[ghostrider]

You have two options, since you've decided not to live with the dent.

1. Go to an authorized service center that does good denting and painting work. Depending on whether you're filing an insurance claim or not, the car should be in the shop for between 2 and 4 days.

2. Go to a good body shop somewhere else that's NOT an authorized service center. I've got one of these pretty close to where I live, and they've done very good quality work for me in the past at HALF the cost of an authorized servcie station. They used original paints, and the quality of the work is top notch.
A non-authorized service center claim may not be entertained by your insurer, by the way, so look into that if you plan on filing a claim.

Have you already lost your no-claim bonus for the year? If not, then consider paying for this out of pocket. Do the math and see what works out to be cheaper.

[Vid6639]

I did the same thing on my Alto last year. Brushed the kerb while taking a U-turn. Cost Rs.1,200 to tinker and repaint. Looks like new now.

Ask the service guys how much they will charge.

[SS-Traveller]

Repairing the running board (as that strip of metal is called) will mean removing it by cutting it out with a blowtorch at the points where it is spot-welded to the body, denting or replacing it, welding it back, and finally repainting the whole thing, including the points where the blowtorch burnt off paint. Total cost: about 3-5K at a private body-shop.

Incidentally the original fitment has a zinc anti-rust coating inside, which is pretty much impossible to replace when a replacement is done. So replaced/repaired running boards are more prone to rust than the factory fitments.

Alternatively, you can try to reduce the depth of the dent with a dent puller (see here), fill up with a body putty, and get the surface painted. Downside: the putty is prone to develop cracks if it is too thickly applied, and paint match may not be perfect.

[panks15]

It is a common sight in mumbai (seen such dents from alto to civic) and many owners do not care. But if u want to get it done it would cost (in mumbai) around 2.5K to 3K (local garages 800 to 1200). Do not tinker with insurance or you wont get the benfit of NCB

[akshay_b]

First of all, I'm overwhelmed by your responses and suggestions
Thanks everyone for taking the time out and helping me out.

And the dent in the pic looks pretty minor, but its a pretty deep one, I'll click and post a clear pic in the morning.

Originally Posted by arin_12

I too had same kind of dent in the other side of the passanger door. It does not give any problem. left as it is... But may need some painting as it get rust over a long time on this rainy season...

I do have a spray paint, 2-3 coats should cover up the exposed metal, but i cannot live with a dent on my not-even-a-year-old car.

Originally Posted by shyamhegde

Bad. It hurts, when it this happens to a nicely kept car. But most of the cars in Bangalore now have this trademark dent.

Akshay, you are lucky! Yesterday night a stone came under my Santro. Stone was covered with some plastic kinda thing (which probably flied from some garbage throw due to strong wind) and i did not see it; thanks to a oncoming highbeam vehicle. Advaith towed the car for repairs 15 minutes back now. Gear box case likely has a crack and all gearbox-oil is drained out overnight.

Oh man, that hurts, i really dont understand why people don't clean up the road!, How's your car now?

Originally Posted by white_vdi

akshay just let it be. shouldnt be a problem but get it repaired before the rains. it will start rusting and will eat up the running board. *** will charge you for one piece only. around 3000 i guess.

Hmmm, That's pretty high, I can fix the exposed metal with a spray paint temporarily, Its the dent which bugs me

Originally Posted by kannan666

I too would suggest that if you can live with it, just touch it up with a small paint job so that rust does not eat into the running board. It can even be a DIY job as I've done on my Esteem when it got scratched on the rear door. Else, removing the dent and repainting the entire running board panel should cost you around 2K if the colour is non metallic, little extra for metallic. Car looks like a Santro, am I right ? No point in claiming insurance for this one as you will lose your NCB

Yes buddy, Its a santro, I'll get an estimate from a hyundai service center and decide weather to claim insurance or not.

Originally Posted by gpa

My opinion echoes most other opinons here. Its best you do not get it repaired. You can get the area touched up with paint so that only the dent is visible and scratches are removed.

The dent is pretty deep which doesn't reflect in the pic buddy, And i can not live with a dented car.

Originally Posted by androdev

hard to believe that you are from bangalore!! if i fix every dent as and when i get it, my car will be in the body shop most of the time

live with it, and you will be better prepared to deal with future dents :-)

jokes apart, hope u get it fixed to ur satisfaction soon. ask the workshop not to "correct" more area than necessary.

Why is that so buddy? Its almost a year now and this was the only major thing happened to my car! touch wood!

Originally Posted by ghostrider

You have two options, since you've decided not to live with the dent.

1. Go to an authorized service center that does good denting and painting work. Depending on whether you're filing an insurance claim or not, the car should be in the shop for between 2 and 4 days.

2. Go to a good body shop somewhere else that's NOT an authorized service center. I've got one of these pretty close to where I live, and they've done very good quality work for me in the past at HALF the cost of an authorized servcie station. They used original paints, and the quality of the work is top notch.
A non-authorized service center claim may not be entertained by your insurer, by the way, so look into that if you plan on filing a claim.

Have you already lost your no-claim bonus for the year? If not, then consider paying for this out of pocket. Do the math and see what works out to be cheaper.

I'll try finding a body repair shop if the authorized people quote me a bomb. No i haven't claimed any insurance, Will keep you guys updated.

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

Repairing the running board (as that strip of metal is called) will mean removing it by cutting it out with a blowtorch at the points where it is spot-welded to the body, denting or replacing it, welding it back, and finally repainting the whole thing, including the points where the blowtorch burnt off paint. Total cost: about 3-5K at a private body-shop.

Incidentally the original fitment has a zinc anti-rust coating inside, which is pretty much impossible to replace when a replacement is done. So replaced/repaired running boards are more prone to rust than the factory fitments.

Alternatively, you can try to reduce the depth of the dent with a dent puller (see here), fill up with a body putty, and get the surface painted. Downside: the putty is prone to develop cracks if it is too thickly applied, and paint match may not be perfect.

Hmmm, I've started worrying now. Rusting and stuff? I should get this thing propery fixed. I'll check with the authorized people and a body repair shop and ask them what they can do.

Thanks everyone for your help, I'll keep you guys updated.

EDIT: Could someone list a few body repair garages in Bangalore? (preferably around basveshwaranagar, vijaynagar, malleshwarm or rajajinagar) Cant drive too far as i have exams coming up.

[decode]

Akshay,
Pity the unfortunate incident that happened to your car. This is common on Indian roads. I agree with you that we are the kind of people who cannot live with these kind of incidents. I dont think it is a difficult job for the tinker as these events are common and they have the necessary tools to reshape the running board. Running board is available as a body part with the ASC but in your case, you neednt go for a replacement, the dent (especially being a Santro ) can be brought back to shape and repainted. My friend faced a very similar incident last week and I had inspected his car in person. I asked to call me in the weekend and told that together we will visit the ASC or a good tinlering,painting shop. His dad wanted to take the car to an ASC nearby (Aryan motors -Banaswadi rd Bangalore). His car is 2006 Maruti Zen and they gave him an estimate of Rs.6000/-if claimed through insurance and Rs.4000/- without insurance..............Now what is that

His dad readily agreed to go with the insurance and the ASC accepted the car and they will give it back only after 3 days (for a dent in running Board) .

I had a similar experience with my old esteem few years back and it costed me Rs.2000 including tinkering and painting (That too Metalic colour)

[greenh0rn]

Hi Akshay, here's my take with a non-*** workshop:

1. Denting/painting labor etc. (as long as the piece doesn't have to be cut/welded back)- Rs. 250-300
2. 100ml metallic paint- Rs. 600

Total expense= Rs. 900, if the mech thinks he can pull out the dent.

For cutting/welding job, your expense will come to Rs. 1800. These are Delhi rates- but there shouldn't be a major variance down south.

[akshay_b]

UPDATES: I visited an authorized service center and a local mechanic garage. Hyundai quoted me 1500-2000+taxes, for cutting the damaged part, welding the new part, tinkering and painting. The local mechanic quoted me 1000-1200 for dent removal and painting.

Should i get it fixed from the local mechanic or Hyundai?

[greenh0rn]

Akshay, if money is not a constraint, then go with ***. You can hold them by their collar and do many unmentionable things to them if the output is not to your satisfaction- something that is rarely possible with a local mech

[ghostrider]

Originally Posted by akshay_b

UPDATES: I visited an authorized service center and a local mechanic garage. Hyundai quoted me 1500-2000+taxes, for cutting the damaged part, welding the new part, tinkering and painting. The local mechanic quoted me 1000-1200 for dent removal and painting.

Should i get it fixed from the local mechanic or Hyundai?

It's not a very visible part, and black is an easy colour to match. If your local body shop does good quality work, then I'd recommend you tell him to do a perfect job within 1 grand. That way you save a grand. He'd probably also be faster than Hyundai A.S.S.

[sgiitk]

With a cost difference of only Rs.300 or so go to the @$$

[chahalracer]

I wouldnt live with that. My suggestion is that go to a good garage and get this repaired. the cost should be around 1 to 1.5K. Find out who is the denter at the garage and ask him what is he going to do. He is going to make a small opening in the dent and pull it out in place. After removing the dent, a compound is filled in to make the surface even. Believe me, once the paint touch up is done, you wont be able to make out where the dent was. I got a 20 year old maruti 800 refurbished. This one had dents,rusting and holes all over it and the entire body shell was repaired which later came out like a brand new one. Go to an authorised workshop as they have the factory recomended paint shades.

[akshay_b]

Originally Posted by greenh0rn

Akshay, if money is not a constraint, then go with ***. You can hold them by their collar and do many unmentionable things to them if the output is not to your satisfaction- something that is rarely possible with a local mech

I would prefer A.S.S too, I wouldn't like the local mechanics filling the opening and stuff, Which is a bit risky when it comes to rusting.

Originally Posted by ghostrider

It's not a very visible part, and black is an easy colour to match. If your local body shop does good quality work, then I'd recommend you tell him to do a perfect job within 1 grand. That way you save a grand. He'd probably also be faster than Hyundai A.S.S.

The A.S.S people told me they need 3 days to fix the dent, I'd probably save around 500-700Rs if i get it done at the local garage.

Originally Posted by sgiitk

With a cost difference of only Rs.300 or so go to the @$$

A.S.S people quoted my 1.5k-2.0k He did not give me the exact figure. I'll spend around 700 extra and get complete satisfaction.

Originally Posted by chahalracer

I wouldnt live with that. My suggestion is that go to a good garage and get this repaired. the cost should be around 1 to 1.5K. Find out who is the denter at the garage and ask him what is he going to do. He is going to make a small opening in the dent and pull it out in place. After removing the dent, a compound is filled in to make the surface even. Believe me, once the paint touch up is done, you wont be able to make out where the dent was. I got a 20 year old maruti 800 refurbished. This one had dents,rusting and holes all over it and the entire body shell was repaired which later came out like a brand new one. Go to an authorised workshop as they have the factory recomended paint shades.

I hate this compound filling part, Many people told me the compound develops cracks over time, I guess i will let the A.S.S people to take care of the damage. 700Rs is no big deal to repair a car worth 4.2lakh!

Thank you everyone for your replies. Suggestions/comments are always welcomed!

[decode]

Akshay,
I have an update for you. My friend fixed his Maruti Zen in the MASS for 2206/- Please see the breakup

Denting charges - 650/-
Vehicle Washing and Cleaning - 200/-
Painting Charges - 1000/-
General Check -UP - 150/-

Service Tax 10% - 200/-
Edu.Cess on Service Tax @ 3% -6.00/-

Total = 2,206/-

[akshay_b]

That's over shooting my budget by 1k. But the A.S.S people told me it will cost upto 1.5-2.0k, I don't know how much they might charge me. 1.5k seems to be a good deal.