Expert: William Forster - 9/22/2007

Question
Hi,
 Recently I was driving to work and on my way someone t-boned  me.  I was driving and continue to drive my black '95 Miata.  The damage was mostly done to the drivers side door, although there was also some damage (about 5 inches by 5 inches) done to the drivers side real quartile panel.  I changed the door myself with one I bought through Craigslist.org. I would like to remove the dent on the rear quartile panel, how would I go about doing that?  The damage starts where the door meets the panel.

-ali

Answer
Ali, check into paintless dent repair at your local Mazda dealer. If it's too serious for them to repair, then have it professionally repaired. It takes special tools and equipment to do body repairs that look good, and nothing you have indicated here has given me the impression you have either. A rattle can job will look like hell, and amateur bondo jobs this size are always a disappointment. Changing a door is all nuts and bolts. To pull a dent in a panel, paint it, and have it look good- well, that separates the men from the boys. Give my words careful consideration before going ahead with trying to fix it yourself. Bill