Thoughts on acorn damage / replacement hood

[jaruss01]

I have about 15 dents across my hood from acorns falling from a high canopy above my driveway. The dents are only visible under the right angle and range from a dime to a quarter in size. Basically looks like light hail damage.

I’ve never had this problem before with other vehicles in my driveway and imagine the bronco hood is much thinner/cheaper gauge metal. Regardless here I am. I spent a pretty penny removing a portion of the oak tree but now need to deal with the hood.

I think my options are (I havent looked into it in detail)
1. Going through insurance. 500 deductible
2. PDR. No idea what to expect on cost. 500-2,000? There’s only one panel but 15 dents.
3. ADV aftermarket hood.Which I do like. It’s 1,250. I imagine the cost to paint in antimatter blue is a solid 500? No idea.

Any home remedies? Reading about a hair dryer and dry ice method.

Any opinions or guidance on cost here before I go down the rabbit hole?

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[DVO50]

Go PDR, unless you really want the aftermarket hood. Out of pocket may be less than or a little above deductible, and no insurance claim.

 

[BigFootie]

I have about 15 dents across my hood from acorns falling from a high canopy above my driveway. The dents are only visible under the right angle and range from a dime to a quarter in size. Basically looks like light hail damage.

I’ve never had this problem before with other vehicles in my driveway and imagine the bronco hood is much thinner/cheaper gauge metal. Regardless here I am. I spent a pretty penny removing a portion of the oak tree but now need to deal with the hood.

I think my options are (I havent looked into it in detail)
1. Going through insurance. 500 deductible
2. PDR. No idea what to expect on cost. 500-2,000? There’s only one panel but 15 dents.
3. ADV aftermarket hood.Which I do like. It’s 1,250. I imagine the cost to paint in antimatter blue is a solid 500? No idea.

Any home remedies? Reading about a hair dryer and dry ice method.

Any opinions or guidance on cost here before I go down the rabbit hole?

So the Bronco hood is aluminum so it dents easier than steel.

PDR works great. My Escape has been hit three time with hail. PDR works like a charm. Not sure the cost these days but 50-100 per dent is a good round figure but I’m sure there are regional variances.

As for remedies, maybe PPF helps?

 

[jaruss01]

I think my thought process at least for now is that if PDR is 1,000+ and the ADV hood is <750 to paint and install (2,000 total) then I might as well try some type of DIY method with or without a device to try to get these dents out myself. Since if I screw it up worse I could default to getting an upgraded hood for 2k out of pocket which I may be okay with. But no clue what rough costs I should be considering.

Anyone had luck with some of these dent pullers on Amazon for the smaller dents? Not sure how it works for aluminum like if it would just destroy it because it’s so thin.

 

[mcinfantry]

PDR for 15 dents that slight should be less than $500. but im speaking from writing PDR estimates first hand.

 

[MayhemMike]

Aluminum or metal matters not. I moved into my house thirty three years ago. There wasn’t a garage when I moved in. One nice fall night while laying in bed I heard random banging. Next day I realized the banging was the result of large acorns hitting my 1989 Ranger. Dimple city. Needless to say I built my garage that winter. Lol

 

[HighVelocity]

Any home remedies?

 

[BigFootie]

Aluminum or metal matters not. I moved into my house thirty three years ago. There wasn’t a garage when I moved in. One nice fall night while laying in bed I heard random banging. Next day I realized the banging was the result of large acorns hitting my 1989 Ranger. Dimple city. Needless to say I built my garage that winter. Lol

Except the Aluminum will dimple more and deeper than the steel hood. Trust me, my Escape hood is Aluminum, the body is steel. Both were dented but the hood looked like it was dented using a 16oz ball peen and the roof a 4.5oz machinist pall peen. Many more dents per square foot on the hood than compared to the roof. I’m guessing @mcinfantry can speak to this with his experience.

 

[mcinfantry]

Except the Aluminum will dimple more and deeper than the steel hood. Trust me, my Escape hood is Aluminum, the body is steel. Both were dented but the hood looked like it was dented using a 16oz ball peen and the roof a 4.5oz machinist pall peen. Many more dents per square foot on the hood than compared to the roof. I’m guessing @mcinfantry can speak to this with his experience.

M escape is aluminum as well

I try to give advice but a lot of times it’s drowned out by the ‘experts’

I am a certified accident reconstructionist who has worked for bother the public and private sector

I also am a licensed auto adjuster and we do get hail here.

But we also get people here who were on vacation with hail damages

not directed at anyone but I try to not give advice because I grow weary of one off examples of things that may have worked once to a friends cousin sister

Serious

look up Pdr near you

here comp claims aren’t ‘supposed’ to count against you…. But I wouldn’t life bet on that

 

[BigFootie]

M escape is aluminum as well

I try to give advice but a lot of times it’s drowned out by the ‘experts’

I am a certified accident reconstructionist who has worked for bother the public and private sector

I also am a licensed auto adjuster and we do get hail here.

But we also get people here who were on vacation with hail damages

not directed at anyone but I try to not give advice because I grow weary of one off examples of things that may have worked once to a friends cousin sister

Serious

look up Pdr near you

here comp claims aren’t ‘supposed’ to count against you…. But I wouldn’t life bet on that

Yes, PDR is great! The first time my Escape got it I had had it for just two weeks. I was devastated. But it seems the PDR guys follow the hail storms. The set up shop and State Farm directed me there. I was a bit skeptical but it looked like nothing ever happened to it. I was sold! The second time was even worse. Again, an outstanding job. The Escape got hit again this year so it’s back to PDR or maybe totaled. 17 years old so they are saying there’s a good chance they will total it but I can keep it if I want and they’ll subtract a bit. Comp claims here don’t count against us either but at some point somebody has to pay for it.

 

[Fmuguira]

Face it …. We drive beer cans …

 

[The_Viking]

You might want to try one of the many "Mobile Dent Doctors" that help out new and used car dealerships. I had a bunch of small dents all over my Land Rover (aluminum body) The mobile guy came to my house and in an hour had every single dent fixed, and you couldnt even tell they were there before. Cost me $125

 

[bjpatten]

wrap

 

[jaruss01]

Verbal ballpark I’ve heard so far is “definitely over 500, but under 1,000”. Which in my mind is 800-900. Something having to do with dealing with aluminum being more expensive.

 

[MKVBronco]

DIY almost never works, if you don't know what you are doing you will cause more damage then good, PDR works sometimes, it really depends on every single dent, but keep in mind PDR will NEVER be 100% perfect, sometimes it can get 99% but never 100, anyone who tells you it will be is lying to you or clueless. If you want a perfect repair you properly repair the hood and paint it, PPF can help a little with protecting against stuff like this, PDR may be a good solution and only way to get a real quote is to have someone look at the car. If you like the aftermarket hood, go that route.

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