Dealing With Car Paint Chips and Comprehensive Insurance

There is no way to avoid getting paint chip dings just by driving around. That said, if you get more than you'd like to see, here's the deal:

1. Actual repair by a third-party body shop or a car-branded body shop will require pulling the panels at a cost of $1,000 per panel, and take up to two weeks so you might need to pay for a rental car.

2. If you have a high-deductible (like $2,000) on your car, a 3-panel or even 4-panel repair might not be worth filing a claim if it changes your insurance rating. Your agent will tell you if it would and by how much. 

3. The claim for paint dings would be under the comprehensive portion of your policy. You can lower the deductible to a couple of hundred dollars on the comprehensive portion of your policy for about $50/year and leave it high to reap substantial savings on collision and injuries.

4. If you take your dinged car to a car-branded body shop instead of a third-party shop, and you get the right rep, they will do a touch-up that hides the dings and give you the exact paint number so you can order a touch-up kit from Amazon for under $15 and DIY in the future. 

[EOP]