Hail damage on the Accord

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We had a really bad hail storm March 18th. Having no garage,I keep both my cars covered with those el cheapo Budge Lite car covers. Both covers ended up with tiny pinholes all over them. I've had the Accord under the cover until today,to wash the pollen off it. The hood is covered with tiny paint chips,but no dents. There's a few chips on the roof and trunk,and also a few on the driver's side door from the hail blowing at an angle. The 300ZX suffered no paint damage whatsoever,that car is built like a tank! Our hail was pea sized,and I even saved a little pile of it in my freezer.

The car is still under lien from the credit union (2% interest loan).

What's the best course of action? Have my insurance company come look at it,and then decide if I want to make a claim or not? Do I need to contact the lien holder at all?
 
Sheesh, that sucks. Look on the bright side - it matches the rest of the cars in Texas...

Lien holder doesn't matter, just decide if it's worth having a claim on your insurance. It's comp and an act of God so shouldn't impact your rates at all.
 
I've been in the insurance and collision repair industry for 30 years. And seen hail of all sizes and the damage it does to sheet metal, aluminum, fiberglass, convertible tops, RVs, you name it.

Hail will not chip paint. You may have chips but they were not from hail.
 
File a claim, it's a comprehensive claim, insurance rates should be fine.

You can then pocket the check if you're ok with the damage or get it fixed.
 
Originally Posted By: dishdude
It's comp and an act of God so shouldn't impact your rates at all.


Losses are losses, regardless of fault. The insurer had to pay. Any claim paid has the potential to impact your premium.
 
Originally Posted By: biggusblockus
I've been in the insurance and collision repair industry for 30 years. And seen hail of all sizes and the damage it does to sheet metal, aluminum, fiberglass, convertible tops, RVs, you name it.

Hail will not chip paint. You may have chips but they were not from hail.


The paint was flawless until the hail storm. The chips even mimic the pattern of the pinholes on the car cover. They weren't there before the hail storm,because I actually washed and detailed it earlier that day (I had no idea we were expecting a storm). The entire hood is chipped up from the grille all the way to the windshield. I stood outside and watched it come down. All these chips definitely didn't magically appear by themselves. This car has really thin paint. I just took these pictures. Excuse the flash.


 
Originally Posted By: The Critic
Originally Posted By: dishdude
It's comp and an act of God so shouldn't impact your rates at all.


Losses are losses, regardless of fault. The insurer had to pay. Any claim paid has the potential to impact your premium.


Yep.
 
Originally Posted By: clinebarger
Something is wrong with the paint for pea sized hale to damage it, Has the hood been refinished at some point?


Nope,car is all original,squeaky clean history and Carfax. No signs of any repaint,damage,or refinish. The driver's side door is even chipped from where the hail was blowing in.
 
Man that sucks dude! A frugal factory paint job for sure. No harm in investigating insurance options then decide which direction you go. Since it's still under lien it's undoubtedly fully insured.
 
I'd meant to say marble sized stones. There were a few larger ones though,but mostly marble sized.
 
A couple years ago, our 2012 Toyota Sienna was parked outside at work during a severe hailstorm. It was covered with hundreds of dents. The dents on the roof were so deep they couldn’t do PDR so they had to cut the roof off the car. Remember, this is a minivan, so a huge roof section. They ordered the sheet metal from Toyota and welded it back in, painted it, reattached everything inside and out. Meanwhile, on the hood, tailgate and one side, they subbed out PDR to a specialist. I had nightmares about what this car would look like, rust, fall apart etc.

I went over every inch of that vehicle with a bright light when I picked it up. I could not find a single flaw in any of the repairs. Oh yeah, one of the rear seat belts had not been re-installed properly. The finish was superb. The paint match on the roof was perfect. The hood was showroom smooth at every angle. I was truly amazed at the quality of work. A couple years later, you still can’t tell. $7500 worth of work. I thought I would have to trade this vehicle before flaws emerged but none have. Count me truly impressed.
 
I experienced awful hail damage on my first new car, 1984 Toyota Tercel. Baseball sized hail and stuck on I-70. The whole car was dented, but no paint chips. Paint was better back then. The car had lots of cosmetic issues after three poor repair jobs from a highly recommended shop. It still lasted me for over a decade and 150k miles, but I regularly got snickers from people observing the peeling clear coat and paint overspray. I considered it to be a badge of honor. Others might not feel the same, but PDR didn't even exist then and can work miracles now. That car, even as much as an eyesore as it became,may still be my favorite car that I've owned.
 
Yeah, I was going to say that thing in your hand is a lot bigger than a pea!!
Maybe more like a black eyed pea instead of a green pea...and, no, I'm not saying Fergie or will.i.am fell on your car.
 
+1. That’s more like “lima-bean-sized” hail! That’s worth a claim, and a repaint of the affected panels with a decent blend into the adjoining ones.
 
I personally have never used a car cover, although I do use a windshield cover in the winter since I park outside, and it's been subjected to heavy sleet and ice. If the car cover allowed those chips to happen, that's one poor cover. Hail stones don't have razor sharp ends on them and shouldn't penetrate a cover.
 
If this is factory Honda paint, then it simply sucks big time. There should not be any paint chips, especially if the car was covered.
Insurance should cover it, buy you may get increased premium upon renewal.

Also, maybe this is different in US, but in Ontario, Canada just calling insurance to inquire about fixing something can count as a claim. So I would be careful about any inquiries.
 
Originally Posted By: dlayman
I personally have never used a car cover, although I do use a windshield cover in the winter since I park outside, and it's been subjected to heavy sleet and ice. If the car cover allowed those chips to happen, that's one poor cover. Hail stones don't have razor sharp ends on them and shouldn't penetrate a cover.


Hailstones have a terminal velocity of about 90mph Hailstone Speeds, and I'm not sure that I'd expect a fabric cover laying on the painted upper surfaces of a car to either absorb that energy harmlessly, or not be penetrated by small objects moving at that speed. That's the sort of impact that roofing materials need to be able to handle.
 
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