The owner of a typical car or pickup truck is responsible for that vehicle’s various repair and upkeep needs, which may range from oil filter changes to getting new tires to having a cracked windshield or dent repair on the body. Many different hazards can damage a car’s body, glass, or paint job, and a visibly damaged car is not only ugly to look at, but probably unsafe to drive, and the owner will struggle to sell it for a decent price. So, any car owner will invest in dent repair, fixing hail damage, or windshield replacement at an auto body shop, and at a car paint shop, scratched or scraped paint can be touched up. A car’s paint job isn’t just attractive; it serves as a protective skin to shield the car’s metal body from rust and other problems, so compromised paint should be fixed up right away.
When Dent Repair Is Necessary
Fortunately, most drivers today are careful and responsible about how they drive on today’s roads, but all the same, hazards will always exist, and many of them may dent a car, crack its glass, break off the bumper, or scrape off paint. A car doesn’t have to be totaled to suffer damage, and a recent survey shows that around 77% of cars were in need of maintenance or repair work of some sort. What might happen? A car may suffer serious dents and damage when a drunk or reckless driver hits it with their own vehicle, or a car may slide out of control in icy weather and hit another car, or property such as a mailbox or fire hydrant. In other cases, heavy hail may fall on a car (such as hail the size of golf balls), and large hail can riddle a car’s roof, hood, and trunk with dents. A truck whose cargo comes loose by accident is a hazard too, since flying debris may then strike any cars driving behind that truck. Finally, there is also the threat of vandalism, when a vandal strikes a car or throws objects at it to damage it. Any of these hazards can also damage the car’s glass.
A dented car is not only unsightly, but the dents interfere with the vehicle’s aerodynamic qualities, and such damage may make the car difficult to sell for a fair price. What is more, a cracked windshield is distracting, and such a windshield will cause the car to fail a safety inspection. So, the owner can take their vehicle to a body shop, and ask the crews there to perform dent repair or replace cracked glass. Shop staff will pound out the dents in the car’s body to restore the car’s shape and aerodynamic qualities, and badly damaged bumpers might be replaced entirely. Even the car’s rims or hubcaps can have dents pounded out, or the entire thing can be swapped out for a new one. Cracked glass may be replaced wholesale, and a new windshield is very tough and allows the car to pass a safety inspection. A freshly fixed car is safer and smoother to drive, and it can prove easier to sell later.
Car Paint Issues
Meanwhile, what about the paint on the car? Paint is not only cosmetic, but it protects the car’s body, and scraped or scratched paint will need some touch-up work. A car’s paint may get scraped off during a glancing blow in an auto accident, or very old paint will peel off and flake off all on its own. Falling tree branches or other debris can scratch or scrape the paint, and a common form of auto vandalism is to drag a key or other hard object across the paint and put long, ugly scratches on it.
A car owner can take their vehicle to an auto paint shop, where crews may sand down the affected area and apply new paint and sealant. As for the cost, this will vary based on the damage’s location and severity (there is a scale to measure car paint damage). Some car owners can handle themselves, and once they order the right paint, they will sand down the area, apply primer, then put on a few layers of paint, followed by sealant.
