# How do I protect my new car from hail? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 24, 2003, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-protect-my-new-car-from-hail/170918 "2003-04-24T18:34:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![B.Serum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/b.serum/32/14266_2.png) [@B.Serum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/B.Serum)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2003, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-protect-my-new-car-from-hail/170918/1 "2003-04-24T18:34:30Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2003, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-protect-my-new-car-from-hail/170918/2 "2003-04-24T18:47:52Z")
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](http://www.exoticwooddash.com/covercraft.asp) ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2003, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-protect-my-new-car-from-hail/170918/3 "2003-04-24T18:51:40Z")
google: car covers hail protection ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2003, 11:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-protect-my-new-car-from-hail/170918/4 "2003-04-25T11:24:36Z")
Bubble pack. ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2003, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-protect-my-new-car-from-hail/170918/5 "2003-04-25T12:34:49Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![clayton\_e](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c57346/32.png) [@clayton\_e](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clayton_e)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2003, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-protect-my-new-car-from-hail/170918/6 "2003-04-25T14:18:22Z")
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? ---
**Author:** ![B.Serum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/b.serum/32/14266_2.png) [@B.Serum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/B.Serum)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2003, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-protect-my-new-car-from-hail/170918/7 "2003-04-25T16:18:35Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by clayton\_e \* > \*\*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? \*\* 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. ---
**Author:** ![Moirai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/96bed5/32.png) [@Moirai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moirai)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2003, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-protect-my-new-car-from-hail/170918/8 "2003-04-25T16:37:35Z")
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! 😃