Hail Damage - insurance claim or PDR?

[Chupacabra]

Just got whacked by a wicked hailstorm. I cleaned off the Wrangler and the hood at least has dozens of little dimples in it now. Not huge, but visible. Don't see any damage on body panels or window header area so far, just the hood.

I have $1,000 deductible on comprehensive, not sure if I should just go find a PDR place and pay out of pocket? I doubt the whole hood needs to be replaced, I think a good PDR place can probably get it back into shape.

Anyone else dealt with this recently?

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[Rhinebeck01]

To late to prevent the damage from this Hail Storm ....you will have more Hail Storms, though.....

But, consider buying and keeping in your JL a couple (or more) of Harbor Freight movers blankets... they are inexpensive and look aok in the rear of the JL..

You can fold them in half and they fit perfectly in the back of the JL. You can have someone sew up there sides to create a pocket if you want.. They sew easily..

The pockets / shipping pad is useful in hiding stuff in the back of your JL... they are great to keep you warm if you break down and are stuck out in the cold..... Pad stuff you move.. , etc..

In a Hail Storm, you can quickly soak them with a hose and place them on the hood of the JL.. or place them dry on the hood of the JL.... Doing so will prevent hail damage / dimples and save you lots of $. I know my shipping pads have saved me issues on more then one occasion over the years.. even with large size hail...

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[Chupacabra]

Unfortunately I was on the highway when it hit, no time to do anything about it. I have some of those HF blankets in the back actually but there was just no safe way to get off the highway. It was coming down so hard I literally could not see past my hood.

 

[Deleted member 59498]

I have never had it done but I seen the PDR guys pull those out on youtube, I had a few pings on another car I was going to get fixed.

 

[Jebiruph]

Both my JL and JT took a solid hit along with some hard to see minor hits a few weeks ago. I watched several youtubes and even ordered some PDR tools on Amazon. I was not impressed with the tools and sent them back. I found a good local shop and paid less than $300 for a total of 7 hits between the two vehicles. Here's pics of the biggest dents. The smaller dents I might have attempted, but I didn't want to try dents this big in an aluminum hood.

 

[Killed by Death]

Get a quote but I doubt PDR would hit $1000

 

[cobra]

I had hail damage on my previous jeep[2018 JLU]. Took it to a dent removal shop i know. 78 small dents in the hood. Did it for $250. Good deal i thought.

 

[Windshieldfarmer]

PDR - a talented tech can make those dents go away. A week ago my hood was up and a gust of wind threw the hood against the windshield header creating a small crease and two dents. The PDR guy fixed it perfectly for $215.

 

[Chupacabra]

Yeah I can't see this taking a PDR guy more than 1-2 hours as they are very small and maybe 2-3 dozen at most on the hood.

I will try to go talk to the local shop tomorrow but since a ton of people got hit it could be a while before I can get it fixed. Fortunately they aren't real obvious and I'm sure the PDR guys can whip it back into shape.

 

[JeepGrl68]

Just got whacked by a wicked hailstorm. I cleaned off the Wrangler and the hood at least has dozens of little dimples in it now. Not huge, but visible. Don't see any damage on body panels or window header area so far, just the hood.

I have $1,000 deductible on comprehensive, not sure if I should just go find a PDR place and pay out of pocket? I doubt the whole hood needs to be replaced, I think a good PDR place can probably get it back into shape.

Anyone else dealt with this recently?

Did you do the PDR? If yes did it work? I think I might need to do it. I have a mojito Jeep and I'm afraid anything I get wont match the rest of the body.

 

[RubiBlueJLU]

PDR all the way. As long as the paint is not cracked, they will disappear.
My son, and the shop he runs, does PDR all the time, along with classic repairs.
It is amazing what they can "push" out.

 

[Dp227]

I’m not the OP, but I had a 3 inch long deep dent on the side of my wife’s SUV in a difficult to correct for place that I did with a kayak during Covid lockdowns and didn’t get repaired for 18-24 months (no PDR locally, lazy). Took the guy nearly 3 hours of non-stop work. It was worth every penny.

 

[Chupacabra]

Did you do the PDR? If yes did it work? I think I might need to do it. I have a mojito Jeep and I'm afraid anything I get wont match the rest of the body.

Yep, had it fixed with PDR. Looks like new afterwards.

Our Hyundai Santa Cruz got hit earlier this year. Had it fixed with PDR too and it looks like new as well.

Unless your paint is damaged to the point where it has to be repainted, I'd give PDR a shot since it preserves your original paint. A good PDR person can work magic.

I see you were asking about cost in another thread. I paid the PDR shop $400 cash under the counter to fix mine. it was just the hood but there were probably 3-4 dozen dings on it.

 

[miweber929]

Yup, PDR all the way but be sure to go to a good shop, there are bad ones. Had mine done twice within a month. Sucked but it’s better than the alternative.

 

[m3reno]

Did you do the PDR? If yes did it work? I think I might need to do it. I have a mojito Jeep and I'm afraid anything I get wont match the rest of the body.

I've used PDR professionals a half dozen times all with outstanding results. Do your due diligence for who ever you hire. As long as the dents are not over any type of cross brace or the paint is cracked you should be good to go! Also, with the left over money I'll take a steak dinner!

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