Questions & Answers

WILL MY PAINT BE DAMAGED?

No. Today's factory paints are very flexible and will not be damaged in any way by this process. PDR is the only way to repair a dent and still keep your factory paint

WILL MY DENTS BE 100% GONE?

On minor dents, in most cases, yes. The deeper the dent, the more difficult it is to repair. Even on larger dents, once we're done, most people are amazed at the results. We always explain in detail, how your dent will look before any work is started

WILL MY DENTS COME BACK?

Absolutely not. Once a dent has been removed properly with PDR, it never comes back. Most dents repaired conventionally develop a ring around the dent, or sand scratch marks 3 - 6 months after the repair. This is never the case with properly performed PDR

CAN ANY DENT BE FIXED?

No. The most important factors in determining if a dent can be repaired by PDR are depth and location. Dents the size of a dinner plate or larger can be fixed successfully, as long as they are not too deep, or twisted. On the other hand, some dents that are as small as a dime, but very deep, cannot be fixed using PDR because the metal is too stretched. Cracked paint can also be an indication that a dent is too deep. The most common dents fixed are the size of a golf ball and under. 95% of minor dents can be repaired. About 5% of minor dents can't be fixed due to depth or location. Areas such as some quarter panel opening lips, some forward areas of heavily braced hoods, or the very edges of some panels are examples of bad locations

WHAT IS YOUR "NO DRILL" POLICY?

Without asking, Some PDR companies drill access holes in the edge of doors or inside the fender to gain access to the back side of a dent. At Carisma we take every measure possible to NOT DRILL an access hole in your vehicle. If drilling a small hole is the ONLY way to fix your dent we will always ask your permission first. Once the repair has been made the hole will be rust proofed and plugged with a factory type plug.

WHAT IF THERE IS A SCRATCH OR CHIP IN THE PAINT?

Most of the time the mark on a dent is paint from the vehicle that hit your car, and that is usually easy to polish off. We will be happy to polish that mark off no charge. If there is actually damage to your paint we recommend getting the factory touch-up paint from the dealer and bring it with you, we will gladly touch that up at no charge. Be aware that Touch-ups will not be invisible, the only way to make a chip disappear 100% is to repaint the area.

MY DETAIL SHOP SAYS THEY CAN DO PDR TOO. WHY NOT USE THEM?

PDR takes years to master, detail shops usually subcontract to mobile PDR companies . So you really never know who is actually working on your car. The quality of a PDR repair is entirely up to the person doing it, don’t trust your car to just anyone. Go directly to the source!

DO YOU MAKE HOUSE CALLS?

Not usually, occasionally we make an exception for a classic or very valuable car, or multiple cars, but we need a comfortable working area with good lighting. We charge an extra fee for mobile service, please call for details

WHAT IS YOUR GUARANTEE?

We guarantee that you will be satisfied with your repair, and that we will not damage the paint or rust proofing, for as long as you own your car ,or your money back!

MY INTERIOR IS SLIGHTLY FADED, HOW WILL YOU MATCH THE COLOR?

We mix every color by eye, it’s one of the most difficult and important parts of interior repair and takes a long time to master. Our technicians start with the 5 basic colors and carefully mix them until the color looks close in the mixing cup. Then we mask off a small area on the panel to be repaired and spray a test area, we then peal back the tape to reveal an abrupt “tape line” . The technician then adjusts the color and repeats this process until no “tape line” is detectable. This method GUARANTEES A 100% COLOR MATCH to the surrounding area, faded or not.

HOW LONG WILL MY REPAIR LAST?

That depends on the type of repair and where it is on the vehicle. WE GUARANTEE MOST OF OUR REPAIRS FOR 1 YEAR. Some types of repairs, velour and carpet repairs carry NO GUARANTEE, because there are no permanent methods available for repairing these materials. For lease returns or resale we recommend having these repairs done as close to lease turn in or sale date as possible, as these repairs become more visible over time.

CAN I WAIT FOR MY REPAIR?

Yes, in most cases interior repairs take 1 to 2 hours including dry time. For complete interior re-dye or multiple repairs we recommend that you drop your car off for the day.

CAN YOU DYE FADED INTERIORS?

Yes, in fact we specialize in it. Many older high end cars like Ferrari’s and Mercedes SL’s fade over time. Carisma prides itself on making these interiors look new again, but not so new that it looks fake. We work on many show cars and antique collectable vehicles and understand what it takes to make these cars look original and not “repaired”.

I HAVE SEVERAL COLLECTOR CARS THAT NEED WORK WILL YOU COME TO MY HOUSE?

Yes, in cases where the cars can not easily be moved, and provided they are housed in a workable space(room to move between cars, temperature controlled, adequate light etc.)we will come to you home. We DO NOT however, make house calls for individual repairs on drivable cars.

WILL YOU COME TO MY HOUSE TO REPAIR MY LEATHER COUCH?

Unfortunately, no. there are companies out there that specialize if leather furniture repair in your home. We’ll be happy to repair your leather furniture or clothing if you bring it in to us!

MY DASHBOARD IS CRACKED FROM THE SUN, CAN YOU REPAIR THAT?

We don’t recommend it. Dashboards expand and contract with changes in temperature, once a dash is dried out to the point of cracking, repairs rarely hold up. We will repair your dash if no other option is available, but only if it’s understood there is NO GUARANTEE, not even one day!

 

HOW CAN YOU OFFER BODY SHOP QUALITY WORK, BUT CHARGE SO MUCH LESS?

Several reasons;
We have lower overhead. Because we don't do big wrecks we don’t need expensive frame straightening equipment, or heated paint booths.
Our liability insurance premiums are lower because we do only “cosmetic repairs” not structural or mechanical repairs.
Our special “keep it small” methods allows us to use less materials, reduces the need to remove parts from the vehicle(saving R&I time),and makes for less clean-up and polishing.

WILL YOUR REPAIRS LAST?

Absolutely! We use all of the same top quality paints and materials as large body shops do, we just use less of it, thereby reducing the repaired area and keeping your vehicle as original as possible.

A BODY SHOP SAID I NEEDED A NEW BUMPER, HOW CAN YOU REPAIR IT?

It's easier and more profitable for body shops to just replace your bumper, that's why most shops will tell you a bumper needs to be replaced. Bumpers ARE repairable.

ARE BUMPERS RECYCLABLE?

No, in fact this is a huge environmental problem, filling our landfills with thick plastic(and chemically laced) bumpers. BE GREEN and insist that your bumper be repaired if at all possible. Besides, it will probably get damaged again, that's why they call them “bumpers”!

DO YOU WORK WITH INSURANCE COMPANIES?

Yes, Bring us your estimate or we’ll write one, we’ll work with your insurance company just like any body shop will.

THE CORNER OF MY BUMPER IS PUSHED IN, THERE IS NO PAINT DAMAGE, CAN THAT BE FIXED?

Absolutely! And for a lot less than you might think. Plastic bumpers have a “memory” and when warmed and messaged properly, will return to 99% of there original shape, usually for less than $100 dollars!