My truck received some hail damage from last week's storm in Texas.
The hood and roof are the main area's affected. I had an estimate done and they said $3k to use the Paintless Dent removal (PDR) process. Has anyone had any luck with this? How has it held up? I have read mixed reviews about it but if done professionally is should come out ok and in my case it will be through a national body shop with a warranty.
The insurance estimator would not go with a replacement hood.

This photo doesn't really depict how bad it is, there are more on the hood than the roof.

 

I don't have experience with hail damage but I had a paint less dent guy take care of a door ding in my drivers door and I was very happy with the results. If I understand the process right they go from the backside and work the dents out to where you can't even see them. I'd go for it. Sorry for the damage Good luck

 

Well. Id look at it this way. They could do a few of the dents. Call you and have you come look and see if its gonna meet your standards. And go from there. Ive had it done with good success.best on the outcome.

 

Have them do it. If it turn out bad, you get a new hood.

Document before and after as he does the job.

 

I bought a dent removal warranty with the truck in 9/2010. Had the technician come to my house to fix a couple dents (I thought). When it was all said and done the truck looked great. The technician even pointed out dents in most every panel and the tailgate that I hadn't noticed. Example, there were many of us on FTE that had small indentions on the hood just above where the hinges are connected and I didn't notice them until they were pointed out.

FYI - the way it works is that, according to the technician, Mercedes designed the tools for their factory so that when dents were discovered on new vehicles they would not have to repair and repaint before they shipped to the dealerships. In my case the technician had a bunch of bent rods with different offsets, angles, diameters, etc. They use those to push the dent out from the inside.

 

When my truck was 3 months old it suffered hail damage. It was lighter than yours but still noticeable. I did not want a new hood because the paint is never as good as the factory. They were able to take out every dent (I had over 100 dents) on my truck and you could never tell anything happened. They massage the metal from the back where they can or they glue a tool onto the paint and then pull from the top where they don't have access.

I would definitely recommend PDR vs traditional body repair.

 

PDR works very well.

My hood gets dented by walnuts from black walnut trees. The first time I noticed it, it was dented in 3 places. I took it to a PDR guy recommended by my dealer. He did a great job in about a half hour. Now I wait until I have 10 or more dents before taking it to him.

The dents that are easily accessible come out in a minute, but as Lococoin pointed out, some dents are not accessible from the bottom side, so they require more effort and time.

 

There are a few Ins Co that will only pay for PDR. It is cheaper and usually requires less time. I personally have never had PDR done on my vehicles but I know some who have and they were happy with the result.

Here's a side story: I had a 2007 Chevy 2500 which I traded on my current truck. It sustained over $5300 in hail damage in 2010. I was heartbroken. My then 5er also received about $1200 damage to roof vents, skylight, clearance lights, etc. I fixed the 5er for about $200 myself. Traded it for my current 5er and made $1000. Back to the truck- it was too small for the new toyhauler so I traded it on my DRW. When I made the trade at the dealer they tried to deduct $4500 for the hail damage but I provided an estimate from a PDR Co that was only $1100 so I got to keep the $4800 ($5300 - $500 deductible) check from my Ins Co and applied it toward the trade. Moral of this story: PDR worked out well for me, but, I haven't actually used it.

Most Ins Co don't care how much you love your ride. They want to spend less $$$. Good luck with your repair.

 

PDR doesn't work on all dents - but your hail damage should come out fine on the hood. You didn't shoot a picture of the roof... I had a dent on a car that went thru a body line in the panel and those cannot be taken out via PDR. Even though the guy tried for an hour, he gave up and didn't even charge me.

If you can still see the dent after PDR is done, then it wasn't done properly or it cannot be done via PDR. Let the insurance company try it as I agree that the factory paint job is worth it to try and keep.

 

My 6.0 had hail damage and PDR pulled them all out.

 

Boy that stinks.

I learned my lesson with my prior truck, 06 GMC Sierra. Went away for a week in the fall, parked the truck under a 100' Oak tree.
When I came home the hood had well over 100 dings from acorns. Surprisingly, nothing on the roof.

 

Thanks for all the input. I'll do the PDR, now to find a reputable body shop.

 

Good luck,let us know how it comes out.

 

My 6.4 got hit by hail in a big storm, 10,000$ of damage, they just replaced panels and it took weeks to get back.
There were issues with weatherstripping seals afterwards, so I had to go back a few times. I suppose they re used the old mouldings and weatherstripping.

Seeing as it's an 08, I thought brand new paint wouldn't match the old paint on a few undamaged panels, so I told them to paint the entire thing. And paint the bumpers too while you're at it.
I think that was 2600$ extra out of pocket.

It sure looks good though, when it's all shined up.

Unfortunately, it's almost never shined up, and mostly covered in dust and mud.

 

I love a black truck but I cant take how dirty it looks after one days running around in it.Dust magnet.Plus I have OCD and it just drives me nuts.But shined up and clean black is beautiful color.