HAILSTORM IN PITTSBURGH, PA AND PAINTLESS DENT REPAIR PART 2

Welcome Back! If you haven’t read The Hail Storm and Paintless Dent Repair Part 1 be sure to click the link here:

https://dentrepairnow.com/hailstorm-in-pittsburgh-pa-and-paintless-dent-repair-part-1/

Let’s recap what information we went over in Part 1.

Hail damage can be extremely costly and can throw neighborhoods into an economic disaster. This first thing you need to do is call your insurance company and open a claim.  Then comes the preliminary estimate from either an adjuster or repair shop. Your insurance company will tell you one of two things.  Either that they are setting up a centralized location where you can bring your vehicle to be looked at and receive an estimate, or they will tell you to find a repair shop and have them do an estimate.  Please keep in mind that these preliminary estimates are just starting points and chances are your repair is going to be much more costly.  Why is that?  There are a couple reasons for this.  Number one, insurance adjusters are experts in insurance, not repairs.  They may only see half the damage and get a “rough idea” of how many hail dents are on the panel.  Our shop, Dent Repair Now will go over each panel with lights, and line board to mark.

When you call us at 724-554-1756 we will need some information from you.  We will need your name and number, the year and model of your vehicle, and a copy of your preliminary estimate from your insurance company.  You can email that to us at [email protected] Why do we need that?  for a couple of reasons.  We work with all insurance companies, but it gives us a heads-up on who provided your estimate.  State Farm, Progressive, Erie, and GEICO are all common insurance companies we deal with on a regular basis. We have also worked with other insurance companies such as Penn National and USAA.  When you send us a copy of that preliminary estimate, we are looking at a few things.  Did your adjustor write any of the panels for replacement or paint?  Is there glass that needs replaced?  These can be indicators that a body shop is needed either in addition to us, or that a body shop may be the best route for your repair.  Secondly, we look to see what kind of damage you sustained.  Is most of the damage on the top panels? (Hood, roof and trunk?) Or are all the panels affected?  Is it written for paint because the paint is damaged, or a new panel will need to be painted and blending panels?  There is so much information we can get from just your estimate.

FUN FACTS:

Here is a list of terms or abbreviations you may see on your estimate:

R&I (Remove and Install) – when a part is coming off of a vehicle to be fixed; or to gain access to another part of the vehicle. And is then reinstalled on the vehicle.

R&R (Remove and Replace) – When a part is coming off of the vehicle to be replaced.

REPL (Replace) – Replacement of a broken or non-functioning part.

PDR (Paintless Dent Repair) – Repair of a dent on a panel without paint or filler. Restoring the metal back to its original state without the need for repainting or refinishing.

GPR (Glue Pull Repair) – A technique used when there is no access to the backside of a panel to properly fix a dent. Specialized glue is applied to a tab, then place either on or around the dent. The tab is then lifted with pulling tools. 

Bodyline– Body lines can be sharp creases or rounded panels that are supposed to be that way.

Double Metal – Double metal is an additional layer of metal that blocks access.

ALU/ALUM (Aluminum) – Aluminum is more rigid than steel and is more difficult to manipulate back to its original shape.

HSS (High Strength Steel) – High strength steel is metal that has been made thinner yet stronger than traditional mild steel.

OA (Obstructed Access) – No immediate access point. Removing of parts and or panels may be necessary to complete the repair.

Sound Deadener – A material over metal in car doors to reduce vibrations and noise. Sometimes this has to be removed to gain access to complete a repair. The insulator in your hood is considered a sound deadener.

Laminated Glass – Plastic is placed between two pieces of glass to prevent the glass from shattering. It is usually in the windshield and the two front doors. In some cases, this has to be removed to gain access to complete a repair.

Edge of Panel – When damage is at the edge of a panel, the repair becomes more difficult because the steel is thicker. 

Heat Induction – If metal is stretched due to a dent, it may have to be shrunk using heat induction tools. Once the damaged area is heated and shrunk, it is necessary to apply corrosion protection to the back side of the panel.

Two main things we are going to keep in mind when looking at your preliminary estimate is:

1.  Will we need to work in tandem with a body shop?
2.   What is the availability of any parts (from panels to trim pieces) *with supply chain issues this has become an important part of the process in scheduling repairs*

Sometimes it is necessary for us to work in tandem with body shops.  If we can’t save the hood, but the rest of your car or truck can be repaired with paintless dent repair, we can send out to have your hood painted and reinstalled.  We’ve worked with great body shops like Ross Paint and Body, and  Opeka Auto Repair.  We’ve also worked with both Center Service Autobody and  Freedom Collision in Morgantown, West Virginia and we’ve done extensive work with Elm Grove Collision in Wheeling, West Virginia.

As always, we’d love to hear from you, if you have questions, hail damage, or an annoying ding on your car or truck you’d like to have looked at.  Call us at 724-607-8980 or visit our website https://dentrepairnow.com

You can fill out a call request and we’ll call you back, or you can fill out a form and add pictures of your damage.  We will put together an estimate and call you.

Check out the next part of our Hail Series...