More Hail Damage in Minnesota

Hail stones fell from the sky again on 5/31/08, causing more hail damage in Minnesota. There were reports of golf ball size hail all over the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St Paul. Several of the cities that had been damaged by the hail include the cities of Big Lake, Crystal, Eagan, East Bethel, Forest Lake, Golden Valley, Maple Grove, Plymouth, Rogers, and St Louis Park.

Here are few more pictures from the local news website of the hail damage in Minnesota.

Here is another news stations blog with more pictures of the storm and hail.

Here is video from a stations evening news report of the hail storm.

Here is the news story of the hail damage from the Minneapolis paper.

This year there have been several severe storms across the country. Now that we are into the summer in Minnesota, we may be looking at having more severe weather and hail storms this year. We are at risk for some more severe storms with the possibility of hail, high winds and tornados on Thursday.

There are many reports of hail dented cars all over the Twin Cities. The insurance companies and auto body shops are busy writing estimates. Most shops will be making hail repairs for several months. There are also many auto dealers that were hit by the hail that will be having “hail sales”.

Subscribe to the Exceldent Blog via RSS or keep checking back for our upcoming posts. Future posts about choosing a repair shop for your hail damage. Knowing who is actually repairing your vehicle and discussing what repairs you want done to your car.Going Green, why paintless dent repair is safe for the environment.

If you received hail damage to your car, choose Excel Dent Removal for your paintless dent repair. Talk with your insurance company and get a claim number. Have your insurance company look at your vehicle and give you an estimate. You can then bring us the estimate and we will then work with your insurance company to make sure your car is restored back to new again.

What you should know about Hail Damage Estimates

There are a few things you should know before taking your car in for a hail damage estimate. Whether you are taking it to the insurance company or a dent repair shop for the hail dent estimate.

First would be to have the exterior of your car clean and dry. This is so that the person looking at your vehicle will not miss any of the hail dents or damage to the panels. If your car is dirty, hail dents and other damage may not be noticed. This will cause a need to supplement the insurance company for the additional dent repairs needed, delaying the time needed for hail damage repair to your car.

Second, in what conditions is your vehicle being looked at? If your hail damaged vehicle is being estimated outside in the sun, you will not be able to see all of the hail dents. In order to see all the dents, the car should be in the shade or it would be best to be inside. A proper reflection is also needed to see all the hail dents. * See the picture below * A proper reflection and lighting will help with the hail damage estimate.

Third, be sure to know that the dent repair shop is experienced with hail damage estimating. They should know the “limits” of what can be repaired with paintless dent repair. They should also know what to look for if the vehicle has had other major body repairs. If your car has had previously been repaired and painted with conventional auto body repair, paintless dent repair may not be able to be used on those damaged panels. They should be able to look for damage to the paint from the hail. If the hail dent falls on the edge of a panel, it may have put a stress crack in the paint. That panel then would need to be repainted.

Be sure that the insurance company or repair shop explains the estimate to you. You should know what repairs are being done to your vehicle.

You can get some great information about paintless dent repair and hail damage repair from the National Alliance of Paintless Dent Repair Technicians. They have a FAQ about Hail Damage and Info About Hail Repair.

Here is a great article about Proper Paintless Dent Repair Estimating. It is from Autoinc.org an online magazine published for the ASA (Automotive Service Association).

If you have any questions about your hail damage estimate, we would be happy to help you.

We are able to work with your insurance company to be sure that your car is restored to its pre-damaged condition.

Contact Us for your Free Hail Estimate.