Hail! Hail Sucks!
 

Well, just in case anyone has asked the question "How do our cars stand up to hail?"

Well, I have an answer--depends on the part of the car. We had dime-nickle size hail up here in Cleveland on Friday last week (5/10), and initially the car looked fine. I couldn't see any damage.

Hail was this size:
http://i1193.photobucket.com/albums/...ps513b7230.jpg

http://i1193.photobucket.com/albums/...ps780bc0af.jpg

Fast forward through this past weekend to last night when I am coming home from work, I get out of the car, happy to be home, and I see pockmarks. I got some photos, sadly, they are hard to pick out in the photos. You can see some distortions in the reflections that are definitely not the orange peel, if you look closely. They're all over the hood.

http://i1193.photobucket.com/albums/...ps9af167b0.jpg

http://i1193.photobucket.com/albums/...ps08153b85.jpg

http://i1193.photobucket.com/albums/...ps859d98e4.jpg

So, about time to call the insurance company and see how this process is going to work. I have a decent deductible for comprehensive (word to the wise--ALWAYS have comprehensive and collision on your policy), so this won't be too painful, other than waiting for the replacement hood to come in.

So, thankfully, no real drama to worry about here...just sharing my story. :thanks:

So here is a question: I realize the hood is probably going to have to ship from Japan, but is it going to ship painted, or will it be painted here? I only ask because if it will be painted here, then I may ask them to make the paint a little more robust to possibly help in future hailstorms.

And no, I don't have a garage at work. I wish I did.

It will likely ship unpainted and be painted locally. It shouldn't be any different than if you were to get into an accident with more obvious body damage.

Hmm, ok. I will have to see if they are required to paint to factory specs or can put it on a little thicker.

it will be unpainted, and no paint material will help against hail. clear bra more than likely would not have helped on a flat surface like that either. maybe a side panel when the hail would have hit and been deflected but thats about it. and thicker paint does not equal less chips. usually the thicker the material is the more noticeable the chips are actually

Good to know. :thumbsup:

Aluminum hood will get beat by a decent hail storm every time. If this happened to me, I think I'd take the opportunity to get an aftermarket carbon fiber hood instead.

The thought crossed my mind...but I like the regular hood for now. We'll see what the claims department says when they call back. I may consider it if they just want to cut me a check (doubtful).

if you go carbon fiber, have it sanded and clear coated after test fitting. doesn't seem to matter what "high tech super uv resistant" clear the manufacturers say they use, after a couple years they all look like hell. every one I have sanded and cleared, even with our basic production shop clear still looks good. so that should say how "awesome" their clear coat is.

Well, short update: Went to the body shop, he immediately said that I didn't need body work, just PDR (paintless dent removal). So he referred me to the dealer, who's given me the name of one of the Dent Wizard folks. Oh, and we also noticed that the dents were on the roof of the car as well as on the trunk lid :mad0260:

Today, the insurance adjuster/quoter came to look at my car, and was amazed that there was that many dents on the car (he called it "peppered"). We noticed additional dents on the roof rail (above the window) as well. Estimate came out to just a bit more than $3000. I should be receiving a check next week, then its just about getting the car into a shop and having everything repaired and replaced, which will probably take a week. Thankfully, I have rental coverage as well.

My car got damaged by hail, a month ago, hood, trunk and roof.
Body shop said PDR wont work well on aluminum. I opted not to file a claim as the long term costs of doing so insurance wise are too high.

You left it as is? The dents build character.

Well, my claim is already filed, so yeah. You are right about PDR not working well with Al, can't say I'm suprised they suggested replacement.

And please do me a favor and explain your statement I highlighted.

I was calling it the "Golf Ball Mod." Better boundary layer and more aerodynamic, Brah!