Paintless Dent Repair Unsatisfactory?

[Autophile]

Has anyone used one of those paintless dent repair shops and came away unsatisfied?

I just used a paintless dent repair service to fix a door ding on my mom's brand new black GTO. It was my first experience using one of these places, and I excitedly waited to see the results after they did their magic. However, when they pulled the car around, I found that the result was a now larger affected area, with dimples and waves, instead of what was originally a pretty small clean dent line. They told me that the door was hard to fix because of a brace behind the door ( ).

So, now I feel like I do not trust this place, and this kind of service in general. My NSX has a couple little dings I'd like to remove, but now I am even more gun-shy about taking it in to a dent repair shop than before. Are my fears unfounded?

Aside - Can someone in Sacramento recommend a known good quality paintless dent repair shop?

 

[DocL]

I have used a paintless dent removal service and was extremely satisfied. You have to remember, on a black car you will see everything. A few ripples in the metal is to be expected. The result is never 100% perfect. On light colored cars the result is much better.

I don't care for the excuse that they gave you either. They should have informed you beforehand that the results are not gauranteed and that some marks/ripples may be detected.

 

[CokerRat]

I had two dings on the top "curve" (for lack of a better term) of the driver's door. The shop said they had done lots of work on aluminum but afterwards told me the same story about not being able to get the proper tools in there due to tight clearances. I'd say I'm about 80% satisfied with the result. You can only see a ripple if you look straight along the body panel and pan around a bit. I have a couple small dings on the other door and I haven't gotten up the gumption to take it back to them either.

 

[ANYTIME]

Just stumbled on this while looking for something. In the business of paintless dent removal, you should never hear excuses, unless the dent is huge and you know ahead of time that it will look better, not perfect. I see repairs all the time (at car lots) that look like pizza or a big wave. Either the person was in a hurry, didn't know what they were doing or was not working on the car as if it was their own. I have been successfull by keeping a few things in mind when doing paintless dent removal (If you don't already know, this is part of my income).
1. Work on the car like it was my own.
2. Set standards far exceeding that of your clientel.
3. No excuses.
4. If I can't fix it perfectly, then I either don't attempt it or fix it at no charge.
All that being said, you should seek out someone who absolutely, positively can fix your car with a complete 100% guarantee that if you don't like it in any way, you are not obligated to pay. I've even spoke with customers about dents they had fixed by someone else in the 50% fix range and were only charged 1/2 price. Unacceptable!!! Why spend money and then end up spending more by going to the bodyshop to make it right? Set your expectations high and accept nothing less!!!
Ok, soapbox mode is now in the off position.
Take care,
John