The short answer
Send photos, report the claim to your insurer, then book the inspection — either drive down US-75 to the Plano shop, about 15 minutes from both cities, or schedule complimentary pickup, which applies on insurance-approved hail claims. Book before the adjuster appointment rather than after, since the panel count changes that conversation. The inspection is free, takes under an hour, and needs no appointment during weekday hours.
Written by the DentPicks Editorial Team
Technically reviewed by Vytas Kucinskas, Founder & Master PDR Technician
Published: Aug 19, 2026 · Last reviewed: Aug 19, 2026 · 9 min read
Collin County sits under one of the busiest hail corridors in North Texas, and when a cell tracks across it the same thing happens every time: thousands of vehicles need looking at in the same week, and the drivers who get a proper inspection first are simply the ones who knew how to book it. Scheduling is not a formality on the way to the repair — after a storm it is the part of the process that decides whether your car is in a bay in ten days or in a queue in six weeks.
The good news for Frisco and McKinney drivers is that the geography works in your favor. Our shop sits at 1915 N Central Expy #800 in Plano, right on US-75 at the President George Bush Turnpike. That is about 12 miles from central McKinney and about 13 from Frisco — roughly a fifteen-minute run down US-75 from McKinney, or Preston Road and the Dallas North Tollway from Frisco. You are close enough that both options are genuinely open to you: drive it in yourself, or let us come get it.
What a complete hail inspection actually covers
A complete inspection is not someone walking around your car in a parking lot with a flashlight. Outdoor light — even bright Texas sun — flattens hail dents and hides a large share of them, which is why two people can look at the same hood and count wildly different numbers.
A real inspection is a panel-by-panel count done under controlled reflection lighting. In our Plano bays the vehicle is read under LED line boards: the straight lines of the board reflect off the panel, and every dent shows up as a break or a wobble in that line. The technician works one panel at a time — hood, roof, both quarters, the deck lid or tailgate, each door, the pillars, the roof rails — and records what is there.
Beyond the dent count, a complete inspection should also produce answers on:
- Repair method per panel. Which panels are straightforward paintless dent repair, which have creases or stretched metal that make them harder, and whether anything needs conventional refinishing or replacement. Panels sometimes do need replacing, and the honest answer is whatever is best for the vehicle.
- Access. Whether headliners, interior trim, tail lamps or bracing need to come out to reach the back of a panel — this is the single biggest driver of labor hours on a hail job.
- Paint condition. Cracked or chipped paint inside dents changes both the method and the urgency.
- Non-dent storm damage. Glass, lamps, mirrors, trim, seals and sunroof — items an adjuster will want listed and an owner should not discover in month two.
- An estimate of shop time, which for full-vehicle hail work is usually about 5 to 10 business days depending on severity. That is a typical range, not a promise.
Repairability depends on paint condition, metal stretch, panel access and prior repairs, so the honest version of this list only exists once someone has actually looked at the car under proper light.
Two ways to book it from Frisco or McKinney
Because both cities are a short run down US-75, you have a genuine choice rather than a default.
| Drive it to Plano | Complimentary pickup | |
|---|---|---|
| Who it suits | Anyone with a free hour on a weekday; drivers who want to see the lighting and ask questions face to face | Two-car households where the second car is already committed, and anyone who cannot lose a half day |
| What it costs | Your time — roughly 15 minutes each way | Nothing, on insurance-approved hail claims |
| Timing | No appointment needed for a look; weekday hours, Monday to Friday | Scheduled; we confirm a window for your address |
| Best used when | You want the inspection and the conversation in one visit | The claim is already approved and you want the car collected and returned |
Complimentary pickup and delivery across DFW applies on insurance-approved hail claims. If you are dealing with a single door ding rather than storm damage, that is different work: send photos and you will usually get a verbal quote back in about 30 minutes, and those jobs are often finished the same day at the shop.
How to actually get on the schedule quickly after a Collin County storm
- Photograph the car the same day. Wide shots of every panel, then close-ups at a low angle so the dents cast shadow. Include the odometer and a shot showing the license plate. Storm-day photos are the cleanest evidence you will ever have.
- Note the storm date and your address at the time. A car parked at a Legacy West garage during a storm that hit Stonebridge Ranch has a different story than one that sat in a Trinity Falls driveway, and adjusters ask.
- Report to your insurer promptly. You file the claim — that is how it works, and it is quick. We help from there: photos, the adjuster meeting, supplements, paperwork. The Texas Department of Insurance recommends prompt notice after a hail or windstorm event, and most policies require it. Our guide to how long you have to file a hail claim in Texas covers the deadlines.
- Book the inspection before the adjuster appointment, not after. This is the step most people get backwards. Walking into an adjuster meeting already knowing your panel count, your access requirements and where the hard panels are changes the conversation entirely.
- Ask for the adjuster inspection to happen at the shop if you can. Adjusters write more accurate estimates under shop lighting than in your driveway, and it puts a technician in the room. See what to expect from an adjuster inspection.
What changes the timeline
Two things move a Frisco or McKinney hail job faster or slower than the typical range, and neither is about how hard anyone works.
The first is claim approval. Nothing gets scheduled into a repair bay until the insurer has approved the work, and after a widespread Collin County event carriers are triaging thousands of files at once. Filing on day two rather than day twelve is worth more than any scheduling trick.
The second is supplements. Hail estimates written from an initial inspection routinely miss damage that only appears once panels are opened up and trim comes out. That is normal, not a failure — it is what insurance supplements exist for. A shop that documents the additional damage properly and files it early keeps the job moving; one that discovers it late adds a week of back-and-forth.
What happens between drop-off and delivery
Once the car is with us, the sequence is the same whether you drove it down US-75 yourself or we collected it from your driveway. The vehicle is read again under line lighting and the panel map is confirmed. Trim, headliners and lamps come out where access requires it. Technicians work each dent from behind the panel so the factory finish stays where the factory put it, with no sanding, filler or repaint on panels that can be worked this way.
You get live updates through the job rather than having to chase anyone. At the end, the finished work is signed off by whoever runs quality control — visible in your customer portal — and the vehicle gets a mini exterior detail before it comes back to you. Every repair carries a written lifetime warranty for as long as you own the vehicle; it does not transfer to the next owner.
Scheduling mistakes that cost Collin County drivers weeks
- Waiting for the adjuster before booking anything. The inspection and the claim run in parallel. Waiting for one to finish before starting the other adds a week for no benefit.
- Accepting an inspection in a parking lot. A driveway walk-around after a storm is not an inspection, and the count it produces is usually low.
- Booking with a crew that appeared in the neighborhood after the storm. Temporary operations follow hail across Frisco and McKinney every season, take the claim, and are gone before the warranty matters. Our guide on spotting storm-chaser operations covers the tells.
- Assuming a Saturday drop-off is possible. The Plano shop runs Monday through Friday. Plan the drive or the pickup window on a weekday.
- Letting the claim sit because the dents "aren't that bad." Dent counts read low outdoors. That is exactly the problem.
What to do next
If you are in Frisco, the practical move is to send photos first and then either drive down the Tollway or book a pickup — the specifics for your side of town are on our Frisco hail and dent repair page. From McKinney it is a straight run south on US-75, and the local details are on our McKinney page.
Either way, the inspection itself is free, takes well under an hour, and produces something concrete: a panel-by-panel picture of what the storm actually did, an honest read on which panels are paintless work and which are not, and a realistic timeline. On many approved hail claims the deductible is waived up to $1,000, and pickup and delivery across DFW are complimentary on approved claims. Our hail repair process walks through the full sequence from first photo to delivery.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need an appointment to have hail damage looked at?
No. You can bring the vehicle to the Plano shop during weekday hours and have it read under inspection lighting without booking ahead. Scheduling only becomes necessary when you want complimentary pickup arranged, which is available on insurance-approved hail claims and needs a confirmed window for your address.
Should I get the inspection before or after I file the claim?
File first, then inspect — but do not wait for the adjuster. Filing starts the insurer's clock, and the inspection gives you a panel count and repair-method read before the adjuster appointment. You file the claim; we help from there with photos, the adjuster meeting, supplements and paperwork.
Can the adjuster meet me at the shop instead of my driveway?
Usually yes, and it is worth asking. Adjusters write more accurate estimates under shop lighting than in a Frisco or McKinney driveway, and having a technician present when the panels are read tends to reduce the number of supplements needed later.
How long is my car away if I live in Frisco or McKinney?
Full-vehicle hail repair generally runs about 5 to 10 business days in the shop depending on severity — a typical range, not a guarantee. Pickup and delivery add scheduling time on either end, which is confirmed when the window is booked.
Is the inspection different for a lease vehicle?
The lighting and the panel count are the same, but the priorities shift: lease inspections focus on what a return inspector will flag and charge for. Our lease-return guide covers which damage is treated as normal wear and which is billed back.
What if I only notice the dents months after the storm?
It is still worth an inspection. Dents with intact paint are stable and remain repairable with PDR long after the event. Whether a late claim is still open to you depends on your policy language and the deadlines in Texas — your insurer or licensed agent can confirm your specific coverage.
Sources and methodology
- After hail or windstorms: consumer tips — Texas Department of Insurance.
- NWS Fort Worth/Dallas forecast office — National Weather Service.
Repair, cost and timing statements that are not tied to a listed source come from DentPicks' own quoting and repair history at the Plano, TX shop. They are typical ranges and shop-floor observations, not industry statistics or promises — your vehicle, its condition, your policy language and your insurer determine your specific outcome.
Book a hail inspection from Frisco or McKinney
Send photos to start, then either drive down US-75 or let us collect the car. The inspection is free and the panel count is done under proper lighting, not in a parking lot.