Severe hail damage home fix ideas

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A few days ago my Vibe was pelted with golf ball sized hail at work. There are probably 2 dozen different dents along the roof, hood, and even the sides of the door and fenders. Looks pretty bad.

The problem is that I have liability only on the car because it is paid off. Cost to repair quoted at over 4,000 dollars. Not going to happen.

Does the dry ice and heat method really work? I don't have to get all of them out, but would look better without so many.
 
No, dry ice will not help. Find a good paintless dent repair person & might try to barter, otherwise chalk it to a bad deal.
Just my opinion with 21 years in the auto body business.
 
I would find a pro paintless dent guy and see what he can do first, but I imagine hail dents must be among the worst type to fix.
Also if you just seal any paint breaks with any sort of paint now, and then wait a month or two for the body shops to catch up, maybe $4k will become $1k...
 
That is what I was afraid of. I'd like to check out the cost of repair when the hundreds of cars that were hit in this town are fixed a few months down the road. It should drop.

You win some and you lose some carrying liability on a high mileage second vehicle. I lost this time.
 
You're not saving oodles of money by not having full coverage. Put full coverage on, wait for another hail storm in a few months or next year then claim it.
 
Originally Posted By: Nick1994
You're not saving oodles of money by not having full coverage. Put full coverage on, wait for another hail storm in a few months or next year then claim it.


I think it is 25 dollars more per month, so really not that much more you are right. I've also never had hail damage before this event (38 years).
 
Originally Posted By: Vibe_2007
Originally Posted By: Nick1994
You're not saving oodles of money by not having full coverage. Put full coverage on, wait for another hail storm in a few months or next year then claim it.


I think it is 25 dollars more per month, so really not that much more you are right. I've also never had hail damage before this event (38 years).



That's part of the reason you have insurance -- to cover the unexpected.
 
Originally Posted By: Vibe_2007
Originally Posted By: Nick1994
You're not saving oodles of money by not having full coverage. Put full coverage on, wait for another hail storm in a few months or next year then claim it.


I think it is 25 dollars more per month, so really not that much more you are right. I've also never had hail damage before this event (38 years).

What's the long term plan for the car? In a few more years its value won't be affected by superficial damage anyways. I put a couple dents in the Tracker quite early on and thought about getting it fixed, but now I'm glad I didn't bother. Its a tool, not a silver tea pot in my Grandma's china cabinet for the church ladies to look at...
 
That's the main reason I have comprehensive. Hail storms (and tornadoes, severe thunderstorms) are getting very commonplace here in Central NY.
 
Originally Posted By: IndyIan
Originally Posted By: Vibe_2007
Originally Posted By: Nick1994
You're not saving oodles of money by not having full coverage. Put full coverage on, wait for another hail storm in a few months or next year then claim it.


I think it is 25 dollars more per month, so really not that much more you are right. I've also never had hail damage before this event (38 years).

What's the long term plan for the car? In a few more years its value won't be affected by superficial damage anyways. I put a couple dents in the Tracker quite early on and thought about getting it fixed, but now I'm glad I didn't bother. Its a tool, not a silver tea pot in my Grandma's china cabinet for the church ladies to look at...


It is an 07 with more than 125K on it. It will be kept until it hits 200K. With my current situation mileage-wise, it will take about 6 years to hit 200.
 
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Problem is, would you really want to file a $4-5K claim on a ~7yr/old Pontiac, only to have your premiums go way up or get cancelled?
 
I would wait awhile. Back in the 90s, I had 2 vehicles with similar damage. After a couple months of heat/cool cycles, almost all the dimples were gone and the ones left weren't worth mentioning.
 
Originally Posted By: Nick1994
You're not saving oodles of money by not having full coverage. Put full coverage on, wait for another hail storm in a few months or next year then claim it.


So what do you do with the question "is there any unrepaired damage on the vehicle ?"

I think that's Insurance fraud.
 
Originally Posted By: Shannow
Originally Posted By: Nick1994
You're not saving oodles of money by not having full coverage. Put full coverage on, wait for another hail storm in a few months or next year then claim it.


So what do you do with the question "is there any unrepaired damage on the vehicle ?"

I think that's Insurance fraud.


It IS insurance fraud; and with that coverage being added AFTER a hailstorm, the insurance company will likely ask for an inspection prior to adding the coverage.
 
Originally Posted By: earlyre
you might actually get better Mileage with the dents...
(not lots better, but a little)
http://youtu.be/LKxEkT2H8pI?t=4m25s


That is hilarious!
grin.gif
 
Originally Posted By: JTK
Problem is, would you really want to file a $4-5K claim on a ~7yr/old Pontiac, only to have your premiums go way up or get cancelled?


Too many miles, doesn't blue book for much anyway.

At my work it was pretty sad to see a brand new Audi Q7 and an A5, both black, get the same damage my old Vibe did. The guy with the Q7 was especially not happy.
 
Originally Posted By: Kuato
I would wait awhile. Back in the 90s, I had 2 vehicles with similar damage. After a couple months of heat/cool cycles, almost all the dimples were gone and the ones left weren't worth mentioning.


The maintenance guy at work told me he has seen a lot of dimples disappear on hail damaged vehicles he has owned. There is hope!
grin.gif
 
Hair drier + flipped upside down compressed air will do the trick on some dents
 
Originally Posted By: Ndx
Hair drier + flipped upside down compressed air will do the trick on some dents

The thing to use is an upside down C02 bottle.
 
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