[QUOTE=...fix a dent in your door without having to paint the entire side of the car? ...shop literally wants to paint the entire side of the car ... because they "have a reputation to protect". [/QUOTE]

Yeah, you see that a lot. Nowadays, many large shops have a huge sunk cost to finance due to restrictive VOC emissions regulations, complex vehicle assemblies requiring lots of special tools, technician training, etc. So they try to minimize the number of dissatisfied customers who might spread bad reviews via social media, word of mouth etc. And they live on very large repairs paid for by insurance. Besides, they aren't paying the bill, right? Many ppl finance their vehicles so are forced into carrying Comp/Collision coverage. Those of us who are self insured for those risks have a hard time finding reasonable repair opportunities. I get all that.

But back to basics. Dents in the middle of large, 'flatter' panels are more difficult to repair. Metallic paints are harder to blend. Park a vehicle under a high pressure sodium light at night and you can easily spot crappy body filler work and paint match discrepancies.

My case is a small area of damage in a corner where the bumper abuts. Plenty of surface borders to confuse even the trained eye to less than perfect curve development using body filler. Alpine white, possibly the easiest color there is to match. This kind of fairly simple repair lets a good body repair tech shine. Some guys work in larger shops M-F then take on small jobs on weekends or nights to make side money.

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2008 e60 528i
2003 e53 x5
2011 e70 x35d, 2012 e70 x35d