Hail damage?

[SpaceGhost]

Is there anything I should know about PDR before taking my car in for repair? I bet there are 50 or so hail dents I need fixed.

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[Lantastic]

The frustrations of parking outside in the midwest. Been there! I can only speak from my one experience, but I gather it depends on the degree of damage and their location. If you're worried it's too major, find a good shop and have them take a look. I had a similar number of dings, about quarter sized, on my old car and after PDR it was like they were never there.

 

[VinnAY]

Ive had a severely hail damaged car done PDR, took them two days and they gutted the interior as I recall. The finished product was amazingly perfect.

 

[SpaceGhost]

Thanks for the replies. Got the quote today $4200. Of course insurance is taking care of it. Keeping my fingers crossed it comes out well. Reviews online were good. Shop has two certified PDR guys.

 

[Pa-fatboy]

Thanks for the replies. Got the quote today $4200. Of course insurance is taking care of it. Keeping my fingers crossed it comes out well. Reviews online were good. Shop has two certified PDR guys.

I had my 2014 GT Hit with hail. My wife and I were in the car. I had over 500 dents. They did the PDR on roof, trunk lid and sides of car. They had to replace the hood, aluminum. The original is hanging on my garage wall.

They gutted my car. Did a good job of putting it together. I had two issues, which they fixed immediately. The windshield cleaner would not spray out. Putting the front end and hood back on, they pinched the hose. Second, the driver side rear seat interior quarter panel was not installed correctly.

I was hoping for a totaled end result. No dice. Since the car was no longer original, I lost some feeling for it. That was one of the reasons for getting the 2016.

The hail damage was hard to get good photos of. In person, no problem seeing them.

 

[SpaceGhost]

Happy to report back that the PDR came out excellent! You would never knew it happened.

 

[DRKHORS]

PDR is the way to go if done correctly! For those who are considering PDR, here are some tips:

• If the dent is large enough that the paint around the edge of the dent is cracked, PDR is not viable
• If there are any prior scratches in the area of the dents(not just into the clear, but actually into the paint), PDR is not viable
• Make sure the vendor you select has protective tips on the tools that are used to massage those dents out (otherwise you run the risk of corrosion down the road from the tip of the tool scratching the surface and disturbing the corrosion protection)
• Make sure no access holes are going to be drilled to reach the back of those dents (reputable PDR will use existing access holes and, if not accessible, repair via conventional methods)

Like I said, PDR is great, but like with many things, it comes down to the experience of the person who is doing it!

 

[tsunami]

What percentage of vehicle value by hail damage is required for most insurance companies to 'total' your vehicle?

 

[DRKHORS]

What percentage of vehicle value by hail damage is required for most insurance companies to 'total' your vehicle?

Check with the Department of Insurance there in Minnesota to be sure. Since most hail damage is considered "cosmetic" vs "structural" it may be rather high. It will also depend if your state uses an actual percentage of the value (i.e. 70-75%) or the total loss formula of cost of repairs + salvage value > actual cash value.

 

[Pa-fatboy]

What percentage of vehicle value by hail damage is required for most insurance companies to 'total' your vehicle?

Great question! When my '14 was hit, I asked a very simaler question in another Mustang forum. I hadn't found 6g at that time. I am reposting a couple responses I got back. My question was close to yours, "how much does hail damage and the PDR take from the value of a car?". This was also posted and responded to in 2014.

Poster 1

"With regards to paintless dent repair, that's what they did on my car and it looked brand new after I got the car back, no evidence of being battered by a hail storm. Keep in mind that it really depends on the depth of the dents and the number of them. If they are too deep or there are too many of them, they would just write to replace the whole panel and paint to match. And regarding body filler, insurance companies know that using body filler on an entire panel is not the best way to repair hail damage. As much as the insurance company wants to get the job done for as little as possible, they also don't want to pay for repeat work. While most people shy away from "insurance company approved" repair shops, in this case I'd definitely use one. For a 2014 vehicle, insurance would write for new OEM parts, and the repairs usually come with a guarantee so if the shop messes up, the insurance company will make it right. The ones I used were professional, clean, and had newer equipment.

As I'm an insurance adjuster myself, I can tell you that your auto policy does not cover for diminished value to your own car. On the other hand, when I traded in my Mazda for my Mustang, the hail claim didn't even show up on the Carfax report."

Poster 2

"My brother has damage from the same storm and his friend's jeep may be totaled. Yes totaled from the damage. I had a 2004 350Z with the same story. Two weeks old. Hail storm. Tons of damage. Needless to say after about two weeks of paintless dent removal and a new hood she was good as new. When I traded her in there was no mention of the damage on carfax. Paintless dent removal is an art. I have a shop down here that has a magician. Defiantly the way to go, you just may have to wait a while because of the size and scale of that storm. Pretty nasty from my understanding."

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