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So I just received a check from the insurance company to repair hail damage for $4600.00. Dilemena. This is the half *ss paintless dent version. The right way would cost about 7k for new quarter panels, trunk lid, roof repair, and hood plus paint/labor. So I need advice on fixing half *ss or maybe paying down the balance. I know I can proy negotiate the hell out of a cash repair job later.

 

Factors

1. Will keep for awhile.

2. Balance $22,200.

3. only 15k miles 09 SE.

4. Already did crazy audio upgrade.

5. Freak hail storm in Arizona/never hails.

 

Cons

1. The "just got hailed on several months ago look"

2. Negative Carfax

3. Poor condition value

 

Sure the list can be extended. Let me know what you think.

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IMHO - If the car is basically brand new and you're going to be paying on it for years, just get it fixed. The extra money is tempting, but paying on a car that looks like ass would drive me nuts ever day - but that's me.
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If the paintless tech is really good it will back to new. The paint job may not be as good in the end either, and welding in new pieces and all that paint work?! I would probably do paintless dent reapair, and maybe think about trading it in the future.

 

Just my 2c's

 

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The check is written out to me and the lien holder so I would have to just sign it over. Thats a good question because once you file a claim with the insurance I think they submit info to Carfax, but I also know that a shop is required in my state to report any signifigant body repair.

 

The sort of cool thing is that my balance started off at 28k and inside of a year and 2 months I got it down a bit, so Im just thinking with that extra pay I can be in a good position a year from now. I totally know what you mean, it sux to look at the battle damage.

 

I dont know what to trade for in the future because I dont like the new Legacy that much. But I would hope for sure that the tech would do an amazing job. Have you every seen an after shot of dent repair? I havent and am wondering about the quality.

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Dent repair is both a skill and an art. It al depends on how much time and patience the tech has. Have him/her walk you through the procedure and what he is going to do. Ask him if he is going to need to drill hole, and how many. And ask him how close to perfection the work is going to be. I have known really good techs, and not so good ones. The good ones really impress you with their work, and are usually not shy to tell you so. If the tech spends the time with you explaining what he is going to do, then he may be good.

 

I have seen great work and OK work, just depends on how much time the tech wants to spend. With anything, just keep in mind your car is not going to be perfect anymore. Even with a paint job you would be able to tell it was painted. also depending on the color it may not match all that well either. And one more thing, with the collision work you r car will be down and out a lot longer.

 

GL

 

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My car suffered hail damage and was fixed via PDR. You can't tell anything ever happened. They got 100% of the damage out without resorting to body work or paint.

 

The team from hailmasters.net knew Subarus too. They also did my Dodge Ram, a Lexus LS430, and two Tundras for family members. All came out showroom new.

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Typical policy language states that the insurance owes to return the item to it's pre-storm state with "like kind and quality".

 

Make your argument for like kind and quality and you will get the money you need. If you don't do that, the insurance company will choose the cheapest "like kind and quality" they can get away with. Trust me on this.

 

The more you argue for a comparable like-kind-and-quality, the more money you will get. Also, you should be able to choose the shop that does the work. The insurance company will want to steer you to a "budget" vendor, but you should be able to decide the shop that does the work and, by law, the insurance company owes whatever that shop charges (actual repair/replace cost). That means you can go to a really nice shop, and as long as they're not "upgrading" your paint/body etc...the insurance company owes the actual real-world cost minus your deductible.

 

I was an insurance adjuster (houses) for about five years. People have more choices and ways to argue for quality replacement/repair than they're aware of (and more than the insurance company wants you to be aware of).

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Ask a car saleman what he'd give for your car as is, and if the hail was fixed. You may find the value has dropped more than the cost of repair.

 

As the car gets older you'll find the value loss is less than the cost of repair (when the car is worth $4k 15 years from now you may find the hail damage only dings the value by $1k)

 

 

Such a new car, I'd get it fixed. If you don't get it fixed then PLEASE pay down the balance rather than squandering it. The car would have been upside down already and now it's worse. If circumstances force you to sell the car quickly then you'll wind up owing the bank a lot. You never know when life will kick you in the nuts, and many people lose a lot of money on cars when theat happens. Job loss, divorce, marriage, kids, death in the family.

 

If you're heavily upside down in that car then anything that can force you to have sell quickly will lock in that loss.

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The Car saleman stated 8500, down from an easy 16,500 prior to the damage. I dont have a choice but to pay principal since the check is written to myself and the lienholder. I think this may have been a blessing in disguise since I can go get a coupe after paid off. I was looking at some 350z's, early 2000 911's, and BMW 335 coupes.

 

Thanks for the advice, I will deff do my research on the best shop in the state and get them to advocate for the repair if I go that route. Hailmasters sounds like a start.

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If you do go for the nicer cars on your looking list, and have to think twice about hail damage repair costs, then those European sport coupes will eat your wallet alive the first time something that should never break, breaks. Just a friendly heads up.
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As mentioned, it is your opinion that PDR is half assed. You could just as well have it repaired at a shop and have the panels replaced poorly or paint job not matched well.

 

The insurance company is doing what is right, by repairing the car back to it's original "before damage" state. If you are not satisfied with the PDR after the fact, take it up with the PDR company and don't pay for the service, just as you would if you had a body panel replaced and it didn't come out the way you wanted.

 

However I do agree with the argument for repairing it irregardless. I would not want to pay on my car for the next few years looking at the damage.

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Ummm...anyone else wondering about paying 28K for a Legacy SE...? That car salesman really took you for a ride. If you're looking at purchasing another car in the future make sure you haggle the hell out of the price.

"Bullet-proof" your OEM TMIC! <<Buy your kit here>>

 

Not currently in stock :(

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Get it repaired. You're still paying for it, and you're not going to want to pay for it if it looks like crap. Work with your insurance to get the money you need to make it look like it used to. Just because they cut you a check doesn't mean that they can't cut you another.

 

NOT repairing is probably the worst you can do, then you'll be upside down on a car you don't even value anymore.

 

Also, looking at other cars you'll be getting "after" this one is the wrong mindset. If you're already having issues keeping your current car maintained, going further in debt is not the answer.

 

My 2 cents.

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Ummm...anyone else wondering about paying 28K for a Legacy SE...? That car salesman really took you for a ride. If you're looking at purchasing another car in the future make sure you haggle the hell out of the price.

 

Not trying to be a butt :spin:

 

But, +1

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Ummm...anyone else wondering about paying 28K for a Legacy SE...? That car salesman really took you for a ride. If you're looking at purchasing another car in the future make sure you haggle the hell out of the price.

 

 

i didnt want to be the one to say it but now that you already have....you got worked dude

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Try selling it to a Storm Chaser. Still will need to be discounted...but we love our hail dented cars.

 

All 100 of you in the entire country, less those who have ANY money after deciding to become a storm chaser.

 

My meteorology professor instilled a lot of respect for what you do, but let's be realistic :lol:

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PDR is a good way to fix dents and often times will come out perfect. Replacing panels can be even worse than pdr because 90%+ of the time, the new panels will not fit exactly perfect (despite how good the body shop is) and that will look worse for trade-in value because to many, it will appear that the car has been wrecked. You never want to paint/replace if you can avoid it.

 

Also realize that if you do the pdr, if has to be done correct or you go back to your insurance company. They'll make sure it gets fixed.

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I really am going to look into several shops. I talked to a paint tech who advised I am better off doing pdr. Regarding the bal, warranties, sales tax, reg and a little neg equity roll moved me up. This car had some adds like the homelink, splash guards, and armrest. I think initially they were trying to sell for 25 but rolled back to 22.5 in june 09. I really agree with getting fixed as pointed out since its a mess to look at.
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If I may, I'd like to add my opinion that PDR is your best option unless you have creased body panels.

 

It is, I believe, pretty much impossible to match and blend modern basecoat/clearcoat systems. If you replace a panel and only paint the panel, the observer's eye "expects" the color to change at the seam/gap. So if there is any actual variation there, it will be noticed. The practice, then, is to paint the new panel and blend into the adjoining panels to trick the eye. The problem is that when you feather out clearcoat, you tend to create a noticeable transition area that no amount of rubbing will blend.

 

In the old days of single-stage paint (that was also more brittle) it was very workable and you could feather, blend, and rub until the patch disappeared. The old paints were also very smooth, unlike today's which seem to have a sort of factory orange peel to them.

 

If PDR can fix it, then that's the best way to go. The simpler the better.

 

Now, to add a grain of salt to my opinion, I am not a technician or qualified automotive painter. I have read much on the topic so that I could understand the real challenges of buying old cars, and also to understand what I'm paying for when I need a repair. I've had a panel repaired on my present car, and I can't say I'm all that satisfied.

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All 100 of you in the entire country, less those who have ANY money after deciding to become a storm chaser.

 

My meteorology professor instilled a lot of respect for what you do, but let's be realistic :lol:

 

Yeah...it's not realistic....I was mostly pointing it out for fun. Yeah...chasers Never buy new-ish cars.

 

But who wants to be realistic anyway:cool:

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