Thank you!

Thank you!

Thank you!

That's great! Thank you!

You make some good points. I particularly like the comment on "it being "easy". I guess that's relative. Easy for a good autobody tech. I think your estimate is a bit high for the amount of time it takes to remove a dent like this. Heating the first time is 7/10 of the time. Once you pop the big part of the dent out and it begins to cool, you reheat it some...it doesn't take as long as the area needed to heat gets small and smaller as you work. The dent should be at its final sanding stage in an hour or so, assuming all the tools are at hand. As far as the cost goes, you know there are often fitment issues that need to be addressed on new bumpers, so that also needs to be taken into account and also the fact insurance companies are happy to pay for more hours of repair, even if it comes close to the cost of a new bumper because it saves them money. not only that, but labor dollars coming into the shop make the shop more money than the profit on a replacement part. In the end, if you had steady work for a tech to do plastic repair all day long, they would be your most profitable employee.

In agreement with Scott's comment. But I did want to point out at 1:35 in the video, we said "It will take at least five minutes of work with the heat gun to get the plastic soft enough to move easily." We didn't say 15 minutes for that initial push. We never let the bumper cool down completely after that until all the dents were pushed out and the profile was completely restored.

​@@scottb7600 right off the bat I want to make sure you know I'm not trying to be argumentative here or trying to put you or polyvance down in anyway. I hope you won't take it that way as that is not my intent. I hear what you're saying. You too make some good points. To repair something will 9 times out of 10 almost always makes a shop more money than if they replace a part. It's possible my time to repair may be a little off. But, remember, I'm figuring repair time at what the "average" body man/woman can do, which is what insurance companies are supposed to base their dent repair times on. Not someone that does ONLY bumper covers. At that point, those individuals are expert machines that have become the SUPER body men I was referring to and are worth their weight in gold. A lot of big shops do have people who get certain work like that. Maybe that individual is great at bedsides or uniside replacements. Someone may be great at filler work. Another at bumper covers, etc.. Usually because they excel at it, or have special training in it. If the shop is smart, they play that to their advantage. One shop I know, had a guy that only did heavy hits. My dollar amount figures for labor are figured at what the insurance pays shops in our area. Essentially $75.00 per body labor hour. I see what you're saying about the heat and reheat time. I own a small shop so I'm an "all around guy" and am therefor SUPER on some things, but definitely not on all. When it comes to bumper covers, I'd say I was just a hair quicker than average, or at least compared to those I've worked with. That being said, If we went by the 7/10 guise that would mean total heat and reheat time would be roughly 25 minutes...give or take. In working the repair in my head, I can see me spending roughly at least 15 minutes, more realistically 20 minutes, the 1st time to rough it out and 10 minutes the 2nd time and then again the 3rd time. Then 7-10 minutes block sanding each time with the DA( looking for the highs and lows), 15 minutes total to mask, apply the adhesion promoter and then the primer. Then roughly another 10 minutes to block sand that. Followed by another 15 minutes to re-prime and then re-sand to be ready for paint. So, if I kept moving, wasn't interrupted, and had no hiccups, , that would mean I could probably get it done in 2.25 hours X $75.00= $168.75. A new CAPA bumper cover is $165.00. Super close in cost. One thing I've learned in this life is we all see things from our own perspective and that perspective is a result of our experiences. Let me give you an example. I have no great love for lawyers. Not because I'm a criminal, but because every experience I've had with them has been a negative one. When I worked at a driving school as an office assistant I would on occasion have to talk with lawyers of individuals who ran into one of our driving school cars and were then trying to get out of paying for the damage they caused. The lawyers would ask me a question then they would pretend to mirror back to me what I had said, yet completely twisting my words and changing the entire meaning. When I bought out my partner at the shop, he had a friend who was a lawyer that offered to do the paperwork for the transfer. After completing the paperwork he called my partner and my partner told him he was planning to go pick it up. Before he could, the lawyer, without being asked, delivered it to the shop. I thought that was nice. With my various jobs in life I had dealt with contracts before. I knew that every page he had marked with a yellow tab needed signatures. Plus, each of those pages also had spaces that were highlighted and marked "signature". Not hard to figure out. Yet, the lawyer "friend" went ahead and told me that anyway. The whole interaction took 2 minutes MAX! Yet he billed my partner $100.00 for that little scenario calling it a "consultation" and then whined and cried when we called him on it saying "I don't understand why you're so upset...I was doing you a favor". On the flip side, one of my best friends has had an altogether different experience with lawyers. They have on several occasions gone out of their way to help him with things and not charged him. My point is, our perception of things is shaped by our experiences. Trust me when I tell you that aftermarket bumper covers, unlike OEM parts, often don't fit well. In fact, pre CAPA, I had one that was 1/2 inch short of fitting the car both on the Left and the Right hand side. You can imagine how that looked. I have "heard" of insurance companies that would say, "okay you tried it. It didn't fit. Get an OEM". However that did not happen here, nor do I remember a case when it has for me. Their response to me has always been " well, that's what our company will pay for". At that point, if you don't have a customer willing to raise hell, or are able to pay for a strong legal team of your own, there are three possible outcomes. 1st outcome, the customer makes up the difference, if not then 2nd the shop takes the hit to keep the customer happy and to turn out work that represents their business in a manner they want, or 3rd the work gets done the way the insurance ''will pay for". So, if you're a small shop like me, in those instances usually to keep the customer happy and to turn out work that you are proud to have represent you, the shop ends up taking the hit. I totally agree with you on repairs being worth more to the shop. I've had more than one instance where I have explained that to the insurance saying " don't you understand? The repair costs more than replacement. Or...don't you understand? to repair it that way compromises the safety of the vehicle? Don't you think I'd rather make more money? But to do it right, the repair will cost more than the replacement or this is simply the best way, or the safest way, to repair the vehicle" Long story short, seeing things through my glasses (experiences), even though the repair is only $3.75 more, the insurance would chose the new CAPA cover to save $3.75.

Hello. You can call us to place an order or order from our website.

Debería poder comprar la mayoría en Amazon o ir directamente a www.polyvance

Hi! I'm sorry you were having problems. Here's our website: www.polyvance.com/

It may not have be up yet. I found it here: www.polyvance.com/Dent-Drivers_1/6119/

@@scottb7600 Thank you.

@@polyvance I had some trouble with my browser. thanks

Having the right tools makes all the difference in speed and quality of repair. Anything that helps do that in a production shop is profit, not overkill.