With our unpredictable weather in the Des Moines metro recently, we’ve seen more of our customers’ vehicles come in with hail damage. We don’t like to be the bearer of bad news, but often the cost of hail damage repair is a shock to unsuspecting customers. From minor to major dents, hail damage will decrease your car’s value and we recommend that you repair your hail damage as soon as possible to avoid further damage and costs.
How Much Does Hail Damage Devalue My Car?
With as small as these dents can be, you might think that hail repair will only cost a few hundred dollars, but these costs can quickly add up to thousands of dollars. It can cost $2,500 up to $16,000 depending on the severity of damage your vehicle sustained. You might think that this damage is too small to warrant repairs, but even these little dings compromise the integrity of your car’s body. Not only does that weakened integrity devalue your car, it also leaves you open for further costs. You might think of waiting until hail season is over in case you get caught in another storm, but two storms worth of hail damage can make the costs of your repairs to be more expensive than it is worth.
So, is it worth it to fix the hail damage to your car? Generally, we recommend fixing it if the cost of repairs is more than your comprehensive deductible. But if these costs are more than 50-60% of your car’s total value, your hail damage may have totaled your car.
If your car isn’t totaled and you decide to pursue repairs, you’ll need to make an insurance claim so that your insurance company can survey the damage and give you an estimate. At Graham Collision, we are more than happy to assist you in getting the proper estimate of the costs to repair your damage, and to help you with the insurance claim process.
