Side Question: Hail Just Destroyed Our Car

[KosmicKid]

I've had worse & seen others with worse: CO hailstorms is a season. Short of a 5-10 yo vehicle the insurance will repair it, that's just the way it is.
In my case it was a 1 yo Outback, got it fixed and then traded it in before it showed up in the database. Good Luck and just be glad no one was hurt.

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[MississippiMule]

My original reason for this thread was to get an idea of folks’ experience with whether this would be a “total.” Thanks for the input.

I may try to trade it in on a new one when fixed.

 

[harperrb]

This is why you get car insurance boys and girls

What about being legally required?

 

[harperrb]

My original reason for this thread was to get an idea of folks’ experience with whether this would be a “total.” Thanks for the input.

I may try to trade it in on a new one when fixed.

I'm going to guess not totalled. But that really depends on your insurance and local repair rates. Looks like 6-8$k body work/paint and 4-6k reupholstry.

If the water got to any electronics, likely totalled for sure.

Consider switching insurance if yours is being a pain. The market is too competitive to suffer poor support.

My whole house flooded from adjacent construction site. It sucked, but we got through it. It's just a car, and you're insured. This is first world problems. Good luck man.

 

[Efthreeoh]

Usually, if the dents are under the size of a quarter, they can do paintless dent repair. Bigger areas may depend where the damage is located and access behind the damage.

Not really. They can take most dents out from the outside, they don't need access from the inside.

 

[MississippiMule]

Another update.

The nice lady i talked to at the towing company at 6 pm said they could meet my wife at 10 pm to tow the car. She said to just have my wife call her closer to the time and she would send a truck. Wife called at 9 and a man answered who was rude and told her there was no way they could come due to so much work due to so many damaged cars from storm. Why didn’t they tell me that three hours earlier instead of saying they could do it? Now all the tow companies are booked all night as the car with busted out windows sits in the rain for another night, exposed to elements and vandals. So I called them and the guy was rude to me as well and talked all over me as I tried to explain the woman had told us they could do it. He was angry and rude. I told him maybe he shouldn’t have staff lying to people, because my wife and child now in a very bad situation late at night after relying on what they told is, and i hung up. This supposedly busy man called me right back and told me to never to call his wife a liar and don’t call his business again.

If I were down there, I’d just drive the car the relatively short distance to my mother in law’s, but my wife is scared what’s left of the windshield will fall apart onto her.

Called several other tow companies who are all booked through the night and all day tomorrow. Finally found one who affirmatively put us third on their list of jobs tomorrow morning.

Could not talk wife into going to Walmart to buy tarps and duct tape.

If I were there the shit would be in garage already. Maddening to deal with incompetence at every turn.

 

[PSUTE]

Worked in IT for a company that does software for PDR guys. Your insurance company has a matrix for the amount they will pay for each body panel. The PDR guys do a great job.

 

[Neps]

Sorry this happened to your family.

I'm no longer in the field of Damage Estimates, but back when I was (2006 to 2009) that damage to your A-Pillar was considered un-repairable by manufacturers standards. The A-Pillar is considered a structural component, part of the safety cage.

I worked for a major auto manufacture, so our level of tolerance regarding risk was low, so I can't provide any experience in the aftermarket repair arena. We crushed a lot of new cars for less damage to the A-Pillar than what I see in your picture. It might be worth it to mention it to your adjuster, and hopefully your insurer will not want to take the risk.

News Report W/ some good advice

 

[Bronco21fan]

No contact still from adjuster. Going to rain some more. I may need to call a Kia dealer in that area to tow it to their place and get it under cover.

Why cant It be drivin did the hail destroy the engine I’d be damned if I’d let more water get into that vehicle get it undercover or get a tarp over it you can get them from Home Depot or Lowe’s

 

[MississippiMule]

I’m not there and my wife won’t do those things.

 

[PhoenixM3]

Wife and daughter and two friends are out of town on gulf coast. Bad storm last night, 2021 Kia Telluride, with 13k miles, destroyed. Entire body badly damaged, windows busted out. Standing water inside what was a pristine, gorgeous new car I spent months finding.

I filed a claim online but still trying to get a human being to call back and send adjuster and set up rental car.

My question is has anyone ever had this happen, and, if so, did the insurer declare the car totaled? If they don’t, I know you can’t fix hail damage on a body, and that won’t be acceptable at all.

Any insight from anyone who has had this kind of damage is appreciated. Thanks.

Not only does the prospect of it not being declared a total loss, and continuing to pay the note on a ruined car, sicken me, it could also affect my ability to buy the Bronco.

Wife is in tears. I’m at home trying to contain my frustration with the insurance company not calling me back.


[/QUOTE

Even though the vehicle is fixable, it will likely be declared a total loss by insurance, due to the labor involved to restore the car to pre-accident condition. The body panels which can be replaced (fenders) are easy, the doors can be “re-skinned”, but there are also structural considerations when attempting repairs on A pillars, roof channels, etc.. A complete paint job will be required too.

Make your statement regarding details of the accident online, and anticipate being directed to take the vehicle to a collision center for evaluation.

This process sucks, but you should start looking for a replacement with similar mileage and features and be prepared to come out of pocket for the difference between the claim check and the final price of the next vehicle. Good luck.

 

[Roger123]

Sucks to hear about your car, it looks pretty bad.

I had three smashed in a hail storm at the same time in 2017, my wife's brand new civic had 800 miles on it. I had to pay the $500 times three to get them all fixed ('04 Pilot, '11 Mustang GT and the '17 Civic). Paintless dent repair made all the problems go away, couldn't tell anything had been done. It was several thousand in repairs to the three of them. I thought for sure the Pilot was going to be totaled but they took care of it.

I had USAA insurance at the time and they were tough to deal with but I'm pretty sure the body shop was mainly to blame. They kept finding more dents on the Civic and keept going back and forth to get stuff added to the claim. I brought the other two to a different shop and they had them in and out in no time with no drama.

At this point it's a business transaction between you, the body shop and the insurance company. They won't have any emotional involvement and you sort of need to do the same. You're not going to get a brand new car; they're going to fix this one or cut you a check for it's market value (regardless of what you owe or think it's worth).

Best of Luck to You!

 

[chowfun27]

Wow really sorry to hear this happened. The one silver lining through all this is the KIA Telluride's value is holding up extremely well due to all the high demand still. Hoping insurance pays you out well even if it's declared as totaled.

Unsure if this will have any merit with the insurance company but get a quote from Carvana if you were to sell the car to them, pre hail damage. 20k miles and 1.5 years later, Carvana is offering more than MSRP and what we paid for our 2020 Kia Telluride EX AWD.

 

[Efthreeoh]

Usually, if the dents are under the size of a quarter, they can do paintless dent repair. Bigger areas may depend where the damage is located and access behind the damage.

Here's what was fixed by PDR on my '06 3-Series, from a deer hit. These dents were all slightly bigger than a quarter:

 

[MississippiMule]

Just read this:

From National Weather Service in Mobile:
The estimated 4” (near softball size) hail report in Orange Beach this morning is definitely an historic type of event for our area. Looking back at records since 1950, this is only the second documented 4” hail report in the 20 counties that we serve in SE MS, SW and south central AL, and NW FL. The other 4” hail report was documented on July 22, 2018 in Andalusia, AL.

In addition, this is by far the largest hail stone ever recorded in Baldwin County. Prior to today, the largest hail recorded was 2” (hen egg size) in Foley on July 22, 2017.

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