hail damage

[TheBandit18]

hey, i was just wondering if anyone has had hail damage and what your insurance or warranty did to fix it??? did they just give you money to fix it or did they exchange the vehicle????

[GotGame55]

I have hail damage on my car, but I haven't filed a claim yet. I've been procrastinating.

[Caddyroger]

They have it repaired in most instanaces. They will not replace it.

[rberns]

Mother nature will not be covered by warranty.

[jd10013]

replace a 30k car because of hail?

[mhood]

I had pretty bad hail damage 11 months ago and my insurance ($500 deductible) covered the $6800 tab (minus my deductible). They sent the check to me and told me not to sign it for the shop until I was happy with the work done.

I had to get a new hood, trunk and windshield and the work was flawless. I even took the opportunity to have hood spears and trunk blackouts painted on. I was very happy with the job.

A couple of weeks ago I got hailed on again. Much less damage this time so I got an estimate from a paintless repair guy. $1000 this time. I might go this route rather than the new hood and trunk route my dealership would want to go. There's much less damage this time...smaller hail and fewer/smaller dents. Since I still have a $500 deductible, I'll make another insurance claim. I'm hoping my insurance company will appreciate me going the much less expensive route.

Totaled for hail damage isn't very likely and no way is it covered under warranty.

[The SwiftChancelor]

I'd hate for hail damage to be in my cars record because it will def hurt resale. Were seeing a lot of hail damage a the shop I work. We usually get a PDR (paintless dent removal) guy to remove most of the dents but in most cases still have to get a new hood and deck lid and sometimes a new roof. If there are a ton of dent's in one area its usually best to just sand, fill, and prime because popping out so many in a concentrated area will leave a ripple effect in the paint.

[mhood]

Originally Posted by The SwiftChancelor

I'd hate for hail damage to be in my cars record because it will def hurt resale.

Good thing I plan to be buried in my Camaro, huh? Just think of the money my survivors will save on a casket.



PS: These Camaros are hail damage magnets! In this last episode of mine, none of the other cars and trucks parked around me showed any damage at all. I didn't see it but the hail was described as marble sized and light...

[woodj]

I had 3 cars damaged a few years ago. The insurance company (USAA) gave me a check for each of them that was for their estimate. They gave around $1500 a vehicle even though they knew it would cost double that to get it fixed. The repair shop just got them to pay the difference minus the deductible. Many people took the money (there were thousands of cars affected here by baseball size hail) and didn't get their cars fixed. They either figured they'd do it later when they felt like it or didn't think it was that big a deal. Many regretted that decision later.

[Mr_Draco]

I've got State Farm. Last year when we had hail they said to just go to a shop and get it fixed and they would pay them minus deductible. I declined to have mine fixed because the damage was very minimal and can't be noticed unless you're right no top of the car and looking at it at the right angle. I have a zero deductible so the money wasn't the issue, the issue is State Farm only will cover damage caused by mother nature (like hail) one time on the same vehicle in a 5 year time span. I've talked to other insurance companies in my area and everyone except Geico told me the same thing. Geico will only cover hail damage one time as long as you own the vehicle. The way the weather has been acting up recently and as more and more common hail has become in my area I figured I would wait and file a claim when the damage was bad.

[mhood]

Ugh! I sure hope there's not any fine print like that in my policy. It's not like anyone can control an "act of God" like hail damage...

[Mr_Draco]

Originally Posted by mhood

Ugh! I sure hope there's not any fine print like that in my policy. It's not like anyone can control an "act of God" like hail damage...

Almost all insurance companies have a "Act of God" or "Mother Nature" clause that states what they will and won't cover, how much, and how often.

[The Stig]

Originally Posted by Mr_Draco

Almost all insurance companies have a "Act of God" or "Mother Nature" clause that states what they will and won't cover, how much, and how often.

This. My insurance company told me that I get one "act of God" claim every 2-3 years.

[Flashpoint135]

My car took major hail damage only two months after I bought it. I went back to the dealership (mine's one of the good ones) because I didn't want there to be any problems if I had a warranty issue after I had had someone else repair the hail. They had a third party paintless dent removal guy that they work with all the time do it. Insurance had an adjuster check the car first. PDR fixed most of it, but couldn't get to all parts of one panel, so the dealership requoted, got approval from insurance, and sanded / filled / painted that panel. I was very anxious it would not be perfect and expected to have issues with the repair, but when it was done I couldn't find any. Insurance covered all except the deductible (over $3000). PDR required the dealership body shop to remove lots of interior panels so they could get to the back of the panels, but no drilling. 8 months later and it still looks perfect so I can't complain.