Can body panel above left rear bumper be DIY repaired?

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2014 Mazda CX5
Someone backed into my '16 CX5 last week and I got a settlement from Progressive (her insurance company) for $900. I'm considering a DIY repair as it's not incredibly bad, but I'm not sure. I can reach under the fender and pop the dent back out with my hand for the most part, but if i just push on it again, it will go back to being dented. Is there some way of making it stay popped out?
dent.JPG
It also pushed in the left side of the reflector. I can pop it back out but I need to attach it somehow. haven't crawled under yet to see how it's attached inside. there's a scratch on the paint, but I have some touch-up paint from the dealer for a previous scratch I was going to use on that. i know it's not going to look anything like new, but for $900 i can live with it probably. It doesn't look too bad once I pop the dent out of the body panel and bumper. just need to keep it popped out.
 
Just get the thing fixed. Do you really need $900 THAT bad? You ever plan to sell it or trade it in?

If you can get your hand back there and push on it, why haven't you yet? No, it won't pop back in.

TIP: if you can get a plunger to apply suction on the outside, that's a pretty good way to pull dents.

If it still looks bad: GO GET IT FIXED.
 
i got it popped out pretty well and pushed the reflector back out and it kinda popped into place. didn't need a plunger or anything. just my hand. looking a lot better now. i think i can get it perfect if i pour some hot water on it and hold it out while I pour some cold water on it. i'll try that this weekend. certainly not worth paying someone $900 for.
 
Not a big believer in the hot water trick. Not going to help much if at all.
 
i got it popped out pretty well and pushed the reflector back out and it kinda popped into place. didn't need a plunger or anything. just my hand. looking a lot better now. i think i can get it perfect if i pour some hot water on it and hold it out while I pour some cold water on it. i'll try that this weekend. certainly not worth paying someone $900 for.

If it doesn't bother you much, Keep the money, smart man...
 
I would try the heat method on the bumper cover. Get it warm, push it out then cool it while you massage the dent from the inside. This may require the help from another.

The reflector may be a problem if the little tab that it attaches to is broken off. Maybe some type of glue?

After you get it repaired and it looks nice, take a picture of the area and send it to your insurance agent showing that you had it fixed.
 
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The insurance agent doesn't care if he fixed it or not.
 
I'd take the bumper off and push it out by hand. It won't be 100% perfect but itll be a lot better and it will only cost you your time. $900 isn't pocket change.
 
i just heard sometimes it's better not to get it fixed if you don't have to as it gets reported on CarFax and could affect your trade-in value more than the cost of the repair. Probably all depends on the extent of damage i'm guessing.
 
Someone did the same thing to my mom's Outback a month or two ago. I took the bumper off and pushed it out, then buffed the scuffs off. Then just used a tiny bit of touch up where the paint came off. Here's a before and after-

4101e5b2012735b0b263ecadae6cff86.jpg
98fb5496decfc107786eec519f11368c.jpg
 
looks great! i won't have to take the bumper off though. I was able to reach my hand up where the reflector was dislodged and push it back out. looks pretty respectable right now but i think i can get it looking even better with a little work. reflector snapped back into place too.
 
Not a big believer in the hot water trick. Not going to help much if at all.

I had a similar problem 2x in 3months! Main issue with not getting it fixed is the paint. Cant tell from the pictures, but above the rubber bumper part, is the paint kind of wrinkled? If so, it will eventually chip off leaving that area unprotected. A few weeks after getting it all replaced, some jerk hit me in a similar spot and ran. I didnt want to fix it again so soon after the first time, but was told by dealer about paint issues once it wrinkled (paint overall is crappy). I trusted him on that issue-since the dealership didnt have a body shop, there was no financial gain in his telling me to fix it.
 
no wrinkle in my paint. just a couple minor scuffs. my car is dirty about 80% of the time anyway so it's not very noticeable. :-D
 
Only $900? What about diminished value? That 900 will go out the window during resale unless you plan to drive till 200,000 miles+.
 
it's so minor i doubt it would really take anywhere near $900 to fix it right. not going to worry about it. could get hit again before i ever trade it in anyway.
 
Someone did the same thing to my mom's Outback a month or two ago. I took the bumper off and pushed it out, then buffed the scuffs off. Then just used a tiny bit of touch up where the paint came off. Here's a before and after-

4101e5b2012735b0b263ecadae6cff86.jpg
98fb5496decfc107786eec519f11368c.jpg

Wow! You are the man! Look like brand new
 
Someone backed into my '16 CX5 last week and I got a settlement from Progressive (her insurance company) for $900. I'm considering a DIY repair as it's not incredibly bad, but I'm not sure. I can reach under the fender and pop the dent back out with my hand for the most part, but if i just push on it again, it will go back to being dented. Is there some way of making it stay popped out?
dent.JPG
It also pushed in the left side of the reflector. I can pop it back out but I need to attach it somehow. haven't crawled under yet to see how it's attached inside. there's a scratch on the paint, but I have some touch-up paint from the dealer for a previous scratch I was going to use on that. i know it's not going to look anything like new, but for $900 i can live with it probably. It doesn't look too bad once I pop the dent out of the body panel and bumper. just need to keep it popped out.

Have you tried using hot water and toilet plunger ? it did work for me
 
Wow! You are the man! Look like brand new

Yeah that looks fantastic, guyandbluemazda.

I pushed mine out and you can't tell unless you look really close. I was able to reach in with my hand where the parking light or reflector whatever that is was displaced and push on the bumper from the inside and it popped right out. There's a slight dimple where the bumper meets the body panel, but that's about it. I think i could get it out with some hot water, but to hell with it. not even worth boiling the water. I was able to snap the parking light back into place once I got the bumper popped back out. That $900 settlement i got was like pennies from heaven. I earned it.
(breakn)
 
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