5 Reasons Why You Should Get Your Auto Hail Damage Repair Early

Tony Mers • November 6, 2020

Auto hail damage and other damages caused by accidents or wear and tear are a bother for most car owners, given that 77% of cars need repair or maintenance. The dents and dings caused by hail damage are not only ugly, but they also decrease your car's value. Not many people would buy a car with hail damage. Therefore, you need to get dent repair from an auto body shop immediately after your car sustains hail damage. Here's why you shouldn't wait to get your auto hail damage fixed.

1. Repairing Dents From Hail Is Quick and Fast Through Paintless Dent Repair

You may be worried about the inconvenience you'll have to endure when getting your car's hail damage fixed. If you rely on your car to get to work, you may not be able to afford the downtime. However, as your auto body repair technician will tell you, fixing hail damage is faster and easier using paintless dent repair (PDR). Depending on the extent of the hail damage and its location on your car's body panels, PDR can take less than two hours. PDR is effective, and it also preserves the original factory finish paint of your car. When a hailstorm does damage to your car, you can get paintless dent repair in Chicago or elsewhere the same day without long wait times.

2. Auto Hail Damage May Attract Rust and Cracks If Not Repaired Early

The small hail dents you see on your car may soon attract rust and cracks if you don't get them repaired early enough. If a second round of hailstorms hit your car, the old dents may get creased, since the body panel is already weakened. For PDR techniques to apply, the original factory finish on your car shouldn't have been disturbed. For the most part, hail damage is easily fixed using PDR. Therefore, when you seek hail damage repair early enough, PDR techniques will be more effective at hail damage repair. And you want the auto hail damage to be fixed through paintless dent removal because it restores your car to pristine condition.

3. You May Exceed Your Insurance's Claim Time Limits for Hail Damage

If you've comprehensive coverage from your auto insurance, they'll pay for the hail dent repair costs. However, most insurances have limits for when you must file claims for hail damage. If the claim time expires before you file your hail damage claim, your insurance may not pay up. If another hailstorm damages your car before you get the original hail dents repaired, you'll have a rough time with your insurance adjuster. Most insurances deal with the situation differently, but you'll almost always be on the shorter end of the stick when you postpone auto hail damage repair.

4. Postponing Hail Damage Repair May End up Costing You More

When the hail dents attract cracks and rust, which rules out paintless dent repair, you will have to settle for the conventional dent repair techniques. This means that your car's panels may be replaced or repainted. Not only is replacing and repainting a car's body panel expensive but it also reduces the car's overall value. Additionally, it takes a lot of time to get your car repaired using traditional dent repair techniques. This means that you'll end up using more time and money when you postpone your hail damage repair.

5.Your Car Would Fetch a Lower Price If You Decided to Sell or Trade In

You may come across a trade-in deal that you cannot pass or decide to sell your car. In such scenarios, your car will attract a lower value if the hail damage is not fixed. However, when the hail damage is fixed through PDR, there'll be no signs of repair, and your car will look as good as new. Therefore, you'll have the upper hand in a trade-in deal or when selling your car.

Waiting to get auto hail damage repair will cost you more in the long end. So, yes, it is worth fixing hail damage on a car as soon as possible. When your car sustains hail damage, seek paintless dent repair in Chicago as soon as you can. It will preserve the overall value of your car and prevent future repair costs.

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Why Ignoring Small Dents Can Lead to Bigger Problems

January 30, 2026

It is an awful feeling when you walk out to your car after a long day and see a small dent on your passenger door. While it may appear to be just a cosmetic issue, you should still get it fixed, because ignoring small dents can lead to bigger problems for your vehicle. Don’t let small dents on your car go untreated; let's talk about why you need to tackle these issues ASAP. Rust Loves Chicago Winters We all know the drill here in the Windy City. We have beautiful summers, sure, but we also pay the price with brutal winters. And what comes with winter? Salt. Tons of it. Your car’s paint job acts as a suit of armor protecting the metal body underneath. Even a minor dent often comes with microscopic cracks in the paint—sometimes too small to see with the naked eye. Once that seal is broken, moisture and road salt sneak in. They settle against the bare metal and start a chemical party you definitely don’t want to host. Oxidation begins immediately. By the time you notice bubbling paint or that tell-tale orange stain a few months later, the rust has already been eating away at your door panel from the inside out. Resale Value Takes a Nosedive For many people, maintaining their car is a valuable part of purchasing a new vehicle. When that day comes, curb appeal is everything. Used car buyers (and dealership appraisers) will judge your car by its exterior appearance. If they see a vehicle riddled with door dings, bumper scrapes, and ignored scratches, they see a car that wasn't cared for. They assume that if you didn't care enough to fix the outside, you probably didn't care about the rest of it either. It lowers the perceived value instantly. Maintaining your car’s body and its paint is an investment in your future trade-in value. Paint Damage Spreads Like a Virus When a dent or scrape compromises the integrity of the paint, the surrounding paint loses its grip. High-pressure car washes, wind, and temperature fluctuations cause the paint to flake away from the initial injury site. A scratch the size of a quarter can grow into a patch the size of a softball over a couple of seasons. It’s Easier (and Cheaper) Than You Think Here is the good news: fixing these things early is surprisingly affordable. Modern body shop technology is amazing. For many small dings where the paint isn't cracked, we can use techniques that massage the metal back into place without spraying a drop of paint. River North Collision Repair offers paintless dent repair in Chicago to fix minor dents. Regardless of what nicked your door, we can help remove the dents and maintain a seamless look for your vehicle. Don’t Wait for Problems Don't let minor dents turn into a big nightmare. Save your future self the headache (and the cash). Swing by River North Collision Repair for your quick and easy repairs. Because driving a car you’re proud of? That’s a feeling you can’t put a price on.