Should you buy a dent protection plan from your dealership?

When you purchase a new or used car from a dealership, you often have the choice to buy a dent protection plan. This dent warranty or service agreement is sold to you when you are finalizing the purchase of your vehicle with the finance department. Is it worth buying?

The answer to that question can vary depending on the terms of the agreement. Sometimes you will be offered a package deal that offers warranty coverage on multiple services, such as dent repair, wheel repair, vehicle remote replacement, interior repair, etc. Other times you may be offered strictly a dent repair contract. Often times these contracts are limited to a given amount of years, usually 3-5. Prices on these packages can vary as well. I’ve seen contract prices range from $400-5000.

What type of damage is covered with a dent protection plan?

Any dent repair contract you purchase will have limitations and exclusions for the type of damage that is eligible for repair. Typically the type of damage that is covered includes common door dings and dents, under 4 inches in diameter.

What type of damage is not covered?

All plans are different. We recommend that you read the fine print and learn what type of damage is not covered under the service agreement. A few common exclusions include the following;

• dents larger than 4 inches

• collision damage

• dents with paint damage or scratches

• dents on body lines

• hail damage

• dents on top surfaces (hood, roof, trunk)

• deep or complex door dings and dents

• bumper repair

• scratches or paint chips

• part replacement

• conventional body repair and repainting

How are dent warranty claims processed/fulfilled?

Dent warranty packages are usually sold by a third party to the dealership. The dealership then sells the package to you for a higher price. Once you purchase the agreement, all claims and repairs are managed by the warranty company. The selling dealership is not directly responsible for helping you get your dents fixed through the warranty program. When you receive a dent and want to use your protection plan, there are often two ways to start a claim and have your dent fixed.

1. You can initiate the claim by calling or filling out information online with the warranty company. The company will then contact a dent repair technician to schedule and complete the repair with you. The warranty company might also give you a list of dent repair vendors to contact to schedule the dent repair.

2. You can take your car to the participating dealership and have a service advisor initiate the claim and find a vendor to perform the repair. Most dealerships do not have in-house employees that perform paintless dent repair. You basically schedule a drop off and let the dealership handle it from there. This can be convenient if you live near the dealership you bought the plan from and plan on getting the car serviced there. You can drop off the car for scheduled maintenance plus dent repair. Always schedule the dent repair with your service advisor so they can make sure the dent repair technician will be at the dealership the day you drop off your car.

How does the value of a protection plan compare to paying out of pocket for paintless dent repair?

Let’s do some math and figure out if buying a dent warranty is worth it. The average retail price for the type of damage that is covered under most dent protection plans is $200. We have a few regular customers that we see once every year or two. However, most or our clients are one-time customers. This implies that minor door dings and dents are not super common. So lets assume your car is prone to getting dented more frequently than the average person in the Washington, DC metro region. Without a plan, If you have a dent repaired once a year at the average price of $200, you would pay out of pocket $600 over a 3 year period, $1000 for 5 years. Keep in mind most people do not require paintless dent repair every year. In my opinion if you can find a plan for $500 or less with a limit of 5 years, the math can work out in your favor. After you use the plan to repair 2-3 dents you are at break even. Every dent fixed after that under the contract is free. That being said, the truth about most protection plans in general (electronics, auto, appliances, home services, etc.) is that the percentage of claims is very low.

Should you buy a protection plan? I think it really depends on four factors.

1. How particular are you about the appearance of your car?

2. What is the price of the dent protection plan?

3. What are the limitations and exclusions of the plan?

4. Do you live near and plan on using the purchasing dealership for routine vehicle maintenance and repairs?

If you really value a dent free car or truck and want to fix every single little ding or dent without paying out of pocket for a few years, it might make sense at the right price. It also makes sense if you have tight parking spaces at work or home. The most common way to get a door ding is from someone opening their door and striking your car. Finally, buying a dent warranty plan could be a good idea if you plan on having your car serviced and repaired at the dealership you purchased the protection plan from. Reason being, that dealership has more incentive to keep you happy as a client and help you with the fulfillment of the plan when you need to have dents repaired. On the flip side, if you buy a service contract from a dealership and then move across the country, that dealership has zero responsibility or incentive to help you file claims or find vendors to repair the dents in your car. If these factors line up correctly and the plan you are considering is $500 or less, then it could be a good purchase.

One more thing to consider. Who is fixing your car?

Paintless dent repair is a highly skilled craft. The level of quality can vary greatly. Talented veteran paintless dent repair technicians can perform flawless repairs and make dents disappear completely. However, it takes years of constant practice along with hands-on education to get to this level. Some new (and sometimes old) techs are only able to make dents “look better.” You may still be able to see imperfections, texture, or waves after their subpar repair. That being said, some dent warranty plans restrict you to using certain vendors/technicians. If you plan on purchasing an agreement, I recommend making sure you can use the dent repair technician/company of your choice. You then have the ability to research and find a high quality local technician to fix the dents on your car or truck.

About the author

Richard Routson is founder of Dent Hero. He has been performing paintless dent repair in the Washington, DC region since 2003.