or As anyone who has tried to sell a used car can attest, prominent dents in the body can have a profound effect on a vehicle’s market value. Not only do dents detract from a car’s appearance, but they can also be larger and deeper than they appear and lead to some long-term damage, which requires more expensive fixes. A paintless dent repair company can fix hail damage in your car’s body while it’s still superficial, saving you money in the long run.
Sometimes, the damage hail does to your car isn’t immediately obvious. Small dents are harder to spot, and when the cause of the damage is falling out of the sky, what could have been a quick repair becomes an entire project.
Is Hail Damage More Expensive to Fix Than Other Dents?
Because hail damage occurs in larger quantities than common dings, a car will rarely suffer only one dent at a time from it. It’s not unheard of in Houston to bring your car into the garage after a hailstorm and find it covered in dents from front to back. Due to the sheer volume, getting your car back into shape after a hailstorm tends to be a bit more expensive than treating a few isolated blemishes caused by dings and runaway shopping carts.
Sometimes hail damage can be so widespread that it might be in your best interests to file an insurance claim. However, this depends on the number of dents, the cost of repairs, and the time it would take to fix them. An experienced paintless dent repair technician can give you estimates and advise you on what you should do next.
How Hail Damage Affects Resale
It goes without saying that damage to your car will most likely result in lost value when you try to sell it used. Hail damage is no exception, and the severity can differ from one vehicle to another.
This depends on the location of a vehicle during the storm, the condition the vehicle was in beforehand, and the value of the vehicle before it suffered the damage. If your car only took a few hits before you moved it safely into a garage, a paintless dent repair specialist may be able to fix the damage and preserve some of the vehicle’s value. If your car spent hours being pelted by large chunks of hail, however, the damage may be more extensive and the repair may take more time and money.
This means hail poses unique challenges to anyone who hopes to sell their vehicle. Some buyers are willing to take a hail-dented vehicle and drive it as-is, and others may walk away and look elsewhere. Widespread hail damage may not be a dealbreaker to used car dealerships, but the dealer will likely offer a lower trade-in value. This is because the dealer must account for the estimated cost of repairs so they can sell the vehicle.
Problems Under the Surface
Cracks in your vehicle’s paint may be superficial, or they may lead to deeper problems in the future. The difference depends on the size of the fracture and the time that passes between the incident and the repairs. When your car suffers a dent, small cracks in the paint may allow moisture to seep in and penetrate the surface. This leads to the formation of rust.
Because rust spreads and penetrates metal, what begins as a small blemish can grow into a large eyesore. Not only does this make it harder to sell a vehicle, but it also makes it harder to fix. Hiring a paintless dent repair specialist can allow you to get in front of this process and prevent the worst damage.
Dent Sharks serves vehicle owners throughout the Houston area with mobile paintless dent repairs to fix problems while they’re still manageable. Get in touch with us at 832-916-5393 to schedule a free estimate.