There are around six million car accidents in the United States every year. A rear-end collision happens every eight seconds. Parking lot dings, damage to your windshield from highway debris, and other minor threats to your vehicle happen with the same regularity. These fender benders and low-speed accidents often cause only marginal damage that many of us are tempted to overlook. But there are some good reasons not to. Following, find some reasons why it can be important to give full attention to even the most insignificant occasions for body or dent repair on your car or truck.
From Minor Damage to Major Repairs
Much of the most costly damage resulting from a minor collision isn’t evident immediately. A scratch, a dent or ding, a caved-in bumper, stone-breaks in your windshield: believe it or not, these can lead to significant body or mechanical issues down the road or sooner.
Safety
Having a minor dent repair done is an effective way of finding out whether there is accompanying structural damage to your car or truck. That kind of structural damage is the most obvious threat, but low-speed-collision bumpers and damaged windshields are also very dangerous and a great deal more obvious. Minor collisions can impact the position of your battery, your alignment, and the life of your bumper: all hazards you wouldn’t necessarily be aware of without a timely dent repair at a professional auto body shop.
Cost
It is a great deal less expensive to tend to dent repair immediately after it happens than it is months or even years later when the damage has spread and penetrated. Auto body repair services don’t have to be prohibitively costly unless you leave damage unrepaired.
Trade and Resale Value
Even minor damage that doesn’t get worse with time can cost you thousands at the dealership or when trying to sell your car or truck. Your car’s exterior is the first thing a dealership or other potential buyer sees and the first thing many buyers will try to exploit when negotiating price. Those minor dents, dings, and scratches represent a potentially neglectful owner and can even warn a buyer that the vehicle could be compromised in other ways. Having necessary dent repair done right away after damage occurs is the best way to keep your vehicle looking saleable.
Compromised Finish
Putting off dent repair even for minor blemishes almost always allows the damage to get worse over time. Very few dents or dings remain static: they grow and spread. The impacted area will be more vulnerable to further damage, paint will wear, chip, and erode, and even scratches can develop into wider paintless patches in your finish. All of these conditions can be exacerbated by the simple, everyday use of your car or truck. Eventually, you will find that unrepaired damage begins to peel, exposing the sealant and leading to greater damage. There are very parts of your car’s exterior that wouldn’t sustain some damage in a collision. Don’t overlook that damage, no matter how minor.
Corrosion and Rust
Dents, dings, and scratches can do a great deal more than impact the appearance of your car. These blemishes affect the car’s finish or paint. The paint on cars is designed to look good and seal the body from the elements. When the integrity of that finish is breached, water and other corrosive elements can cause patches of rust that spread beneath and compromise the paint. Extensive rust and corrosion can result from even the most minor scratches and dents. Fast and thorough dent repair is important even for damage that appears to be insignificant.
Your car or truck travels daily into a world of threats and hazards. Parking lot dings, windshield cracks from road or highway debris, passengers being careless with car doors, and many other potential sources of damage are almost everywhere almost all the time. Don’t let minor damage turn into major repairs: contact us for expert collision repair services today.
