When the average consumer spends around $400 every year on car maintenance alone, the thought of having to deal with hail damage repair expenses certainly isn’t a fun one. If your area experiences frequent hailstorms and you’re worried about the dent removal cost for hail damage, here are a few tips to help you prepare and protect your vehicle.

Know When a Hailstorm Is Coming

The first step in preparing for a hailstorm is being aware that it’s going to occur at some point or another. Once you know that a hailstorm is headed your way, make sure you’re staying alert and checking the skies every now and again. It’s important for you to keep an eye on the forecast throughout the day; it may help to check an app or website that shows a weather radar map. If you live in an area where hail storms are common, you must always know the signs of an incoming storm. Typical signs of an imminent storm include dark clouds, strong winds, heavy rainfall, distant thunder and lightning. Hail can form in thunderstorms with a high moisture content when there are strong updrafts and part of the cloud layer is enveloped in freezing temperatures.

Protect Your Vehicle

Once you know a hail storm is headed your way (or the conditions are ripe for a hail storm), you will want to make sure your property is safe. The cost of repairing damaged property after a hailstorm can be crippling. Your vehicle should be your first priority, since it is vulnerable during hail storms and can be protected easily with preparation. Make sure you move your car to your home’s garage or a covered parking garage at work if possible. You can end up with shattered glass, dents, paint damage and broken mirrors, among other forms of damage. If you don’t have a garage or a covered carport, don’t leave your vehicle out unprotected. Use thick blankets or comforters to give your car at least a little bit of protection against incoming hailstones.

Have a Plan for Dealing with Vehicle Hail Damage

Even the best-laid plans can go to waste during a hailstorm. If your car’s protection wasn’t adequate or a hailstorm caught you by surprise, it’s important to have a plan for dent repairs. One of the best options for repairing dents from hail is paintless dent removal. This type of repair is used to fix dents without paint damage, since by pushing out the dent cavity while maintaining the paint, your vehicle stays protected without risking rust or loss of value. Not only is this an efficient method of dent repair that fixes the appearance and value reduction of your car, but the paintless dent removal cost is also pretty reasonable and the workmanship has a lifetime warranty. With this dent repair method, there’s no need to pay for expensive replacement parts or new paint jobs over bondo and filler placed in the dent cavity. With paintless dent repair, the dents are truly fixed, simply because the process involves slowly massaging the metal exterior back into its original shape and position.

Hail storm preparation is primarily about safety. The more you prepare, the less you will have to deal with the damage, dent removal cost and repairs later. If the weather catches you by surprise, reach out to Dent Shop with photos of your damage or drop by for a free estimate. We offer premier hail damage repairs, PDR services, stellar customer service and hail damage claims assistance – contact us today!

The severity of damage that hail can do to your car is dependent on hailstone size, wind speed and the duration of the storm. In this article, we will look at the type of damage you can expect to find on your car after a hailstorm.

Dents

Dents are the most common type of damage after a hailstorm. Their size and severity vary with the intensity of the storm and the size of hailstone it produces. They often appear the roof, hood and trunk of the vehicle, and can bounce or get swept sideways into the sides of the car as well. Fortunately, most dents from hail are relatively minimal, aren’t too deep and can be repaired without complication thanks to paintless dent repair. Paintless dent repair is one of the most common methods of removing dents from hail damage. This particular technique can be used to repair dents when there is no damage to the vehicle’s paint. Paintless dent repair cost varies depending on the auto repair shop you select and the extent of the hail damage in question. PDR can work on dents of any size, even the smallest ones, crease dents or large, shallow dents. In addition, this process is much swifter than conventional methods that involve filler and repainting, with paintless dent repair used to complete hail damage repair within a few days.

Paint Damage

As hail falls, it can scrape and land on your vehicle with such impact that it scratches, cracks or chips the paint as it dents the vehicle. Unfortunately, paint damage can occur regardless of the size or duration of the hailstorm if the hailstones are big enough. Many vehicle owners may be unaware of the significance of paint damage – which allows the exposed metal to rust and spread over time, requiring panel replacement. Once the paint gets cracked or scratched, you need to get expensive, laborious conventional repairs that require more paint removal to prep the surface for filler and then repainting.

That’s why it’s so important to cover your car before a hailstorm hits. If you have a covered garage or carport, keep your car there until the hail passes. This is the best way to avoid paint damage as a result of hail.

Damaged Glass

Severe hailstorms can also cause cracks in any glass or plastic on the exterior of your vehicle. This is typically a result of hail falling at an angle as a result of high winds. Hailstones can also bounce up off of the ground and cause damage that way. They can also shatter glass completely if they hit your car at just the right angle. Be sure to repair any glass damage on your vehicle as soon as you can after a hailstorm. Even a small chip or crack can grow and spiderweb across your vehicle, putting yourself and your vehicle occupants in danger.

Misaligned Mirrors

A severe hailstorm with large hailstones can knock your car’s side mirrors out of place. In other rarer instances, side mirrors can be completely shattered. Always check your mirrors after a hailstorm. If they are misaligned, you must adjust them. Do so carefully if your mirrors get adjusted automatically instead of manually. If your side mirrors won’t align properly and you don’t have an adequate view, you will need to have them replaced as driving without them poses a serious safety risk.

Remember to always thoroughly inspect your vehicle after a hailstorm for damage and then take appropriate action. If your vehicle is dented but the paint is intact, don’t hesitate to call and find out about the paintless dent repair cost and timeframe for repairs. Contact Dent Shop today for premier service, top-notch repairs, claims assistance and more!