The Key To Car Recovery After A Hailstorm. Hail Damage repairs with PDR technology.
The people of Colorado are no strangers to the random and destructive nature of hailstorms. Even the smallest hailstones can seem like machine gun fire as they pelts shingles, metal, and glass with astounding velocity. Then once the hailstorm ends, the hearts of those who couldn’t shelter their cars plummet to find cracked windshields and exterior panels riddled with dents and dings.
If you find yourself in this unfortunate situation, you’re left with 2 options. You can simply live with your exterior looking like an acne-scarred teen or undergo the stressful process of filing a claim and bringing your vehicle in for repairs. So, what’s a driver to do in this situation? To help, we’ve compiled a comprehensive list of steps you can take to ensure your car’s speedy recovery after a hailstorm with minimal hassle.
Document the Hail damages provoked by Hailstorm
Before you set any wheels into motion, take a step back, breathe, and do what you can to document the vehicle damage to the best of your abilities. Assess the severity, take pictures from every angle, note the time and date of the hailstorm, and compile all necessary papers associated with your vehicle and insurers. Leave no stone or hood unturned.
Don’t put off hail damage repair
When the time comes for hail damage repair, putting it off can seem like a tempting option. It’s an expensive hassle that nobody wants to deal with. Then even when it’s said and done, there’s always the looming fear that it’ll just happen again before the season ends. If you get one takeaway from this article, let it be this: DO NOT PUT IT OFF.
For one, waiting to make the insurance claim until after the next hailstorm can be considered insurance fraud. Since everyone’s insurance rates in the area go up regardless, you may as well get it done now. Besides, it won’t be a very severe increase since hailstorms are classified as an act of nature.
Insurance technicalities aside, putting repairs on the back burner is a good way to take the cost of repairs from sucky to utterly devastating. If there’s one thing you can be sure of, it’s that the extent of the damage runs deeper than what can be seen on the surface, so be sure to service your vehicle as soon as possible.
Find an auto body repair shop that you trust
When you’re ready to initiate the hail repair process, DO NOT start with contacting your insurance company. Though they recommend otherwise, an insurance company’s goal is to save as much money as possible, especially in the case of such wide-spread destruction as hailstorms.
Instead, it’s best to begin with finding a reputable auto body repair shop that you trust. A good facility will give you an accurate quote, and they’ll even communicate with your insurance to make sure you’re covered to the fullest extent of the damage.
Take the time to research your local auto body repair shops and try to shoot for one that offers both PDR (paintless dent repair) and traditional dent repair. For best case scenarios, they can use PDR to remove minor to moderate hail damage without new parts or paint. Then if PDR can’t cut it, you won’t need to have your vehicle moved to another auto body shop for more complex procedures.
