Scratch, dent or crash damage: what to fix and what can wait
Not every scrape is urgent, but some eat through the panel in one winter. How to tell them apart in two minutes.
When someone sends us a photo, the first question is almost never «how much?». It is «is this bad?». And there is an answer, because with bodywork what matters is not the size of the damage but whether the paint is still sealed.
The fingernail test
Run your nail across the scratch. If it glides over, the mark is in the clear coat: polishing removes it and the metal is untouched. If your nail catches, it has reached the colour or the primer. If you see a dull grey or a metallic shine inside the line, bare metal is exposed.
That difference matters more than it looks. A surface scratch can stay like that for years. One that reaches metal starts to rust within weeks, and on the Alicante coast, with humidity and salt in the air, it goes faster still. What is a thin line today becomes a bubble under the paint in six months, and then painting is not enough: it has to be sanded, treated and rebuilt.
Dents with the paint intact
A car park knock that pushes the panel in without breaking the paint is usually much cheaper. If the panel can be reached from behind, it can be pulled out without painting. This is paintless dent repair, and it keeps the original factory paint, which always beats a respray.
It does not work everywhere: on an edge, on a body crease or on stretched aluminium you need panel and paint work. But it is worth asking before assuming half a door has to be painted.
What is actually urgent
- Visible rust, even coin-sized. It does not stay still. - Headlights with water inside: worse visibility, and an ITV fail. - A bumper that sits loose after an impact, which usually means the bracket behind it is broken. - Doors that no longer close the same, or gaps between panels that used to be even: that points at structure, not looks.
What can wait
A fine clear-coat scratch, a scuff on plastic trim or a small dent in a flat area will not get worse on their own. If money is tight this month, those are the first things to postpone. We say so openly when we see the car: there is no point painting a door today if the real problem is a sill starting to rust.
How to know without coming in
Take three photos: the whole car, the whole panel, and one from a hand's distance, in daylight without direct sun. That usually shows whether the paint is broken and whether the panel is deformed. Send them on WhatsApp and we will tell you the options and the price range for each, before you move the car.