Learn The Warning Signs Of Car Problems

Hopefully, you always make sure to put your car in the garage or under a carport for protection. However, not everyone has that luxury all the time. You could use a normal parking lot at work, or perhaps there are too many cars in the family for them all to fit. While this isn't too much of a problem most of the time when there is a hailstorm your car could be seriously damaged. If you go outside to find that there are numerous dings in the paint or small dents in the car after a storm, take a deep breath, relax, and take the following advice.

Contact Insurance Company

The first thing you are going to want to do is to contact your insurance company. You need to know if the policy covers hail damage, if there is a deductible, and how much they will pay for any repairs. If you live in an area that has a lot of hail storms, you should be sure to have it included in your policy, even if it costs extra.

Consider the Overall Appearance and Value of the Vehicle

If you have an older vehicle that has some dents, dings, and faded paint, you may not be too concerned about the new damage. However, if you have always kept your car looking great, had any small damage repaired, and want to maintain its value so you can get a good amount when trading it in, you should definitely look into having it repaired.

Clean the Vehicle and Get Estimates

You need to clean the vehicle before taking it to get any estimates. This is important if your insurance will be paying for the repairs as they will only pay for the damage from the hail, not anything that is older. A clean car will show the damage better so that the estimates will be more accurate. You don't want them ignoring a dent that is dirty because it looks as if it had been there a while. Make sure to get a few estimates to turn into the insurance company. If you are paying for the repairs yourself, you may be able to use one estimate to get a lower price from another shop. If possible, you should ask about having paintless dent repair to save some money.

The important thing about hail damage is to have the repairs done as soon as possible. If any of the paint has been chipped away to expose the metal underneath it could lead to rusting. That will be a whole other repair you can avoid.