Hail Damaged Cars

On the evening of May 5, 1995, around 10,000 Mayfest attendees were gathered at Trinity Park in downtown Fort Worth, Texas. Most attendees had walked or ridden shuttles from cars parked around the perimeter.

Mayfest is an annual celebration similar to art-in-the-park themed events everywhere. There were booths selling food, souvenirs and crafts.

The evening was warm and windy. The crowd wandered through exhibits and strolled the hike-and-bike trail, waiting for the concert to begin.

People had little warning that a damaging hailstorm was coming.

The sky grew dark and a a cold breeze swept through the park. A bolt of lightning crossed the sky, and the rattling sound of hail striking canopies and pavement rang out.

A buzzing noise somewhat like bullets ensued, as large hailstones bounced high into the air after impact.

To most people, hail doesn't seem that serious, we have all been out in short bursts of dime sized hail. The typical 13 year old kid probably exclaimed "Oh boy, it's hailing!"

But for the crowd of thousands caught outside in the '95 Mayfest hail, panic was the appropriate response.

As fist-sized hail stones crashed down at 80 mph, everyone scrambled for cover.

Parents and police officers covered children with their bodies, as many had no opportunity to find shelter. Separated families screamed for lost members.

But the majority ran for the safety of their cars.

Yikes, what was that old parable about people who live in glass houses and rocks?

Hail shattered car windows and occupants were showered with glass shards. Once windows were broken, hail entered the cabs, pounding those inside.

Over 100 seriously injured sought medical care, many with lacerations and eye injuries from broken car window glass.

Driving in Hail

The point is: cars can easily be destroyed by heavy hail, and are a poor shelter from the damaging golf-ball-size and larger stones.

Hail rarely exceeds one half inch in diameter, but when it does, things change in a hurry

If you are caught in an automobile and it starts hailing, pull over.

Try to get the car under cover, like inside a garage, under a freeway overpass, or gas station awning.

Absolutely do not stop on the highway.

Despite the above, it is best to remain in the car unless suitable cover is close.

Stay away from the car's windows and cover your eyes with any available wrap. If the car is big enough, lie face down on the floor.

Professional truckers push on through every kind of weather except glare ice and full blizzard whiteout, it's required by the competitive nature of the business. As hail size increases, slowing down to below 55 mph can save your vehicle's headlights and windshield.

Hailstones bounce off the highway, and get hit laterally at whatever speed the vehicle is moving. I have seen lots of trucks heavily damaged, with broken headlights and cracked fiberglass after driving 75 mph into hailstorms.

Hailstorm Devastation

While the typical hail storm lasts less than six minutes, hail has grounded the space shuttle Atlantis and forced down commercial airliners with airframe damage that threatened passengers lives.

We live in such a wonderful world that one of the last things most folks worry about is hail damaging their car.

Hailstone impacts can go beyond shattering windshields, breaking side view mirrors and headlights, and dimpling the horizontal surfaces with dents.

Hail rebounding from hard surfaces can damage vehicles' vertical surfaces.

While the above leave noticeable damage to the body of a vehicle, hail can penetrate and destroy plastic and disintegrate thin sheet metal panels. Dashboards and back shelves have been destroyed after hailstones penetrated window glass.

To protect parked cars from hail damage, cover the glass, hood, roof, and trunk with layered blankets.

After the storm subsides, check your car for damage.

Cover any broken windows with a tarp to exclude rain and prevent consequential damages to fabric and electronics.

Hail damage to painted surfaces may not be immediate. Sometimes light dings make imperceptible holes in the seal, allowing moisture to enter. When winter's thaw-and-freeze cycle comes, these can flake off, creating little rust spots with their private little pool of water.

Hail Damage and Auto Insurance

Hailstorms are responsible for some of the most severely damaged cars, and highest insurance pay outs. Only hurricanes can totally destroy vehicles on the same scale.

Insurance claim adjusters will be working overtime after a big hailstorm, some living in motels. Most will appraise the car, maybe total it, and get the owner's check cut. When five guys have two weeks to process 11,000 auto claims, they will be moving fast. But the insurance company expects a certain percentage of frauds and/or collateral damages to be rejected.

There is money to be made with a ball peen hammer after hail damages thousands of cars. After a bad 1980's Austin hailstorm, my State Farm agent insisted I bring my latest car in for inspection, due to so many frauds. The car wasn't damaged and I have never filed any kind of insurance claim. So they can get picky.

Helping the investigator along insures a speedy resolution.

Owners of cars damaged by hail should know they are responsible for limiting collateral damage by protecting the car from rain and vandalism.

Call your insurance company immediately and report the damage.

Take photos of the damaged vehicle, preferably with the hail still fresh. These will accelerate the claims process and will help the adjuster document their decision.

Hail damage is covered under the comprehensive coverage on your auto policy, without it auto insurance won't pay for auto hail damage.

Comprehensive insurance is a component of physical damage insurance that pays for weather-related damage, theft, and vandalism.It is optional and not cheap; physical damage insurance adds about 40 percent to the cost of a car insurance policy.

A major insurance company reports 50 to 60 percent of the vehicles insured carry comprehensive coverage.

This is not to be confused with collision coverage, which is usually mandatory for leased or financed vehicles

Hail damage is not evenly distributed across the USA. "Hail Alley" runs down the eastern flank of the Rocky Mountains.

The hailstorm zone includes Colorado, Nebraska, and Wyoming. Montana, South Dakota and Kansas, Oklahoma and northern Texas are included.

Car owners in the hail belt should carry comprehensive insurance coverage.

Many hail damaged vehicles have been totaled by insurance companies, despite running perfectly. These become "salvage" vehicles. The percentage of totaled cars varies with the severity of the hailstorm, with 30% being an extreme.

Paintless Dent Repair (PDR)

For cars being repaired, the insurance company will consult a body shop. Hail damage to sheet metal could require sanding, hammering, and repainting, but where possible, insurers prefer paintless dent removal (PDR).

Sometimes automobile insurance companies will waive comprehensive deductibles when car owners choose PDR.

PDR is a car body repair technique for removing small blemishes like hail dents from flat surfaces. PDR uses plastic-tipped steel tools to slowly work out the bruise from inside the panel.

Special white lights cast a pattern which allows a trained technician to visualize the damaged area.

To prevent leaving a hole in the paint , they add a plasticizer to the area around the injury.

There are also expensive PDR machines using electromagnets and vacuum for paintless dent removal.

PDR has been around for about ten years, so it has a proven track record. It takes just hours as opposed to the days a repaint would require.

This makes PDR the cheapest alternative for insurers.

Following hail devastation, out-of-town independent contractors called "PDR route techs" will arrive. Local body shops, generally subject to delay in normal times, will be swamped.

Temporary business will spring up, and then fade away as hail work subsides.

Dry Ice

There is a popular idea that these hail dents can be popped out using heat, suction, or cold. Dry ice has been tried with limited results.

Applying a piece of dry ice in the center of the dent from behind is supposed to cool the metal and make it contract, occasionally pulling the dent back out.

I have never tried this, and remain skeptical. Dry ice is commonly available and cheap.

Hail Damaged Cars for Sale

Disaster can strike and suddenly change the local car business. In Sydney Australia, where 40,000 cars were damaged in about 15 minutes, a glut of dinged cars lowered prices.

When a dealership in gets its entire lot of 200 vehicles bombed, opportunity knocks.

Hail damage is frequently entirely cosmetic. Sometimes glass is intact, but surfaces of new cars are rippled with little dents. Many of these cars are readily repairable and do not get rebuilt or salvage titles.

Salvage titled cars have been totaled, purchased by insurance companies, and resold. Many states require these vehicles to be "salvage" titled. But other states allow a title transfer without acknowledgment of status. This makes washing titles by moving the car into another state profitable.

Insurers totaling cars will try to disperse the damaged vehicles to prevent cratering the local salvage title price. Internet salvage yards will show numerous hailed-on cars. These guys appraise wrecked cars every day, I have seen few bargains listed. Value seekers would be better off seeking private owners who have just received checks for non-totaled cars.

Buyers should be aware that flood or water damage can accompany hail. Careful inspection is required.

Hail dinged cars represent an opportunity for careful bargain hunters, especially when a totaled vehicle has merely cosmetic injuries.