11 things to look for when getting your vehicle hail damage repairedIf reading this blog is your first step in the process of getting your hail damage repaired then you are doing well so far. It appears you are trying to study up and figure out the most intelligent way to handle this while learning some pointers from people well versed in the process. So with that being said, good for you! Here are 10 pointers from a Hail Damage Repair Specialist that can help you make the most out of an unfortunate situation. 1.Have you made a claim yet?

Once you’ve decided you want to fix the damage hail has caused to your car, you will need to get in touch with your insurance provider to open a claim. The claim process is just to assign you a “claim number” and open up the case for you to be covered by them, which is why you pay for insurance in the first place, right? 2.Should I get an estimate done?

First off, an ‘estimate’ is the way your insurance assess the extent of the damage, the time it will take to fix, and the cost of the repair. So, should you? The short answer is yes. The long answer is, if you do not, the place you take your car to be repaired can do it but it will make the entire process take longer. Whereas your insurance will do it from your house and the repair facility will work off of that and get is supplemented if necessary (there is a glossary at the bottom of the page that explains a supplement).3.What free incentives do we offer?

If you were to choose us as your repair facility we offer many different free options to you that will help make this process the easiest it can be for you. We offer things such as a full 12 step battery maintenance on any battery over a year old, we pick up and deliver your car from anywhere most convenient for you, small scratch removal and much more, for a full list of all the things your repair facility should offer follow this link..4. Local or big box store?

The biggest difference between a local and big box store is, a local store tends to be focused on details and building relationships with people by treating them how a repair facility should and not just how they usually do. Another difference is that a local shop tends to be ⅓ of the time faster than larger box stores because larger stores do certain things based on the volume and local shops do them based on the quality we want to see at the end of our work. Local shops are not just after your money like big box stores they are after seeing you as happy as they would be if they were in your shoes, they are looking to help you feel as happy about your car as the first day you bought it (or, even better, have it looking better than when you bought it!).5.How much can you afford out of pocket?

This is a great question when it comes to your deductible, which far too many people are unaware of. Your deductible is what the insurance company makes you pay for before they will pay out any, most commonly being $500-1000. There are ways to lower this deductible if you don’t foresee yourself being able to pay this amount yourself, and oftentimes if you do pay this yourself you will find that most facilities will be able to offer you more free incentives, such as doing what you’ve always wanted to do on your car; buffing the headlights so they aren’t foggy, fixing minor door dings or buffing scratches on the outside of your vehicle. 6.What is your rental vehicle situation?

If you do not have a second vehicle to get around town while yours is being repaired, there are many options from there; if you pay for it your insurance will set up and cover your rental, there are also repair places that set it up for you and help you with the price if you don’t have coverage. Or you can always bus it!7.How much experience do their technicians have?

This is something very important to consider when deciding where to get your vehicle fixed, you absolutely do not want anyone less than an expert handling your car. A lot of big corporations end up with lower class technicians that resort to using bondo in the repairs, that is the last thing you want to happen to your car. You want to find a facility with technicians that have 7 years and 10,000 hours or more of practice and reputation, you should setting for nothing less than the best.

8.Do they use OEM parts?

OEM means ‘Original Equipment Manufacturer’ this means parts that come from the original maker of your car. This is like damaging your apple phone and getting it fixed at an Apple shop; it beats taking it to an after-market shop any day. You end up having to pay extra for the original parts, but the money is well spent because you end up with a product that matches the way it looked when it was new. 9.How long is the repair turn around?

Most Big box shops take 1 week for every $1000 they make on the repair, but PDR (Paintless Dent Repair) shops are ⅓ faster because they keep that original paint being considered oem and highly valuable, and because this time also depends extremely upon how experienced their techs are. 10.Business reviews.

This may seem obvious, but one of the most important things you can do when choosing a repair facility is to check their reviews to make sure that the people who have had work done by them were satisfied and hopefully more than satisfied, surprised and excited to have it looking better than they would have thought possible. So if that is not what you’re seeing in the reviews… Move on! There are so many there is no reason to settle and give your vehicle to someone who has no intention of doing their best.

11. Vocabulary.

1. Claim – This is a request to your insurance to cover the damage sustained to your vehicle.
2. Estimate – A document complete with your information, how much damage there is to your vehicle, the price it will be to fix it, and the amount of time it will take.
3. Supplement – A estimate that is revised and added onto by the repair facility if they noticed damage the insurance missed.
4. OEM – Original Equipment Manufacturer meaning parts that were made by the original maker of your vehicle.
5. PDR Auto Body – ‘Paintless Dent Repair’ this is a paintless solution for hail repair, using specific tools developed for the last 20 years. This type of repair means you will not have to repaint/bondo anything and your car will retain all of it’s natural looking, original look.
6. Technician – Is someone specialising in PDR who does the actual work of removing the dents made by hail.
7. Adjuster – This is who writes the original estimate, they are with your insurance and will work with you and the repair facility you choose.