Denver hailstorms are often intense and destructive. In severe cases, Colorado hailstorms have caused millions of dollars in property damage, with much of the damage done to cars and trucks. 

If your car was, unfortunately, left unprotected during a hailstorm, your best next step is to inspect it for hail damage. This task will also need to be completed by a professional if you file a hail damage claim with your insurance company. But, by first gaining an idea of the extent of the damage, you can better move forward in fixing the hail damage to your vehicle. 

What Are The Types of Auto Hail Damage?

Hail can damage your car in a handful of different ways. The most common types of damage to vehicles after a hailstorm include:

Dents and Dings

Dents in a car’s metal panels are the most prevalent sign of hail damage for Colorado car owners. Hailstones – especially large ones – drop from the sky at exceptional speeds. In fact, hailstones sized around 1 to 1 ¾ inch fall at speeds from 25 to 40 miles per hour. When hail is coming down that quickly, it’s not surprising that they leave behind dents and dings, even in your car’s durable metal panels. 

Damaged Auto Glass

Damaged auto glass is another common result of Denver hailstorms. While auto glass is durable, hailstones can cause cracked and even shattered windshields and side windows. It’s unsafe to drive with damaged auto glass, both because it obscures your field of vision as the driver and it presents the risk for further damage. When you drive with a damaged windshield, debris on the road could hit it and worsen the cracks. To avoid this issue, make sure to have hail-damaged auto glass repaired immediately. 

Damaged Paint

In a major Colorado hailstorm, your car’s paint job may suffer from the hailstones’ impact. Scratched, cracked, and chipped paint can all occur when your car is left out in a hailstorm and compromise the value of your vehicle. But, in addition to lowering the resale value of your car, damaged paint takes away from the appearance of your vehicle. Paint touch-ups from your Denver hail repair experts can restore the exterior of your car so that it looks like new. 

Inspecting Your Vehicle For Hail Damage

To inspect for automotive hail damage, you’ll need to closely look over the entire exterior of your car for dents and damaged paint or glass. Here are the steps that we recommend: 

1. Park your vehicle under complete shade. Your car’s metal will reflect sunlight, making it difficult to see the full extent of the damage when you’re parked in the sun. 
2. Look over the hood. You should spend plenty of time on this panel because it’s large and commonly incurs the most hail damage.
3. Look over the side doors, side panels, trunk, and back bumper. 
4. Inspect the windows and windshield. 
5. Take images of any hail damage that you see or feel. These images, as well as written notes of the damage, will be helpful in the insurance claim process.

Call Your Insurance Agent For an Official Inspection

Once you’ve conducted your own inspection, don’t waste any time in contacting your insurance agent. For your auto hail damage to be covered, your insurance company will need to send a representative to assess the damage and estimate the cost of repairs. The sooner you start this process, the better. If too much time passes between the date of the damage and when you file a claim, the insurance company could argue that the initial hail damage was made worse. Anything that could compromise the approval of your hail damage claim should be avoided at all costs!

Paintless Dent Repair For Your Hail-Damaged Car

Once your car has been professionally inspected for automotive hail damage, you’re well on your way to completing the necessary repairs. Nowadays, with the availability of paintless dent repair, your hail-damaged vehicle can likely be restored in just a few hours.

At Colorado Hail Solutions in Denver, we’ll inspect your vehicle with paintless dent repair in mind, then present you with your best repair options. We’ll work to get you back on the road in a pristine vehicle as quickly and conveniently as possible.