While hail of any size can damage your vehicle, hail at least one inch in diameter can cause serious damage. A hail of this size would have to hit your car so hard and fast to cause damage. While this size of hail isn’t the most unusual size of hail, it can cause significant damage to your roof, car, and home.
Hail of any size can damage a car, but the hail most likely to cause damage will be at least an inch in diameter. A good rule of thumb is to expect hail damage to occur when its size is similar to that of a quarter. Hail damage to a car can be lessened by stopping it beneath cover.
By adding the size of the hail to high impact velocities, the vehicle can be severely damaged. Typically, pea-sized hailstones do not cause significant damage to the exterior of the vehicle, but hailstones the size of a quarter or larger hailstone can cause significant damage. If you see hail of this size in the area, you can be sure the damage has been done.
This can happen regardless of the size of the hail, so check your vehicle carefully after a hailstorm. Hail can cause all sorts of damage to your vehicle and often starts with little to no warning. By the end of the storm, your car may look like a complete disaster. Even though hail is rare and only occurs occasionally, vehicles can still be seriously damaged.
Mitigate Hail Damage by Stopping the Car
When you’re driving through a small hailstorm because you haven’t accelerated, a moving car can compound the damage by leaving deep dents, even if you weren’t driving as fast. Small dents are formed as a result of small hail particles entering the car at low speed. When a large hail strikes your vehicle, it can leave deep dents that require special attention.
Large chunks of hail have been known to break and damage exposed plastic on your vehicle. During natural disasters or phenomena, hail often causes physical damage only to the skin of the car. While hail less than an inch in size can damage your car if it is blown in the wind or is very dense, hail less than an inch in size is unlikely to damage your car. While hail less than one inch in diameter is becoming more and more common, small hail does not usually cause damage to your vehicle.
Getting caught in a hail trap can be scary, but damaging your car doesn’t necessarily mean you have a damaged car forever. If your car is damaged by hail, it is not recommended that you repair the damage yourself. A hail-damaged car can be expensive to repair, and you may not know the extent of the damage just by carefully inspecting the car.
However, sometimes the cost of repairs exceeds the expected profit from selling hail-damaged vehicles as they are, so the dealer chooses not to repair the vehicles. Before selling cars, dealers prefer to repair all possible damage, as this increases the likelihood that there will be a buyer for each vehicle. Sometimes when customers buy damaged vehicles, the dealer will refer them to a specialist who claims they can fix the damage at a low cost.
Dealerships Reduce Prices for Hail-Damaged Cars
The dealership can pay the lowest price for hail damaged cars and then have a paintless dent repair specialist fix your car and resell it with a clean title for a hefty recharge. In many cases, the dealership can discount the car in a hail sale where they pass the savings on to you and let you deal with hail damage if you want. Some dealers have their own dent repair technicians they can send to your vehicle, although most of these technicians don’t have the paintless damage repair experience needed to fix dozens of hail dents.
If your insurance company writes you a hail repair check and you prefer to keep the cash and drive a dented car, that’s fine. You can also try do-it-yourself hail dent removal methods. Before you find a specialist who can fix that much hail damage, it’s best to file a claim with your auto insurance agent. Your insurance agent may give you coverage for current damage but not future hail damage, so you may need to take extra steps to protect your car in the future, such as keeping it in a garage when not in use.
Hail damage can range from cosmetic and minor damage causing small visible dents and dings to significant hail damage affecting the bodywork and operation of the vehicle. Small hailstorms can cause dents and damage, while severe cases can affect your vehicle’s operating system. If the storm is strong enough, hail can cause cracks in the windshield or side mirrors, or even shatter windows and taillights. When hail falls, it can scratch the sides and front of your car, causing dents or scratches in your car’s paint.
Golf Ball-Sized Hail Is the Worst Hail Hazard
Hail this size tends to cause damage to roofs in the form of dents and cracks, although it can certainly do more damage in some cases. A hail of this size can leave a few small dents on the car if it hits the panels at the right angle. Marble hail often wreaks havoc on homes which, if not taken care of, can lead to more extensive, costly, and even dangerous conditions. A pea-sized hailstone won’t hurt, but a quarter-sized hailstone is a different story.
Large hailstones can cause your mirrors to fall with sufficient force. If the wind is strong enough to blow hail sideways, it will damage car panels that would otherwise be safe.
When the pellets start to increase in size, you may be worried about things like your car, or worse, your roof. Even a one-and-a-half hail can ruin your car, and a bunch of dents can add up to a huge repair bill. Hail dents can affect your car’s resale value, and larger dents can be unsightly to a proud car owner.