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What panel beating covers
In New Zealand, car body repair is done by panel beaters. The work ranges from pulling out a supermarket car park dent to rebuilding the front of a car after a crash. Most jobs fall into three types:
- Cosmetic repair: dents, creases, scuffs and scratches on the outer panels.
- Panel replacement: fitting a new bonnet, guard, door skin or bumper when repairing the old one would cost more.
- Structural repair: straightening the body shell on a measuring jig after a collision, so the car is the right shape and the doors, wheels and safety systems line up again.
Car panel repair finishes with paint. Good repairers match your car’s colour code, then blend the new paint into the panels next to it so the repair doesn’t stand out in sunlight.
Dent repair, including hail damage
Paintless dent repair
If the paint isn’t cracked, a technician can often push the dent out from behind the panel with specialised rods, or pull it from the front with glue tabs. This is called paintless dent repair. It keeps the factory paint, is quick and costs much less than repainting. It is the usual fix for hail damage and small car park dents.
Conventional repair
Sharp creases, stretched metal and dents with cracked paint need the panel worked back into shape, filled, primed and painted.
Fixing a small dent yourself
For a shallow dent on a flat panel, a suction puller or glue-pull kit is worth a try. Plastic bumpers are more forgiving: warming the area with hot water can make the plastic flexible enough to push the dent out from behind. Stop if the paint starts to crack, and leave dents on body lines or panel edges to a professional, because they are easy to make worse.
Rust repair
Rust is a particular problem for cars that spend their lives near the coast, and on older imported cars that were driven on salted roads before arriving in New Zealand. How car rust repair is done depends on how far the rust has gone.
| Stage | What it looks like | Usual fix |
|---|---|---|
| Surface rust | Orange spots, often in stone chips | Sand to bare metal, treat, prime and touch up |
| Scale | Bubbling or flaking paint | Cut back to clean metal, treat and repaint the area |
| Rot | Holes, crumbling metal | Cut out and weld in new metal, then paint |
To fix small rust spots on a car yourself, clean the area, sand back to bright metal, apply a rust converter, then prime and paint in thin coats. Surface rust is far cheaper to deal with than rust that has eaten through.
Cosmetic rust on an outer panel isn’t a WOF item, but rust in the car’s structure is. If corrosion in areas such as the chassis rails, sills, floor, pillars or seatbelt mounting points has weakened the structure, the car fails, and inspectors treat bubbling or lifting paint in those areas as a sign of corrosion underneath. Dealing with rust early is far cheaper than a structural repair to get a WOF.
Collision and accident repair
After an accident there is often more damage than you can see. A good car accident repair shop will check for:
- damage behind the bumper, including crash beams and mounting points
- bent suspension or steering parts, which show up as a car that pulls or a steering wheel that is off centre
- parking sensors, radar and cameras in the bumpers and grille, which may need recalibrating
- airbags and seatbelt pretensioners that have deployed and must be replaced
Car collision repair should end with the car measured, aligned and road tested. Ask the repairer what they checked and keep the paperwork, which is useful if you sell the car later.
Insurance repairs: how claims work
- Report the claim to your insurer as soon as you can, with photos and the other driver’s details if someone else was involved.
- The damage is assessed, either by an assessor or from photos and a repair quote.
- The repair is approved. Some insurers use their own network of repairers, others let you choose. Check your policy.
- You pay the excess, unless the other driver was at fault and their insurer accepts the claim.
- The car may be written off if the repair would cost too much compared with its value. The insurer then pays out the agreed or market value instead.
For small damage it is sometimes cheaper to pay for the car insurance repair yourself than to claim and lose your no-claims discount. Get a quote first, then decide.
Panel and body repair costs
| Job | Typical cost (NZ$) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Paintless dent repair, small dent | $140–$500 per panel | Hail damage is priced by the number and size of dents |
| Panel repair and paint, one panel | $700–$2,500 | Depends on the damage and the colour |
| Bumper scuff, smart or mobile repair | $200–$500 | |
| Bumper repair at a panel shop | $500–$1,000+ | Including paint |
| Full respray | $3,000–$10,000+ | |
| Rust repair | Quoted after inspection | Small spots are cheap; welding in new metal is not |
Metallic, pearl and three-coat colours cost more to match, and so do panels that need the next panel blended. Getting two quotes for anything beyond a small dent is worthwhile.
Frequently asked questions
How long do panel beaters take to fix a car?
A small dent fixed with paintless dent repair can take an hour or two. Repairing and painting a single panel usually takes a few days, because the paint has to be applied in layers and cured. Collision repairs can take a week to several weeks, mostly depending on how long parts take to arrive and how quickly the insurer approves the work.
How do you fix hail damage on a car?
Most hail damage is fixed with paintless dent repair: a technician works each dent out from behind the panel, so the original paint stays intact. Panels with very deep dents or cracked paint are repaired and repainted conventionally. Hail damage is usually covered by comprehensive insurance, so start with a claim.
Can I fix a small dent at home?
Sometimes. Shallow dents on flat panels can respond to a suction puller or a glue-pull kit, and dents in plastic bumpers can sometimes be pushed out after warming the plastic with hot water. Creased dents, dents on a body line and anything where the paint is cracked are better left to a professional.
How do I fix rust spots on a car?
Small surface rust spots can be sanded back to clean metal, treated with a rust converter, primed and touched up with paint in your car’s colour code. If the paint is bubbling, the rust has spread underneath and needs to be cut back further. Holes or rust in structural areas need a panel beater.
Will insurance pay for panel repairs?
With comprehensive cover, accident and hail damage is normally covered, minus your excess. Third party policies only cover damage you cause to other people’s property. If another driver was at fault and can be identified, you may be able to recover your excess from them or their insurer.
Can a crashed car door be repaired?
Often. Dents and creases in the outer skin can be repaired or the skin replaced on its own. If the door frame, hinges or the pillar it closes against are bent, a replacement door is usually safer and sometimes cheaper. A panel beater will also check the window, lock and any airbag sensors in the door.
Updated 16 October 2026