@#$&!!!!! Hail damage

[MX793]

We had some bad thunderstorms last week and my Mustang ended up getting pummeled by quarter-to-golf-ball sized hail.  After the storm, I took a look for damage but between the car being wet and the lighting being poor, I didn't really see any obvious damage.  The next day when the sun was out, I took another look and spotted 3 dents in the hood, 1 of them pretty noticeable but none of them huge (one is barely visible).  I didn't see anything else so, while I was a bit perturbed, I wasn't hugely bothered since I felt the hood dents would be pretty easy for any body shop to push back out.  The day after that, I noticed two small dents in the driver's door that were too high up to have been door dings.  Then today while putting something in the trunk, I noticed two small dents in the roof near where the rear glass meets the roof.  Who knows how many others are there that I just haven't spotted.  The door and roof dents concern me because the only way to push them out is to tear down the interior and I'm always fearful of having the interior pulled apart and then having rattles and squeaks because it didn't get put together quite as good as new.  At least the paint looks like it's all intact....


I have no idea what the good local body shops are.  I was thinking of calling the dealership I bought the car from to find out who they use for bodywork since I would think that a dealership would make sure to go to places that do top-notch work when refurbishing lease returns or fixing new cars that have been dinged or damaged on the lot.  Either that or making an appointment with the in-house bodyshop for a nearby new car "super store" (basically an old shopping mall that was converted into a multi-brand dealership complex).  Anybody have any better advice?  Or perhaps know of any easy, no-risk-of-damage, DIY tricks for fixing hail damage?

[thewizard16]

I know three easy steps I guarantee will fix the hail damage.

1. Sell hail damaged car (preferably at night in poor lighting so they don't notice the damage):



2. Get money from selling hail damaged car:



3. Buy new car:


No more hail damage!

[giant_mtb]

When my car looked like a golf ball (Monte Carlo), it somehow got fixed under insurance.  Looked great afterwards. 

[MX793]

I have comprehensive coverage, so it's not an issue of my having to pay thousands of dollars to fix it.  I'm just really concerned that the car will squeak and rattle if they have to pull the interior apart and then put it back together.  The car's still practically brand new on account of the fact that it's actually only been on the road for 4 months (stored all winter) and having my interior all messed up or rattling or squeaking from here on out will drive me nuts.

Guess I'll have to see about getting an estimate early next week.  Just need to figure out where to go to get it fixed and I don't want to wait too long after the storm for fear that the insurance company will deny the claim...

[Secret Chimp]

PDR usually works pretty good for hail damage. Sometimes they don't need access to the inside of the panel. Ask around for a good local guy before you start shopping body shops.

[Onslaught]

PDR guys "can" do good work. As long as they don't have to drill holes into the car. And they have no problem turning your car into swiss Cheese to get to a little dent.
One more bad thing about PDR stuff. I can't tell you without looking at it. But when metal bends the paint can't bend as much. And even when you bring the dent back
up you'll have a little air pocket between the metal and paint. And water can get into that and start rust.

I've had to go over lots of PDR stuff a year or two after the job was done because of rust. But that's not to say that it can't be PDR. Every dent is different.

[Onslaught]

And I'm sorry about the car. I know how much stuff like that sucks. Makes you sick and no matter how well it's repaired then it will never be as good as new. Sucks ass man.

[MX793]

PDR guys "can" do good work. As long as they don't have to drill holes into the car. And they have no problem turning your car into swiss Cheese to get to a little dent.
One more bad thing about PDR stuff. I can't tell you without looking at it. But when metal bends the paint can't bend as much. And even when you bring the dent back
up you'll have a little air pocket between the metal and paint. And water can get into that and start rust.

I've had to go over lots of PDR stuff a year or two after the job was done because of rust. But that's not to say that it can't be PDR. Every dent is different.

How do they patch the holes if they drill?  Bondo and some paint touch up (which isn't exactly PDR anymore)?

Most of the dents I've found are so small that you really have to be looking to find them.  In some cases, I have trouble finding them again even though I know roughly where they are.  There's really only one on the hood that I think is pretty obvious, and even that's not particularly big.  I'm guessing maybe 1/4" in diameter.  Really, the ones in the door don't bother me that much.  I figure the door is bound to pick up a ding in a parking lot from somebody parking too close before the year is out, and these are less noticeable than a door ding.  For whatever reason, I see small door dings/dents as normal wear and tear and as something that's pretty much unavoidable.  Hood and roof dings (even though the roof dents are really hard to see) aren't "typical" blemishes to me, though, and those bother me.

[Onslaught]

How do they patch the holes if they drill?  Bondo and some paint touch up (which isn't exactly PDR anymore)?

Well they wouldn't drill for things like the roof or hood. But a quarter or door they just drill a hole behind a taillamp or where you open the door and then put a rubber rubber grommet/plug in the hole. If you're lucky.

[Tave]

I had good luck with the PDR guys a couple years ago. They used heat lamps and pulled the dent out. You can barely see it if you know where to look.