Category: Hail Repair

Hail Damage 101: Protecting And Repairing Your Car

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Hail Damage 101

According to the National Weather Service, hailstones need to reach the approximate size of golf balls before they will do damage to your car. That’s welcome news – especially given that the U.S. experienced 5,382 severe hailstorms in 2019. Not only that, but insurers paid an estimated $7.26 billion for hail damage to automobiles from 2008 to 2014 alone, according to the Insurance Information Institute (III).

Even so, minor dents and dings happen. Here’s what you need to know to prevent hail damage and what to do if hail damages your car.

Protect Your Car From Hail Damage

When hailstorms occur, damage to your vehicle does not have to be inevitable. There are several measures you can take to greatly reduce your car’s chances of sustaining hail damage in the first place. Here are just a few:

  • Keep your car in a garage or carport. Sometimes the most straightforward approach is best. If possible, avoid parking your car out in the open.
  • Seek shelter when potential hailstorms are forecasted. If you do not have a garage or carport, consider parking your vehicle in a parking garage nearby. Keep an eye on the weather report.
  • Head out to your local auto body shop. Auto body shops sell hail car covers to prevent hail damage.
  • Improvise. In a pinch, you can make your own hail cover. Use blankets, comforters and/or foam mattress pads, like egg crate toppers, to protect the roof of your car as well as windshield and back window. For additional protection, place car mats on the windows, and then layer a blanket or cover on top. Keep lightweight blankets and mattress toppers in place by duct taping them to your car. You can also use bungee cords, tie-down straps or rope.

After Hail Damage: Will Insurance Cover Repairs?

Although coverage may vary by carrier, generally speaking, hail damage is only covered by comprehensive automotive insurance. In most cases, liability insurance will not cover hail.

If you think comprehensive automotive insurance is best for you, make sure to be proactive about it. In some cases, insurers will not allow drivers to purchase comprehensive insurance once the media predicts major storm or qualifying event.

Paintless Dent Repair (PDR): A Solution for Minor Dings and Serious Dents

Even if you take due precautions, it is possible that an unexpected storm may leave your car with hail damage anyway. The good news is that repairing hail damage, especially minor dents and dings, can be relatively simple, fast and inexpensive, thanks to paintless dent repair (PDR).

What is paintless dent repair? In order to repair minor dents and dings, technicians access dents from the inside of the panel with the damage. From there, the technician uses special tools to view and repair the dent. These tools place just the right amount of pressure on the body of the car to gently, carefully massage the dented material back into its original position.

Because PDR fixes the dent and doesn’t just mask it like traditional dent repair (which only “fixes” the surface appearance), cars repaired with PDR do not have a lower resale value. Most dents can be repaired this way in just a few hours or that same business day.

Left untreated, hail damage can be unsightly and affect the resale value of your car. While it takes an inch-wide hailstone to do major damage, hail the size of a quarter can still leave a distinct and lasting mark. Take steps to prevent hail damage from occurring in the first place. Failing that, opt for paintless dent repair (PDR) to fix minor dings or major creases from your trusted Dent Shop.

Posted in Hail Repair, Tips and Tricks

Common Myths and Misconceptions About Vehicle Hail Damage, Busted

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paintless dent removal

Severe storms can wreak serious havoc, especially on exposed vehicles. Hail can easily pummel small dents into your hood and might even break your windshield.

When hail damage is spread across the entire vehicle, the costs to repair or replace the dented panels can be shocking. But the good news is that there are many misconceptions about hail damage repair and one of them is that your insurance won’t cover you.

To help clear the air about vehicle hail damage repair, let’s determine if there’s any truth to some of the most common myths.

Myth: Your insurance doesn’t cover hail damage

Comprehensive auto insurance plans cover extreme weather damage including hail damage when it impacts your vehicle. But there’s a catch.

Some insurance companies don’t allow you to purchase a comprehensive auto insurance plan right before extreme weather is expected to hit. This is meant to protect the insurance company from having to make large payouts after every severe storm.

If your insurance covers your hail damage, look for a paintless dent removal shop that works with your insurance. Just obtain a claim number and then bring your vehicle into the paintless dent removal shop for a consultation.

Myth: Hail damage is easy to fix

Hail damage is frustrating to deal with, especially because it’s always unexpected. To make matters worse, in extreme cases hail damage can even total your vehicle if it’s extensive enough.

Paintless dent repair can take the dents out of your car’s surface to make your vehicle look like new. But a PDR technician can’t repair the any underlying structural damage that hail can sometimes cause under the hood. Make sure to have a mechanic and an insurance adjuster take a look at your vehicle before you consider whether or not the damage will be worth fixing.

Myth: Hail damage can’t be repaired without hurting your paint

The last thing you want to do when your vehicle already has hail damage is to damage your paint job trying to repair the dents and dings the hail left behind. That’s why it’s not recommended to DIY your own hail repair.

A professional paintless dent removal shop can repair the hail dents on your vehicle without damaging your paint or putting your car at greater risk for more damage. In addition, the quality and durability of vehicle paint has improved dramatically over the years, making professional repairs significantly easier.

Need small dent repair for your vehicle?

Paintless dent repair is the most effective and efficient way to repair hail damage on your vehicle. Paintless dent repair is a methodical process that only takes about two hours (depending on the severity of the damage) to get your car looking like new again.

For more information about how paintless dent repair works or to schedule your own hail dent removal, contact Dent Shop today.

Posted in Hail Repair

Paintless Dent Repair for Automotive Hail Damage is Available at Dent Shop

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hail on car

Dent Shop is offering full assistance to those who experienced hail damage from the Washington, D.C. area storms earlier this week. Dent Shop’s Paintless Dent Repair (PDR) services will enable vehicle owners to have any damage fixed promptly, without affecting the value and appearance of their vehicle. PDR is a fast, permanent solution that leaves the manufacturer’s warranty and vehicle safety features unaffected and maintains your vehicle’s value without adding a negative report to your CARFAX history.

View the press release below or our Hail Damage Repair Services page for more details. Call us today at (571) 293-2129 to schedule your estimate!

Dent Shop Announces Availability of Hail Damage Paintless Dent Repair (PDR) Services to Address Damage From Tuesday’s Heavy Storms in Northern Virginia

Northern Virginia PDR Experts Offer Insurance Claims Processing and Fast Repair for Hail Damage to Area Vehicles

AUG 23, 2019 08:00 EDT

ASHBURN, Va., August 23, 2019 (Newswire.com) – In the wake of damaging hail incidents across the Metropolitan Washington, D.C. area due to the severe thunderstorms on Tuesday, Aug. 20, Dent Shop, the region’s #1 hail repair experts, urges those who sustained damage to their vehicles to take action and choose the fast and effective solution for repairing hail damage to their vehicles: Paintless Dent Repair (PDR).

Dent Shop uses Paintless Dent Repair to completely remove dents for a permanent solution that maintains the vehicle’s factory finish and manufacturer’s warranty and is typically covered by insurance. In contrast to the more expensive, intrusive and time-consuming conventional solutions, which reduces the value of a vehicle due to a superficial solution, paintless dent repair can be completed at a fraction of the time and helps retain vehicle value. 

As the local PDR expert, Dent Shop is offering full assistance to those who experienced hail damage from Tuesday night’s thunderstorm – or for anyone with existing body damage that might benefit from PDR. Visit the Dent Shop website at https://dentshop.com/ to schedule an appointment so that Dent Shop’s technicians can determine the extent of the damage and provide an estimate. Since Dent Shop works directly with the insurance company to approve the repair, local vehicle owners merely need to provide the claim number to begin the repair process.

“The great news is that Paintless Dent Repair can fix most vehicle hail damage,” says Dent Shop President Tim Kordon, “so choose an experienced PDR professional with proven technical expertise to fix your dents.”

About Dent Shop: Based in Northern Virginia, Dent Shop uses its decades of PDR experience to efficiently and cost-effectively return vehicles back to their original condition. Dent Shop’s leadership team are recognized experts in the PDR field and offer their expertise to a national network of PDR providers throughout the country in response to requests for dent repair assistance after major storms and other disasters.

Posted in Hail Repair

What the Hail Damage!

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What the Hail Damage!

HAIL! Hail! Hail! You just bought a car and of course it hails. You have hundreds of dents all over your car and it will never be the same. Or so you thought. Did you know that we here at Dent Shop have been fixing hail damaged vehicles for nearly 20 years? Well we have. Not only in the DC metro area but all over the country and even as far as South Africa. No, not South Dakota, although we’ve worked there too, South Africa. Here is the good news. Most Hail damaged cars can be fixed without having to be repainted, utilizing Paintless Dent Repair. Yup, thats what we do here at Dent Shop. With decades of honing our skills and techniques we can offer high quality repairs that many of our competition can’t. So how do you know if a repair shop is qualified? Here are a couple of questions to ask:

  • How many hail cars have you repaired? They shouldn’t even be able to give you a number because they have fixed so many.
  • Are they well versed in aluminum, and high strength steel? If they down know what High strength steel is then you should have your answer.
  • Do you have much experience with dealing with insurance as it pertains to hail? Many technicians can repair light to medium hail damage but are not equipped with the know how to negotiate the proper compensation to take their time and do the job right.

Here a few tips you should know. Hail is considered an act of nature so it won’t increase your insurance rates. The insurance company cannot tell you who can repair your car. The insurance company always does what’s cheapest for them, not what’s best for the value of your car. Repainting your car diminishes the value so don’t do it if you can avoid it. Do your due diligence and interview your repair facility. If they are true professionals they will have answers for all your questions. Trust your gut. Trust Dent Shop.

Posted in Hail RepairTagged