Storms are indeed an integral part of life. However, a few storms can turn your life topsy-turvy. And hail storms are just one of them. Besides, if the hail hits your car, the damage to the vehicle might be irreversible in the worst-case scenario.
If your car has been written off from hail damage, the process can take more time than a normal written-off car. And you may even have to manage without using a car for a little while as the insurers may have been dealing with other people like you with hail damage on the car.
This blog explains what you need to know about hail damage, car worth after hail damage, and more.
Let’s get started.
What Size of Hail Damage On Car Is Worrying
You might ask, what size of hail can be causing real damage to my car. If the hail is 1 inch in size and accompanied by wind or is dense, it can damage the vehicle.
Mostly hail size smaller than one inch will not damage your car. Small hail may not need you to get the vehicle repaired.
Factors That Affect the Car Damage From Hail
If you are wondering about the factors that influence the damage to your car, we make it easier for you. Have a look at the factors below:
Speed of wind
Can the hail of pea size cause damage to your vehicle? Yes, it can if the speed of wind is too high. An important factor that affects the damage is the wind.
What are the speed, intensity, and direction of the wind directly affect the hail damage intensity? The hailstones’ velocity and angle can vary depending on the fast-moving wind gusts.
The hail size
The size of hail matters a lot when it comes to damaged cars. It is important to understand how the size of hail affects the damage proportion to your vehicle.
Smaller hailstorms don’t affect the car as much as the larger ones. A massive hailstorm means the falling speed would be faster and thus more damage.
The other factors that affect the damage are the composition of the material that gets hit, the impact angle, and the hailstones’ density. However, the smaller hailstones will not cause any dents.
The duration of the thunderstorm
The duration of a thunderstorm also impacts the damage proportion. The hail damage on your car will be greater if it gets exposed for a long time to larger hailstones and vice versa.
What Damage Hail Can Cause
The next important question that pops up in mind is what type of damage are we expecting from the hailstorm.
Hail can cause different kinds of damage to your vehicle, but here are the most common ones:
- Window or windshield cracks
- Small marks or scratches on the car paint
- Front or rear windshield small holes
- Dents on the car’s roof or hood
As a car owner, hail damage on a car can be a frustrating scenario to deal with. The best way to avoid it is to park your vehicle somewhere covered and safe from hail.
The Hail Damage Car Repair Cost
The damage repair cost from hail depends on the number of dents and severity that needs fixing. However, here is an average cost estimate for car hail damage:
- Small dent – between $35 – $45
- Medium dent – between $45 – $55
- Large dent – above $80
Hail can cause too many dents on the surface of your car, so the repairs may also add up pretty quickly. You can assume the average insurance cost claim for repair of hail damage is around $3,500.
And if you have no insurance coverage, you will need to pay the cost. And in case of no repairs, the car’s worth after hail damage will be lower than otherwise.
How Much Hail Damage To Write Off A Car
If your vehicle only sustained cosmetic damage from the hailstones, then the car will not be written off by the government. Cosmetic damage means minor dents. So, you will not need any damage repair or any certificate.
The vehicle might be written off if your car sustained hail damage or other damage from it. Mostly, there is an inspection for a written-off car before re-registration or permission to bring it on the road. But a hail-damaged written-off car might be exempt.
You can visit the official website of the QLD government for further details.
Hail Damage Car for Sale
Suppose you are not inclined to use your car insurance in the situation of hail damage and only want to sell it. Then there are scores of options available. Have a look at them:
Advertise Online to Sell
You can use online platforms to sell your damaged car. What you need to do for that is take good pictures of your vehicle, write an ad, and post.
After that, you wait for potential buyers to contact you. So, the process can put you on edge in terms of wait time and money.
Sell the Car for Parts
When your vehicle gets severely damaged from a hailstorm, you can sell its parts separately for money. However, you will have to spend significant energy and time on that.
You will need to list the car parts separately on various websites. After much effort, you will collect your money.
Sell the Car for Cash
The easiest and quickest way to get rid of a hail-damaged car in Australia is to sell it to a cash-for-car company Melbourne, like Best Cash for Carz. They have the team and equipment to pull apart the parts and sell them to customers.
The payment you get from a company may be lower than otherwise, but it also saves you a lot of hassle. Moreover, they collect the vehicles from the doorstep.
Is Hail Damage Covered By Car Insurance
Whether the repair for hail damage comes under the insurer depends on the policy you got. If we put it in the shortest form, it all depends on whether your insurer covers you for collision damage.
Moreover, it depends on the fact that if you have liability coverage or comprehensive coverage.
Collision coverage means that it covers the damage from a collision with some other object or vehicle only. So, the collision coverage is not going to insure you for the hailstorm damage repair.
Liability coverage applies for the damage or injury incurred from another vehicle or person, meaning a car accident. So, the liability coverage doesn’t cover the damage from the hailstones.
However, the comprehensive coverage covers the damage caused by maximum things such as natural disasters, fire, floods, and also hail.
Check the Deductible
One important thing is you should check your deductible. It depends on the severity of hail damage and your deductible if paying from your pocket is better than using insurance.
The Bottom-line
A vehicle outdoor can be susceptible to hail damage. And if that happens, unfortunately, you can either get it repaired or sell it for cash to a damaged car buying company. And this blog covers all you need to know about hail damage on the car. Until next time!
