Dented Rocker Panel (I am an idiot)

So I accidently cut the wheel too sharp on my brand new truck an dented the right rear rocker panel on a railroad tie barrier at a buddies house. I know it will need to be painted since the paint is cracked and chipped off in one spot but would it be worth having a body shop try to pull this area back out? I am going to order some sliders this week to make sure this doesn't happen again but its hard to have a truck with 8K on the odometer and big dent in the side. Can I just sand the area down are spray bomb it to match myself? get bedliner on the rocker panels on both sides to cover it up? I'm open to opinions.

 

Bondo.

 

That area will be very difficult to pull out. I would say take it to a body shop to get an estimate if it bothers you enough (it would bother me that much...)
If you can live with the dent (fortunately it does not seem to be deep enough to interfere with the door opening/closing) so it is just cosmetic, any type of paint touch up to prevent rust would do, depending on your level of acceptability. But again, if it was mine, I would start with a free quote from a body shop, just so you know where to start.
Good luck!

 

Sorry for your bad luck but you can do anything you want, it's your truck. If the bed liner look is good enough for you on a truck with 8K or spray bomb finish go for it. If you're asking which would look best for the long term and body work is out of your wheel house, take it to a body shop and have it look cherry again. $.02

 

glad I have sliders haha.


get the paint fixed and put some sliders that are angled up on. Will hide most of it.

 

$700 good as new.

 

See I would let that ride. Everyone is different. It would teach me a lesson.

 

From the photo it doesn't look that big.

To be honest, I would put something to prevent rust and leave it.

My truck is about 2 years old and has a few small dings, and I kind of like it that way.

Your truck "scar" looks good imo.

And welcome to TW.

 

Shit happens OP, it sucks! For right now till you get the funds to fix it or whatever your intentions are, find a way to cover that metal! It will rust quick! BTW this happen to my truck in a week. A drunk backed into it at a bar, cost 1500$, He paid cash (Nice guy!). A week later, same parking spot, 60mph Alaskan winds blew a dumpster into the side of my truck. Insurance kicked in for this. Damage cost for this 2500$ which is fixing the door, replacing the fender, fender flare, and fixing the front bumper..

I went to work pissed and changed my attitude quick when I heard a guy at work had a tree come down that same night and crushed both of his new cars. On top of that, he borrowed a friends car and another tree came down and crushed that one!!!

Truck will go in for repairs on the 10th! Can't open the passenger door right now lol..

 

Yep same here. Every time you see it, a reminder its your truck

 

Thats a bummer but things happen. I would have it fixed right by a body shop if it was my truck. If it wasnt fixed, every time I saw it I would be reminded that should have got sliders sooner. Right now I'm sad every time I see the back of my truck. Ripped off both bumper caps and bracing along with a little bit of damage to the passenger side bedside under the tail light up to the rear wheel(bedside is very minor and cant even get a pic that shows it very well). Hopefully I will have my new bumper by the end of the month.

 

Tough spot to fix but they’ll be able to pound it back to normal!

 

Look at the bright side. If anyone with the same Taco parks next to you, you'll know which one is yours.

 

Your least expensive option is to sand it down and Bondo it. Then get some spray paint to match. That will cost less the $100 all in.

 

OP..I would get it fixed, add the sliders and never go over to your Buddies house ever again just my .02

 

You can't keep them perfect forever.

For some reason everytime I bought a vehicle brand new, a small dent wound up somewhere inconspicuous. If I left it, it was like a good luck charm and no one ever hit it since it was already 'imperfect'. If I fixed it, it was like a magnet for others to aim at.

 

I'd hit it with some bedliner and throw the sliders on. That'd actually look pretty badass. Its a truck buddy!

(I just got hit by a shit ton of broken glass on the freeway and my bumper is covered in chips now. So I feel your pain.)

 

So I went to the local body shop that does the work for the Toyota dealership in town along with other local dealers and the guy told me it would be about $1200 to get if fixed. He said the work isn't hard but the time. He said they would have to pull the rear door off so he could paint and feather in the new paint after pulling the dent out. Does this seem way too high? I mean I don't mind paying for good work but I feel like this is a lot.

 

Sounds about right for actually fixing it rather than filling unfortunately. I did the same to a Mustang in the '80s and the quote wasn't much cheaper.

 

Sounds about right. Quality work takes time, time takes money. At least you know it will be done right.