Mobile Dent Repair vs a Smash Repairer: Which Do You Need?

If your car has a dent, a scraped bumper or a deep scratch, you have two main options in Sydney: a mobile repairer who comes to you, or a smash repairer (also called a panel beater or body shop) where you drop the car off. Both do good work, but they suit different kinds of damage. Choosing the right one first saves you time, and saves you being sent from one to the other. Here's how to tell which you need.

What a mobile SMART repair is

SMART stands for Small to Medium Area Repair Technique. Instead of repainting a whole panel, a SMART repair fixes just the damaged area and blends the paint into the rest of the panel. Because the repair area is small, it can be done on-site. We bring the equipment, power and water to your driveway, garage or work car park. For dents, we reshape the dent, fill and smooth it, then colour-match and repaint it. Every dent we fix is repaired and refinished.

Damage that suits a mobile repair

A mobile repair is usually a good fit for:

• door dings and car park dents
• trolley, bin and bollard dents
• small creases in a door or guard
• scuffed, scratched, small-cracked or pushed-in plastic bumpers
• scratches, including scratches through the paint
• kerbed alloy wheels and cloudy headlights

If your damage is on this list and limited to one area or a couple of panels, a mobile repair is usually quicker and less disruptive. The usual repair time is 1 to 2 hours, and larger repairs can take longer.

Damage that needs a smash repairer

A smash repairer is the right choice when the damage is bigger or goes deeper than the surface, including:

• collision damage across several panels
• structural damage, or damage that affects how doors, the bonnet or the boot close
• very sharp or long creases, or stretched metal
• dents right on a panel edge or a body line
• large dents across most of a panel, and some aluminium panels
• bumpers with long or multiple cracks, missing pieces or broken mounting tabs
• damage to lights, sensors or parts behind the bumper after a harder impact
• anything that needs new parts fitted or a whole panel resprayed

After a crash of any size, have the car checked by a smash repairer if you're unsure whether anything underneath has been damaged.

How the two compare

Where the work happens

A mobile repair happens at your home or work. With a smash repairer, you drop the car off, organise a lift or a hire car, and pick it up when it's ready.

How much of the car is painted

A SMART repair refinishes just the damaged area. A smash repairer can repaint whole panels and replace parts, which is what bigger damage needs.

Insurance

Small to medium repairs are often paid for privately, because a small repair often costs less than an insurance excess. If you're making an insurance claim, ask your insurer how it works: many insurers have their own repairer arrangements.

Conditions on the day

Mobile paintwork needs dry weather and room to work around the car. A garage, carport or undercover car park helps. If rain or wind would put the finish at risk, we'll rebook rather than rush the job. A smash repairer paints indoors, so weather isn't a factor.

Still not sure? Send photos first

You don't have to work it out on your own. Send us one close-up and one wider photo of the damage, with your car's make and model and your suburb. If it suits a mobile repair, we'll give you a free quote and a time that suits you. If it doesn't, we'll tell you up front so you can go straight to a smash repairer. We'd rather say no than turn up and disappoint you.

Mobile repairs across Sydney

We come to homes and workplaces across Sydney, from Parramatta and Penrith to Liverpool and the North Shore, and we visit Canberra every month or two for repairs. Read about our mobile car dent repair and mobile bumper repair, or see everything we fix on our services page.

Mobile vs smash repairer FAQs