Trunk and Tailgate Dent Repair in Kansas City

You probably found the roof and the hood first. Then you walked around back and saw the trunk lid, dimpled like the rest. It lies nearly flat, so it catches hail straight on. The back of an SUV or a pickup stands upright instead, and it mostly takes hail when wind pushes the storm sideways.

Each kind of back end opens a different way. A trunk lid has a braced frame under it. A liftgate has a trim panel on the inside. A pickup tailgate is a closed box. The way in decides what is easy and what is hard, and you hear that panel by panel at the free assessment.

Under the trunk lid

Open the trunk and look up at the lid, which the trade calls the deck lid. Like a hood, it has an inner frame with openings cut through it, bonded to the outer skin in spots. On many cars, a fabric or plastic cover hides that frame, and it unclips first.

A rod reaches up through the openings to the back of each dent. Dents in the open spaces come up well. Dents sitting over a rib of the frame are harder, because the brace is in the rod's way and holds the metal above it rigid. Those may need an angle from the next opening, or a glue tab from outside.

The hinges, the latch and the wiring for the trunk lights all live in the lid as well. They take up room near the edges. A dent close to any of them has a tighter path than one out in the middle. Some trunk lids are aluminum, and aluminum takes more care than steel.

Liftgates on SUVs and hatchbacks

A liftgate is the whole back door of an SUV or a hatchback. On the inside, a trim panel covers its frame. That panel comes off to open the way to the back of the outer skin.

Much of a liftgate is often glass, so the metal can be a band around the window. Wiper motors, cameras, lights and their wiring sit inside the gate. A rod has to work around all of them.

The gate stays propped open on its struts while the inside panel is off, so it needs room overhead. A garage with a low ceiling or a tight carport can pinch that. Mention where the car sits when you call.

Some liftgates are partly plastic. A dent in plastic is outside paintless repair, and that gets called out at the assessment rather than skipped.

Pickup tailgates are boxes

A pickup tailgate has an outer skin facing the road behind you and an inner wall facing the bed. Between them is a hollow space with the latch, the handle and, on newer trucks, a camera and its wiring.

Reaching the outer skin usually means taking off a cover on the bed side, or working through openings already in the inner wall. The gate can stay on the truck for most of that work.

The top of a tailgate is often capped, and dents along that top rail sit on a stiff fold. Tailgates also get loaded, leaned on and bumped, so older dents may sit beside the hail. Mention any you already knew about, and they get noted apart from the storm damage.

Some tailgates are aluminum. Aluminum is less forgiving than steel, and it gets worked in smaller moves. On an aluminum gate, a dent can stop short of fully a little sooner than it would on steel.

Edges and lines at the back

Trunk lids and tailgates both end in folded edges called hems. Its two folded layers leave no gap for a rod. Dents on those edges get worked from outside or pulled, and some only come most of the way.

Many trunk lids also carry a styling line across the back, and many tailgates carry pressed ridges for stiffness. A dent sitting on a ridge needs the ridge restored, which is fussier than flattening a dimple. Something dragged across the back can leave a long mark instead of a round one. That is a crease, and crease dent repair explains how far those tend to go.

Badges and lettering sit in their own spots across the back. A dent beside or under one can need the badge lifted, and that goes on the estimate as well.

Counting the back end

On a hail car, the back end is often a smaller share of the count than the roof. It still gets counted dent by dent, with the access it needs listed beside it. A tailgate cover or a liftgate panel that has to come off goes on the estimate too.

Your policy sets the deductible. Applying it, and deciding what to authorize, is up to your carrier. If you are worried a claim will change your rate, read does a hail claim raise rates before you call.

Back end, then the rest

The assessment covers the back of the car along with every other panel, in one visit. You do not need to know whether your gate is aluminum or where its ribs run. That is what the look is for. A bike rack or a cargo carrier on the back can hide dents, so mention it on the call.

The work happens where the car sits, whether that is your driveway or an office lot the owner has okayed. How it works lays out the visit in order, from the first call to the last panel.

Call for a free assessment. Tell us where the truck or car is parked, and the crew comes to it.