Body Damage to new 2024 Mazda3...Need repair advice

[soulredmaz3]

Hi all,

Almost brand new 2024 Mazda 3 hatchback in Soul Red here. Was driving home the other night and heard a horrific bang on the side of the car. Dashcam footage revealed a branch fell or was flung up by another vehicle and impacted the front quarter panel of the car, causing two very minor dents and some corresponding marks/scratches on the paint work.

I did take it to a smash repair mob who were reputable but they want to respray the bonnet, two side doors, front panel and the quarter panel itself to "blend it" at a cost of over $5000AUD through insurance.

I went to another bunch and they said the same thing due to the way the soul red is done however they said you may be able to do paintless dent repair and then touch up the scratches but then when they saw the photos he said they were too sharp to do PDR but they are actually quite shallow from my view.

Now, I'm a perfectionist, but I'm going to take any option that is less than perfect over respraying half of a vehicle and making an insurance claim.

Attached are some pictures. The panel is PPF wrapped so most of the white and grey/brown marks you see are actually the PPF itself, not the paint work, so it definitely looks worse than it is.

I guess I'm after some advice here on next steps. Am I expecting a miracle to be performed and my only option is an insurance claim where half of a brand new car is going to be resprayed to fix two dents?

 

[sm1ke]

It's hard to tell from the pictures. Maybe take it to a PDR guy and get their opinion. They might have to remove the PPF to be sure, but if there is no paint damage, the dents can probably be worked out. Even if there is paint damage, the paint could be touched up, provided it is done properly. But even if it is, with a colour like Soul Red Metallic, even the best touch ups will still be visible.

 

[negusm]

If you want it perfect, yeah, you'll need a large area resprayed. Reds and Blue metallics are a total b**** to match and blend. You have to use tricks along the edges of panels to fool the eye.

See what a PDR guy can do. Some of those guys can work near miracles.

Or...just ignore it. Stuff happens and those marks won't hurt the car's resale in 4 years. Not to mention, it's just going to get another dent anyways. I had an old boss that when he got a new car, he would take his key and slash a mark in his paint just to get it over with.

 

[soulredmaz3]

It's hard to tell from the pictures. Maybe take it to a PDR guy and get their opinion. They might have to remove the PPF to be sure, but if there is no paint damage, the dents can probably be worked out. Even if there is paint damage, the paint could be touched up, provided it is done properly. But even if it is, with a colour like Soul Red Metallic, even the best touch ups will still be visible.

Thanks.
I'm not so fussed about touch ups being visible to be honest. It's more about the dents at this stage.

I'm 100% not going to get half the car resprayed but if I can get most of the dents worked out and then touch up the scratches then i'll be happy.

Maybe I need to first remove the PPF myself and assess the actual damage. Like I said in my OP, a lot of the damage is actually to the PPF.

Any tricks to remove it without messing up the paint? lol