PDR and hail damage

[AZjeff]

We had a major hail storm here a month ago that was most severe where most of the car dealers are. Every dealership still has a big party tent set up where hail repair companies from back East (I was told) are fixing their cars and customer insurance claims. Other smaller tents appeared around town with dent repair guys doing their thing.

I haven't seen a before/after job or even a repaired vehicle to see how good they do. Can they really make hundreds of little dents totally disappear? I've seen a couple of cars & trucks with the damage, the dings are all pretty small from what I've seen. Not like a hail storm in Phoenix a few years ago that broke windows out and totaled cars.

Would hail repair be disclosed on a new car? I'd be sick if it happened to one of our vehicles.

 

[ctechbob]

Can they really do it? Yes. A good PDR guy borders on magic. The things those guys can do to dents is amazing. You just don't want to watch them if its your car, they beat, bang, push, and bend on things in ways that make you think there's no way its going to work and then it does. My Ranger actually took some damage this spring to the tune of 60 dents, that is going to cost me about $900 to have done. I just keep putting it off.

Not sure if it would have to be disclosed on a new car or not.

 

[FT92]

they sure can fix it...my former boss had a Honda civic that got blasted by hail , the body shop had it about a week and you couldn't tell ...looked like new again

 

[1 SX]

We hit a deer years ago, that dented the drivers side fender but paint was still perfect, and the PDR fixed it to like new condition. I'd assume light hail damage would be even easier to fix.

 

[tyman]

Years ago we had a good hail storm when I owned my 2004 Maxima. Every panel had damage. They were able to use PDR to remove 98% of the dents. The only ones they couldn't get out were in the roof and they had to repaint it. Total, the bill was like $4700 for insurance but afterwards, you'd never known it had gotten hailed on unless I told you. Even shattered out my back window due to quarter-size and larger hail.

 

[The Critic]

It all depends on the location of the dent (for access reasons), size of the dent and its proximity to the body line.

 

[Gimpy1]

Yes PDR is an accepted method of repair and is actually preffered because you don't damage the factory paint which can't be replicated 100%. There are limitations, but a good PDR tech can make a body panel look new. These guys are more artists than techs, its really cool to watch these guys work.

 

[WylieCoyote]

I didn't count them myself, but my dent tech said he pulled 220 dents out of my Canyon. It was a year old at the time. No telling how many washes & details I've given that truck since then, but I've yet to see a sign of a single hail dent. They are magic, indeed.

 

[bmwpowere36m3]

Good PDR is not cheap... so it comes down assessing cost of PDR vs. traditional body work.

 

[manicrodder]

We had a major hail storm here a month ago that was most severe where most of the car dealers are. Every dealership still has a big party tent set up where hail repair companies from back East (I was told) are fixing their cars and customer insurance claims. Other smaller tents appeared around town with dent repair guys doing their thing.

I haven't seen a before/after job or even a repaired vehicle to see how good they do. Can they really make hundreds of little dents totally disappear? I've seen a couple of cars & trucks with the damage, the dings are all pretty small from what I've seen. Not like a hail storm in Phoenix a few years ago that broke windows out and totaled cars.

Would hail repair be disclosed on a new car? I'd be sick if it happened to one of our vehicles.

Had bad hail damage in MT and CO To theH3. Used PDR except for the hood. It was so damaged it had to be replaced.

 

[Snagglefoot]

I had major hail damage done in 2011 on my 2008 Chev Suburban. It was done in Calgary by a traveling dent company from “out east” similar to what was previously mentioned. There were over 100 dents on the hood and the long roof Of the suburban. I got it back in a few days after they started. It was perfect. I could not see a single dent. Fast forward 10 years. It’s still perfect. I cannot see a single dent.

 

[Duffyjr]

Some places they can't get to, for example my 89 Sierra has a double roof so the only way to remove them is to try and pull them out. When I got the quote the guy said there was no guarantee the roof would be perfect since they can't get any tools between the layers. I opted not to spend the money.

 

[tyman]

My sister got caught in a baseball-sized hailstorm with 70-100mph winds a few weeks back that knocked over a 1.5mi long train. She said as of yesterday, the cost is at $16k and still rising as they work on her 2020 Pilot.