Overheard a customer say they 'fixed' their own dent with a plunger

I was at the shop last Tuesday and this guy walks in bragging how he pulled a quarter panel dent with a toilet plunger and hot water. He said it looked great until he got on the highway and the whole thing popped back out like a pimple. Have any of you dealt with a DIY repair that made the damage way worse before it came to you?

2 comments

2 Comments

patking2d ago

Right up there with using duct tape to fix a leaky pipe - works great until it doesn't. I gotta give that guy credit for confidence though, walking into a shop all proud after his plunger masterpiece immediately failed on the highway. Must have been a real fun ride watching that dent pop back out at 70 miles per hour while he's white-knuckling the steering wheel. At least he got a decent story out of it before dropping real money on the repair.

willow_martin3d ago

oh man, that plunger trick is all over youtube and it's honestly the worst advice for anyone. idk why people think hot water and suction is gonna magically fix metal. a buddy of mine tried the same thing on his truck door and ended up pulling the paint off in a big circle, plus the dent was still there. he came to me all frustrated and i was like, well, you just created a whole new problem. sometimes the cheapest fix ends up costing way more in the long run.