What to do about Hail Damage (lease, insurance, vehicle, 2013)
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So I just got my car washed today (2013 Mazda3 Hatchback). As I was wiping my car down, I noticed minor hail damage on the roof. Maybe about 10 small dings. I have never noticed this before and am not sure what to do.
I leased this car about two years ago and have another two years to go on the lease. Other than the hail damage, the car is an excellent shape with low miles.
What concerns me is that when I go to trade or turn in the car, I'm going to loose a lot of value on the car. I'm not sure if it's worth getting if fixed now, fixing it later (like before I trade it in or turn it back in) or not doing anything.
I know that once I pull the trigger on an insurance claim, Car Fax has the information and I could end up loosing a lot of value on the car upon trade-in/or lease return.
I have a co-worker who told me to keep the car until the lease ends and just give them back the keys. He mentioned that there's not much they can do. I disagree, I would imagine after the dealer completes an inspection, I would be liable for the damage.
My gut tells me to wait until I get closer to lease end or when I want to trade in this car for a new one and have a Paintless Dent Repair shop have a look at it. I would hate to spend a lot of money on a car that is not mine. On the other hand, I would hate to get really hosed on the car's value upon trade-in or lease-end.
Find out how much it would cost to repair the dings and then decide if it would be worth it to fix it. I highly doubt the dealer would deduct much for a few dings being repaired by you or your insurance.
Before you turn it in to insurance find a local paintless dent removal/ pop a dent guy and get an estimate. The exact same thing happened to me several years ago with a lease vehicle I had. I looked over the car and found maybe 10 or 11 hail dents in the roof, hood and trunk, he went over the whole car and found 26 dings, 19 on the roof alone. The guy came right to my house and did the work in my driveway in less than 2 hours for $175. He also found a couple on the doors that he also fixed for that price.
What are your plans for the car? If you plan on keeping the car and buying it at lease termination then there is no need to fix it, unless you are like me and can't stand imperfections. If you plan on turning it in and leasing another car I don't think they usually make you pay for excessive wear and tear. That can vary on a lease by lease basis. This only works if you are releasing with the same company. You can also purchase the car at lease end and sell it as is yourself but, like you said it will lower the value of the car. If you want to turn it in and walk away then they expect that car in near perfect condition. There is probably a "excessive wear and tear" clause in your lease. If it was anything like mine they allow you one ding per body panel and it can't exceed a certain diameter. Beyond that they charge you a certain amount per ding, as you can imagine that could total up quite fast. In my case I was told that I would have to pay $1900.00 in excessive wear and tear charges if I chose to turn it in as it was. I was also quoted $1500.00 by a body shop for the repairs.
For me the pop a dent guy was a no brainer since I wanted to turn it in and walk away. The guy did an amazing job, the car looked perfect at turn in and I was not charged anything for wear and tear. In my case I waited about a year and had it repaired a couple weeks before I turned the car in.
Take it to paintless dent guy, the guys perform miracles. A friend of mine owns one and I've seen first hand the work that can be done. He's good enough that he has all the high end dealerships in Milw on his portfolio. If you live in Milw, let me know.
Before you turn it in to insurance find a local paintless dent removal/ pop a dent guy and get an estimate. The exact same thing happened to me several years ago with a lease vehicle I had. I looked over the car and found maybe 10 or 11 hail dents in the roof, hood and trunk, he went over the whole car and found 26 dings, 19 on the roof alone. The guy came right to my house and did the work in my driveway in less than 2 hours for $175. He also found a couple on the doors that he also fixed for that price.
What are your plans for the car? If you plan on keeping the car and buying it at lease termination then there is no need to fix it, unless you are like me and can't stand imperfections. If you plan on turning it in and leasing another car I don't think they usually make you pay for excessive wear and tear. That can vary on a lease by lease basis. This only works if you are releasing with the same company. You can also purchase the car at lease end and sell it as is yourself but, like you said it will lower the value of the car. If you want to turn it in and walk away then they expect that car in near perfect condition. There is probably a "excessive wear and tear" clause in your lease. If it was anything like mine they allow you one ding per body panel and it can't exceed a certain diameter. Beyond that they charge you a certain amount per ding, as you can imagine that could total up quite fast. In my case I was told that I would have to pay $1900.00 in excessive wear and tear charges if I chose to turn it in as it was. I was also quoted $1500.00 by a body shop for the repairs.
For me the pop a dent guy was a no brainer since I wanted to turn it in and walk away. The guy did an amazing job, the car looked perfect at turn in and I was not charged anything for wear and tear. In my case I waited about a year and had it repaired a couple weeks before I turned the car in.
I plan on trading it in on another car. This was kind of a "get me through the next couple of years" car.
I'm not real clear on when this hail damage happened. After you leased the car? If so, your insurance should pay for it. An insurance adjuster inspected mine and gave me a check on the spot. I'm thinking it was to cover the whole cost if I went to a no-paint dent removal outfit -- no deductible. If this happened since you took possession of the car, I'd get with your insurance agent pronto, then have it fixed whenever you like. (They don't like old claims, and I think you'd be foolish not to file a claim.)
I'm not real clear on when this hail damage happened. After you leased the car? If so, your insurance should pay for it. An insurance adjuster inspected mine and gave me a check on the spot. I'm thinking it was to cover the whole cost if I went to a no-paint dent removal outfit -- no deductible. If this happened since you took possession of the car, I'd get with your insurance agent pronto, then have it fixed whenever you like. (They don't like old claims, and I think you'd be foolish not to file a claim.)
I have no idea when this happened. That's a part of the problem. I just noticed it today after carefully looking at the roof of the car at the car wash. I am guessing it happened during our Hail season here in Colorado last year. It's not obvious which is why I did not see it until now. I wonder how that would go over with my insurance company? I'm betting not well since it's been some time.
Not too sure any Mazda 3's come factory equipped with a vinyl top. lol
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