General Car Dents and Scrapes: Fixing Yourself vs. Professional Repair
Whether it’s a loose shopping cart, a straying tree limb, or a close parking space, car dents and scratches are an unavoidable but frustrating part of car ownership. While some dings may be tiny, being aware of when to try to fix it yourself and when to leave it to the pros can be the difference between a huge change in the appearance, value, and life of your vehicle.
Understanding the Most Common Forms of Car Damage
Before we talk about repair options, it is helpful to have the most common types of exterior damage:
Door Dings
Typically the result of other cars or objects in dense parking lots, these are tiny, surface-level dents that don’t usually compromise the paint.
Crease dents
These are more serious and more complex, typically the result of contacting angular or sharp surfaces. They’re harder to fix without the appropriate tools and skills.
Hail Damage
Hailstorms may produce dozens of tiny dents on the hood, roof, and trunk. This type of damage is typically professionally fixed due to its widespread nature.
Surface Scratches
These small scratches only damage your clear coat of finish. They are usually shallow and cosmetic in nature, not structural.
Deep Scratches
Aside from cosmetic scuffs, they pierce the base coat or even the metal below, leaving the potential for rust unless fixed.
DIY Repairs: Cheap but Limited
There are a number of do-it-yourself methods for fixing small dents and scratches, especially if the damage is cosmetic:
Scratch Repair Kits
These are readily available at auto supply stores and include rubbing chemicals and touch-up paint to color in the scratch to match your vehicle’s original finish. These work best in the case of surface-level damage.
Boiling Water & Plunger Method
For dents in plastic bumpers, letting hot water trickle over the dent and using a plunger can cause it to pop back out. It’s easy to do, but there are no guarantees.
Hair Dryer & Compressed Air Hack
By heating the dent with a hair dryer and then quickly freezing it with compressed air, the metal would contract back into place. This method works best for shallow, small dents.
Whereas these DIY alternatives could save you time and cost, they could also not be professional-grade. Substandardly applied patches may even decrease the value of your car for resale or lead to further damage.
When to Use Professional Repair
Professional repair is usually always the best choice for:
Dents with creases or sharp edges
A few dents (like hail damage)
Deep scratches that expose the primer or metal
High-end or electric cars that need special parts and skills
Technicians employ industry-standard equipment and methods, including paintless dent repair (PDR) and computer color matching, that guarantee perfect results. They also possess the frame and paint layout knowledge of most makes and models and fix your vehicle accurately and safely.
Why Trust Exotic Motorsport in Simi Valley
If you need high-quality repair services in the Simi Valley area, you can count on Exotic Motorsport. Exotic Motorsport is a high-performance, exotic, and luxury body repair shop, and a Tesla Authorized Body Shop. That means they are certified by Tesla to perform body repair to factory levels—something that not all body shops can claim. If you drive a Tesla, BMW, Porsche, or any other brand, Exotic Motorsport utilizes the most modern technology with professional craftsmanship to put your car in showroom condition. From small cosmetic work to complicated structural work, their staff does it all with care and attention to customer satisfaction.
While saving money with a DIY repair is tempting, not everything that goes wrong with your car can be fixed at home. For minor repairs, a do-it-yourself kit works just fine—but anything bigger than a small scratch, it’s better and smarter to leave to the experts.
If you want peace of mind and excellent service, especially for luxury or electric vehicles, Exotic Motorsport, a body shop in Simi Valley, is where you should go. Their experience, excellent equipment, and Tesla certification guarantee that they’re among the best at maintaining your car in showroom condition.