If your vehicle was recently caught in a hailstorm, you may be contemplating when to schedule repairs. It can be tempting to put off repairing auto hail damage, especially if it doesn’t affect how your car runs. But, resist the temptation! Procrastinating hail damage repairs can ultimately lead to a bigger hassle (and more expensive repair bills).
This article will discuss the benefits of heading to your Denver PDR shop ASAP for auto hail damage repairs. If you opt for paintless dent repair, it’s possible to fully restore the condition of your vehicle within just a few hours.
Why You Should Repair Auto Hail Damage ASAP
Before putting off your vehicle repairs, consider these risks of leaving hail damage alone:
Worsened Hail Damage Over Time
If you continue to drive with a hail-damaged vehicle, its condition will diminish with time. For example, if your car sustained a cracked windshield in a hailstorm, leaving the glass unrepaired could lead to a shattered windshield. Dealing with a shattered windshield is more dangerous, inconvenient, and often costlier than having a cracked windshield repaired.
Even if the extent of your vehicle’s hail damage is a few dents, waiting to schedule paintless dent repair could still lead to further damage. The dent can crack and damage your car’s paint job over time. So, by waiting to get your car repaired, you could go from needing a quick PDR session to an entirely new paint job.
Additionally, finding a paint that perfectly matches your car’s original paint job can be extremely difficult, especially for vintage vehicles. For many car owners, new paintwork won’t exactly match the initial paint job provided at the dealership.
If the paint in or around a dent chips off, it exposes the metal beneath. Once this metal is unprotected against the elements, it can rust and even corrode. You may need new car parts to repair severely corroded metal.
Higher Repair Costs
Paintless dent repair is the most affordable repair method for vehicle dents, but it may no longer be an option if you wait to schedule repairs. Conventional dent repair involves the use of paint and fillers, making it a much costlier and time-consuming process.
Repairing your vehicle now will ultimately save you money while preserving the condition of your vehicle. While avoiding vehicle repairs may seem like a money-saving choice right now, it will cost you significantly more in the long run. Simply put, when auto hail damage gets worse with time, you’ll face a higher repair bill.
Car Insurance Complications
If you have comprehensive car insurance, the cost of hail damage to your vehicle is partially or fully covered. But, that doesn’t mean that you can wait around after a hailstorm to file an auto hail damage claim. Auto insurance companies limit the amount of time that you have after car damage occurs to file a claim. So, it’s in your best interest to file a claim promptly after a hailstorm to ensure that you receive compensation for the repair costs.
Generally, car insurance companies enforce a one-year time limit to file a claim for hail damage. However, policies can have different time limits, with some being as short as six months. Checking your auto insurance policy for this limit can help ensure that you file a claim for hail damage on time.
You pay for your comprehensive car insurance, so you shouldn’t let the opportunity to file a claim pass you by. If you hold off on getting auto hail damage repaired, you’ll spend money out-of-pocket that could have been provided by your insurance company.
The Risk of Double Deductibles
Sometimes, car owners wait to get hail damage repaired until the end of the Colorado hail season. This can seem like a wise, time-saving choice. Many people assume that waiting until the end of hail season will consolidate car repairs and make them more affordable. On the contrary, when it comes to auto insurance compensation, this choice will likely cost you money.
Car insurance companies typically keep track of your car’s general location. So, your insurance company can often determine if there have been multiple hailstorms recently in your area. With this in mind, your insurance company could hold you responsible for two deductibles if you wait until the end of hail season to schedule repairs.
Reduced Car Value
If you’re thinking of selling your car or trading it in for a newer model, getting auto hail damage repaired now is your best option. By acting quickly, you can prevent further damage to your vehicle that could severely reduce its value.
Hail damage lowers the value of your car. But, paintless dent repair reverses vehicle dents and restores your vehicle to its former condition. As a result, Denver PDR can fully restore the value of your car, as if the hail damage never occurred.
If you skip out on hail damage repairs or allow the damage to get worse before repairing it, you’ll likely face a lower selling price or trade-in value for your vehicle.
Lost Manufacturer Paint Warranty
Vehicles often come with manufacturer’s paint warranties. These warranties cover paint damage caused by a manufacturer defect.
A variety of factors can void a manufacturer paint warranty. However, Denver paintless dent repair can maintain car owners’ paint warranties in most cases.
If you wait to have hail damage repaired, you run the risk of losing your car’s manufacturer paint warranty. This may leave you responsible for the cost of future paint damage caused by a manufacturer defect.
What’s Involved in Auto Hail Damage Repairs?
If your car was left out in a hailstorm, it likely sustained several dents. There are two main methods of vehicle dent repair: paintless dent repair and conventional dent repair.
Conventional Dent Repair
In conventional dent repair, technicians may use a variety of tools to remove a dent. One method is to weld studs into the dent and pull the studs outward to pop out the dent. Technicians may also place a dolly, or piece of metal, against the underside of the dent and apply the force of a hammer to it. This process can knock the dent out so that it’s closer to its previous position.
Neither of these methods is particularly precise. So, the technician must then apply a filler to reestablish the car’s uniform surface. The filler then has to dry, after which the technician can sand it down for a smooth finish.
After the technician has sanded down the dried filler, they can re-paint the area that has been repaired. As we’ve already mentioned in this article, it can be very challenging to impeccably match the paint color of a vehicle. Once the paint has been applied, it needs to dry, which may take a full day. You’ll likely need to wait a few weeks before washing your vehicle to prevent damage to the new paint.
Paintless Dent Repair
Paintless dent repair involves pressing the dented metal back out to its original position without affecting your vehicle’s paint job. This process leaves behind no trace that your car was ever dented or repaired, allowing you to regain the value of your vehicle after a hailstorm.
PDR requires exceptional skill and attention to detail, so only highly trained and experienced technicians can perform it. Along with special PDR tools, technicians gently rub the dented metal until the dent slowly shrinks and eventually vanishes.
Paintless dent repair is currently considered the gold standard for auto hail damage repair. There are several reasons for this, including:
PDR is much faster. Without the need to wait for the paint to dry, paintless dent repair can often be completed while you wait in the shop, are at work, or are out running errands. This limits or completely prevents time spent in a rental vehicle.
PDR is more affordable than conventional dent repair because it requires fewer materials and less labor. In some cases, PDR is cheaper than the car owner’s auto insurance deductible.
By preventing the release of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that occurs with car paint use, PDR is more environmentally-friendly than conventional dent repair.
PDR won’t affect your vehicle’s manufacturer paint warranty.
Now Is The Best Time To Get Auto Hail Damage Repaired.
Paintless dent repair can restore your vehicle after a hailstorm quickly and affordably. By taking your vehicle to your Denver PDR shop, you won’t have to worry about auto hail repairs disrupting your daily routine.
At Colorado Hail Solutions, we provide quick turnaround times, a free Uber to our shop, and will work with your insurance company for you to file a claim. These benefits can make it a breeze to manage the auto hail damage that comes along with living in the Centennial State.
By waiting to schedule hail damage repairs for your vehicle, you’ll be complicating the repair process down the line. So, don’t hesitate to contact the highly experienced team at Colorado Hail Solutions today to get the ball rolling.
