Often times we have people contact us asking “Should I buy a vehicle with hail damage?” They then send us photos of the damage or a web link to the vehicle on a website. Also they may have already purchased the vehicle. There are many considerations to take when purchasing a vehicle with hail damage and today we will cover those.
First off, Why Do You Want To Buy A Vehicle With Hail Damage?
People get attracted to hail damage vehicles because of the purchase price. After all the car is just cosmetically damaged. No frame damage or inner structures are damaged on the vehicle. Typically they have low miles and a very nice clean interior. The only downfall is the outside of the vehicle is full of dents and dings. To some buyers they are ok with the damage being there. They will drive the vehicle for years without a care in the world and not fix it. Others are looking to purchase the damaged vehicle cheaper than an equivalent vehicle without damage, then have it repaired later.
Does The Vehicle Have A Damage Disclosure or A Salvage Title?
These are very important questions that you will need to know. Even if the vehicle is fixed 100% correct a salvage title or damage disclosure may still haunt the vehicle for the rest of its life. Each state is different so check with your local state to see the requirements.
If it does have either of those on the title, was it added to the title because of hail damage specifically? The reason we ask is cause some vehicles have been repaired because of frame or other structural damage then these vehicles get hit with sometimes even light hail. The seller may then say something like, it has a damage disclosure or salvage title because of the hail. The will say this so you think oh its super simple damage, only a few dents per panel, no big deal. Later you may then find out it has previous frame or structural damage that was actually the cause of the bad title.
Extreme hail Damage – Sioux Falls South Dakota
How Does A Vehicle Get A Damage Disclosure or Salvage Title?
When a vehicle is damaged the total cost to repair the damage is assessed. The cost to repair the damage will be in excess of 60% to 80% of the total vehicles value. Each state is different but most states range from this percentage.
Did you know that for some insurance companies will “total out” a vehicle even into the fifty percentile just because the insurance company knows that the specific vehicle manufacture and model will bring a premium when later auctioned off for sale. That’s right, a vehicle that is deemed a total loss will then be purchased by the insurance company from the vehicle owner. The insurance company then takes the vehicle to an auction to then be auctioned off to the highest bidder. This is why car lots tend to have vehicles with hail damage, they buy them at auction.
So for easy math lets say you have a vehicle that is valued at $20,000.00 In order for a vehicle to be deemed a total loss, the total amount of damage the vehicle would have to have is somewhere between $12,000-$16,000.00 range. As stated in the previous paragraph it may even be as low as $10,000.00 in damage on extreme cases.
Extreme Hail Damage – Sioux Falls Dent Repair
How Much Are You Really Saving?
How much are you saving verses purchasing a vehicle with no damage and equal miles on it? Some save as little as a few hundred dollars and some save several thousand.
The Seller Said It Would Cost Less To Repair.
In some cases the new vehicle owner says the seller told them they had quotes for only some low amount to fix the damage. This happens with hail damage as well as collision style damage. When the vehicle is looked at by a facility like ourselves for an actual estimate we give them a through estimate on the actual repair costs. Remember this is what we specialize in specifically.
Often times moldings and trim pieces on the vehicle become damaged, if these are missed they can add several hundreds of dollars to the repair estimate. For instance lets say some of the trim around the rear quarter panel glass is missed and has damage, those windows can range from a few hundred to over a thousand dollars to replace and that is just one side! The reason being is the molding is bonded to the glass, the glass must be replaced with the molding since they are all one piece.
Also remember the person selling the vehicle is trying to get rid of it. They are a salesman! We see it time and time again of people being taken advantage of when buying a damaged vehicle. Unfortunately we end up becoming the ones to deliver the bad news that the vehicle will not actually cost as low of a price to repair, it will actually cost much more. We typically tell a person expect the ACTUAL repair costs to be double at least but probably closer to four times the amount mentioned by the vehicle seller. Remember, they are TRYING to sell the vehicle, not actually repair it!
Our Actual Experiences
All of the pictures featured in this article were either taken by us or sent to us by customers. All of these photos show damage that we will not be repairing.
The silver car, the Toyota was purchased by a customer then brought to us for an estimate. The entire top side of the vehicle needs to be replaced and taken to a body shop.
In 2018 we had a customer come to us with a newer BMW 7 series with hail damage. He purchased the vehicle out of Colorado and was shocked when he found out the cost of the repairs. Here he thought he had basically stole the vehicle. He was given over $7,000.00 off of the price! When we looked at the vehicle the cost to replace just the hood, roof and trunk lid and NOT counting any other damages was over his $7,000.00 savings. Its unfortunate but we hope to combat these dilemmas for future customers by informing them before hand!
Our Final Thoughts and Input
Think of it this way, with hail damage, there is a reason we ourselves do not typically buy hail damage cars and fix them ourselves. We can do these repairs for just the cost of our time and still choose not to. It is just not cost effective.
Want to read more about future insurance claims, future repairs, Carfax history reports and more?
Dirty Secret Down Five Dirty Secrets Your Insurance Company Doesn’t Want You To Know About Hail Damage Your rates will NOT go up if you make a hail damage claim! The amount of your damage or cost of your repairs also does not effect your rates. So whether you have a...
Most hail damage dent repairs can be made in just a few days. Smaller and lighter hail damage repairs can be made in 1-3 business days. More extreme hail damage repairs are often made in 3-5 days. When parts are damaged from hail we must order new ones to be replaced. All parts are ordered once a final insurance approval is made. Often times parts can be delivered in 1-3 business days unless on back order. If this is the case you will be notified right away of any potential delays. We will update you daily on all hail damage repair claims unless otherwise discussed ahead of time.
Most often we schedule hail damage repairs to be dropped off on Monday. Most customers have their vehicles back by that Friday. This allows them to have their vehicle back DENT FREE for the week!
I Already Have an Insurance Hail Damage Estimate
Be sure to bring any copies of your insurance paperwork with you to better speed up the repair process. We will look the vehicle over for damage using our specialized lighting prior to doing any repairs. This lighting will almost every time find more damage than a person or Insurance adjuster will see in normal outside lighting or shop lighting. All additional damage that we find and added parts that need to be replaced will be added to our estimate and submitted to your insurance company.
This is called a supplement, a supplement is a request from a repair facility for the additional damage to be paid for by the insurance company to repair the additional damages found. Almost every single vehicle has additional damage that will be found by a Paintless Dent Repair Facility, the insurance companies are well aware of this and very aware of this whole process.
How Do You Submit A Supplement?
We contact your insurance company and inform them of additional damage or parts are needed to do your repair. From there it depends on what your specific insurance companies needs.
Some insurance companies will have one of their personal adjusters come to the repair shop and look at the vehicle in person, from there they take pictures of additional damage for documentation. They then update their estimate to match the repair facility and we can begin repairs. Often times this will take 1-3 business days for one of their own adjusters to come to the repair shop and then we can start repairs.
Other insurance companies hire independent adjusters to work for them. These adjusters are subcontracted by the insurance company when they need them, this is common in a catastrophic hail storm, where there is a huge need for adjusters and they hire on more for a short time to handle the influx of claims and damage.
Another option is an insurance company will contract an independent adjuster company. This company hires out multiple forms of adjusters for automotive, RV’s, home and commercial policies.
Every Claim Is Different
This is just a general overview of the options an insurance company uses. Some adjusters will come and look at the vehicle in person, some want just photos of the damage circled then submitted via email and all approvals are made online. Every company and claim is different. One may do it one way for one claim, then next week the same company may go through an entirely different process.
After an agreement is made with the insurance company about your vehicles damage most hail damage repairs can be made within just a few business days. If any parts are in need of replacement they will be ordered once the final insurance approval has been made.
Want to learn more about how long small and large non hail damage take to repair? Click Here To Learn More!
Do you have more questions about hail damage repairs or your insurance?
Almost all of our repairs can be completed within one day. Some of our customers arrange with us to drop their vehicles off the night before for their own convenience. This allows the vehicle to sit in our climate controlled shop throughout the night. In the winter this is especially important, the vehicles metals are all warm, as well as any snow or water is dried off of the vehicle allowing us the start the repair process right away. No need to clean the vehicle off of dirt, snow and rain.
How Long Does It Take To Remove A Small Dent From My Vehicle?
Most smaller dents, say for instance a door ding can be completed within an hour. Some customers will wait and watch us actually perform their repairs in front of their own eyes. Often times customers have no idea how damage is repaired and we are happy to discuss with them while we do the repairs. Anything from tool selection and why we choose those specific tools, to how we gain access and watching us remove simple items such as trim panels, door panels, tail lights, head lights and bumpers. Most that are willing to watch find it very intriguing.
How Long Does It Take To Remove A Big Dent From My Vehicle?
Bigger damage is still often repaired within one day. Often times depending on the damage, why try and schedule the customer to drop their vehicle off the night before repairs. This as stated above allows the vehicle to be dried off and clear of dirt, water and snow when we start the repairs. Often times we will start the repair process that night they drop their vehicle off just to get a good head start. We are more than willing to work around peoples schedule to accommodate them and their needs.
How Long Do Hail Damage Repairs On A Vehicle Take?
There are many factors that come into play when giving a time frame for hail damage repairs. Often times insurance companies get involved and are the biggest factor for the turn around time. When parts are damaged they need to be ordered and most times are available and sent to our shop withing 1 to 3 business days, parts on back order are all on a case by case basis. All work and parts (some exclusions apply) are not started or ordered until AFTER the final insurance approval.
After we have the final approval from your insurance company we will start the repairs and order all of the necessary parts required for your repairs. The severity of the vehicles damage will greatly affect the time that is needed to repair your vehicle, lighter damaged vehicles can take just a day or 2. Bigger damaged vehicles may take 3-5 days.
Most hail damage claims start to finish, including the time needed to work with your insurance company can be completed in just one week. We often have customers schedule with us to drop their vehicle off Monday morning and make arrangements with their vehicle rental if they have one. Most repairs are then completed by that Friday, allowing the customers to have their vehicle for the weekend!
Do you want to learn more about the hail damage repair process and time frames? Learn More Here!
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The 2019 Jeep Wrangler features some big changes from the existing models.
First off it has for the first time ever has aluminum doors, a plastic cowl, aluminum windshield post and aluminum hood. Now while these may not seem like big issues for the new Jeep Wrangler but it does create new challenges.
The added use of multiple aluminum panels makes repairing dents much more difficult. Many folks think that aluminum is very weak and easily dented. This is probably from the common thought of a pop or soda can being so easy to simply squeeze and crush. The aluminum on vehicles is much thicker and ranges in strengths. A study done by NAPDRT, short for the National Association of Paintless Dent Repair Technicians and multiple Insurance Companies found that aluminum easily takes double the amount of force to dent as appose to traditional Mild Steel. Repairing the same damage takes over twice as much force as well as a different selection of tools to push specifically on aluminum.
JEEP Wrangler Hail Damage
The plastic cowl is the biggest noted change. These vehicles specifically use to suffer from a very notorious “Jeep” dent. See an example of a Jeep Cowl Dent we repaired: CLICK HERE
With this panel now being plastic they will no longer be dented like the previous models!
The Jeep Wrangler challenges to dent repair technicians is nothing new, these types of metal changes and moving to plastic will only continue. With standards in the automotive industry raising the bar in safety as well as fuel efficiency, aluminum and plastic will only continue to grow in its usage in the automotive industry.
