You’ve spent a lot of time searching for a car that you can call your own. You’ve finally one. There’s only one problem: It has hail damage.
You must consider a variety of factors when you want to find the right car. Hail damage probably didn’t even factor into these considerations. Nevertheless, here you are wondering if you should buy a car with hail damage.
You will need to take some time to reflect on whether this car is the right one for you. As you do so, take some time to read through this article so you can learn as much as possible before making your decision.
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What You Should Know About Buying a Hail Damaged Car
When you’re buying a car for basic transportation, you should definitely consider buying one that’s been hail-damaged. Sales of these vehicles are often a great bargain, as long as you know what you’re doing. With this in mind, there are some things you should know.
Check the Car’s Paperwork
There are a lot of things you can learn about a car before you even visit the dealership. Taking the time to do a little research here can be beneficial later.
Run the Vehicle Identification Number (VIN)
Spend some time scrutinizing the car before purchasing it. Doing so will ensure that you don’t have any unwanted surprises in the future. Once you have the car’s VIN, it’s easy to run it through an electronic background check such as Carfax or AutoCheck. Doing so will tell you a lot about the car, including any undisclosed damage.
Look Out for a Salvaged Title
Insurance companies issue salvaged titles when they believe a vehicle is a total loss. A vehicle is deemed a total loss when the repair cost exceeds the vehicle’s value. When you come across one of these titles, you can trust that it’s going to cost a lot of money to fix the car.
Know What You’re Buying
Once you’re at the dealership, you don’t want to rush into purchasing the vehicle. Instead, take some time to understand what you’re buying.
Get the Car Inspected
Have the vehicle thoroughly inspected so you can avoid any unpleasant surprises in the future. You may also want to have a PDR specialist provide you a free estimate regarding how much it’ll cost to fix the vehicle’s hail damage. One thing to consider is the paint — is the paint broken in any areas, or is the paint still intact in each of the dents.
If there is no breakage in the paint, you can save yourself a TON of money, as hail damaged cars are going to be subject to a significantly lower asking price, and you can have the damage repaired for just a few hundred dollars from a paintless dent repair specialist.
Thoroughly Review the Warranty
Dealerships that don’t offer warranties when you’re buying a hail-damaged car should raise a caution flag in your mind. Typically when dealerships don’t offer these warranties, it’s because the hail damage is much worse than it looks. Sometimes a car may not even be salvageable.
Before you buy the vehicle, make sure that the dealership provides you with this paperwork. You need to take the time to do more than scan through it. Take time to read it thoroughly.
Find Financing and Insurance
It’s great if you can pay for a car outright, but otherwise, you’ll need financing. Some lenders won’t cover hail-damaged vehicles. This information you need to know before signing any paperwork.
You also need to talk to your insurance agent to see if they’ll give you a comprehensive insurance plan. Sometimes the insurance agent will quote you for the current damage, thus negating any future damage coverage.
Make sure you’re honest with the insurance company. Any hail damage that the insurance company doesn’t document will affect future claims. For instance, if you’re in a minor accident (under $2,000 worth of damage), but you have $1,500 worth of undocumented hail damage, your insurance company could decide only to give you the difference (e.g., $500).
Consider the Car’s Future
Although everything may be checking out thus far, you also need to think about the car’s future. Hail damage may affect this in a few ways.
Resale Value
Remember that a new car costs a lot of money upfront, but its resale value drops as you use the vehicle. When a car has suffered from hail damage, this will also impact its resale value. Make sure you consider this since the upfront cost of purchasing and fixing the car can be hefty. If you feel that the vehicle is worth this price, you should consider opting for paintless dent repair (PDR). Doing so will maintain the car’s value and repair mild-to-moderate hail damage as if it was never there at all.
Buy The Right Vehicle and Trust JM Dent Repair
Try JM Dent Repair in Lafayette for Paintless Dent Repair and all your paintless dent, ding, crease and hail damage repair needs. Our highly trained technicians will quote you an affordable price and fix your dents like no other shop could. Call (765) 237-7290, send us a message HERE or stop by JM Dent Repair today and let’s get your ride looking brand new again.