Recently, hail balls the size of a softball hit various parts of Texas. Hail the size of a softball can leave some pretty big dents in your vehicle. Even much smaller hail balls can do some serious body damage to your vehicle. Make sure you don't fall for these three common myths about hail damage.

Myth #1: You Can't Fix Hail Damage At Home

Some companies and people will try to lead you to believe that you can't fix hail damage at home. If you don't have the time to wait for an auto body shop to fix your vehicle, or if you don't have the money to have a professional fix the dents in your vehicle, you can try removing the dents on your own.

You'll need a couple of free hours as well as few basic supplies, such as a hair dryer, work gloves and dry ice. You can easily find instructions online, such as this one and this one, to provide you with specific instructions on how to use these basic supplies to remove hail dents from your vehicle.

Myth #2: You Will Have To Repaint Your Vehicle After You Remove The Hail Dents

If you use the at-home method listed underneath myth #1, you will not have to repaint your vehicle. Fixing hail dents usually involves applying extreme heat and then extreme cold to the damaged area in order to force the metal to flex and pop back out.

Even if you take your vehicle to an auto body shop (such as Lombard Body & Fender Inc), they should be able to use a similar method to repair the damage done by the hail to your vehicle without damaging the paint. When you call for a quote, make sure you ask about their paintless dent repair options. When you bring your vehicle in for your appointment, they will be able to inspect your vehicle on the spot and let you know if paintless dent repair will work for your vehicle.

Myth #3: You'll Have To Pay For The Repairs Out Of Pocket

You will not necessarily have to pay to repair the hail damage on your vehicle out of your own pocket. If you carry comprehensive coverage on your vehicle, your insurance should cover the damage. Comprehensive coverage is designed to cover damage that isn't caused by a vehicular accident.

Just make sure you call your insurance agent as soon as possible after the storm and inform them that your vehicle sustained hail damage. They will then schedule an adjuster to come out and inspect the damage to your vehicle. After the inspection, your insurance company will let you know how much financial compensation you can expect to receive for the damages. The compensation should cover the repair costs.

If your vehicle recently sustained some hail damage, you can try to fix the damage at home. One positive side to hail dents is that hail generally does not damage your paint job, nor does the repair work. If you have comprehensive insurance coverage, you may be able to get your insurance provider to cover the cost of fixing the hail damage your vehicle sustained. 

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