Hail Damage recommendations/advice

[Yzcr87]

The nasty weather the midwest received on 3/14 did a number on my 23' Laramie. About 5:00 pm driving north on I-55 about 30-40 minutes north of St.Louis we received softball size meteorites/hail. So much hail on the ground it is was like driving down a washboard road & all that ice on the ground caused a dense fog so the poor bastards driving into it had no idea. The pictures dont do it justice.
Windshield is obviously junk, wiper cowl is bashed, Window trim is bashed, the drip rail strips in the roof/roof rail seam are bashed in on both sides. Oem tonneau cover is swiss cheese, bed interior in fine thanks to my bedrug. Third brake light is cracked but rear window is fine (both still dont leak). Every panel received damage. Hell, even the rockers and the bottom of the doors have dings from the hail bouncing off the road. Surprisingly, the mirrors, grill, headlights & taillights and other trim are fine. Counted 102 dings on the hood alone without trying very hard. The hood, both a-pillars, roof & roof rails have dents that went deep enough to crack the paint. I'd imagine with the the extent of the damage that panel replacement is in my future.
I've never had an insurance claim of any type ever & I cant imagine this damage would total out a 9 month old truck with a $72k sticker price. So I'm looking for recommendations towards a body shop in the St.Louis MO/Springfield IL area based on your own personal experience that wont butcher my Laramie that isnt even a year old yet. Fearful of getting a good paint match to my Patriot Blue & the r&r of the whole interior to replace the roof skin will lead to a lifetime of squeaks and rattles. TIA

 

[Darksteel165]

Open an insurance claim and get the damage inspected. That doesn't mean you are using a claim unless you agree to get it repaired.
You are looking at a lot of damage but paintless dent removal might be able to work on a lot, but on the flip side they can't get to the inside of most of those panels without ripping apart the truck so some areas that look easy might be hard.
There is also paint damage which would required the panels to be painted after having the pdr done which is astronomical in price.

100% open an insurance claim and get it appraised for damages.

 

[Yzcr87]

Open an insurance claim and get the damage inspected. That doesn't mean you are using a claim unless you agree to get it repaired.
You are looking at a lot of damage but paintless dent removal might be able to work on a lot, but on the flip side they can't get to the inside of most of those panels without ripping apart the truck so some areas that look easy might be hard.
There is also paint damage which would required the panels to be painted after having the pdr done which is astronomical in price.

100% open an insurance claim and get it appraised for damages.

Way ahead of you. I've already I've paid so much in insurance over the years with the same company & no claims, even after paying this out they'll still come out ahead.

 

[Dewey]

Wow that’s the worst I have ever seen.

Looks way beyond PDR to me on all but a few smaller dents.

New hood for sure. Roof looks terrible. Just be glad you don’t have the pano sunroof. Guessing that would have shattered.

 

[HSKR R/T]

Open an insurance claim and get the damage inspected. That doesn't mean you are using a claim unless you agree to get it repaired.
You are looking at a lot of damage but paintless dent removal might be able to work on a lot, but on the flip side they can't get to the inside of most of those panels without ripping apart the truck so some areas that look easy might be hard.
There is also paint damage which would required the panels to be painted after having the pdr done which is astronomical in price.

100% open an insurance claim and get it appraised for damages.

PDR probably wouldn't touch that, considering the amount of dents they wouldn't be able to get out, or the time it would take to work then out would be much higher than just replacing the panel. I got quoted $300 just to remove a small ding in my bedside and one on the tailgate from a trailer jack. And that was with me removing the tailgate and bed rail caps

 

[DEG]

I think that truck is totaled.

Unless you have a replacement value or gap policy you wont' get the sticker price from the insurance company. The insurance company will only pay actual cash value before the damage which will likely be between $50 - $60K for your truck. When deciding whether or not to total it they will then subtract the price they can expect from a salvage auction from the actual cash value they will have to pay you.

Either way, I'm sorry for your loss.

 

[Yzcr87]

PDR probably wouldn't touch that, considering the amount of dents they wouldn't be able to get out, or the time it would take to work then out would be much higher than just replacing the panel. I got quoted $300 just to remove a small ding in my bedside and one on the tailgate from a trailer jack. And that was with me removing the tailgate and bed rail caps

I agree. The hood, roof & roof rails already need paint & some of the larger hits I believe are beyond PDR. Think it'd be cheaper for the insurance to go straight to panel replacement. The doors and fenders could definitely be PDR.

 

[Yzcr87]

I think that truck is totaled.

Unless you have a replacement value or gap policy you wont' get the sticker price from the insurance company. The insurance company will only pay actual cash value before the damage which will likely be between $50 - $60K for your truck. When deciding whether or not to total it they will then subtract the price they can expect from a salvage auction from the actual cash value they will have to pay you.

Either way, I'm sorry for your loss.

Looking at recent sales of 23' Laramie's through Copart, flood & rear end frame damaged trucks sold for 22-24k. I too think it'll be close to being a total loss

 

[scottmoyer]

Due to the panel already needing paint, PDR won't be used on the other dents on the same panel. The amount of dents isn't bad for PDR hail chasers, but once there's cracked paint, what's the point? I would hope for a total loss claim as it will never be like new if there's that much damage on every panel.

 

[Pikeman_66]

Sorry for your loss, you’re not alone. My wife is a customer service rep for Farm bureau ins. And she was on the phone non stop Thursday afternoon and all day Friday.

 

[akaTheDude]

I've never had an insurance claim of any type ever & I cant imagine this damage would total out a 9 month old truck with a $72k sticker price.

Man...this hurts.....I hate this for ya

My insurance company classifies this as an "Act of God" and doesn't affect your insurance, at least the last time this happened to my truck. I would call your insurance company and let them work it out.

 

[Mountain Whiskey]

Get it fixed and while it is all shiny just back from the shop, trade it in. Maybe you can beat the Carfax report and they will be none the wiser.

 

[PurpleRT]

Man I was suppose to run back up to St Louis to take another recertification class on the 15th…. Im so glad I decided last minute not to go.

If it wasn’t all over and the paint wasn’t cracked I would say a reputable PDR shop could do it but would require obviously some money and a good bit of time with your truck left at their shop.

I’m sure the PDR and paint shops in the area are happy lol.

 

[52ragtop]

To start, I've seen worse! I wrote 18K on a car out of Louisiana one time, that was literally softball size hail. Hood is a definite replacement, anywhere the paint is cracked is conventional repair, roof, a good PDR guy "might" be able to repair it, or what's called "push to repair" I've been retired for a few years after running collision centers for 45+ years. My guess is it is not totaled, insurance companies will go to about 70% of the value to repair it. also, since it is still drivable, let the "mad rush" get their repairs done first. Then when things slow down, take it in.

IF you do not have to have a welded in panel replaced, you are better off. But done properly with corrosion protection, it will look like new again.

Sorry for your loss.

JT

 

[DEG]

My insurance company classifies this as an "Act of God" and doesn't affect your insurance, at least the last time this happened to my truck. I would call your insurance company and let them work it out.

Many insurance companies have gotten creative with their discounts. Years ago most had a "Good Driver" discount that you did not lose if it was comprehensive damage beyond your control. In more recent years many have split that discount into two categories; a "claim free" discount and a "good driver" discount. You lose the "claim free" portion of the discount for any claim regardless of fault. My insurance company consolidated both into a single "Premium Driver" discount. I lose part of that discount even if I'm not at fault, but the formula is not something they publish.

 

[Yzcr87]

To start, I've seen worse! I wrote 18K on a car out of Louisiana one time, that was literally softball size hail. Hood is a definite replacement, anywhere the paint is cracked is conventional repair, roof, a good PDR guy "might" be able to repair it, or what's called "push to repair" I've been retired for a few years after running collision centers for 45+ years. My guess is it is not totaled, insurance companies will go to about 70% of the value to repair it. also, since it is still drivable, let the "mad rush" get their repairs done first. Then when things slow down, take it in.

IF you do not have to have a welded in panel replaced, you are better off. But done properly with corrosion protection, it will look like new again.

Sorry for your loss.

JT

The more I look at it the more damage I find. Drivers side will probably need an aperture panel, a-pillar is pretty bad with compromised paint & the steel above the left rear door frame is almost pinched flat down to the door in one spot with compromised paint in multiple spots. If it does need that aperture panel, might as well not even try PDR or push to paint on the roof, its got 5,000 good sized hits and many little ones I probably haven't noticed plus has cracked paint in multiple spots too so might as well do a roof skin since teardown is already mostly done for it while doing the aperture panel.
By looking at similar trucks with hail damage at Copart & IAA both currently up for bid and past sale prices. I'm starting to think more and more that even though my damage is definitely repairable, there's too much auction value in hail damaged vehicles to allow a repair like this without first reaching its ACV unfortunately. Sucks...

 

[Yzcr87]

20k preliminary estimate which is "best case scenario" according to the body shop with the attached quote & 2 more I've had look at it as well.
New hood, roof skin, one front fender, metalwork the doors & bed & try to metalwork both unisides/a-pillars & roof rails. More than likely the drivers uniside will end up needing replaced once they dive into it. Still waiting to hear back from insurance as to if they'll total it

 

[1BADRAMLIMITED]

that thing is totalled!

 

[Nascar Tommy]

So sorry! That sucks.

 

[PurpleRT]

Woooow lol dk how you feel if your attached to your truck but a 20k in damage I would rather it be total and put that toward a new to you truck