HAILSTORM IN PITTSBURGH, PA AND PAINTLESS DENT REPAIR PART 5

Whew!!  If you’ve made it this far in our series “The Hailstorm and Paintless Dent Repair” you are becoming your own hail expert!!  If this is the first you are hearing about it, there are 4 other parts that come before this one.  Here are the links to those articles:

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

Part 2: https://dentrepairnow.com/hailstorm-in-pittsburgh-pa-and-paintless-dent-repair-part-2/

Part 3: https://dentrepairnow.com/hailstorm-in-pittsburgh-pa-and-paintless-dent-repair-part-3/

Part 4: https://dentrepairnow.com/hailstorm-in-pittsburgh-pa-and-paintless-dent-repair-part-4/

Let’s do a brief recap of what we’ve done so far:  So, there’s been a hailstorm, and your car or truck has sustained damage from said storm. You’ve called your insurance company to open a claim and get guidance on how to move forward either with an adjuster coming to you, or a central location where all affected by the storm can go to get a preliminary estimate for repair.  Then you find a reputable repair shop like Dent Repair Now (located at 2603 Washington Rd, Unit 3, Canonsburg, PA 15317) that can provide you with the best repair possible. If they find that there is more damage or repairs required than originally accounted for, they will file a supplement with your insurance company.  Once the insurance company approves of additional repair costs, then the actual work begins.  The tear down of the vehicle to provide access to each panel that has damage.  Then the technicians will begin working on the damage directly using their specially designed tools.  You may be asking yourself, what if all of my repairs cannot be done using paintless dent repair?

Let me tell you that sometimes that does in fact happen.  Maybe the hood has been damaged beyond repair and needs replaced and painted.  A repair that requires both paintless dent repair and a conventional repair can be a common occurrence in a hailstorm.  If the damage is bad enough that a full paintless repair is not possible, that will move it into what we call a combination repair. This type of repair process is an amalgamation of both paintless dent repair and traditional body shop repair. This can happen a few different ways, depending on what is the best most cost-efficient direction to go. It can be as simple as replacing the hood with a new freshly painted hood (which can require additional paint blending of both fenders).  In some cases, the paintless technician and body shop will partner up and do what is called a push to paint. That means paintless repair technicians repair the panel as much as possible, and then let the body shop take over. From there, the body shop will use traditional methods of repair like body fillers, glazes, primer, and refinishing of the panel complete the repairs process. Traditional repair can be straightforward or very complex. Straightforward repairs consist of full replacement of a panel. Panels will unbolt, such as your hoods, trunks, fenders, and doors. All reusable parts will be stripped, and the new panel will be reassembled and painted. Considering the complexity of new modern paints, it is uncommon to be able to paint a single panel. Adjacent panels will have to be blended for color match.  In talking about complex traditional repairs, there are two routes a technician could take depending on the severity of the damage. First, is typical body work. Body work consists of focusing on the damaged area and using filler to repair the damage. Once the filler process is complete, primer is applied, and it is ready to be refinished, colored and clear coated. 

This does add additional time to your repair as we will be working on the PDR side, and then transporting your car or truck to the designated body shop.  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.  The body shop, depending on how open their schedule is, will most likely take 3-5 days, maybe a little longer to allow the painting to be done, and dry and cure properly.  

Once your vehicle has been repaired and is back in its pre-storm condition, there’s only one thing left to do….. come to pick up your car or truck, and make payment.  Worrying about payment can be very stressful for our customers, so we try to address it early on in this process.  There are multiple ways this can go, and I will try to be as clear as possible.  Let’s say your total bill of repair is $5000 when all is said and done.  The insurance company originally told you it would be $3000, and maybe they sent you a check for that amount.   We sent them a supplement for the additional $2000.  Your deductible is $500.  The day you pick up your vehicle, you will be responsible for $3500. ( The amount of the original check, and your deductible).  Most insurance companies will usually send the remaining $1500 directly to us.  I hope I didn’t lose you there.  Did the insurance company make the check out to you and the repair facility?  If they did, then you will need to sign it and give it to them so they can deposit it.  The bottom line is, you, the customer, are only responsible for any money the insurance company has paid to you in advance of the repair, and your deductible. If a supplement was filed, then  the check for the additional repairs usually is sent to the repair facility. Guess What??  It’s DONE!!  You have made it through the repair process in one piece!  We know it can be stressful for sure, rest easy knowing that we know our stuff!

We will walk you through the process and make it as simple as possible.  Look for our next and last article where we answer customers questions about Paintless dent repair and hail, door dings, and more general questions.

If you are in need of an exceptional repair shop, we here at Dent Repair Now are ready to hear from you!  You can reach us by phone or text at 724-607-8980.  You can also fill out a form on our website and we can call you with a free estimate. You can also stop for an in-person damage assessment at our shop located at 2603 Washington Rd, Unit 3, Canonsburg, PA 15317.  Our hours of operation are Monday through Friday 9 AM – 5 PM.  You don’t need an appointment to stop in, however, we do recommend calling first to be sure there is a technician there and available to give you the attention you deserve!

USE THE LINK BELOW TO GO TO THE NEXT AND FINAL ARTICLE FOR OUR HAILSTORM AND DENT REPAIR SERIES

https://dentrepairnow.com/hailstorm-in-pittsburgh-pa-and-paintless-dent-repair-part-6-qa-time/