The Magic of PDR

"MM54" (mm54mk2)
11/03/2020 at 18:45 • Filed to: SpringCar2, PDR

When I took delivery of the Fiata in May, there was a small door ding on the passenger’s door. Since this should have been noticed and corrected in the pre-delivery inspection, I got the paperwork for them to fix it at no cost to me and at my convenience. Because Life , it wasn’t until now that I was able to schedule to have them fix it.

To be fair to whoever missed it at the dealer, you do pretty much have to be at this angle to have seen it

I dropped it off this morning, picked up a loaner (a brown Stelvio), voted, and went to work. At the end of the day I picked it up and am quite pleased with the correction. There’s still a small scuff in the finish, but I can easily polish that out (and will do so soon, while also addressing a weird spot on the bumper).

DISCUSSION (21)

Gerry197 > MM54
11/03/2020 at 19:01

Yup, I don’t really worry about dings anymore, because I kno w I can get them out with PDR. I usually wait until the end of the year, where I can get a deal on multiple dings.

MrDakka > MM54
11/03/2020 at 19:07

PDR?

VincentMalamute-Kim > MrDakka
11/03/2020 at 19:10

Kinja'd!!!

VincentMalamute-Kim > MM54
11/03/2020 at 19:11

I thought you were talking about this from the title:

Kinja'd!!!

Any idea of how much it would’ve cost if you had to have paid for that?

bob and john > MrDakka
11/03/2020 at 19:12

paintless dent repair.

used to be that you had to sand the paint down, bondo/filler, and paint it over. now, its ‘paintless’ just just yoink it out

MM54 > Gerry197
11/03/2020 at 19:38

I’ve got to keep it in mind as a thing that really isn’t that expensive .

I could keep a PDR guy busy all day with my RX7 but the whole thing needs painted so badly anyway that it’s not worth it.

MrDakka > bob and john
11/03/2020 at 19:39

Yoink it out? With some sort of suction tool?

MM54 > VincentMalamute-Kim
11/03/2020 at 19:41

I don’t know for sure , the paperwork lists N/C but there is a line “EST 145.67" - which seems a bit low, even with PDR not being particularly expensive.

VincentMalamute-Kim > MrDakka
11/03/2020 at 19:51

I’ve seen them do more of tappity tap tap it out from the inside. Remove the door cards.

VincentMalamute-Kim > MM54
11/03/2020 at 19:51

No idea. $145 seems high per square inch of that ding though.

MM54 > VincentMalamute-Kim
11/03/2020 at 19:57

For them to come get set up and spend an hour on it, sounds reasonable to me

VincentMalamute-Kim > MM54
11/03/2020 at 20:03

Agree. Just high per square inch.

gettingoldercarguy > VincentMalamute-Kim
11/03/2020 at 20:07

It is a wonderful birthday gift for my wife as her car takes a lot of heat. Oddly enough, in the physicians' parking lot. I know an amazing tech and tip him heavily when I take her car in. Comes out beautifully.

Rust and Dust - Oppositelock Forever > MM54
11/03/2020 at 20:10

Group PDR:

415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°) > MM54
11/03/2020 at 21:46

I actually have a dent like that on my W123, I have always assumed it could be done easily but I never get to it. It also needs a pro to buff the paint and wax it.... lists

415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°) > MrDakka
11/03/2020 at 21:48

It’s like witchcraft, check out some videos of it on youtube, some of it is pretty incredible.

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > MM54
11/03/2020 at 22:46

How was the Stelvio? Can’t recall seeing a brown one. They are pretty cramped on the inside from my experience but I didn’t hate the driving position just from sitting in one. Still prefer the Giulia.

MM54 > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available
11/03/2020 at 22:54

Metallic brown, would have been neat if it weren’t so dirty. I found it very spacious inside, quite wide. This one had a massive sunroof which may have contributed. Zero rear visibility. When you fold the wipers up to clean the windshield the arms hit the hood.

It drove well, didn’t seem heavy so they either masked it very well in the suspension or it isn’t as fat as it looks. Good power for something its size (again could be a weight thing) from a 2L. I had to look up what the three modes were (“d” “n” and “a” are on a rotary selector, without any further detail; selecting them just shows a drivetrain graphic on the screen which changes color but has no other info). Mainly left it in “d” for ‘dynamic’ and it was fine.

The shifter is weird. Maybe it’s a modern-auto thing but you have a button and push/pull it but then it returns to center and “Park” is just a button. Wasn’t too keen on that, had to triple-check what gear I was in every time. As someone who drives a lot of rental cars, I’m glad the guy explained it to me when I picked it up because that would have been quite a bit of trial and error.

It’s not something I’d ever buy; if I were to get a modern Alfa it’s be a 4C or Giulia, but for what it is, other than some oversights (like the wipers hitting the paint when you lift them up) and weird proportions, the Stelvio’s not bad.

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > MM54
11/03/2020 at 23:06

Have you sat in a Giulia? They are tiny inside. Somehow they have nearly as bad rear visibility as a Stelvio so backup cameras are a must there.

Was it like this? Interesting. . . and very unique.

Kinja'd!!!

Complicated shifters just seem unnecessary. Push buttons are fine and intuitive but I prefer the usual column shift setup. Gated automatics also confuse and annoy me when it is dark and I can’t see what I’m shifting into.

Glad to hear you have a positive impression of them. I wouldn’t ever buy one but I like to see Alfa get something right.

MM54 > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available
11/04/2020 at 15:06

Same brown yes, different wheels (more base-model looking). Had the light tan interior, too. After 10k miles as a loaner it wasn’t particularly clean, but it’s a light colored interior so that’s no surprise (there’s a reason rentals are all bl ack inside! )

I’ve not been in a Guilia, it’s not really the sort of car I’m in the market for to even feign interest... though now that I think about it, I may have spent 30 seconds in one at the Detroit auto show some year but I don’t recall exactly.

Agree on the shifter. If it must be electronic, buttons are fine and save console space; mechanical linkage is fine and dandy, as is column-shift.

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > MM54
11/04/2020 at 15:19

Dark metallic brown with tan interior? Weird combo for a rental because, as you mentioned, you’ll be cleaning it more often to have the same level of visual cleanliness. I love tan interiors but they do show dirt well. I think a black and tan two tone is a good compromise and looks pretty good.

Push buttons are fine but they don’t always have the tactile feedback that I wish they had. Definitely better than a complicated and fiddly joystick that isn’t intuitive , space efficient, good looking (in my opinion they usually look like a misplaced paperweight), or easy to manufacture.