I know from experience how terrible Honda paint is after seeing my red Fit turn hilariously pink. I will be trying my best to at least keep it the color it is supposed to be.

A car doesn't have to be a Ferrari for you to take care of it and keep it nice.

 

My dents were just like the ones that Festboi's posted. However, I had a total of 10 of them and they were more oval due to my forearm pressing on that area. All totaled, the bill came to $477.00 (higher than the original estimate). I picked up the car last night and it looks great - just like new! The PDR technician said that it was some of the thinnest metal that he's ever experienced in that area. He said that normally, that metal is pretty strong and it doesn't want to go back into shape. I re-waxed the car again today and I was sure to stay clear of leaning on that area. Ugh, still upset that this happened!

 

Thank you for responding to this, Milano Pink and you are correct, a car doesn't have to be a Ferrari to still appreciate it and want to maintain it well.

 

Agreed. I wax all my cars twice a year. None of them are exotic, and combined, all four cars are probably not much more than $25k in value. But there's a pride in ownership, and I continually get compliments on my 1988 model car about how shiny and clear the paint is.

The Fit may not be fancy, especially by LA standards, but it's the biggest purchase we've ever made and we like to have it look good and last

 

The wind damage to the door snatched from my hand was very minor and the wheel arch of the OLD Pontiac was well hidden in all its other war wounds. Dent Repair (name of company ... no imagination) charged $ 43.70, including a tiny bit of touch up paint. Silly in comparison to the $477. I guess that Honda made the decision to not consider that part of the roof as safety related. It's still a downer.

 

Well, I suppose if we took your $43.70 and multiplied it by 10 dents, we'd be right on the mark of what they charged me. Although I was initially hesitant to spend that kind of money, when I saw the after effect I was VERY satisfied. The PDR guy did a great job! It truly looked horrible and especially with the dents right at eye level. . . seeing them every dang day was driving me a tad nuts! I felts as if I was driving an old, new car. I'm sure there will be many others, as time goes on, who experience this same thing because of not knowing the problem in advance. You can literally take your finger, press, and dent this area. Ugh, it is still a downer.

 

Regarding waxing, remember that every time you rub the paint some of it comes off and waxing is no exception. Eventually you wear through the clearcoat and there's no fixing that. My white 11-year-old Scion has never seen wax and still looks great. Nothing more than lots of soapy water, a big sponge, and terry-cloth towels to dry.

Yes, it's blasphemy on a car forum, but it works. The auto-care product business is mostly filled with snake oil, creating product demand through fear and ego gratification.

Regarding dents, producing a car that can be dented by someone casually leaning on it is just irresponsible. I've seen some race cars that fragile, but an econobox?

 

I believe it was Colin Chapman, designer of the Indy Lotus race car, who said, "I design a car to go 500 miles. If it goes 502, I built it too heavy."