Hailstorms often strike in the spring and summer in Colorado. Sometimes, it seems harmless, and sometimes it wreaks havoc on your car hood, roof, and other panels.
Jump to:
-> Can Pea-Sized Hail Damage a Car?
-> Minor Hail Damage Repair Cost
-> Filing Auto Hail Damage Claim for Minor Dents
-> Should You Fix Minor Auto Hail Damage?
-> Fixing Minor Hail Damage on a Car
-> Buying a Car with Minor Hail Damage
Can Pea-Sized Hail Damage A Car?
Your car’s value decreases the moment you drive it out of the dealership, but its value plummets further and faster if it gets damaged—yes, even by a quick hail storm.
Those seemingly small and few dents on your car’s surface can be deceptive simply because they can rack up quite a repair cost. Leaving unfixed, this can even devalue your car by more than $10,000!
While the rate of devaluation ultimately depends on how much hail damage car repair specialists identify, the following are also considered:
- Car mileage – your car’s age
- Your car’s overall condition
- Additional car features
You can learn more about how much a car’s value is affected by hail damage by checking out this article.
How Much Does It Cost To Get Minor Hail Damage Repaired On A Car?
For non-car-enthusiasts, it may be easy to overlook cosmetic damage that doesn’t involve a smashed window or chipped paint. But as mentioned above, hail damage may appear minor and can cost thousands of dollars.
Here is an example of a minor hail-damaged vehicle we recently repaired.
As you may have noticed in the first video, the dents are hard to spot until we flashed a light at the hood.
If you had to guess how much that hail damage repair cost, what would you say?
A thousand dollars? Two thousand, maybe?
It was over $9k to fix this Yukon.
The good news is that client paid $0 out of pocket – StormWise covered the $500 deductible and the insurance paid for the rest. Continue reading to find out how to make this work for you.
If you have a hail damaged car, but don’t have comprehensive insurance, you can still have your car repaired – just be prepared for it to be an expensive bill. Hail damage repair can run into the tens of thousands of dollars if the damage is significant.
To learn more about how hail damage is assessed on a car, read these articles below:
- How Is Hail Damage Assessed On A Car?
- Auto Hail Damage Repair Cost: What’s the Right Price?
File A Hail Damage Claim For Minor Dents On Car?
When there is hail damage on a car, a lot of customers rush to contact their insurance company. This might seem like the most logical thing to do, but it may result in a smaller check they pay you.
Let’s face it: insurance adjusters are not usually experienced with hail damage assessment, especially if your damage is light as in the example above.
If you have comprehensive insurance, you should get an estimate from a specialized hail repair shop ASAP.
We encourage our customers to contact us to get the claim process started. Since COVID happened, most insurance companies have been asking customers to send photos for insurance inspection. This adds yet another layer of challenge to get you the right amount of money to fix everything because it is extremely difficult to show the extent of the damage in photos.
As a result, many customers were misinformed that their hail damage would be less than their deductible cost.
In fact, their hail damage is a lot more than what it shows in photos.
If this happens to you, give us a call today. We can look into filing a supplement claim with your insurance to cover the damage they missed in the initial assessment.
If you don’t know whether your damage is covered by insurance, check the different types of car insurance we compiled and find out.
Should I Fix Minor Hail Damage To Car
Hailstorms are seasonal in Colorado, and summer is often the peak season for hail damage.
As a Denver native, you know that auto body shops will get backed up for months after a hailstorm! Not only will they have a waiting list, but the repair times will extend extensively.
Sometimes, your car wouldn’t be able to bear the extended wait time if you have smashed windows or tail-lights.
Even if you could afford the waiting, undeclared damage can cause big issues if you’re involved in a car accident and try to make a claim.
The difference with StormWise is that 99% of the time, we can fix auto hail dent within two weeks* from the drop-off date, and we rarely operate on a waiting list for hail repair services.
How To Fix Minor Hail Damage On A Car (PDR)
There are 4 types of hail damage car owners can spot immediately:
- Cracked glass, lights, and mirrors
- Dents
- Misaligned or missing mirrors
- Paint damage
Fixing these involves a relatively short timeframe compared to significant damage from serious car accidents and collisions. However, just because they’re “easier” to fix, doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be repaired by a professional.
You might have been trying to explore various ways to fix your hail-damaged car yourself—probably because you think the damage is too minor for a professional-level fix. However, you might end up with a more expensive set of repairs if you’re not careful.
The ideal process of hail damage car repair should be:
#1 File a claim
#2 Go to a hail repair specialist
#3 Bring your car to StormWise
Definitely—and we’re not saying this lightly—DON’T DIY your car’s repair no matter how seemingly minor the damage may be. Taking it to the pros ensures it’s restored to its pre-hailstorm state. You’ll likely even save more money by doing this compared to taking on the challenge yourself.
Buying a Car with Minor Hail Damage
Buying a hail-damaged car also bears tons of risk as the car value could be significantly lower than expected.
However, it could be a good deal for a low-budget purchase if the damage doesn’t affect the car’s functionality (and if you don’t care about the look).
Here are a few tips we have for buying a car with hail damage:
- For one thing, make sure to see the car in person before bidding, as pictures are never enough to provide you with the info about the full scope of the damage.
- More importantly, check to see if you can insure the hail-damaged vehicle. Depending on the damage, you may find it difficult to get insurance or fair pricing for insurance. Sometimes, insurers don’t allow you to take out coverage on a car if there is existing damage.
- If your insurance company agrees to provide a policy with pre-existing damage, be careful how much your insurer assesses prior damage.
- Give us a call and find out what it takes to fix the damage if desired. We can help answer other questions you have regarding the hail damage and insurance challenges too.
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