Mike_TX

While we were at dinner tonight, a big storm blew through and dropped a tornado about 2 miles from where we sat. Thankfully, all we got out of it was hail bigger than golf balls, and lots of it. My TL was sitting outside the restaurant in the open, and it now has roughly 100 hail dents all over the top, hood, trunk and even some on the sides.

Being the lucky guy I am, I've never had hail damage to a car, so I don't know what to expect. I've always heard they can pop some of them out with a torch, but I have to wonder. Especially with so many.

Also, this is a leased car, less than 9 months old, so I'm sure that affects things a little. Oh, well, it's in State Farm's hands now.

.
.

neuronbob

Having survived a tornado myself, I'm glad to hear you and yours weren't hurt. I'm sure the car is reparable.

sotiri

My MDX (up here in northern IL) was trashed last year in a freak Sept hail storm.
I had the whole MDX repaired with a dentless operation for $2000, and they charged by the panel, not by the number of dents. Took them 2 days, but I'll damned if the car wasnt as if nothing ever happened.
Find yourself a reputable dentless operation, (i gave them cash to get a sweetheart deal-my deduct is $1000 and this wasnt worth taking my one freebie claim) and be patient.

Mike_TX

Thanks for the tip, sotiri. I've heard the paintless dent guys can fix these things, but with so many I didn't know if they'd even try.

I'm calling my agent Monday morning, and I'll see what he recommends. We're leaving town tuesday morning, so I might have to wait until we get back to get it worked on. Trouble is, the body shops and dent repair guys are gonna be SOME busy after this storm!

.
.

Mike_TX

Thanks, Bob. We weren't in much danger, but I kinda wish we'd eaten at home tonight!

I figure they'll be able to get the TL back in shape ... I just may have to drive it with dents for a while.

.
.

huy33

I was at the Olive Garden in Addison, TX (Beltline and Midway) eating when the restaurant manager told us we had to go into their kitchen. We stayed there for about 30-45 minutes till it was clear. They volunteer to re-make our food.

GoHawks

The dentless repair is pretty good as I've used it before for door dings. Keep in mind though that not all dents can be fixed that way. If the dent is near a spot that they can't get the tools in there, they won't be able to pop it out.


Glad you're OK.

lland

A couple of dent guys (one even calls himself "The Dent Guy") have told me they love hail damage. Lots of dents to charge for (or by the panel as noted above) and relatively easy to fix. Call your dealer for a name, they'll have one they use for trade-ins (bot don't go through the dealer or they'll add a "finder's fee."

Good luck.

LL

miner

Sorry to hear that Mike. I used to live in Dallas and in 1995 five days after getting my new Accord EX I was caught in a hail storm - golf ball and bigger. Fixed like new by dent guys. The few they could not get to were repaired by replacing panels. My B-I-L John Ivey works at Payne and Sons Body Shop on Shiloh & I-635/NW Hwy. Go by and see him- he is an adjuster. He'll take care of you.

I think D/FW is the hail capital of the world.

backfire

The dentless guys are great. If they can't use their tools . Some have a suction cup that they pull out dents using compressed air. I don't know if they all have this

Mike_TX

Thanks for all the ideas ... the dent guys may be the ticket. I won't be able to talk to my insurance agent until Monday, so I'll figure out where to go from there.

Huy, we were at Airport Freeway and 820, and as you heard, the tornado hit in the 121 and Haltom Rd. area. Literally a couple of miles as the crow flies.

.
.

sotiri

They dont need to get behind the dent to pop it out, they usually do this, they take a hot glue gun, place a dab on the center of the dent, and set a plastic nipple on it. then they place on the plastic nipple a metal 'pull' and basically with the 'pull' has a metal sliding weight on it that they use to pop it out. how do they get the plastic nipple off the car that was glued to the dent? alcohol.
it breaks the bond of the glue, and there is no damage to the paint, or marring.
I watched them do my MDX, and it was amazing.

Mike_TX

My apologies for posting something not directly RL-related in this forum.

In addition to just being bummed out about it, I did figure hail damage as a general topic would be of interest, since it can happen to RL's as easily as TL's.

If the mods feel it's OT, it won't offend me if you move or delete it.



.
.

GoHawks

Well I had four on my Land Cruiser that I wanted fixed. One on the passenger front door, one on the rear driver's side door, and two on the left rear quarter panel right where at the seam where it meets the rear passenger door.

The dents on the doors were easily fixed, but they said they couldn't fix the ones on the quarter panel. Apparently the metal is pretty strong right there and they said that suction wouldn't work, and they couldn't get tools in there without drilling.

sotiri

the glue method isnt suction, its glue.
They used that on some areas like pillars and such where you cant get behind, and the metal is thicker.
basically the dent is pulled out with the reverse force the hail impacted with.

Mike_TX

It'll be interesting to see. I have dents on both the A-pillars and B-pillars, both of which are areas they can't get 'behind' very easily. The hot glue/dent puller trick may be the ticket!

I'm not too hopeful about a couple of dents right on the "crease" lines in a couple of places, though ... those will be tricky. Example:



.
.

RL06tech

sotiri

ahhh, actually they can tap the crease back in.
as the panel is pressed, the metal takes on a form and the crease can never really be erased from the metal, so even tho the dent destroyed the line of the panel, when the pull out the dent-a distortion will be evident as a depression on the crease or a raising of the surrounding area of the panel line.
So, in that area, they can 'tap' the line out from behind, and then 'tap' it back down to the original line needed to maintain the factory look.
It takes a steady eye and someone who has the finesse to do this.
If you find a reputable dentless repair shop, it will get fixed.
Besides, even if it takes more money to get a really experienced guy, it pays cause it suxs to break paint and then its never as good as factory.

TampaRLX-SH

Mike, I am sorry to see this damage to your TL, it does pain me. I am grateful you were not injured in those storms.

An associate had his new (yes one day old) Accord Coupe hammered by hail last spring. The damage was very similar to your TLs. I was convinced only serious, conventional body work would make it near the original condition.

He used a paintless dent repair and I can attest it was amazing. I am known to be the detail-oriented-anal-car-guy in my office. And when I was speechless when seeing the results, there was shock & awe from my associates. (I believe my speechless moment is now marked on various office calendars and a campaign to assign a company holiday is underway).

It truly was amazing, as being a new vehicle, I could not identify as much as fine scratches in the dentless removal.

Have faith in those craftsmen out there. Keep the resolve,and as much as we love the TL too, remember it is LEASED. Likley your standards are higher than the Lease Company!

Scott in Houston

It can be fixed. It've seen a lot worse and it was fixed.
I had a car that was hit by, literally, soft ball sized hail in Waco, Texas. With a combo of tools including dry ice, they can fix it.

Mike_TX

Thanks again for the encouragement, guys. I have an app't. tomorrow morning with the State Farm "catastrophe team" to get it looked at. People have already told me they are being fairly generous, and are writing checks on the spot. Of course, if the settlement isn't enough to handle the repairs, they will take a second look.

I'll let you know what they tell me tomorrow.

.
.

Mike_TX

Well, just got back from the State Farm catastrophe center ... the verdict is $5,249.17.

The adjuster said the hood and trunk are just too hammered for PDR, so he factored in replacement of both, with paint blending down all four fenders. The roof is bad, too, but he says he thinks they can drop the headliner, pull the sunroof, and get good access to the underside and get it looking fine.

I'm not thrilled about replacing major pieces and having to do the the paint thing. I plan to try several places that do PDR and see if they think they can fix things without going that far.

I have this feeling I may be getting it fixed as well as I can and trading it ...

(Duplicate post in the TL forum.)

.
.

miner

.....for a Type-S?

Iwas talking to my dealer in Houston about trading my wife's '04 RSX-S for a TL-S. Bottom line - the TL-S would have been $3400 less than what I paid for my '06 RL.

Mike_TX

Nah - I'm not interested in the Type S. Don't like the wheels, don't want a stiffer suspension, and don't really want FWD. Also, the TL is due for a body change again (next year?), and I wouldn't want to get one for that reason either.

Frankly, I'd probably go with an '07 Infiniti G35 sedan. 306hp, nice lines, good size, RWD, good residual.

.
.

neuronbob

I hear you, Mike. $5k is a lot to swallow for that kind of a repair. I'd probably think of trading, too, after the repair. A 2007 G is a decent consolation prize while awaiting the 4G TL. Further, now that I've tried AWD (and close-to-RWD handling), I'm not sure I'd go back to FWD, either.

Mike_TX

Get this - I've been to 3 body shops today and they're telling me there's no way they can do it for 5k ... they're talking as much as $8,000 (and they're State Farm "preferred" shops).

They're feeling like the roof has to be pulled and replaced, in addition to the hood and trunk that SF said. Just too much distortion to be able to PDR it. They're saying the car will be laid up for 3-4 weeks. Good that I have the RL to fall back on ...

.
.

neuronbob

I don't even know what to say to that. WOW.

TampaRLX-SH

Poor TL.....poor TL.

I can imagine the repair shops in your area are quite booked with hail damage repairs. That may drive the price up a bit. But still...that is serious work to be done.

sotiri

May I suggest that you go only to a PDR place? Do an internet search for your location.
The body repair shops are only trying to MAXIMIZE their profits, and hey its a free country so you are free to keep on looking.
In a worst case scenario, why dont you just remove all the dents that are removable with PDR, and see what is left afterwards?
Let the PDR people tell you what they can and cant do, obviously they wont want to lose business to the scape and paint shops, so they will be more honest IMO.

Mike_TX

That's a reasonable idea, but the State Farm dude started out by telling me many of the major dents just cannot be PDR'ed, due to their locations (too close to a panel edge, on a crease line, etc.). In addition, there are so many on the hood, for example, that there's no way to avoid a "ripple effect" after popping the dents ... there will simply be a loss of the original panel curve or shape. This has been mentioned by all the shops I've visited, as well, without any prompting from me.

Bottom line is that big chunks (hood, decklid, top) will just have to be replaced, so PDR alone isn't an option. Keep in mind, too, that if I end up keeping it, it is a leased car and must pass muster with Acura when I turn it in. So it has to be done right.

We're looking at dents the diameter of baseballs in many cases, so this isn't an easy fix.

.
.

MarbleGT

Mike,

I am friends with a guy that does PDR and we could get you taken care of. He's done my entire car and it looks just like new. If you're interested let me know.
He is pretty cheap but his work is breathtaking!

Jordan

Mike_TX

Thanks, Jordan, but even the PDR guys are telling me there's a lot of these dents they can't fix. I know they can work wonders, but apparently there are just some areas where they can't get to, and some cases where the total number of dents just distorts the panel so much they can't get the overall shape back. The individual dents, yes, but in the process the panel goes wonky, and that's the issue with my car.

I was 'way conservative with my estimate of # of hits ... one guy showed me where an area the size of a dinner plate on my roof had about 40 dents.

Looks like I'll just go with an approved shop and let them and SF work it out until I'm happy with it. Just too much at risk here.

.
.

Mike_TX

Well, I know this is getting to be a long boring thread, but heck, you don't have anything better to do anyway.

Just to set my mind at ease, I went to a PDR-only shop yesterday. I wanted to make sure the body shops weren't BS'ing me on their inability to fix certain dents.

The PDR guy (who has 15 years experience doing this) said he couldn't do the hood, period. Some of the dents are so deep the metal is actually stretched, so they will not pop back into a flat surface anymore. The roof and trunklid are very marginal, he says, and he even brought out two of his best guys to look at it for their opinions. One said he thought he could do it and the other wasn't so sure.

So ... EVERYONE is unanimous on having to replace the hood, so the body shop is going to be a factor anyway. And if the PDR guys are split on the roof and trunk, it's pointless to waste time and money trying to get part of it done via PDR and part via body shop.

I've made an appointment to drop it off on Monday morning for the body shop to get started. This is, BTW, the shop that said it could run 6 or 8 grand and 3 to 4 weeks before all the dust settles.

So my first hail damage experience is turning out to be a nightmare of sorts. I'm only about $2,000 upside down on my lease at the moment, so as soon as it comes out of the shop, I'm going to be shopping it as a trade. I can eat 2k on a car I doubt I'll ever be happy with again.

.
.

TampaRLX-SH

Sounds like a perfect opportunity for another RL! The markdowns on the RL will lessen the blow for the loss on the TL. <super-genius>

Mike_TX

It crossed my mind briefly, but I'll probably end up going with the '07 G35 sedan. It's not as lux as the RL, but for 6 or 7 thousand less I can get 306hp, RWD, Nav, BT, sunroof, leather, etc., etc., and fresh styling.

If a new RL were on the market, especially with more performance, I'd have to take a closer look. But I try not to buy cars in the last year or so of their life cycle, since they are obsolete so soon and the value plummets.

But thanks for the tip ...

.
..

busterrobertson

man im sorry to see that. Hail damage is terrible. Glad to hear that you are alright. I go to school at TCU and the hail missed us by a few miles. When I heard the storm sirens i ran out and moved my car to under a tree cuz there is no where else to park it here to protect it!

Mike_TX

Well, the body shop called and triumphantly announced the car was ready.

I went down there to check it out, but it was a matter of "Not so fast, Bondo-breath." The paint on the door, front fenders and hood had 'way too much metallic in it - it sparkled a lot more than the rest of the car. On top of that, the front passenger-side fender had buffer burns swirled all over it. I hate that.

Aside from the paint, the hood (which they ended up replacing) looked good, and the alignment, etc., was good, and it looked like the PDR was pretty successful on the parts where that was an option.

Amazingly enough, the total cost was almost exactly what State Farm had allowed me, in spite of the fact the trunk didn't get replaced like State Farm had indicated in their numbers. Imagine that.

In short, the hood, fenders and door are now going to be repainted. Let's see if they do better this time ...

.
.

jftjr

How big were hailstones before the game of golf was invented?

Mike_TX

Big enough to do the same damage, I'm afraid. But ... hasn't golf always been around?

.
.

hornedfrog2000

Size of testicles. I remember we had a hail storm here about 10 years ago that had hail the size of golf balls-grape fruit. There was tons of damage, so many cars had broken windshields and dents all over.

I was driving around like last spring in my car and it started hailing a little, but I took off as fast as I could, and parked under the interstate till it let up.