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After 15 years since the restoration, my Camaro received first dents (2) in a stupid event

4K views 54 replies 23 participants last post by  X-77 keith 
#1 ·
Just a strange sequence of errors, I have a plastic sheet in between the bays of the garage. Normally the Camaro is up on the lift. But it was down and there was two garage doors opened because I had to fix a flat tire on my daily. I big gust of wind came up and pushed the plastic sheeting into a fish tank that has been there for over a year and knocked it over into the pass qtr panel. I put claim in to Hagerty and we will see what they say. The paintless dent thing should work, but the paint might be cracked, hard to tell. 15 year old Glasurit. Oh well at least it happened after my judging in the Camaro Nats :D

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#4 ·
Wife and kids were going to use it for something and I stuck it there. It was just lurking there waiting for a gust of wind to cause turmoil!

The Camaro lives in the middle bay, last bay is enclosed in plastic where I do my dirty work. I opened the 1st bay when I got home with the fixed tire. Then I opened the 3rd bay to get tools out. The two bays open create a wind tunnel effect. It was calm, but a real sudden hard gust came up and caused the issue.

Looking closer found another dent lower down. Luckily I see no damage to the rocker molding, trim ring or cap.

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I plan to remove interior qtr panel and armrests so there is plenty of access when fix time comes. Just a lot going on at my place all of a sudden and this is just icing on the cake.
 
#8 ·
I feel your pain. About 20 years ago I went outside by our garage and our neighbor stuck his head over the fence and said he just heard a loud bang noise in the garage. I opened the garage door and saw a metal frame collapsable stadium chair (the kind you clip onto bleachers at a football game to provide a soft seat and backrest) lying on the floor between the Camaro and my daily driver. Humm, that's strange, how did that get there? Then out came the squirrel, on a rip. Those little guys can really move when scared. I looked at the two cars and wouldn't you know it, the metal framed chair fell out of the overhead storage above the ceiling rafters, hit my daily driver first (big dent #1 in the C pillar) and ricocheted off that car only to next bounce off the rear quarter panel of the Camaro (dents #2 and #3). Yea, three for one! We'd had the house and garage roofs replaced that week and I think the roof work may have vibrated the chair nearer the edge of the plywood sheet I had up there for storage. Squirrel probably dislodged it. I was so mad that I threw the stadium chairst into the passing garbage truck that morning. Paintless dent repair fixed it about 96%. If you look closely you can still see where the two dents were, but they are very hard to see and it's a driver anyway so it is what it is. Hope you can get a perfect repair. Moral of the story -- don't store anything heavy above or near your Camaro because the unexpected is guaranteed to happen.
 
#11 ·
I sincerely hope the insurance covers the repair and the outcome is as if it never happened.
Keywords in your testimony are “a fish tank that was there for over a year”. I am guilty of the same type of scenario. We all keep things we probably will never use again, just in case. Lol. Rule of thumb, if you haven’t found a use for it in over a year, throw it out!
 
#12 ·
That sucks! I've got a few small dings over the years from doing stupid things too, mine was repainted in 2001. Thinking of getting the car redone in a few years from now and started setting money aside.

Is that a 12 bolt differential with multi leaf perches sitting on your garage floor collecting dust?
 
#14 ·
Boy, all you guys saying how you usually keep your Camaro up on a lift,....makes a guy really jelly...lol.

Anyway, yes a good PDR guy could work those dents to the point you will never know it ever had any damage,..."if" he knows what he's doing. Those dents are small, and a good guy can do them with his eyes closed. As long as the paint is in good shape, and it's not a brittle lacquer job, you'll be fine.
 
#17 · (Edited)
I've had a claim with Hagerty and so has my friend. A tree fell on my fully restored car. He had two cars totaled with cherished value and he kept both cars. Both cars are restorable and rare. He has a 2 million dollar policy and get invites for free to events. Same adjuster came out for us both and was easy to deal with. I am in the autobody biz and have dealt with other companies that sucked. I've have Hagerty with all my vehicles, trailers and equipment. Need one set aside as a daily driver with a run of the mill company.

I would not call a PDR guy until the adjuster comes out, provides an estimate and cuts you a check. They pay out quickly. PDR guys do not get involved with a repair if it will be undetectable after they do their work unless you don't care what it looks like. After that it is up to your shop of choice to take it from there after PDR works the dents the best they can. I'm fixing my own damage after Hagerty cut me a check...no big deal. But it is your car, do whatever you want.
 
#23 ·
let us know how the PDR works out I had one tell me he PROBABLY can get a ding out so I am thinking about it
Hagerty was not a hassle for my one issue and after the body shop quote, sent out a check right away no questions asked and helped me find original parts also
 
#24 · (Edited)
I am a manager of a bodyshop, auto painter by trade, and been in the business for 42 years. I'd insist on a licensed appraiser to look at the car and for him to write a legitimate estimate to repair the car conventionally. Meaning, fixing the damage, and painting it, so it is without a doubt, repaired to pre-accident condition. And, that insurance estimate most likely will be lower than a quality body shop estimate will be, because that's what insurance companies do. That's why I suggest to all my customers, to have the car looked at "at" the body shop and come to an agreed figure with the shop, to repair the vehicle.

Then, it's your decision to try PDR or not. It's your car, and you are not held to anything as far as what the insurance estimate says. You can chose "not" to repair it at all, it's your vehicle and it's your paid policy. If the car is financed, then you have to have it repaired. It would only be professional courtesy, if you do decide to PDR it, to play the shop for their estimate and time dealing with the insurance appraiser.

I have had a few classic car repairs done in my shop through American Modern. One most recently, on a 78 Chevy step side PU, they just took my estimate, decided not to send an appraiser out, and sent the payment according to my estimate. Another was my own 34 Ford PU hot rod, and the damage was extensive, so American Modern decided to sent an independent local appraiser and they went with that estimate. Classic car insurance companies don't usually have staff appraisers like Allstate, Progressive, Geico and other normal companies.
 
#26 ·
So, are you going to make a claim on your fish bowl?
No, tank is going in the trash!

Then, it's your decision to try PDR or not. It's your car, and you are not held to anything as far as what the insurance estimate says. You can chose "not" to repair it at all, it's your vehicle and it's your paid policy. If the car is financed, then you have to have it repaired. It would only be professional courtesy, if you do decide to PDR it, to play the shop for their estimate and time dealing with the insurance appraiser.
Hagerty said to contact a body shop, but I made the decision to try the PDR. Contacted a local guy, bringing it to him for an inspection next week. He has done classics before and will need to check the paint depth and if there is any bondo. I don't think there is, GM qtrs were used and they were perfect in that area. We will see!
 
#35 ·
Kev just had a ding done in same general area came out great , he explained that if it is original paint it can not be done (lacquer or enamel ) If paint is thick (2 or more paint jobs or bondo) cracks can occur . There is a gauge used to test the thickness of the paint area
 
#37 ·
OK, finally an update. Hagerty has been very responsive, they reached out via email and called to keep in touch. I got a PDR quote for $400, but I did not send it to Hagerty. I wanted to see how the PDR repair came out 1st, if it was not to my liking, then I could still go to a body shop. Hagerty said that was fine, just submit a receipt for the work I ultimately chose to get reimbursed. BTW, 1st appraiser was pulled off my claim to work on claims from Hurricane Ian.

1st PDR appointment was canceled due to a downpour, 2nd was canceled due to my work (emergency), 3rd times a charm (today), even though it was drizzly. So the 1st dent (by door) went fine, he worked through the qtr vent hole in the jamb. He was able to get that one fully fixed, cannot see it anymore.

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2nd dent (over wheel well) was more difficult. He could not reach it from the vent or through the trunk. The gap between the qtr and the wheelhouse was too narrow for his tools. He used a glue-on dent puller. Really cool process, a hot glue type materiel glues a "tab" (which comes in many different shapes and sizes). Then with a specialized puller works the dent out. High spots are flattened with plastic punch. ISO alcohol to release glue. Then another round of pulling/flattening. He was only able to minimize the dent due to the metal thickness and location (he said 70% fixed, but I think more). If he could have gotten a tool behind it, it would have been much better.

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The lower dent again was difficult to get a tool there and the metal was too strong for the glue, so that one was fixed 50%. The thickness of the old metal was really giving him a workout.

I will have to try and get good pics of the "after" later. But I am satisfied with the work. Dent 1: you can't see, Dent 2 is very minimal and you can see it if you look hard. Dent 3 is slightly better, he polished it and the dark mark is gone. Again, hard to see unless you are really looking for it and it is low down. Total cost was $300, and I will submit the receipt to Hagerty soon. :)
 
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