Rock Dent on Hood

[raisemyrent]

OK, I got a very nasty rock on my hood, it dented in and completely scratched off the paint (you can see the metal in an area about the size of a BB/pellet). Then it bounced off and scratched a couple more spots.

My car was also rear-ended in mid-July and I had been waiting this long to get the approved BMW body shop (which also does pretty much all expensive brands in town) to take it in. A busy market and a driveable car resulted in a 3 month wait. Now that it is in, I asked them to independently from insurance, take a look at a door ding I had above the rear left tyre, and the dent/scracth on the hood. I had only got an estimate for the ding because it was already there in July, but the dent on the hood was more recent.

When I stopped in to get my ipod out of the car and see my baby in his hospital bed, I kinda asked about the hood thing. He said they plan to fix the dent, REPAINT the hood, apply the clear coat, then replace the 3M film that I have on it. I asked him to later send me a price on that, and they will not proceed until I give them the OK.

Now, is it me, or will this little thing end up costing me over $500? The estimate for the door ding was $122...

I will most likely pass on their offer to fix it, so what are my options? BMW sells touch-up paint... and I can always shop around for other body shops.

I guess my question is, what is the justification? Is it because my car is black, or is a full repaint really needed?

Please let me know what you think. I wish I had pictures but the car is in the hospital.

[mikeo]

Quality body work these days is damned expensive, period. You might try a paintless dent removal service and then do your best to touch up the paint yourself. What is your insurance deductable for "comprehensive" damage? that would be what the rock ding falls under.

[MONTEGO_E82]

I would go with a paintless dent removal which should not cost you more than $100. When you are refinishing a hood you have to paint the complete hood, you can not blend or dead edge a hood. Usually it is best to blen the fenders as well, depends on the paint color and age of the paint. $500 to paint a hood is a very good price, most bodyshops will be more than $500. In my opinion I would just touch it up. Paintless dent repair will remove the dings for around $100-$150 depending on the severity and location.

[raisemyrent]

I think I will just touch it up. I could probably go through insurance, my deductible is 500 I believe, but I remember something about a no deducitble thing at some point. maybe I can fix the windshield too.
Either way, it came in at 1400 bucks, so about 1,500 for both imperfections. Ouch! If insurance is viable, I will get it done that way (though my premiums might go up after that claim), but if not, I will bring it to someone who takes dents out for a living for much lesser, and buy lots of touch-up paint from the stealer...

where did my brand new car go? oh well...