A door ding takes a couple of hours. A major dent takes most of a day, sometimes longer. The damage is bigger, the access is harder, and the repair requires a level of disassembly most people don't expect from paintless work.
If you're looking at something that could hold water, something that covers most of a panel, or something that's already been turned down somewhere else, this is the page for that.
There's no clean rule, but around 10 inches is where the math starts to change. At that size the work area is large enough that the repair almost always runs into something. A body line, a panel edge, a brace behind the metal that blocks access exactly where it's needed most. What would take two hours on a smaller dent can take four or more on damage this size, not because the technique is different but because the surface area and the obstacles compound.
Depth matters as much as size. A one-inch dent with extreme depth and no access from behind can take a full day and require the car to be partially disassembled to reach it. A wide shallow dent on a clean panel with good access behind it is a different job entirely. Photos help but they only tell part of the story.
A dent this size almost always runs into bracing, structure, or panel edges that block the path a tool needs to take. Getting behind the damage often means disassembling part of the car first. That work happens before a single repair move is made.
Major dents start at around four hours of repair time and go up from there. That's not including the inspection, the disassembly, or the reassembly. A day blocked for a major dent is a full day.
Most major dents can be taken to 95 to 98 percent. At that scale the repair may run into a corner or a brace that limits how far it can go. If the expected result isn't going to be worth the cost, that conversation happens before anything starts.
The standard pricing table doesn't apply here. Major dent repair's cost is based on what's actually involved, and that can't be determined from photos alone.
Before I can give you an accurate number, I have to be there in person. That means showing up, talking through the damage, and in most cases partially disassembling the car to see what access looks like behind the panel. That inspection takes time. It happens before a single repair has been done and before a dollar has been made.
What comes out of that inspection is an honest assessment: what the repair will realistically take, what the result is likely to look like, and what it will cost. In some cases that number is comparable to a body shop estimate. In others it's more. The difference is the factory paint stays on the car and the damage is actually reversed rather than covered.
If the inspection turns up something that makes the repair a bad idea, that conversation happens before anything starts.
Multiple dents on the same vehicle are assessed together. If you have other damage beyond the main repair, mention it when you text photos.
Some of the major dent work that comes my way has already been touched by another tech. That changes what the job involves.
Before the actual repair can begin, whatever was done before has to be undone. Metal that was moved in the wrong direction has to be worked back. If the previous attempt made things worse, the starting point is worse than the original damage. Some of it can be recovered. Some of it can't. If it can't, that's the first thing you'll hear.
This isn't a criticism of whoever touched it before. Hard dents are hard. But it does mean the job is more involved, and the cost reflects that.
Not every major dent is a good candidate for paintless dent repair. Damage that has compromised the structural integrity of the panel, damage with no viable access path behind it, damage where the realistic outcome isn't worth the cost and risk to the paint. I'll say so before anything starts.
The ones I do take on are the ones where I believe the repair is possible and the result will be worth it for the customer. That judgment call is part of what you're getting when you call.
Send photos to 865-420-3368. I'll tell you honestly whether it looks like a candidate worth talking about further. If it does, the next step is a scheduled in-person assessment, which means booking time, showing up, and getting into the car before a real cost can be given.
If it isn't a good fit I'll say so and you can move on. No charge for the conversation.
A dent this size is exactly the kind of damage that usually means a repaint. Some shops send it my way instead, because they already know the factory finish coming out intact is a better result than anything a spray gun produces, even on a job this big. Same time, same skill either way. The difference is what's left on the panel when it's done.
I'll give you a straight answer on whether it's worth pursuing. No commitment required to find out.