The last thing you want to deal with after a hail storm is damaged cars. Unfortunately, it’s not uncommon for the aftermath of a severe weather event to include broken windshields and dented roofs. In many cases, hail will cause more damage than heavy winds or flash flooding. Take these precautions before heading out in case you’re unlucky enough to get caught up in another hailstorm:
Check your car for any damage.
Hail can cause considerable damage to your car, so be sure to look it over before driving off. Hail-related damage is often evident on the roof and hood and can include broken windshields or cracked windows. Take stock of any problems you find right away so that they don’t become worse later on.
Call around for a replacement windshield or get an estimate from a body shop so you have some idea of how much the repairs will cost. Have your insurance agent call up a local body shop for pricing information if possible. Keep the vehicle in a safe place.
If your car has been damaged by hail, do not drive it until you are sure that everything is in good working order. Hail storms can cause major accidents due to poor visibility, especially if you have a cracked windshield. Hail can also crack your headlights or shatter your taillights, and some pieces of hail are big enough to cause damage underneath the car as well. Hail storms can be very dangerous when it comes to driving, so keep your car parked in a safe place if it’s been damaged until it’s been taken care of. Make sure to call around and get an estimate from at least three different places before deciding which one to use.
Hail damage often requires bodywork and painting, which can get expensive quickly. If you’re not sure about the amount of damage that has been done by hail, inspect the car yourself or contact a few different reputable repair shops for their opinions on how much repairs will cost before deciding who to use. Hail can cause a lot of damage to your car, so make sure you handle it properly and get everything taken care of before moving on with your life.
Hailstorms are common in Texas, but they don’t have to be a headache for you. Take these precautions after hail damages your vehicle so that you can put the incident behind you as soon as possible and avoid any further complications later on down the line.
When hailstones fall from the sky onto residential properties or cars, there is more than just broken glass to deal with. After storms like this come heavy rains which may lead to runoff carrying chemicals such as fertilizer into storm drains and into watercourses thus contaminating them. Certain circumstances and locations require immediate steps to be taken, such as the removal of hail from rooftop areas where it may cause water leaks and damage. Hail can also lead to frozen pipes or burst water pipes.
Hail-damaged cars will also need to be cleaned up appropriately so they do not create a hazard on the road. In many cases, property owners will hire professionals such as Hail Repair Plano, TX to undertake these jobs for them but it is important that if you are doing this yourself that you take care when performing any task involving heavy lifting without specialist equipment and personal protective equipment (PPE) which may include anything from gloves and boots to safety goggles depending on what your activity involves.
Call a tow truck and have them take the car to an auto body shop.
If your car is damaged by hail, it is recommended for you to have the vehicle towed to a body shop. If you are unable to remove the dents yourself, a professional can help. In addition, when you go to get your car out of an auto glass company’s lot where it may have been taken for repairs after being damaged by hail, they should also offer you paintless dent removal services.
If your car is already at home or otherwise in a safe location and you have all of the tools needed to perform this sort of repair work on the damages yourself (including compressed air), then it is worth considering removing every last dent/ding yourself. While this is more time-consuming than having somebody else take care of removing them for you, most people find that hiring a professional can be rather expensive because their hourly rates are so high. Because hail damage paintless dent removal is a relatively simple process, there are plenty of people who have decided to take matters into their own hands to save some money.
If you do decide or get forced to deciding to remove the dents yourself, make sure that you read up on this sort of work beforehand and prepare all that you need for it ahead of time. Of course, if you don’t have any experience with car repair work or bodywork repairs in general, then a seasoned professional will almost certainly be able to tell by looking at what appears to be nothing more than an easier job for them compared to the average auto repairer as opposed to a novice trying his hand at something he has never done before.
Many people learn how to paintless dent removal on their own from books or websites and even by watching videos about it online, but most of them find that the information which gets published in this regard is rather vague and imprecise. When you are looking for information on how to do this sort of damage repair work yourself, make sure that you take a look at several different sources, including web pages devoted solely to hail damage paintless dent removal.
When performing your own painting-free hail damage repair work, remember that removing dents is not just about getting rid of what seems like an unsightly blemish in the surface area of your car’s bodywork… it also needs to be performed to restore the structural integrity of your vehicle as well. If you fail to do this or if you are not able to properly perform this task, then your vehicle may end up going in for any number of unnecessary repairs (along with additional unforeseen costs) soon.
When removing dents, remember that a slow and steady approach is often better than one which involves more aggressive techniques and/or tools that can lead to further damage on its own accord. If you need examples, just look at a few tutorials online for ideas and guidance rather than asking somebody else who’s attempting to assist you – they might have their own way of doing things despite what you may think based on their suggestions…
It can certainly be helpful to invest in some quality professional tools and supplies for removing dents. A cheap dent repair kit will not work very well so you should buy a better kit or just go out and purchase the best tools you can find at a local auto body shop. It is also possible to order certain consumer products online as well, such as those sold by Dent Fix which has been mentioned by several different sources including New York Times automotive columnist Dan Neil who claimed that they managed to make their way into his own personal toolkit after trying them out himself for hail damage paintless dent removal purposes. Don’t be surprised if it takes you several hours (or even more) to remove some of the worst damages done by severe hail storms… this sort of thing tends to take longer than one might think.
While it is true that removing a paintless dent by yourself has its benefits in terms of saving money, the actual process may not turn out to be as easy or as quick as you thought depending on how severe your damage is… and this often makes it difficult for some people who just aren’t experienced enough with these sorts of things to handle such repairs themselves. The best thing for someone who isn’t very familiar with doing this sort of auto bodywork repair work would be to bring their car into an authorized service center where they can have a professional take care of the problem for them rather than trying something like this without any prior experience doing so and end up making matters worse.
Get a rental car if you need one while waiting for repairs to be done on your vehicle
As your car is getting repaired it is advisable to rent a car and provide your insurance company with the rental agreement number so that you won’t have to pay any more deductibles or lose any money from your own auto policy.
You don’t want to be stuck without a vehicle while your car is getting fixed because usually, it will take one week or more at least before repairs are complete.
Keep in mind, if you choose to let someone else do all or part of the hail damage repair work for you, then they may very well end up charging you for additional services like paint touch-up depending on how much work needs to be done by them. This can make the cost of some hail damage paintless dent removal jobs even higher than it would normally be by just doing this kind of thing yourself at home.
Even so, it can be helpful to find a professional who will show you exactly what to do if you are ever in this situation by yourself… that way, the next time around you’ll know exactly what to do without any surprises. This is especially true for those who have never tried this sort of thing before since they would benefit from having somebody guide them through these repairs step-by-step.
Keep in mind as well that your insurance company might choose not to pay for certain damages like hail damage paintless dent removal depending on where they happen and how severe they are. Be sure to ask them first if it’s okay or not when trying something like this on your own before proceeding with a DIY repair job like this in case they won’t cover any of the costs associated with this kind of thing.
When thinking about doing any sort of hail damage paintless dent removal work for yourself, you should keep in mind that it is highly recommended to seek professional help from someone who knows what they are doing if you have never done anything like this before since removing a hail damaged vehicle can be extremely difficult and time-consuming. It may even prove to be impossible for some people to do without breaking their own car’s paint or causing other types of problems while trying to take care of these repairs without sufficient experience in the first place.
So if you feel comfortable enough with doing something like this on your own… go right ahead! Just remember that there is likely going to be a significant amount of time involved in this project, so be sure to consider all that before you begin.
Find out what type of insurance coverage you have and if it will cover hail damage
You must find out what type of insurance coverage you have before doing any sort of hail damage removal job on your own since many companies won’t pay for these types of repairs or only pay for certain things like paintless dent repair work depending on where the damage is located.
If this applies to your policy as well, then you might even be able to fix a lot of these damages yourself if you choose to rather than having to take your car in for some minor touch-up work or other services, especially if it’s just surface-level damage that can be repaired over time. Just keep in mind that there are different criteria and limitations each insurance company has when it comes to choosing whether or not they will cover hail-damaged vehicles and how much they will pay for these repairs as well.
You need to check with your insurance company if it is okay or not when making do-it-yourself repairs before you even try any of this work yourself since otherwise, you may end up wasting a lot of time and effort on something that isn’t covered by them or at least won’t be paid off by your own auto policy after the fact. It’s just easier to ask first rather than being surprised later on down the road while trying to get reimbursed for anything.
