Hail Damage Estimate

Holy sh*t, there are gonna be some rich hail repair techs in West Texas this spring!

 

Body shop guy I knew had good success fixing hail dents, he'd put chips of dry ice in the dents.
That would cause the metal to shrink back to shape, but I don't know if he worked on anything that severe!
Oh, he'd park the truck in the shade on a reasonably warm day...

 

it's them thar edges and pinch weld points that no dent shop can pop out
[without 10 lbs of bondo, grinder and paint]

A) take the insurance money, and krylon the truck. instant winnings

B) take the 16 grand and have essentially all metal replaced and painted, new truck exterior
[with some hidden roof welding under bondo and paint]

 

LineX the entire truck Spruce Mica Green.

 

Man fella I feel for your Tacoma! I'd read and saw the news about y'all getting hammered by hail out there.

Hopefully USAA will get you squared away and all.

Good Luck!

 

Hey, it could have been a LOT worse, like these poor Tundras...

 

Love that quote!!! And, thank you for your service.

 

USAA is usually pretty good about this is the Central Texas area, certainly a lot better than say Geico.
Take it down and get three or so estimates and if it doesn't cover the repair have them come back out and look again at the vehicle and speak to the tech about the repair.
We had Golf Ball size hail in '14 and I ended up with 6K to my Truck and about 20+ K to my house and work shop. Of course the Insurance people are going to low ball you unless you be very diligent in the way you deal with them and never hesitate to ask for another estimate from them.
My Boss had damage to his Truck in the same storm and USAA didn't give him the run around at all. They cut him a check and recommended a body shop that worked directly with USAA. No Muss, No Fuss and his was done 2 weeks before mine was done.

 

a lot of places just mud em and paint em.

 

Very sorry to see this! Mine was nailed before its first oil change. Not as bad as yours, but pretty close. Insurance worked with me, but my truck will never be the same to me. As a few others mentioned, they are going to have to cut the roof center section and weld a new one in place and replace your hood and door skins. I never had mine repaired, I live pretty close to your area so I am just expecting it to happen again.

 

You'd be surprised what a good metal tech can do with a stud gun and a hammer.

Combine that with USAA (and every other Ins Co) adjusters bonuses relying on an adequate Repair Vs Replace percentage and I promise you they are repairing everything they can. Aside from that, shop makes about 60% on labor vs 25-30 % on parts. Incentive is to repair.

I am speculating on op's truck...haven't seen it in person.

 

A month ago, I got my truck back from the shop (rear-ended by drunk driver).... Replaced bumper, tow hitch, RH bedside and RH fairing.... $5,700.00

That truck (if panels replaced) would be much, much more than 6k.

^^^ this^^^

 

Agree that a proper repair would be much more than $6k.

Typically estimates are significantly lower than true cost to repair...

 

OP, good luck with your truck, and I hope your adjuster doesn't engage in intardnet pissing contests.

 

AMEN..smartest thing said in the last two pages LOL

 

I got caught in a hail storm last summer my truck looked just like that around 100 dents every panel got hit my body shop replaced hood and windshield could have had roof done too but I had them pop the rest out to avoid cutting trucks lifted can't see the roof but it came out great anyways. Cost 6,000 for all the work new hood and windshield.

 

I'm a insurance adjuster for a major carrier in TX.

The truck looks like a total to me.

Hail vehicles generally have a good salvage return.

I'd say 35% to 40% in TX, so deduct that amount from your value if you plan to keep it.

If it were me, I'd let USAA total it and keep it and buy another Tacoma. You get the value plus 6.25% sales tax and fees in TX.

If you keep it, you will have a damaged vehicle and not near enough money to get it looking decent.

See the exposed sheet metal... it will start to rust.

I hope USAA treats you right. If they do what we do, we find several comparable vehicles that are for sell or recently sold to get a market value on the totaled vehicle.

(I'd like to add that I do not get bonuses for using aftermarket, used or reman parts. That's now how we do things at my company, or any company I know of)

Good luck OP!

 

Good post danbow

Please let me clarify and I ask for forgiveness for being unclear. My fault.

During my 13 year stint with a very reputable insurance carrier, we had mid year and year end performance reviews. They set the objectives at the beginning of the year for us.

The performance reviews determined the multiplier for our bonuses and consisted of: 50% weight was customer service...35% was KPI's, or estimatic performance. They graded us on tons of metrics, but three major categories...Average refinish hours, Alternative Parts Utilization, and Repair vs Replace %.

I guess if you re-read my post it looks like as an adjuster you get bonuses on every claim that you shortchange. This is not what I meant and I do apologize.

Most of my clients (Collision Centers) are graded as well on estimate performance, same KPI's and Repair vs Replace is a big one.

IMO, insurance adjuster is a noble job when done correctly.

 

who gives a shit ? no one



OP, it's gonna be a fuckton of money

/thread

 

Ok. I just hate people spreading false info that adjusters are out to get you, or get paid more to shortchange people.

We(my company) are not measured on our percentage of alternative parts v. oem. Our accuracy is measured on a estimate review basis. So right parts for right vehicle age and mileage. Just a little different.