This is the complete October 2026 snapshot of a free, unpaid, market-by-market California PDR shortlist. Unknown facts remain unknown.
Updated Oct. 8, 2026
Hover or focus a marker to identify the company. Select it to jump to the full listing.
Each selection is local to its market. We do not turn a statewide list into a false apples-to-apples ranking.
Thad Treece
Thad Treece’s long-running Redding operation serves the northern Sacramento Valley with paintless dent repair.
Treece brings more than three decades in PDR plus a prior decade in conventional body repair. That combined experience has helped carry deeper sheet-metal stress and tension knowledge into complex PDR work in California’s North State.
Daniel Gromm
A dedicated Santa Rosa PDR shop serving Sonoma County, led by a veteran technician and toolmaker with roots in the trade dating to 1993.
Gromm has worked in PDR since 1993. Beyond his Santa Rosa shop, he has trained newcomers, developed tools used by other technicians, and co-hosted a trade podcast—practical contributions to both technique and peer education.
Sal Contreras
A San Mateo-based mobile PDR specialist serving the San Francisco Peninsula, known for large and complex dent repair.
Contreras won the 2015 Dent Olympics, later presented at an advanced-skills seminar, developed the Dent Dial and other repair tooling, and now shares his methods through training videos. His contribution reaches beyond local repair into competition, invention, and instruction.
Keith Cosentino
Our current selection for the Sacramento market. Bullseye is based in Roseville and combines consumer repair work with deep involvement in PDR tools, training, and industry education.
Cosentino has built several trade-facing platforms alongside Bullseye: Blackplague PDR Tools, the PDR College Podcast, and Advanced Skills Seminars. Together they represent a sustained contribution to tool design, peer conversation, and technician education.
Ken
A San Jose paintless dent repair and body shop serving South Bay communities from its Umbarger Road location.
Owner Ken traces his metal-repair career to 1986, when he repaired dents on tractors and trailers, before adapting that hands-on metal-shaping background to paintless dent repair in the Bay Area. His contribution is a long bridge between traditional metal craft and modern PDR.
Tip Weiss
Dent Perfection by The Perfect Touch is Tip Weiss’s mobile Monterey Peninsula operation, serving the area since 1995.
Weiss helped demonstrate a durable mobile-reconditioning model on the Monterey Peninsula: specialized spot repair, long-term relationships with high-end dealerships, and referral partnerships with conventional body shops, while keeping the repair work technician-led.
Jeff Magill
A dedicated dent-removal operation with a Huntington Beach shop and mobile service for Orange County drivers.
Magill’s contribution is rooted in longevity and public education: Beach Cities says it has removed dents since 1996, explains the value of preserving factory paint, and has expanded its PDR practice to handle insurance claims as well as retail repairs.
Joe Garcia
An Upland-based paintless dent repair specialist focused on complex, high-skill work. Joe Garcia has practiced PDR since 1997.
Garcia has practiced PDR since 1997 and moved from high-volume dealership work toward a deliberate, difficulty-based approach to complex repairs. Dent Evo’s detailed consumer education also helps explain why repair complexity—not just dent size—shapes the work.
Todd Zimmerman
Founded by Todd Zimmerman, this Redlands shop provides paintless dent and hail-damage repair across the eastern Inland Empire.
Zimmerman pairs more than 16 years of hands-on PDR work with tool manufacturing. He founded Carbon Tech PDR Tools to turn repair-bay experience into lightweight carbon-fiber equipment designed for working technicians.
Myke Toledo
Founded by Myke and Mary Toledo in 2001, Dent Time serves San Diego County with mobile service and an Escondido shop.
Toledo has practiced PDR since 1991, founded Dent Time in 2001, and launched the Dent Trainer online platform in 2013. He has trained technicians internationally; his published record also lists PDR Person of the Year and Lifetime Achievement honors.
Matt Armijo
A mobile paintless dent repair specialist serving Oceanside, Carlsbad, and surrounding North County San Diego communities.
Armijo’s documented contribution is grounded in local craft and peer exchange. He operates a technician-led mobile service in North County and has taken part in industry conversations about PDR events, tools, and the value of continued technician education.
Read the complete scoring rubric, weights, disqualifiers, and update cadence.
We are continuing research rather than naming a winner before the record is ready.
Orange County boundaries also remain under editorial review as we compare coastal and north-county options using a consistent review-data method.
No. Paint condition, metal stretch, panel access, prior repairs, and the dent’s depth determine whether PDR is appropriate. A strong technician will say when conventional repair is the better choice.
PDR reshapes metal without hiding the work under filler or paint, so lighting, tool control, access strategy, and finishing skill directly affect the result.
Price matters, but compare who performs the repair, the promised result, the warranty, and whether the estimate changes after inspection.
This guide does not yet publish a statewide price range because it does not have original California survey data. Size, depth, location, access, metal type, paint condition, and regional labor all affect price.
PDR may reshape the metal, but cracked or missing paint usually requires separate paint repair. A technician should inspect both the metal and paint before promising a result.
Often yes, but aluminum behaves differently from steel and EV construction can restrict access. Look for documented aluminum and EV experience.
PDR itself does not automatically create a history entry, but an insurance claim or reporting repair facility may do so. Ask the shop and insurer how the work will be documented.
Comprehensive or collision coverage may apply depending on the cause and policy. Confirm coverage and deductible with the insurer before authorizing work.
Mobile service is convenient for suitable repairs. Complex damage may benefit from controlled lighting, stable access, and equipment available in a shop.
It should identify the damage, proposed repair, price or pricing basis, authorization terms, and any conditions that could change the estimate.
The guide was updated Oct. 8, 2026. Review counts were checked Oct. 7, 2026, and individual profiles show their verification date.
Shops are evaluated by verifiable identity, reputation, technician experience, specialization, trade contribution, market coverage, warranty, and pricing transparency. Special consideration is given to contributions to the paintless dent repair industry through tool creation, media publishing, training, speaking, and competition.