Perfect Maverick no longer perfect - what would you do? Buff out scratches or have fixed professionally?

[Hmather]

I would see what your neighbor can do and order a set of Maxina fender flairs like mine. The flairs would cover the wheel opening damage plus they look really nice. Your neighbor may be able to make it so you don’t notice it .

Thanks for the flair tip!

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[Ponyprez]

Well, I drove a 1999 Dodge Ram for 23 years without hitting anything. I have had my Maverick for 15 months and just smooshed it into another vehicle while backing up. I was devastated for a minute but also relieved. It is a truck and I use it like a truck so I can’t keep it pristine forever. Also, I have plenty of those darn rock chips and have scratched the bed plenty.
I could pay a lot to have it perfected. Or, my neighbor who works at an auto body shop said he could buff it out a little for free.
what would you do?

I'd go for the free buff out and then reconsider your next action. I suspect a fairly good amount will buff out and look substantially better, but it looks like the scratches are deep in a few spots and of course that won't get better. That area is a bit odd when new so dent may not show to bad. If you decide to repair, take a valium before you go for an estimate as bodywork has gotten extremely expensive.

 

[joe5454usa]

Time to trade in for a new one.

 

[bama1fan]

Well, I drove a 1999 Dodge Ram for 23 years without hitting anything. I have had my Maverick for 15 months and just smooshed it into another vehicle while backing up. I was devastated for a minute but also relieved. It is a truck and I use it like a truck so I can’t keep it pristine forever. Also, I have plenty of those darn rock chips and have scratched the bed plenty.
I could pay a lot to have it perfected. Or, my neighbor who works at an auto body shop said he could buff it out a little for free.
what would you do?


I didn’t have my truck 2 weeks and I scuffed the driver side mirror up coming out of a drive-through bank. That sucked!

 

[Barbaraegd]

Well, I drove a 1999 Dodge Ram for 23 years without hitting anything. I have had my Maverick for 15 months and just smooshed it into another vehicle while backing up. I was devastated for a minute but also relieved. It is a truck and I use it like a truck so I can’t keep it pristine forever. Also, I have plenty of those darn rock chips and have scratched the bed plenty.
I could pay a lot to have it perfected. Or, my neighbor who works at an auto body shop said he could buff it out a little for free.
what would you do?

I've buffed out a lot of similar scratches with the stuff you can buy at Wal-Mart. The cracked tail light is another thing entirely.

 

[Pops_Maverick]

Well, I drove a 1999 Dodge Ram for 23 years without hitting anything. I have had my Maverick for 15 months and just smooshed it into another vehicle while backing up. I was devastated for a minute but also relieved. It is a truck and I use it like a truck so I can’t keep it pristine forever. Also, I have plenty of those darn rock chips and have scratched the bed plenty.
I could pay a lot to have it perfected. Or, my neighbor who works at an auto body shop said he could buff it out a little for free.
what would you do?

My deductible is $1000 and my first quote was $2000. I don’t know if this is worth $1,000.

Someone backed out of their driveway and hit mine in the same area as your damage, and three bids came in at or around $3500. Surprised your repair bid was "only" $2K. Fortunately, they left a note (one week after the incident)

 

[Warren]

Thanks for the flair tip!

Your welcome , I think the Maxina brand is best so watch the install video provided and the fit is perfect. They come with the tool needed to install and extra clips in case you break some.
Let me know how it all turns out ! Thanks

 

[JP&R]

Paint less dent repair .
i’m thinking it’ll get anywhere between 90 and 100% of this out

 

[Hmather]

Someone backed out of their driveway and hit mine in the same area as your damage, and three bids came in at or around $3500. Surprised your repair bid was "only" $2K. Fortunately, they left a note (one week after the incident)

$3,500 for that!?!?

 

[mcluvin]

Buy a salvage quarter panel and replace it? I see plenty on car-part.com for under a grand. Your friend might be helpful with that too.

 

[Russ B.]

Its a personal preference issue. You have to make the call. The guy who refinishes my 80 year old oak floors says about dings scratches and stains; "hey! the history of your home is in the floors".
Scratches just say you used it instead of being its slave.

 

[Mark1]

those bed panels bolt on....just wait till you find one in the junk yard, same color.....swap it out yourself!

your welcome

Yep, quarter panels are pretty simple to remove. I forgot the YouTubers name, but he has a how to video on it. Contact a local auto wrecker and have them do a search for one or buy a quarter, have it painted and do the install.

 

[JP4AZ]

Some A-Hole scraped my truck in the first week of ownership in a Home Depot parking lot. I even parked way out with nobody around. I had it fixed and color matched the front grill bar at the same time. "The Twinkie" is all better now! Good Luck with yours!

 

[RideSolo]

I tried to go through this whole thread to make sure nobody else mentioned this and didn't see it. If I am repeating, sorry!

As many have said, I'd get the offered buff-out, that'll go a long way toward making it look better. If you have an actual dent that needs pulled out you could try this: (or something similar)

https://www.harborfreight.com/crossbar-dent-repair-kit-59757.html

I have one of these and it works amazingly well for dents that don't have a heavy crease. I've successfully pulled out several dings in motorcycle gas tanks. You can probably find instructional videos on YouTube. It isn't fast and you have to be very patient. A dent that's not creased that's about the size of the palm of your hand might take a dozen or more pulls but if done right you might be able to pull it out and not damage the paint. Something to think about; an investment of less than $20.

 

[Cocobean]

Do you mean people are a bunch of whiners or do you mean there is more damage than I realize?

pretty sure there was some sarcasm there but it seems like many Mavs are totaled for what is seemingly little damage

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