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The 7 signs that your repairer is a dud

1. We can fix anything

We can fix it.. We can fix anything.. (I hope)

Ever had someone who promises the world when it comes to closing the deal?

These so-called PDR technicians would promise you exactly that. They will promise you the world in order to get your sale. Where in fact, it can’t actually be fixed with the PDR method. However, they will come up with a way to somehow seem like they have repaired the damage and produce a substandard result. The results would not be too obvious to the untrained eye but if you look closely, imperfections can almost certainly be picked up. Most of the time, these repairs are done so badly that rectification work would cost you 3 to 4 times the actual quote of the repair.

2. Can’t do insurance work

Computer says no to ALL insurance work – Cash only please!!
There is always a reason why they can’t do insurance work – substandard skills. Repairing dents perfectly requires painstakingly high attention to detail and extreme accuracy skills.

In my years of working as a PDR technician, I have seen too much poor-quality work from substandard technicians. I speculate that this is the main reason why insurance companies do not want to associate themselves with these types of so-called PDR technicians or companies.

3. I can do it cheaper and better..

To win the job, they will always promise a cheaper price. This is because they may have not invested the correct type of tools. This will cause a hinderance on the repair quality and time as poorly made tools do not have the same qualities of most of the mainstream brands that professional PDR techs use.

They may also not have invested the same amount of time which is required to perfect the skillset that a professional PDR technician has. Learning the art of PDR takes years to perfect.

If your so-called repairer has only been doing this for a year or less – WATCH OUT!!

4. Ebay Tools

We use state of the art PDR tools.. I.M.O – It is Garbage

They always say don’t blame the hardware – it is the user. Well, this is only partially true. Tools required to repair dents perfectly require 2 very important elements – the user and secondly the tools.

Not saying that all PDR tools found on E-bay are substandard or just plain Sh*t however, in my opinion (IMO) I would say over 99.9% are not up to my standard. Hence the low price and more importantly you will never see any good PDR technicians using that kind of garbage.

If you see a technician using this type of garbage, ensure you don’t use their services. You have been warned!

5. You found their services on some free classifieds

Platforms such as gumtree are usually filled with many new and inexperienced technicians who have recently learned the art of PDR will utilise these avenues to draw in customers as they are easiest way to find uninformed customers. Even though a new PDR technician can handle a few small dents here and there can you trust them with more serious stuff such as a medium sized parking dent or hail repair? Having said that, there are always some exceptions as you will find some experienced technicians lurking around there.

6. Talks way too much

The good old snake oil sales..

After fixing your car, usually the repairer will run you through what has been repaired on your car. But beware of the repairer who talks way too much. A phycologist once said to me, a person who speaks too much and too fast are usually nervous or afraid. Now question, what are they afraid or nervous about if they did such a good job as they claimed? Are they trying to hide something?

7. Always ask what smash repairers they partner with

We only work with the best…

This will give you indication of kind of quality you will receive. Usually, good quality repairers will work with rather well known and prestigious smash repairers. This is because the smash repairers are also very fussy with their work as most of their work is referred from insurance companies and are more than likely thoroughly examined by insurance representatives after the work has been completed. When you are dealing with insurance companies, you don’t want to mess around as it may jeopardise your name in the field.

Here are just some of the substandard repairs I have seen..