#1 – What do I need to do first?
You most likely need to contact your insurance company. Hail damage on vehicles can range from a couple hundred dollars to a few thousands of dollars, so unless the vehicle just has a few dents and you want to consider out-of-pocket expenses for the repairs, your insurance company needs to be contacted.
#2 – What will my insurance company do?
When you contact your insurance company, they will most likely want to see the vehicle to estimate the cost for repairs. After an adjuster looks at the vehicle, they usually will provide you with an estimate, and then you can seek a repair shop of your choice. In some cases, the insurance company will send a check with the estimate.
#3 – What if my hail damage is possibly less than my insurance deductible?
If the hail damage on the vehicle is minimal, contacting a repair shop is most likely better, depending on your insurance deductible. DENTconnection™ in Marble Falls, Texas, or DENTconnection™ in Fredericksburg, Texas is happy to help.
#4 – What if my insurance estimate is less than the cost of repairs for my vehicle?
If you take your vehicle to the repair shop of your choice, there is a possibility that the adjuster’s estimate for repairs will not be enough, and unfortunately, this happens because the adjuster overlooks something, or because of them using a matrix that counts the number of dents and sizes them, and it simply does not work in all situations. So, if and when this happens, you can contact your adjuster and give them the estimate from the repair shop, or if you prefer, your repair shop can contact your insurance company for you. When this happens, sometimes the adjuster will just revise their original estimate and issue a supplement, or they will have the adjuster discuss it with the repair shop or send an adjuster back out to look at the vehicle again, so the amount can be properly adjusted and a supplement for the difference can be issued. Again, this only applies for a difference in the cost of repairs before the deductible is applied. DENTconnection™ in Marble Falls, Texas, or DENTconnection™ in Fredericksburg, Texas is experienced with working with most all insurance providers.
#5 – What are the repair options and/or pros & cons for hail damage on my vehicle?
There are 2 options for repairing hail damage on a vehicle. The first option is paintless dent repair that utilizes a process to remove the dents without re-painting the vehicle. When possible, depending on the severity of the hail damage, insurance companies prefer this method because it is less expensive than conventional body shop repairs, but more importantly for the owner of the vehicle, this process allows the factory paint to remain intact, which ultimately, maintains the value of the vehicle; paintless repairs can also be completed in a fraction of time that is required by conventional repairs. The second option is conventional repairs through a body shop, where they use bondo, sanding and repainting to repair the hail damage on the vehicle. DENTconnection™ in Marble Falls, Texas and DENTconnection™ in Fredericksburg, Texas has been doing paintless dent repair since 1994, has over 25 years of experience, and have been restoring their customers’ vehicles to the condition prior to the hail damage, so they look like they were never hailed on and best of all, their factory paint is still intact, which means their vehicle’s value has not decreased as a result of the hail damage!
#6 – Can a panel with damage that could normally be repaired paintless, still require conventional repairs?
Yes! Sometimes, typically with hood damage, there can be so many dents that 1-the repair via the paintless method is not cost effective because repair cost exceed cost of replacement, and/or 2-if there are so many dents that it’s impossible to remove the dents to the condition prior to the damage. So, in both cases, panel would require replacement for conventional method for repair. DENTconnection™ in Marble Falls, Texas, and DENTconnection™ in Fredericksburg, Texas have been doing hail damage repair for over 25 years of experience, so the team is very knowledgeable about every aspect of paintless dent repair.
#7 – What happens if some of the hail damage on my vehicle requires both paintless and conventional methods of repair?
In these instances, the vehicle will need to go to a body shop for repairs, and the body shops normally have a paintless dent repair technician that works for them, so your vehicle can be repaired all at the same time and location. DENTconnection™ in Marble Falls, Texas, and DENTconnection™ in Fredericksburg, Texas have been working with body shops in the area for years, so the team is very knowledgeable on completing repairs on the same vehicle with the body shop.
#8 – What happens if mouldings and/or trim piece(s) are damaged by hail?
Unfortunately, mouldings and/or trim piece(s) cannot be repaired, and thus, will require replacement through a body shop. DENTconnection™ in Marble Falls, Texas, and DENTconnection™ in Fredericksburg, Texas work with for the primary body shops in the area, so the business relationship has already been established and thus, these repairs can be made without having the customer having to deal with them.
#9 – What happens if the hail damage repair cost exceeds the value of the vehicle?
In this case, the insurance will normally total the vehicle. If the customer opts to keep the vehicle with the damage, DENTconnection™ in Marble Falls, Texas, and DENTconnection™ in Fredericksburg, Texas, can sometimes repair the panels that the customer is bothered by the most, so the vehicle can have a better overall appearance.
#10 – I have finalized the insurance process and/or am ready to have repairs completed, so now what?
You need to contact the repair shop to schedule, and then drop off the vehicle for repairs at the scheduled time. If repairing via paintless methods, the repairs will take anywhere from a few hours to a few days; if repairing via conventional methods through a body shop, the body shop will need to determine the length of time necessary to complete the repairs. Once the hail damage has been removed via paintless or conventional methods, it will not come back unless the vehicle is hailed on again. Within the local areas, DENTconnection™ in Marble Falls, Texas and DENTconnection™ in Fredericksburg, Texas, are happy to drop the customer off at their home or place of business.