How do I protect my new car from hail?

Factual Questions
1

I don’t have covered parking where I live. I want to avoid getting dents or window breakage in the case of a bad hail storm.

I have insurance of course, but I would like to avoid making a claim in the first place.

Is there anything like padded car-size blankets that I would be able to run out and put on if there is a weather alert?

Any other ideas?

T.I.A.

2

Yep. It’s called Technalon and can be found in a variety of car covers which claim to help prevent dings from hail.

find technalon at:

http://www.exoticwooddash.com/covercraft.asp

3

google: car covers hail protection

4

Bubble pack.

5

Bubble pack is actually a poor choice - if not said tongue in cheek - because the pressure points of hail can be very precise, whereas bubble wrap protects a wide area but each spot between the bubbles is actually vulnerable to hail stones.

6

Is hail really a major problem in your area? Enough to get insurance for it? Have you had auto damage from it in the past?

7

Oh yeah. From spring through fall is hailstorm season in the Midwest. A few years back when I was further north, I was at working and heard a wicked sound against the windows. Super-bad hailstorm. We all thought our windows were going to shatter. I came out to my car and it was dimpled from hood to trunk. Think “left in a (golf) driving range.” Insurance covered it, but I still paid the deductable, and the finish still wasn’t the same.

They were predicting hail the other day (nothing happened) and that got me thinking about it. Thanks to Philster, I tracked down a 4-layer cover for $160. My plan is to keep it on hand. If I hear that they are predicting hail, I will go out and cover it.

This probably sounds extreme to most of you. It would to me prior to this car, but I just got my dream car (MINI) and want to keep it in decent shape for a while.

8

Hail does serious damage to cars. I worked for a big insurance company in CO, and we had people making claims for hail damage all the time. Their cars looked like someone had attacked them with a ball peen hammer. I have seen hail dents 1/2 inch deep or more.

Sucks not to have a garage, doesn’t it? I didn’t have one in Boulder (got away with it, luckily), but I do have one in CA, where “extreme weather” is an inch of rain! :smiley: