Filing a claim on my truck for the hail damage.....need advice!!

Yeah, it was pretty spotty in this area. Just got a lot of rain at my house. I am surprised I did not run into any hail with all the driving around that I was doing though...

 

HOLY SHIT.

 

lol, most likely a worrier since she either works at or is a student at new mexico tech.

 

Oh man I feel for you brother. Mine got hammered with hail this Summer with less than 2000 miles on her. So I feel your pain. Being one that's gone through the entire claim process, let me tell you my experiences. Maybe they'll give you some direction.

First off call your insurance and file the claim. Given the severity and widespread nature of the damage in AZ, chances are all the insurance companies will be declaring the area a catastrophe. That means national teams will be swarming in to handle both house and auto claims. So it may take some time for them to arrive and for you to get in.

Your insurance company will most likely set up a "drive through" claims area at an authorized body shop in your area. The insurance adjuster will be there as will a dent repair guy who will assess the damage. They do it pretty fast too. If the area is declared a catastrophe area, you cannot go out and get your own estimate (and most shops won't offer them anyway). However...

I don't know what the law is in AZ, but in Colorado you do NOT have to use the body shop your insurance company uses to process the claims and do the estimate. As your agent or adjuster if that's the case in AZ (I bet it is). In Colorado I was able to take my estimate to the shop of my choice to get the work done (I did not like the shop Allstate chose). If their costs are more than the official estimate, they'll work it out with your insurance to cover the difference (minus deductible of course).

As for damage, most insurance companies will not total the vehicle unless the cost to repair is 2/3 the value of the vehicle. So we'd be talking in excess of $20k here. I doubt you have that much damage.

As for repairing, here's what they're gonna do (or at least you should look for). As for quarter panels and doors, they're going to use PDR (paintless dent repair). They work wonders, working out the dents using a specialized set of tools from the inside of the panels. In most cases that means unbolting the panels off the truck, doing the work and then bolting it all back up.

As for the hood, they'll just replace it with a new one. They come from Toyota unpainted. The shop will match the paint and clearcoat. If the tailgate is super damaged, they may do that as well. But chances are they'll PDR that as well.

As for the rails - those strips of stiff metal curving between the roof and the doors - those are part of the cage structure of the vehicle and shops don't want to cut those. Nor can they do PDR. They'll do conventional repair - welding a small nickel of metal onto each dent, and pulling them out one by one. After they do that, the metal may look a little rippled, so they'll put a thin skin of Bondo / filler on to smooth it out and then repaint. Don't worry about that ... a thin skin is just fine and won't pop out at all. You'll never even notice it.

Finally - and here's the shocker - they're gonna cut your roof off and weld an entirely new one on! Yowza. If a shop tells you they want to do conventional repair on it and then Bondo tell them no. I shopped around a whooooole lot on this, and all the good shops told me the same thing ... cut it off. With the ridges on the roof, conventional repair is really hard and ends up leading to lots of Bondo. And lots of Bondo can pop out / discolor. I know it's shocking, but they'll pull the entire headliner down, remove all the wiring, cut along the seams of the roof (under the black rubber strips on the roof) and then weld a brand new OEM roof on. Like the hood, the roof comes from the factory unpainted, and the shop will repaint.

There is a slightly higher risk of rust anytime you cut factory seams and weld on new parts, but again a good shop will give you a lifetime warranty, and in a dry clime like AZ that's not really a problem. Nor is it a problem if your shop does a good job. Share your concerns with them. A good shop will put you at ease.

Anyway hope this helps. Again I feel your pain. As for the divots and fuel mileage ... LOL yeah I did see an increase after the damage. Good luck!

 

x2 same thing happened to my mom's brand new 09 Camry when she first got it Can't tell it was even damaged now.

 

wow thanks for the write up man. that all helps a lot actually thanks for taking the time. it will give me a little "ammo" when speaking to the adjuster/bodyshop so they dont try to rape me anyways. Now, as far as the dimished value.....did you get anything for that. I mean, no matter what, even if the truck looks brand new, a carfax report is going to give anyone willing to buy it a reason to pay less. granted im not selling it anytime soon but that shouldnt make a difference.

 

Holy shite man, that's crazy. I would be sooo pissed (not that you aren't). Luckily, every part can be replaced and bolted on, except for the roof. I feel you on the bondo, i hate bondo, any of it, much less on a brand new truck.

 

This is correct... The insurance company can not tell you where you have to take your car .....It's illegal and called sterring...
just my .02

 

hopefully the adjuster will contact me tomorrow and i can get some answers. i cant stand driving my Taco in this condition. i think im gonna ride to work this week its beautiful weather now that the storm has passed.

hey insurance pays for rentals right?? i can totally pocket that money since i have a 2nd car and motorcycle.

 

Yes, they usually pay for rentals. You wanna sell me the sport mirrors? Since you're probably get new ones anyway? You can say the hail knocked them clean off.

 

Friggin hail...

This is where the good insurance companies stand out. It doesn't matter how long you've been with them...just the company itself.

 

If you get the work fully repaired, it shouldn't appear on the title or Carfax report because it's not structural damage. It's purely cosmetic, and should look and perform good as new. But you can ask your agent about that. Allstate didn't give me anything for diminished value.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0G6xfzuDym0



This is what was falling in Scottsdale.

 

That shit was brutal! It was just like that at the Hospital. I work at the one on the 101 and shea and it was crazy...I felt so bad for the patients...bad enough that their sick and at the hospital...then they gotta come out to find their car riddled with damage

I park in the Garage so Blue escaped damage thank god...I'm trying to plan a wedding right now, I don't need any more food on my plate

Best of luck to all who received damage in that damn storm, I hope everything works out okay

 

NO! That is unless you have a rentals clause on your policy. In most cases, it's an optional rider.

 

They will pay the rental company directly if you have, most do. You can't get the money for the rental. Sorry to hear on the truck man.

 

^That video is crazy, isn't Arizona a desert? I didn't even know they ever got that kinda hail there. Imagine all the brand new cars at dealerships.........

 

that sucks big time

 

You have to have rental coverage on the policy in order to get a rental for a loss. This is a big misconception because someone gets hit by another person and that company puts them in a rental until the car is fixed, no matter how long it takes. On first party claims if you don't have the coverage, no rental. And the rental is 30 days max in most States, no exceptions. So if it goes over 30 days, you have to pay out of pocket. It is a contract that most people sign and never read. There is some good advice here, some not so good. You can whine all you want about I don't want bondo, PDR, I want it totalled but that does not effect the decision of the company to repair the vehicle. PDR is actually a better process because you don't have to repaint or try to match the paint and you would never know the panel was ever damaged. The contract says they will pay for the lesser of the three, repair, total, or replace. Most companies have this language in the contract as well as LKQ parts, Non-OEM, (aftermarket), etc. For diminished value, it is State Specific. Most States you cannot get it. In Georgia you can get DM, I do not know about AZ. Sorry to hear about your loss. They will get it back to new.

 

Yeah, that's what he needed to hear. Look at the pics, he has a garage too. Does your garage follow you around wherever you go? DB comment.

OP, that just sucks ass totally to get caught out like that. I just gave up 1/3 of my mancave so wife could park her new Genesis Coupe inside because of this very thing. Had to do emergency scramble to get shit out of the way so I could pull it in and not have dimple effect on it. I would be beside myself if I got caught out and that shit happened and mine is 80k '05. Hope things work out for the best. Stay vigilant and stop by to check on it daily, not weekly, lol. That way the shop will get a clue to not cut any corners. Be polite hardass as much as possible to get shit done to YOUR benefit and standards. Good luck.