How to assess widespread hail damage on a car
It is hail. Whether the paint held on the dents is not clear yet. That one fact decides much of your bill. Unbroken paint keeps the cheap repair possible. Broken paint rules it out.
What kind of repair does it need?
Paintless dent removal where the paint held. Conventional repair and painting where it did not. The paint on hail dents is usually intact, so much of this is often paintless.
Widespread hail is judged against what the car is worth. Insurers write a car off when repairs plus the wreck's sale value come to more than the car is insured for.
What to do next
Ask your insurer and a paintless specialist to assess it before you decide. At this size a write-off is possible. Insurers write a car off when repairs plus what the wreck would sell for come to more than the car's value or sum insured.
Sources
- Financial Rights Legal Centrelegal service
Salvage Value + Cost of Repairs is more than Market Value of Vehicle (pre-accident) or Sum Insured…
- Dent Detail PDRrepairer
The paint on hail-damaged vehicles is almost always intact, even when the dent density is very high.
- Texas Collision Centersrepairer
PDR successfully repairs 80-90% of hail damage cases while preserving the vehicle's original factory paint finish.
- EZ Tech PDRrepairer
EZ Tech notes paintless dent repair can be 50-90% cheaper than traditional methods when the dent still qualifies for PDR.
Not sure what your car damage is?
Point your phone at it, or describe it. The answer in seconds, $8 AUD.
Check it