Since June 7, my Lexus has been nailed with hail at least three times. Each time I checked, there didn't seem to be any damage. Today, I was removing my bike off the hitch-mounted rack and my heart nearly stopped. At that moment, my garage was casting a shadow on the car and I could clearly see it. Either I got hit for the fourth time, or the damage was just that clearly visible. There is not an inch of undamaged area on the roof and the trunk. For some reason the hood faired much better. The dents are not deep at all and they are very small, but under certain conditions, they are very noticeable. I'm estimating about 250 minor dents.

Question: when they repair hail damage, do they try to pop the dents out? I hope they don't try to smooth them out with some filler and paint the car. Have you had anything like this happen before and if so, what ended up happening? I'm very disappointed so far and haven't made the claim yet.

 

Depends on the size of the dents. If they're minor, they should be able to pop them out with conventional methods. Some OEMs also sell the roof, so the shop can cut the old roof off and weld the new one on, then paint it.
If you don't feel comfortable with the approach that a shop is taking, take it elsewhere.

 

I would say the damage is minor, but it will require repairs. I was once told that hail damage can be repaired without the need for painting. I'll have to set up an appointment with an adjustor and see what happens. One thing that worries me is that here in the prairies, hail storms are fairly rare, but the fact that I was caught in them at least three times this year, means there could be more on the way.

 

For several years I lived on the front range of Colorado. We had many days of hail during the summer. I would see many car dealerships with hail damaged cars. They would always fix them without the need to paint. There is definitely a way to fix the dents without repainting the car.