If you want to avoid the time, money, and stress of repairing hail damage, follow our helpful guide on how to protect your car during hail storms.
How to Prevent Hail Damage
The best way to protect your vehicle from hail damage is to park it in a covered space when your area is expecting hail. Be proactive by checking your local weather channel, weather apps, and radars to stay up-to-date on the latest weather forecast. This is especially important if you live in an area prone to severe hail storms.
We recommend storing your vehicle in a garage during hail storms. Whether it’s a fully enclosed garage at home or a partially enclosed parking garage nearby, this space will best protect your car from hail damage. Unfortunately, not everyone has access to a garage. If that’s the case for you, don’t stress. Other covered spaces—such as parking covers or carports—are also effective car cover hail protection solutions.
How to Escape Hail Damage
If you unexpectedly get caught in a hail storm, here's what you can do to protect your car from hail damage.
- Move your vehicle to a safe place, ideally a covered parking area.
- If you can’t find covered parking, cover your car with any hail protective materials you have on hand—such as blankets, towels, or floor mats. This form of hail protection for your car isn’t foolproof, but it’s better than nothing.
Steps to Take After a Hail Storm
Once the hail storm has passed, take some time to inspect your vehicle for any damage. If you successfully protected your car from the hail, you’re good to go.
If you weren’t so lucky, contact your insurance company and file a claim. As long as you have car insurance, any damage to your vehicle caused by the storm will be covered. Be sure to take pictures of all damages and keep receipts from any repairs so you can submit them as evidence when filing the claim.
Whether or not your car gets damaged, we recommend washing and drying it to remove any water stains, dust, or dirt that might have kicked up during the storm.
How to Repair Hail Damage
It’s important to repair hail damage quickly to prevent rust formation that would cause further damage to your car. If a hail storm arrives before you can move your car to a covered space, here are possible solutions for damage repair.
- Paintless dent repair: This method is a common solution for repairing hail damage because it’s relatively cheap and quick to do. You use a special tool to push out the dent and apply heat to form a seal that melts the plastic back into place.
- Car detail: Find a local body shop that will repair the damages for you. This option is more expensive than repairing the dents yourself, but it saves you a lot of time and stress.
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