Short version: if the paint over a dent is unbroken, paintless dent repair (PDR) pushes it out from behind the panel: at Waxman Collision in Jersey City, $150–$250 for a coin- to golf-ball-sized ding and $250–$450 for a dent up to about three inches, usually the same day. Two or three dings on one panel are priced together at $250–$500. If the paint is cracked or the metal is creased and stretched, it becomes body work plus paint — typically $500–$1,200, with a door repaired and painted from $600, in three to seven days. Hail is priced by panel and dent count: $750–$1,500 for light hail, $2,500–$6,000 and up for a heavily hit car.
| Dent repair cost at a glance | Price | Time |
|---|---|---|
| One door ding, paint intact (PDR) | $150–$250 | same day |
| One dent up to about three inches, paint intact (PDR) | $250–$450 | same day to 2 days |
| One panel repaired and painted — door or fender | from $600 | 3–7 days |
| Hail, light to heavy, priced by panel | $750–$6,000+ | scheduled individually |
Dent repair prices at our shop
These are the same numbers as on our paintless dent repair page — our own prices, not national averages. Size, depth, location and count move a dent inside its range; a daylight photo usually tells us which line yours is on.
| Damage | What it takes | Price | Time in the shop |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ding, coin to golf-ball size, paint intact | Single-dent PDR | $150–$250 | same day |
| Dent up to about three inches, paint intact | Single-dent PDR | $250–$450 | same day to 2 days |
| Two or three dings on the same panel | PDR, priced together | $250–$500 | same day to 2 days |
| Light hail, roughly 15–30 dents | Multi-panel PDR | $750–$1,500 | scheduled individually |
| Moderate to heavy hail, whole car | Panel-by-panel PDR | $2,500–$6,000+ | scheduled individually |
| Dent with cracked or scraped paint | Body work + paint, not PDR | $500–$1,200 | 3–7 days |
| Door dent — repaired and painted | Body work + paint + blend | from $600 | 3–7 days |
The one question that decides the price: is the paint broken?
You can usually answer it yourself in the parking lot. Look at the dent in daylight from a low angle and run a fingertip over it:
- The paint is smooth and glossy, just bent: it is a PDR candidate. The metal is worked back to shape from behind with shaped rods, read against a reflected light board, and high spots are tapped down from outside. No filler, no sanding, no paint — and no color to match.
- The paint is cracked, chipped or scraped through to primer or metal: PDR is off the table. Pushing the metal out will not close a split in the finish, and broken paint over steel means rust by spring. That dent is body work plus paint.
That is why the same-sized dent can cost $200 or $800: the difference is the paint, not the dent.
How much does door ding repair cost?
A door ding is the dent another car's door edge leaves in yours: a shallow dimple the size of a coin to a golf ball, usually on the flat of a door or a rear quarter, at the height of the other car's door edge. With the paint intact it is the cheapest dent there is — $150–$250 with PDR, usually done the same day, and two or three on one panel are priced together at $250–$500. The one thing to check before you count on that number: the point of impact. A door edge can chip the paint right at the center of the ding, and a chipped ding is paint work, not PDR. Which dings qualify, what a parking-lot crease costs and when a ding is worth a claim are in our guide to door ding and small dent repair costs; the technique itself is on our paintless dent repair page.
PDR cost per dent: why the second one is cheaper
PDR is priced per dent, not per hour, and the first dent carries the setup: the panel is accessed from behind, the light board is positioned and any trim in the way comes off. That is why a single golf-ball ding is $150–$250 while a second or third ding on the same panel adds far less — two or three together land at $250–$500, not $450–$750. Size and depth move each dent inside its range: a dent up to about three inches is $250–$450 on its own. The same logic is why hail, with dozens of dents per panel, is priced by panel and by count rather than dent by dent.
What moves a PDR price inside its range
- Size and depth. A shallow golf-ball ding is a quick job; a deep three-inch dent takes many more small pushes to bring back without leaving high spots.
- Where it sits. A dent in the open middle of a door is the easy case. One on a body line, close to a panel edge or over an inner brace takes longer — and some cannot be reached at all.
- Access. Technicians reach behind the panel through a door frame, a tail light opening or a factory access hole. When trim, a tail light or a headliner has to come out first, that time is in the price.
- Count. Several dings on one panel share the setup, so two or three are priced together at $250–$500 rather than one by one. Hail follows the same logic on a bigger scale.
When PDR is the wrong call
Roughly a third of the dents brought to us cannot be pushed out. PDR is the wrong call when:
- The paint is cracked or scratched through.
- The dent is a sharp crease. Sharp folds stretch the metal, and stretched metal does not shrink back flat.
- The damage sits on the very edge of a panel or over a brace with nothing to work against.
- The panel already carries filler from an old repair. Filler does not move with the metal.
- It is a plastic bumper cover. Plastic needs heat, plastic repair and paint — that is bumper repair, priced from $450, and our bumper repair cost guide breaks it down.
We would rather say so on day one than take money for a repair that will never look right.
Conventional dent repair: what the higher number buys
When PDR is out, the job is four steps under the same roof: the metal is pulled or pushed back to shape, a thin skim of filler levels what the metal will not hold, the panel is primed and blocked flat, and then it is painted and blended into the panels beside it so the repair has no visible edge. That is $500–$1,200 for a typical dent, and a door repaired and painted starts at $600, in three to seven days.
The blend is the part cheap quotes leave out. On silver, white pearl and most metallics, the new color has to fade into the neighboring panels, each added per panel — the full explanation is in what it costs to paint a car. If the dent came with a collision, the panel behind it usually took something too; that is collision repair, written as one estimate rather than two.
Hail damage: priced by panel, usually a comprehensive claim
Hail is priced by panel and by dent count, not per dent, so a hood with forty dimples costs far less per dent than a single door ding: $750–$1,500 for light hail of roughly 15–30 dents, $2,500–$6,000 and up for moderate to heavy damage across the car. Hail falls under comprehensive coverage rather than collision, so you pay your comprehensive deductible and it is usually treated more gently at renewal than an at-fault claim. On a four-figure estimate filing is worth it; we open and document the claim and bill the carrier directly.
Insurance or out of pocket?
Most single dents are cheaper than a deductible. A $250 ding against a $500 deductible is not a claim, and filing it would put a claim on your record for nothing. A shopping-cart or door dent with no other driver to bill runs through your own collision coverage, minus the deductible, if you claim it at all. If another driver did it and left their information, it goes on their liability policy and your deductible does not apply. The full decision math is in cosmetic damage and insurance, and our body shop price guide has every other repair on the car.
Why factory paint matters at trade-in and lease return
Paint-depth gauges are standard at dealerships and auction lanes, and a refinished panel reads as accident history whether there was an accident or not. PDR leaves nothing to find: original paint, original thickness, no filler, no blend edge. On a lease return, dealers charge dings at retail, and PDR usually comes in under that charge — see lease return restoration.
Mobile dent repair or the shop?
A mobile technician is fine for a simple ding in an easy spot. A harder dent needs trim removal, controlled light and the option to switch to conventional repair when the metal turns out to be stretched — and that is easier in a shop with a paint booth on the other side of the wall.
Not sure which line your dent is on? Send 4–8 daylight photos — the whole car, the panel and the dent close up at an angle — and a real estimator answers the same business day, in writing, free: start the photo estimate. Waxman Collision, 18-24 Bayview Ave, Jersey City, NJ 07305, open daily 8am–8pm, (551) 325-3030.