Say you’re an intelligent person who’s pretty adept with tools and has a pair of expert hands. More than likely, you’d be an accomplished do-it-yourselfer who gets a lot of satisfaction in repairing stuff around the house. That would possibly translate to your car as well, where you’ve done a little auto body repair such as scratches or even windshield nicks.

But what if you get into a fender bender? This is a pretty dissimilar situation from repairing those nicks and scratches. As an accomplished do-it-yourselfer, it would be pretty tempting to take on a new challenge and even look forward to gaining additional useful experience. But one has to take stock, first of all, of the extent of the damage as well as the skill, tools and supplies needed to put the automobile back into the shape and finish it was in before the accident. Even car guys knowledgeable in the mechanical and electronic components of their cars are careful when it comes to working on their car’s finish. They acknowledge that metalworking and paint retouching are types of vehicle work that require some pretty specialized skills and equipment, not to mention a proper working environment. Obviously though, if you’re a body shop technician or even a metal worker, your skill set is right for doing do-it-yourself auto body repair.

Gone are the days, when cars were bodies on frame construction, or even those made from mild steel unibodies, it was probable for a guy skilled with his hands to put his car back together, sectioning parts of a bent frame and replacing it welded-in steel plates. Then he could go to a car broker to buy a whole fender for a very low price and then paint it. These days, with the paints and alloyed lightweight steels that manufacturers are using more extensively, it’s almost not possible to do this kind of auto body repair at home. The new steels need different procedures to repair, and heating them up actually causes the structure to grow weaker. Anybody in his or her right mind will see that this is a security issue that should not be compromised on.