 months. I accidentally dropped, tried to catch, and subsequently basically threw a front facing car seat into the side of it lol.

I hope there wasn't a child in the seat. LOL

 

[Skippy722]

I hope there wasn't a child in the seat. LOL

Oh no, those seats are big and awkward enough as is!

 

[CharlesInCharge]

My daily drivers are purposefully chosen because they are low-value but high utility older vehicles like your Camry. They came with blemishes "pre-installed." The reality is that an old daily driver is simply going to experience bumps and bruises and there's just not much you can reasonably do other than park intelligently, and keep it clean and maintained.

Spending north of $150 to fix a cosmetic blemish is wasting money on a 10+ year old car. You won't help the value at all, and the truth is you could fix it and tomorrow suffer another door ding or worse, and it becomes an endless money pit fixing minor blemishes.

Learn to live with and even embrace some of the character battle scars our daily beasts suffer. It's not that big of a deal. Use the $$$ more intelligently toward something else, even your retirement fund. Or a day of golfing.

 

[samven]

If you have the time and desire get a PDR dent puller from Amazon. For about $35 you can pull most small dents to the point they are barely noticeable and other will come out completely if there is no crease. Just dont expect them to come out in 1 try, I found that some will take 5 or 6 pulls but you can see them getting better each time.

 

[Passport1]

I confronted that same conundrum after my first surgical scar. Was distraught that I wasn't perfect anymore. After some adult reflection I realized never was. Then the thought that everything was still ok and my value was intact washed all the doubts away. Today I'm still running as good as any ten year old dented Camry.

 

[blufeb95]

You know what I love about driving a 15 year old car, I couldn't give a single f&*() about scratches and dings.

 

[Nick1994]

My Camry is so dented, chipped, and faded not only do I not care where I park it, usually people will park away from it. They'll literally pass it to go park next to some other nicer car further away. It's that ugly.

Don't care that much about the 2014 Grand Cherokee either.

 

[Snagglefoot]

I don’t like paint repairs so I let the dings accumulate. The first one is the most painful. There always a chance the vehicle will get a bigger hit and you might be able to get things fixed on someone else’s insurance.

 

[HankHill]

I used my foot to put a first dent in my DD.. Ice storm, left my wallet in my bookbag inside the car, I had to run out to get gas for my snowblower. DUH. I just look at it every day and shake my head.

 

[svtrit]

I used to care, but got over it through the years. In fact, I recently bought my used minivan with a very bad blemish on the rear bumper. I asked my wife about fixing it, and after pricing $300 for a used, color match bumper, we decided it was ok to live with. It’ll get a bumper sticker when we go on vacation this year.

I spent waaaay to much caring about a vehicle that was very nice when I sold it to someone who hit a tree with it a few months later. He drove it for a long time with the mangled fender.

Too many of idiots doing stupid things around my cars for me to care about dings and dents on a DD.

 

[nobb]

I know that feeling. My DD is 11 years old now, bought new, and have previously only drove it in the summer. Then I crunched the numbers and realized how much of a waste it is not driving the thing. So now I've committed it to DD duty to get the most value out of it. It's still in minty condition, not a single dent. I always choose my parking spots carefully and park far away when I can, but I know it's only a matter of time. After the first dent/scratch, the rest should be alot easier to stomach.

 

[dlundblad]

Our 4Runner had less than 300 miles on it when our GSD scratched it. Lol.

 

[joekingcorvette]

As a previous poster stated buy a dent puller from Amazon. I purchased the type that has the glue sticks. You can buy the kit from Amazon for about $50.00 and they work great. Even an amateur such as myself can achieve amazing results. Take and pull the dent and lightly tap around it with a hammer and it should look great. You will have to make more than one pull with the dent puller. Practice makes perfect. There are tons of videos on U-Tube showing how to pull and remove dents. I also have the paintless dent repair rods however in my opinion they are much more difficult to remove dings and require more practice. For the $50.00 it's well worth the investment and you need to keep the daily driver as nice and clean as possible.

 

[Smoky14]

I'd cry, been driving the old girl for 22 years and accident free no dents. The paint looks good and she gets washed and waxed on a regular basis. Has never failed to start or run, tires and timing belts and a window motor.
YMMV
Smoky

 

[IndyIan]

With kids and hobby farm duty, dents and scratches aren't a concern.