Expert Hail Chaser and PDR Tech Manny Quintero Talks about his Road to Success…

PDR Nation recently reached out to one of our long-time certified members, Manny Quintero, owner of Dent Out Puerto Rico. An experienced PDR tech and hail chaser, Quintero is also a member of NAPDRT, and holds ARC and Vale certifications as well.

To hear Quintero tell it, his road to mastering the art of paintless dent repair was as bumpy as a hail-dented hood. But thankfully, his steadfastness and determination have paid off big time.

Married in his mid-twenties and later divorced, Quintero held a variety of jobs while supporting his son Kalani and pursuing an associate degree in international marketing.  So how did he end up in PDR? It literally happened by accident. When his new Nissan Xterra was damaged by a falling coconut and a friend referred him to a PDR tech in San Juan, it opened his eyes to the possibilities.

The Journey

I am from Vega Baja, Puerto Rico, which is on the north side of the island. I grew up in Kissimmee, Florida, until I was about 13 years old, when I moved back to Puerto Rico. I never grew up around cars, which was weird, because my father was in the car business, buying cars at auction and selling and shipping them to Puerto Rico.

Mostly, I was interested in extreme sports like skateboarding and surfing. I started doing surfing contests in Puerto Rico when I was 14 and until the age of 23. I got married at 27 and got divorced after four years. During that time I owned a surf shop call Puerta Vida Surf Shop, had a sign and T-shirt business and also ran a route selling goods to gas stations.

So when did I find out about PDR? About a month after I bought my Nissan Xterra in 2000, believe it or not, a coconut fell on the hood while I was in the drive-through at Burger King in San Juan. I got a referral from a friend to a company that he said could fix it without painting. And so they did, and I was amazed when I saw it.

Manny Quintero received the Nat Danas Humanitarian Award at the 2018 Mobile Tech Expo in recognition of his relief efforts after Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico. He says is profoundly grateful for the outpouring of help and support from industry friends who came together in time of need.

Practice Makes Perfect

After my divorce, I was looking to make some money and start a new career. I went to Ding Dink to train for two weeks in 2006. After training, I named my company Dent Out Puerto Rico. I thought I was going to fix everything that came to me, but, of course I was wrong. It was not even close to what they teach you there. So I went back to college to finish my degree in marketing, and I worked for Frito Lays selling cookies on a route for a while until my skills as a PDR tech got better.

I almost quit, because it was so hard to fix dents. But something in me told me I could do it. So I was going to college, working and practicing PDR at night.  I had a car at my dad’s house and started hitting it with whatever I found to try to simulate real impact and practiced hard every day.

When things started going better, I quit my job at Frito Lays to do PDR full time and finish college. It took me about three years to really start perfecting my art to the point where I could see myself doing this for a living over the long run.

Quintero, shown here repairing a motorcycle, is also skilled at windshield repair, having won the Windshield Repair award at MTE 2018.

Then I found out about Mobile Tech Expo. I bought a plane ticket, booked a hotel, had 500 bucks in my pocket and didn’t know anybody. I met some really good people that first year, and from there, everything is history to the point where I am in my life as a PDR tech and as a person.

From hail damage to dings and dents, Quintero is in his element when putting his PDR skills to work.

MTE was a blessing for me, not only because I got to meet people who are like family to me and close friends—you know who are, too many to name—but who also have helped make me the tech I am today on the hail and PDR side of the business.

I love the hail side of the business, but I am a junkie for extreme dent repairs as well. So when I’m not chasing, I’m fixing big, nasty dents at home.