GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

I'm trying to replace the entire door handle and mechanism. I need to remove the dents but dont have the tools to do so and dont have the $500 the shop wants to pull the dent. What is the best way to remove the dents, I've attached a picture to show what needs to be done. Any ideas will be greatly appreciated, I'm in north central indiana and in a wheelchair, my boys can help we just need an idea that works. Thank you.

You can pull the inner door panel and push it out from the inside, but unless you have training in body repair, it will never look good. Have you considered just buying a replacement from a salvage yard? Should definitely be cheaper than $500. Might be hard to find one in your specific color though.

Your best bet would be to pick up a used door from a salvage yard and replace the door. You would get the handle for free.

The sheet metal is stretched at this point will will never come out straight. Most body shops would replace the door because of where the dent is located. You would not want to put body filler in around a door handle. That location is subject to a lot of flexing because of the handle being pulled on.

Dollies, body hammers, slide hammer, a torch, wire feed welder, and proper experience at working with sheet metal to shrink it are what would be needed to get the metal straighten. That would still require some surface body filler, and as said above, most shops would replace the door because of the handle and the flexing of the metal in that location.

As others mentioned, you could pop it out from the inside yourself. It won't look great, but would function.

Simpler solution would be to snag a door from a junkyard car and just swap the whole thing.