Whilst giving my car a clean this morning, I noticed for the first time these large gouges on the right side skirt (very clear to see at ground level, but actually quite unnoticeable from standing height unless actively looking for it). The car is reasonably new to us, and it must have happened during the previous owners' tenure - I'm sure it would have been quite an almighty 'thunk' to do that.

 

What would be the best course of action for repair? Is it DIY-able? 

Personally, I would get an MOT inspector to confirm there are no structural integrity issues and then ignore it.

4 hours ago, GreenMachine1.6 said:

Personally, I would get an MOT inspector to confirm there are no structural integrity issues and then ignore it.

Make sure you seal the paintwork if the gouge has cut through the paint, to avoid any rust developing. 👍

 

My old Mondeo had a big dent in the sill from its previous owner, and it never gave me a moment's bother in the near decade I owned it.

That said, when buying the car, I noticed the dent, but thought nothing of it. Turned out the car had had (well repaired) accident damage on the door above the damaged sill.

After a few years, the door started rusting.

 

It's too late for you on this vehicle, but if you see inconsequential damage when inspecting a car, it's worth paying close attention to the surrounding area to see whether their was more substantial damage that was repaired, and you're just seeing the minor damage they didn't fancy repairing before they flogged the car. It still might be worth a look to see if your car's had paint on the two doors above that. The sill damage looks like a gouge from a rock on a verge or similar, but there are also some dents on the front of the rear wheel arch. Might be worth getting a bodywork expert to take a look at it to see if there was more substantial damage and check it's been repaired correctly.

Edited 20 April, 20233 yr by EnterName
Needed to add more

Thank you for these replies. I've attached a close up picture showing that it has gone through the paint work in places. What would be the best product to seal the exposed metal?

I had a similar issue, it's really not that hard to do, appears to be quite soft metal.

 

From what I understand, proper repair is quite significant as it involves welding sticks on and pulling the dent out from the front, a little filler, paint chip texture stuff then the colour. I guess the bodge would just be to fill and spray

 

From memory, wasn't far off a grand at a Skoda approved bodyshop - that was some time ago.

A bit of puddin, sand down and stonechip then paint body colour.

 

Cosmetically I would be more concerned about the more visible damage to the rear wheel arch.