PanelProof
Cost estimator

On your side of the counter

Sooner or later, every car takes a hit.

A door ding from the next spot over. Hail that left the hood looking like a golf ball. A curb that chewed up your rim. Tell us what happened and you'll have the real repair number in seconds, well before a shop hands you a quote.

See what yours costs Just got hit?

Real US prices, reviewed June 2026.

What happened to it?

Pick the damage closest to yours. Each one opens to a real price range, what most people actually pay, and whether it's a ten-minute fix with a cheap kit or a job for the shop.

Dents & door dingsA shopping-cart ding or a careless door in the next spot, with the paint still intact.See the breakdown Hail damageA hood and roof full of dimples after a storm rolled through town.See the breakdown Scratches & scuffsKey marks, clear-coat scuffs, and the scratches you can catch with a fingernail.See the breakdown Curb rash & rimsCurb rash, gouges, and bent alloys from one tight parking job.See the breakdown RustSurface spots and bubbling paint, before they quietly eat through the metal.See the breakdown

Also worth a look:Door Ding RepairCar Dent RepairFender Dent RepairKeyed Car RepairPowder Coat WheelsUndercoatingFrame Rust RepairQuarter Panel Dent RepairBumper Scuff RepairClear Coat Scratch RepairHood Dent RepairRocker Panel Rust Repair

Damage photos:Greg Goebel(CC BY-SA 2.0) andNenad Stojković(CC BY 2.0), plus Unsplash, Pexels, and public-domain sources.

Why two shops quote the same dent differently

Same car, same damage, and the estimates still land a few hundred dollars apart. Almost all of that gap comes down to four things. Knowing them is how you tell a fair quote from a padded one.

Where it sits on the panel

A dent in the flat middle of a door is the cheap kind. Push it onto a body line, a panel edge, or over a brace and the tech loses room to work it, so the hours (and the price) climb fast.

Paint, not just metal

Respraying a solid color is straightforward. Metallic and pearl finishes have to be blended into the panels next door so the repair disappears, and that blending is where the labor quietly stacks up.

What the panel is made of

Steel takes a dent and gives it back. Aluminum (many hoods and newer bodies) and plastic bumpers often can't be reshaped the same way, so a small hit can turn into a full replacement.

The shop's hourly rate

Independent body shops typically run about $50 to $70 an hour; dealer shops often run past $100. The same three hours of work becomes a very different bill, so ask the rate before you look at the total.

Just got hit? Do this first.

  1. Take photos in daylight.Straight on and at an angle, with a coin or your hand in frame for scale.
  2. Get the real number here.A minute with the estimator beats walking in blind and nodding at the first quote.
  3. Decide DIY or shop.A clear-coat scuff can vanish with a cheap kit. Cracked paint or a bent wheel is shop work.
  4. For hail, check your deductible.If the repair beats it, a claim usually wins. If it doesn't, pay cash and skip the premium hike.