From minor fender dings to car wrecks in need of some serious work, you’ll probably drive away with at least one serious dent to fix. Your two main options for getting rid of these teeth are to repair or replace them. Repairs focus on removing the dent while keeping the same materials, while replacements simply swap out the entire affected panel for a new one. Read on for the details behind both options.

Repairs: suction, modeling, fillings and more

One of the first things you’re likely to ask when driving a car with a bad tooth is, “Can it be fixed?” The answer will only come after a close examination of the dent, but auto body experts have plenty of tricks these days to fix bad dents so you’ll never know they were there.

Suction and pull are often used to reverse smaller teeth and prepare the car for more detailed work. Complex teeth usually come with scratches, abrasions, and other problems that require careful treatment. Whenever possible, your body technician will try to remove the dent and repair the damage without repainting; There is even an entire technique called Paintless Dent Removal that attempts to modify the surface of your car without resorting to new paint.

However, deep or wide teeth with more problems will probably need some painting. In this case, find a body shop that offers paint matching services that match the exact shades that the manufacturers originally used. Deep dents may require the use of fillers, sanding tools, and more to restore your car to its former appearance.

Replacement: cost, damage and time

Some dents are simply easier to replace than repair – body technicians will usually suggest a replacement if the damage is more than skin deep and your vehicle’s structure has been compromised in some way, such as a bent frame that needs to be repaired before it’s damaged. it breaks. board is replaced. If the damage is primarily on one panel, the technician may suggest that replacing that panel is a more elegant solution than trying to repair the dent.

This is also the time for a cost-benefit analysis. Ask your auto body shop about what parts they have and what they have to order, as well as how long it would take to replace the part instead of repairing it. Sometimes repairs take so long that it’s ultimately less expensive to order a new part. However, this might mean leaving your car in the body shop for a little longer than a repair would take, so remember to ask about shipping times as well.

Ultimately, an experienced technician will give you the proper advice on a repair vs. a replacement based on how the crash affected specific parts of your vehicle. If you have to make a decision, consider both your budget and what’s important to you: repair as much damage as possible or get your car looking pristine again.