Are Dents Worth Repairing Right Away?

1 November 2017
 Categories: , Blog


If you've been involved in an accident--whether it was on the road or someone else hitting your car while you were shopping inside a store--collision damage can be a confusing topic. Some people assume that a few dents aren't a big deal outside of being an eyesore. Outer damage can hide inner damage, and even outer damage alone has a few strange effects depending on the type of damage. Here are a few collision damage details to help you understand why certain repairs are necessary, even if they don't look critical:

What Else Was Knocked Around?

If you were involved in a crash, what were you hit by and how hard were you hit? Some of the more extreme crashes that also lead to bodily damage have more obvious risks, as the internal components in the car may suffer direct damage.

This includes knocking the engine off of its motor mount, throwing off tire balance to the mount of having two tires pointing in (even slightly) different directions, and cracking the windshield. Some things have to be replaced, and if the car works at all after an accident, the damage will have immediately noticeable effects on your car.

Some problems are more subtle. Tire balance is one of the most easily affected parts of vehicle performance issues such as small fender benders or a parking lot collision at low speeds. At even 10 miles per hour, someone hitting your car directly over the wheels can throw off your wheel alignment, leading to some costly corrective damage.

This is why it's also important to report the issue to your insurance company and look for security video evidence, even if the problem doesn't look big. It's a "just in case" issue, and at such small collision levels, you hold all of the power over whether you want to pursue charges or make bigger demands. Even if you don't want to make trouble for someone, at least maintain your legal rights and have your vehicle checked out immediately.

Aerodynamic Drag Can Be A Complex Problem

Although most vehicle manufacturers have some sort of aesthetic differences to set their models apart from the others, it all comes down to aerodynamic control.

Aerodynamics is the study of the moving air, or specifically for vehicles, the way that a vehicle moves through the air. Reducing the amount of wind resistance that a vehicle receives as it moves forward is important since less resistance means less work for the engine. Less engine work means less wear and tear.

When your vehicle's body is dented, it can change the aerodynamic profile or the shape that the manufacturer intended in order to "cut" through the wind more effectively. It's not just forward motion; aerodynamics affects movement from side to side, the potential to flip backward when accelerating too hard, and how well your vehicle is grounded to move more quickly, rather than being pressed too hard and slowed or lifting off the ground to lose movement power.

Contact an auto repair professional to discuss other aspects of collision damage, and to get an inspection. Contact a company like Frankie & Dylan's Collision for more information and assistance. 


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