Welcome Back! If you missed parts ONE or TWO here are the links to catch up:
Hail and Paintless Dent Repair Part 1
Hail and Paintless Dent Repair Part 2
Lets recap what we’ve gone over so far:
Hail has damaged your car or truck. You’ve called your insurance company and opened a claim. They have provided you with a preliminary estimate or have advised you to seek an estimate at a repair shop of your choice. You’ve done your research on who is the best qualified to repair your vehicle…..haven’t you? If not, you definitely need to! I always say, “All Repair Shops Are NOT Created Equal” It is so important to do your research and find a capable, reputable company to handle your repairs. At Dent Repair Now we provide excellent customer service, honest and clear quotes and expectations, and repairs that are as good as or better than a body shop. Word of mouth and online reviews are one of the best ways to find out what you need to know about any business these days. We have 5 Star Reviews on Google, Facebook, Yelp and on our website. Do your due diligence and feel confident in your choice of repair shops.
So, you’ve called us, sent us a copy of your preliminary estimate, and we’ve scheduled your drop off. Some useful things you need to know:
- Bring your vehicle to us as clean as possible. Please run it through a car wash or if weather permits, wash it at home. We cannot see clearly or repair a vehicle with dirt, salt, road dust, or bird droppings on it. Your car or truck will thank you, and so will our technicians. I promise!
The first thing we will do is bring your vehicle into the shop and go over it with lights
and line boards.  
We can get an accurate count and size of all the damage. We will go over each panel separately so as to thoroughly document what needs repaired, how we are going to repair it, (taking apart panels, glue pulling) and how long is it going to take for us to complete your repair.
As mentioned earlier, the original estimate you received from your insurance company is simply to get the ball rolling. Something you may hear throughout the repairs process is that your vehicle may need a SUPPLEMENT. A supplement means supplemental or additional repair. At the original inspection, it may have taken place outside. It’s impossible to see the full scope of damage with outdoor lighting on a vehicle panel. Maybe, the adjusters were really behind, or had another hundred estimates to do that day The goal of most insurance companies in a situation like this is to “get your estimate started” not “be thorough in this estimate”. This is not to criticize insurance companies or adjusters, it’s just the nature of the business. However, once your vehicle comes in for repair that is the first priority is completely our assessment and sending that directly to your insurance company. There are a few things to note about this process. We use an industry standard pricing and estimating software called MOBILE TECH RX.
In the first picture, you can see the information we put into the program will be the VIN, year, make and model of your vehicle. (We have already added you and your information as a client at this point). Then, as seen in the second picture, we have each panel labeled, and as we click on the panel, hood for instance, the third picture will pop up. That is where we enter the amount of dents on that panel, and additional factors, you can see at the bottom, oversized dents (most hail is nickel to quarter sized, but if it is larger than a fifty cent piece….it is considered oversized) we will mark if the hood is aluminum (remember earlier when we discussed how aluminum is more difficult to repair?) and any other factors that will affect the repair on that panel. Then we move on to the next affected panel. Finally, when our inspection and assessment is complete, you can see in the fourth picture what our estimate looks like and that, along with photos of each panel is what we send to your insurance company. That is the Supplement.
FUN FACT: We use mobile Tech RX for all repairs, dings, larger dents, and small collisions.
You may be thinking, “How does this supplement affect me or my out-of-pocket expense?” Nothing changes on your end because of a supplement. Your deductible is what you are responsible for. We deal directly with the insurance company to work through the supplement process. One important thing to note, a response from your insurance company for a supplemental repair can take anywhere from 1 to 7 days. This can delay the repair process because the repair shop is not able to start any part of the repair until the additional repairs are approved, and the car must be in our possession to file a supplement. This is why our first priority is to assess your vehicle and decide if the original estimate was sufficient, or additional damage and repairs will require a supplement.
While we’re waiting for your insurance company to get back to us on approving our estimate of repair, let’s talk about Key Topics Concerning Hail Damage:
Broken Paint: Edges of panels are more likely to have fractured paint. If there is any chipped, cracked or broken paint, then we discuss options with vehicle owner. If the damage to the paint is extensive, most likely it will be written to push for paint (we smooth out as much as possible and send to body shop to finish repair and paint. This is a good option if we are trying to prevent a new roof from being installed, or if one is not available) If the damaged paint is on one or two dents and can be sealed with touch up, and this is what the customer wants, this is an option as well.
Cost and Time Efficiency: While many times paintless dent repair is more cost effective than a traditional body shop, there are times when our pricing is comparable, and even more costly. When dealing with hail, sometimes replacing a hood at a body shop may cost less than us repairing all the dents sustained in a hailstorm. We had this situation recently at our shop. (We are located in the Robinson area at 4699 Campbells Run Road Pittsburgh Pa 15205) Our customer’s truck was in the shop and we have already submitted our supplement. We wanted to and were able to repair the hood using paintless dent repair. However, the damage added up to more than the cost to replace the hood. His insurance company said they would not pay for the repair; they wanted him to replace his hood. We called the dealership to check on price and availability of the hood. As it turned out, there were NO hoods in the United States. There was a waiting list of 16 (so when they did become available in the US, there were 16 trucks ahead of his) and no future date when they would be available. (This is a supply chain issue we are dealing with all across the board in the car industry). The insurance company, when given this information, agreed to let us repair the hood.
Pre and Post Scans: Something that has changed over the last handful of years is the technology in cars. There is a port on vehicles called the OBD2. That stands for onboard diagnostics version two port. A diagnostic scanner is basically a computer that plugs into the port located on your vehicle. It scans your entire electrical system in the vehicle to look for any errors. The pre-scan is there to identify any codes or problems with the car before the repair is started. That report sets a baseline for the condition of the car before it is being repaired. The post scan is done after the vehicle is repaired and reassembled. This scan makes sure that all of the electrical and safety systems are communicating to each other properly. It identifies that everything that was unplugged, plugged back in correctly and in proper working order. Diagnostic Scans are hugely important when making sure you are stepping into a good, safe vehicle.
Hey! Great News! We got the “All Approved” from your insurance company! Now we start the hands-on magic of returning your car to its pre-storm condition.
If you missed the first TWO PARTS of our Series on Hail Damage and Paintless Dent Repair, you can find them back at the top of this article.
If you are interested or would like to learn more about our services, you can find us at https://dentrepairnow.com you can email us at info@dentrepairnow.com or you can fill out a form on our website and we will call you.
GO STRAIGHT TO ARTICLE #4 USING THE LINK BELOW
https://dentrepairnow.com/?p=3712&preview=true
