Frequently Asked Questions

Below are questions frequently asked by clients who are not familiar with the PDR service.

  • How long does an average hail repair take?
  • Answer: Most dent and ding removals are completed within 30 minutes to one hour. Most hail damage can be repaired within 48 to 72 hours

  • What severity of damage can be repaired?
  • Answer: Master technicians can repair up to softball sized hail damage effectively, however, the amount of those dents determines cost effectiveness between repair and replacement of panels. Vehicles with hundreds of dime to quarter sized dents can be repaired by PDR at or below the typical body shop type repair costs without compromising the original factory finish.

  • Is it the tools or technician that make PDR successful?
  • Answer: It is both, specially designed tools allow a technician to gain access to the dent which is a large part of the process, but the proficiency of the technician accounts for much of the success. It takes an average of two years of intensive training before a “PDR” trainee can repair a lightly hail damaged vehicle and 4-8 years before he can repair a severly hail damaged vehicle masterfully.

  • What advantages does PDR have over traditional body repair methods?
  • Answer: The number one reason our customers choose PDR over conventional body repair is it retains the vehicles original paint finish, thus; the value of the automobile does not decrease due to damage and repair. Other advantages of PDR are: its quick (typically 1-2 days for hail repair, 1-2 hours for minor door dings), lessens car rental costs, and its affordable and convenient.

  • What are the disadvantages of this repair?
  • Answer: The main disadvantage is the occasional access hole that has to be placed in a doorjamb or other area to gain access to a dent. Unfortunately, some PDR companies, in order to decrease decrease repair times and increase profits, have abused this approach or they simply do not have the necessary skills or experience to access areas other ways.

  • Can all panels of a vehicle be accessed and repaired?
  • Answer: With vehicular models modified yearly, this question cannot be honestly answerted with a simple “yes” . However, as a rule, only one out of every 1000 dents can not be removed using the PDR technique.

  • Will PDR damage the paint?
  • Answer: A skilled technician can effectively remove door dings and hail damage without affecting the paints original finish. Problems only occur when and inexperienced technician attempts to remove a dent that is too large or too sharp.

  • Will the dents come back?
  • Answer: No. Acudent has issued a lifetime written guarantee on thousands of cars in our history as a company and have never encountered reappearing dents.

  • What if a car gets hail damage again after it has been repaired with PDR?
  • Answer: Yes. Acudent has repaired many vehicles that have been hailed on and repaired various times with no difficulties.

  • Can moldings are cowlings be repaired with PDR?
  • Answer: This technique has been tried on moldings with less than adequate results . If damaged, moldings should be replaced. Cowlings such as on a F150 truck, near the windshield have been repaired successfully a majority of the time. However, a cowling/trim attached to the hood of a Lincoln towncar, for example, needs to be replaced the majority of the time.

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