Hail Damage all over my Vibe....advice?

philndz · Post by **philndz** » Tue May 25, 2004 6:24 am

The Vibe just got pummelled while I was at work.....hood, roof and top of trunk...and side fenders are toast....any advice or tips from past experience. This will be my first real insurance claim so its all new to me. I think I have $500 deductable -Phil

Caretaker · Post by **Caretaker** » Tue May 25, 2004 6:44 am

first things first. Let the hot, direct sun bake the car for a few days. The sun will take out most of the damage. After that, see what it looks like and if you can live with it. If you think you'll do the insurance thing, file right away. I'm hoping you have not put in any other claims recently, since they view hail damage and the like as "nickle and diming" them. Save your insurance for when you really need it: a major accident. Too many small claims are grounds for cancelation with many of these fine insurance companies. Best of luck. Let us know how it all turns out.

philndz · Post by **philndz** » Tue May 25, 2004 6:51 am

Quote, originally posted by maxx4me Â»Let the hot, direct sun bake the car for a few days. The sun will take out most of the damage. I'm hoping you have not put in any other claims recently, since they view hail damage and the like as "nickle and diming" them. Hot Sun....thanks...i'll give that a shot....i'll see if i can get the damage estimate first though. Nope....no claims besides a windshield a couple of years ago.

philndz · Post by **philndz** » Tue May 25, 2004 7:53 am

savedbyzero · Post by **savedbyzero** » Tue May 25, 2004 9:20 am

Ok, this is weird...I just pulled my vibe into my studio because it started hailing...came back, saw this post...weird...Anyways, I got $1,400 from hail damage on my sunfire about 3 yrs. ago. If what I'm seeing on the hood is the damage, then you really did get drilled. I'd say take it in.

Caretaker · Post by **Caretaker** » Tue May 25, 2004 9:22 am

we had some doozy of a hail storm back in the '80s in the St. Louis area, in your part of the woods. It was astonishing what the sun will do to pop out the dimples. Amaze your friends: bet them money that it will work; you'll make some of your deductable back, that's for sure.

ColonelPanic · Post by **ColonelPanic** » Wed May 26, 2004 9:44 am

The small town my folks live in got nailed hard by hail two years ago... There are only a handful of body shops down there, and man, there were long lines of folks waiting for estimates!Dad's Silverado took a bad hit, got the hood, roof, and bed rails. Shattered his driver's side mirror and broke both of his ventshades. They replaced his hood, but the body shop relied on some dent removal folks that came to town for the rest. They pulled a dent out of the top of the cab where the roof curves down, said that the location it was in wouldn't be a problem. It ended up cracking the paint. They wouldn't do anything about it, and they changed their tune - said the paint cracked because of the location of the dent. So, he ended up having to get the roof repainted. Another customer with an Intrepid was quite upset with them, she had some dents in a rear door and quarter panel. These folks claimed to be able to pull the dents out without drilling, but sure enough, they drilled multiple holes into the inside of the door and into the door frame on the quarter panel. Just left them wide open when they were done with whatever they were doing.So, be careful of fly-by-night dent removal people... While most are reputable, some can set up shop for a bit, then leave, and you can't contact them should the need arise.Hate to hear the news philndz... Hopefully someone can get your ride fixed up!

philndz · Post by **philndz** » Thu May 27, 2004 6:18 am

good news....my deductable turns out to be only $100!! Insurance co. took a look at the car today and it needs work on almost all panels and requires a new hood!The bad news is that the entire interior will need to be stripped in order for the rods to be inserted from the inside. The car would never be the same again if this happens. So option one is two take the insurance $ and keep a hail damaged vibe. Option two is keep the insurance $, sell a hail-damaged vibe and get another vehicle. Option 3 of course is to fix it and deal w/ a car that is loose and has way too many rattles.Hmmnnnn??

SGT · Post by **SGT** » Thu May 27, 2004 7:02 am

Wow, that's a tough decision, sorry to hear that the car was so badly damaged. Something similar happened to my wife's car right before we got married. She had golf ball size hail dents all over it and took the insurance money and the car and traded it in. However they really do take a lot off the value of the car when it is that badly damaged since they can be hard to sell. Best of luck to you.

Brules · Post by **Brules** » Thu May 27, 2004 11:14 am

I work for an insurance company & have seen thousands of hail damaged cars. My Maxima just got hit by hail last week. FYI: some of the dents MAY come out by being in the sun, but MOST won't. The paintless dent removal procedures are VERY good. Make sure you go to a reputable shop, not one of the storm chasing shops that are here today, gone tomorrow. Not all cars can be repaired by the PDR (paintless dent removal).

redlava · Post by **redlava** » Sun May 30, 2004 9:42 am

Make sure you take it to a paintless dent removal place. My Vibe just got hit a few weeks ago. My damage was limited to mostly the hood, but they also found damage to the roof as well. They will have to take the panels off of the inside of the car, but there should be no damage to it.If I was intelligent I would have just taken the money and bought an aftermarket hood, but I didn't think about it until the job was already finished. Seeing how you have damage to the entire vehicle and almost no deductable just get it fixed through the insurance company.Make sure it is "Paintless Dent Removal" I can not stress that enough.

GT_King · Post by **GT_King** » Mon May 31, 2004 3:59 am

Good post RedLava. Actually, I'm a paintless dent removal technician (I work out of my Vibe too), I have my own business doing it and have been in business for almost 5 years, fly me to where you are and I'll fix it! I went to Texas for two weeks 2 years ago to repair hail damage at a Chevy dealership.

ragingfish · Post by **ragingfish** » Mon May 31, 2004 7:57 am

I can see your dilemma...you're not likely to get a ton of cash if you sell the car...but if you combine that with what the insurance company gives you, there might be enough for a decent vehicle...I personally would be sketchy about the entire interior being stripped...it's asking for problems...But, weigh your options carefully...and let us know what you decide!

GT_King · Post by **GT_King** » Mon May 31, 2004 10:33 am

Here you guys go, my paintless dent removal website.http://www.NorthwestPDR.com

Hail Damage all over my Vibe....advice?

Hail Damage all over my Vibe....advice?

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