HOW DO YOU CHECK YOUR CAR FOR HAIL DAMAGE?
Look along each flat panel from a low angle in soft light, early morning or under a garage light, not in midday sun. Hail dents show up as small round ripples in the reflection. Check the hood, roof and trunk lid first, then the tops of the doors, roof rails, mirror caps, window moldings, the windshield and the light lenses. If you see spiderweb lines in the clear coat, the paint is cracked. Take photos of every panel, note where the car was parked, and use the storm date as the date of loss: October 20, 2026 for the East Valley, October 21 for north Phoenix and Glendale. Text the photos to (602) 935-6008 and we’ll tell you what we see.
Step By Step
A FIVE-MINUTE HAIL CHECK YOU CAN DO IN THE DRIVEWAY
1. Pick the right light. Midday Arizona sun hides dents in the glare. Early morning, dusk, a shaded garage or a phone flashlight held low across the panel works much better.
2. Look across the panel, not at it. Crouch so your eye is level with the hood or roof and look along it. A straight reflection, like a roofline or a light, bends wherever there’s a dent.
3. Go in order. Hood, roof, trunk lid, then the tops of the fenders and doors. Those horizontal surfaces take most of the hits. Then check the roof rails, mirror caps, window trim and the plastic around the windshield.
4. Check the glass and lights. Look for chips or cracks in the windshield, sunroof and windows, and cracks in the headlight and taillight lenses.
5. Look for cracked paint. Fine spiderweb lines around a dent mean the clear coat cracked. Those panels need conventional repair instead of paintless repair, and bare metal can start to corrode, so don’t wait on them.
Then document it. Photograph every panel and close-ups of the worst areas, and write down where the car was during the storm. Use the storm date as the date of loss even if you found the dents days later. For a precise count, we mark every dent under PDR lights for free at our four-bay shop, or pick the car up anywhere in the Valley. Arizona law (A.R.S. § 20-468) lets you choose any shop, and on qualifying claims we cover the first $1,000 of your deductible (above $1,000, case by case, and we do our best).
Not Sure What You’re Looking At?
Text us photos of the hood and roof at (602) 935-6008. We’ll tell you whether it’s hail damage and roughly what the repair runs.
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