Hail Damage

[Shark Bait]

My 80 got clobbered a couple of weeks ago when a bad hail storm moved through Parker. I just got a check from State Farm to do the paintless dent repair and fix it all. Does that work pretty well? Will the cruiser look like it did originally? I figure my other option is to sell it, with or without the armor, and maybe buy a 100. What do you all think? This is a 1997 with 245k miles and it runs great. No other major issues. My pictures do not do the hail damage justice, BTW.

 

[riderjgs]

Chris:
Done right, you should be happy. Had it done on my first 55 to avoid messing with the original paint when removing minor dents and also have had it done on later model vehicles. No paint matching to worry about, now or later, and minimal down time. Trick is to find someone who's done it awhile and avoid some new franchisee for one of the paintless chains who is still developing skills. I'd check with a dealer or two and see who they use. Most of them use this method, in house or hired out, on their used car inventory. Or ask State Farm for a recommendation, since they're still on the hook if you're not happy.
Jim

 

[60wag]

Just lift it some more. The taller the truck, the harder it is to see the hail damage

 

[Corbet]

Given the age and miles on the truck personally I'd pocket the INS check if you can. Will hail damage really effect the resale or trade-in values of your vehicle. Not really IMO.

Now if you want to keep it for a while and the damage bothers you then I think you'll be happy with the repairs. But you mentioned a 100... so it sounds like your getting ready to move on.

 

[Hulk]

I had massive hail damage on my black car last summer. They did paintless dent repair on everything but the aluminum hood. It came out flawless.

 

[sleeoffroad]

It all depends on the size of the check. If you are ready to move on, then maybe now is the time to cash out. If the check is substantial, it might be more than the loss you will take on selling a hail damaged truck. That way you get a good price for the 80. If it only covers dentless repair, you might as well do that.

We have a really good guy we use. He has done miracles with situations where we thought it would not be salvageable.

 

[Rezarf]

I agree, if someone else wants to buy me a 100, and I was eyeing one... I'd take the money and run.

Drew

 

[Jacket]

Becky's car got clobbered by a massive hailstorm in South Dakota last weekend. The hood and roof are trashed, and it even has dents on the sides. It sounds like our insurance coverage is the same as Chris' - we will get a check based on the assessed damage for paintless dent repair.

This is a relatively new car with a lot of value left in it. Is it really going to look "like new" or am I going to see the remnants of the damage in the right light? I've never had it done and let's say I'm skeptical.

Anybody got a recommendation for a shop/business that does PDR well? Preferably on the north side.

 

[baileyfj40]

Chris; My 99 f350 got hailed on fourteen years ago. Had the paintless dent process done on it and you have to REALLY look for the reminder. By the way the truck is black.

 

[ScaldedDog]

The ones next to the seams and sharp bends, like right behind the hood, will be tough for PDR. Negotiate to raise the settlement check over those, then get the easy ones fixed and put the remainder in your pocket.

My $.02,

Mark

 

[mikeyhcrana]

At my work we sublet all PDR to Colorado Car Care. They do it right. Don't let anyone drill access holes, conventional dent repair is better then a swiss cheese unibody.

 

[Fishy]

Our minivan got destroyed last year from hail. I was in it with the kids and it built up so fast on the road that I couldn't even drive. I hit the VSC button and tried to mash the gas through it, but we just slid off the road into the ditch. It was CRAZY. I put it in park and covered the kids with my body because I thought the windows were going to blow out.

That was the tornado that tore through east Parker last year, it passed directly over us, then touched down. All the trim was literally hanging off the van. Gerber Collision on Arapahoe/Jordan did the repairs. They had the van for just over 3 weeks. They replaced the hood, but everything else was PDR'd. No holes, just skilled work with long sticks. Pretty cool to watch them do it, and very impressive. I thought for sure that USAA would total it, but $9600 later, it was done. You'd never tell.

 

[Jenny Cruiser]

You'll be happy with the paintless results, but if you are hoping to take the money and move up to a hundy you would have been better off not going paintless on your claim.

 

[Shark Bait]

My GS got caught in Littleton a couple of weeks ago and needs a new hood, trunk and roof. It's too bad for PDR. I was going to use Kuni Honda's shop because the Lexus dealer recommended them. Does anyone have any experience with them? Abra in Parker had over a month wait just to get an estimate! Kuni Honda will take me right in!!

 

[wesintl]

SOB 100 got clobbered in the ranch. 70 did as well, house too. FML damn hail. It won't be totalled but the hood, roof and rear all need work. sides don't look too bad

who's the one to go with, painless?

 

[Jacket]

Ours ended up being $6000 worth of body work on Becky's car, both PDR and conventional. Pretty much every panel on the car was affected, plus trim pieces and plastic valences. I took it to a body shop who sub-contracts with a local PDR for that portion of the work, and since it required both I guess I was fortunate.

For you, I guess it depends. PDR will be cheaper, and you aren't dealing with aluminum body parts so the success rate of the PDR should be much higher. Typically, insurance covers the repairs under comprehensive, so they'll send someone out to give you a repair estimate, and then send you a check. You can try to make some money and do the minimal to get it fixed, or you can get it repaired to a nearly new state per the quote. If the repairs end up being more than the insurance company estimates, they will typically cover the difference.

It's a pain...

 

[wesintl]

yikes, be interesting to see what it runs