Hail Storm in NEPA. I got some damage.

[Uptempo80]

When I heard of the fast moving storm I ran out to the parking garage in about 5min to check on my car...or move it. What I saw when I got there was heavy rain and overflowing water puddles , etc.
There were people inside in the lobby talking about the large sized hail. I missed it. Just that quick the rain already melted any traces of the hail.

I spent 20 min inspecting my car & even other cars on the roof and I couldn't see any damage. I though I was lucky.

Today, the day after performed my routine hand wash/ weekly detail process. Top to bottom through job.
Anyways, I noticed some noticible scratches. I buffed them out with a quick scratch remover. Still not 100% removed.
When as dusk neared and I could see great mirror like reflections...with the small scratch mark was a "ding"!! I was thinking that It had to be from the hail.
There didn't seem to be any more noticible damage upon more inspection.

BUT I'm pissed. I've not had the best luck in the 2 months of owning my first NEW BMW. First the clumsy car wash hose scratch, the clay marring, and now a "ding" OBVIOUSLY the most severe.

I'm going to have to go to my BMW dealership and get some PDR done! I'm nervous that they can't remove this 100%. I'm not the normal owner who would leave this & not worry about it... I'm the guy that will worry about the PDR guys working on my car. The ding is NOT deep, but upon an examination, a certain angle you could see it...it's right with the scratch.

Has anyone dealt with hail damage!? What were your outcomes? were you satisfied?

[Uptempo80]

Edit: It's still on my mind. I had to get a better look at this.

In the garage it takes a tough inspection to even see this "ding".
It has to be from the hail.

Upon further inspection in the garage it was hard to notice. Once I see the small scratch you could see the ding.
I have a BIG concern though..it's NOT deep at all.
Matter of fact I can only best describe it as a "dimple" on the hood. No bigger than a tic-tac.
So; very SMALL dimple on the hood = BIG concern.
I'm worried that the BMW PDR tech will laugh at me for such a minor issue.
I guess we'll see. I'm hoping to walk away with a big smile and a sigh of relief.


Being that my car only has 1,000 miles and I want to continue to baby it from the start this makes me.
Sorry to be a big complainer but this sucks.

[CMSS2000]

If it takes that much of an inspection to even see it, I wouldn't even worry about it. Sometimes you take in to the dealer and they use some heavy compound on it and it ends up being worse than it was in the first place. If you can't see it without X-ray goggles on, then don't worrry about it....no one else can see it either.

[BlackjackMulligan]

Originally Posted by Uptempo80

Edit: It's still on my mind. I had to get a better look at this.

In the garage it takes a tough inspection to even see this "ding".
It has to be from the hail.

Upon further inspection in the garage it was hard to notice. Once I see the small scratch you could see the ding.
I have a BIG concern though..it's NOT deep at all.
Matter of fact I can only best describe it as a "dimple" on the hood. No bigger than a tic-tac.
So; very SMALL dimple on the hood = BIG concern.
I'm worried that the BMW PDR tech will laugh at me for such a minor issue.
I guess we'll see. I'm hoping to walk away with a big smile and a sigh of relief.


Being that my car only has 1,000 miles and I want to continue to baby it from the start this makes me.
Sorry to be a big complainer but this sucks.

lol you sound like me- honestly I'd be the same way, even if only I could see it.

With that being said, you may want to skip the dealer. Go online and find a high end PDR guy in your area and just be done with it.

FWIW my wife's MDX got two very deep dings on her rear panel and I brought it to Dent Wizard. I cannot tell they were ever there, even with my crazy car OCD tendencies. I wouldn't worry about it, a good PDR guy will make it good as new, especially considering you said it's super super light. He'll just need to massage the metal a bit and you'll be on your way

[Uptempo80]

LOL, I'm glad there are others like me out there. My parents think I'm crazy, and at first I couldn't even get my dad to take a look the hail damage. LOL.
The car was manufactured on June 21st and I have only owned it for one full month so far...so it's mind blowing that this happened to my car. Haha, so I'm obviously going to be upset about this.

Yes, Dent Wizard is good. I watched a full seminar @ BMW CCA Octoberfest a few years back and the work was exceptional.

My dad is president of BMW CCA regional chapter, and he has a friend that does PDR removal for car club members. He had performed work on my mom's 09' 128i cabrio (big quarter-sized parking lot door dent!), my 88' 325i, my 05' Kia Spectra5 beater, my Dad's 04' M3cabrio, and my brother's 88' M3.
He does PDR for a living. He's very good, but obviously cannot remove extreme dents.

Thankfully, mine is so small that it's not really able to be photographed. He should be able to wipe it away easily. Before I call him, I will check out all resources first to see if he is my Best option (within a reasonable local distance).

[Uptempo80]

I'm wondering...the small dimple is a couple of inches down the hood from the pass-side windshield washer spray nozzles. When I lift the hood the hail ding is residing right above the welded support beam on the inner hood. We inspected it from all angles with the hood lifted. How could a PDR guy get his tool in there? It doesn't look easy to get at...but then again...this is 1 small ding & it's not deep.

I shouldn't go and file a hail-damage insurance claim...right?
There were a bunch of jobs for local body shops. Insurance claims reported on the local news.
The shops: They all sub-contract these PDR guys.

[BlackjackMulligan]

Originally Posted by Uptempo80

I'm wondering...the small dimple is a couple of inches down the hood from the pass-side windshield washer spray nozzles. When I lift the hood the hail ding is residing right above the welded support beam on the inner hood. We inspected it from all angles with the hood lifted. How could a PDR guy get his tool in there? It doesn't look easy to get at...but then again...this is 1 small ding & it's not deep.

I shouldn't go and file a hail-damage insurance claim...right?
There were a bunch of jobs for local body shops. Insurance claims reported on the local news.
The shops: They all sub-contract these PDR guys.

I'm sure he's come across it before and has a method to get in there even with the support beams. Just see what they have to say..

[Uptempo80]

Thanks for all the insight.

I've narrowed it down to 3 contacts, one being my dad's buddy.
These 2 of the 3 options are all from Dent Wizard.
My dad's dent wizard buddy does it on the side after work...it's not DW guaranteed, which scares me a lil. However he has worked on my e30, and my brother's e30 m3 before...& he knows how crazy we are when it comes to the perfection look that we always strive for. He also just removed a quarter-sized door dent on my mom's 128i cabrio in July (pass side quarter panel).
*Funny thing is that prior to Dent Wizard's performed work, our BMW dealership sent a guy to perform work and he told my mom that he "cant' do it". This was after he inspected it and was sent from the dealership to her house.

So...It does assure me that I personally know this guy...
He has removed dings on both of the cars I've owned perviously to owning this new 1 series.

Still a tough call. He can take care of it...but it will be a hassle to try to meet up with him meaning I would have to wait 2 weeks possibly.

Option #2 Is @ motorworld, a huge multi brand dealership. Benz, Land Rover, Honda, Hyundai, Saturn, Toyota, everything...but BMW. A special DW tech performs PDR there on site weekly/daily. When I called Dent Wizard they told me to go there. (all retail jobs). It is their closest on-site PDR center to me.

Option #3 is an independant PDR guy who used to work for Dent Wizard for 11 years. He was referred to me by Gelatt Autoworks who has handled several "Hail-Damage" issues here in NEPA after the hail story Monday. I talked with him for about 30 min, but he encouraged me to got to a dent wizard on-site center that is closer. This dealership is an hour away (50+ miles away).

SO nothing has happened yet...but I'll wait untill Monday to talk with the DW on-site PDR tech...matter of fact I'll stop on by & show him what damage I have. *Of course, that is if he is kind enough to check it out before I book an appointment.

*My Dad's buddy is the cheapest, and the most familiar, but I'm still checking things out. In light of all this...I wish my "ding" was bigger. This ding is more of like a "dimple".
Car guys, such as my Dad and I can see the ding when there is good light(dusk is best). *Maybe it will be tougher to remove because it is veryy small?
Others can't seem to see it...maybe they are not looking hard enough/long enough.

It's an eyesore to me..that is all I know.

I'll keep you guys posted.
Hopefully I can spread the word on Dent Wizard's work here on 1Addicts.
I'm going to be very critical of their work, hehe.

[pinmagic]

In 2005, shortly after I got my Lotus Elise, I had a guy put big yellow racing stripes on it. Then, I hit the road to head home from Richmond to DC (a 1 hour drive). Not 20 minutes into the trip - just 20 minutes after getting my new stripes! - a freak hailstorm hit. The skies were perfectly clear up til then. I was on the highway, with no way to get to cover. Tho no damage was apparent, a few months later, big splotches appeared on the stripes. I'm convinced it was the hailstorm, tho maybe I'm crazy. The stripes had to be redone.

[Uptempo80]

Thanks.
Yeah I spent some time researching the E90 forum threads about PDR & their experiences. This prep mentod is very common. I don't care if they do this. As long as they get it out...the car is very reflective and to me even a little ding as such drives me crazy haha.

Afterwards, they plug it up and then your on your merry way.

Having that peace of mind feeling afterwards will be awesome

[Uptempo80]

Still didn't get that peace of mind feeling yet. I have to wait another 2 days for that. I hope they could get it out. The wait is tough and I worry about it way too much.

My car is always freshly waxed and it has deep reflections...so this is a KILLER Eye sore!
Dear Dent Wizard: You better come thru in the clutch! I'm counting on it.

*If they screw up and can't get it out...what do I do? Pay the deductible for "Hail Damage" or simply shell out the $500-600 to repair the ding & repaint the hood. ?Hmmm. Gotta wait and see.

*The ding is located upper pass-side hood. It's about 8 inches down from the hood washer nozzles. Below it under the hood is the support beam! How can they get at it!?
The ding is Smaller than the size of a dime...probably the size of the smallest euro-coin. ahhh!

I just got done detailing the car and it's torture to look at it on the hood. Time to go cool offff!

[Groundpilot]

You deserve a lot of respect for loving your car so much

[Uptempo80]

Hey guys, I got the ding removed.
I was so surprized how easily he located the Ding, but then again he is a pro.
I met the PDR guy on his location @ the Porsche/Audi dealership near my house. He has a mobile unit, so I pulled up and backed in facing away from the sunlight so it would be easier for him to work.
Quickly and easily he removed the ding. I was so pleased that I tipped him 20 bucks and got some business cards to give to all my local BMW CCA members.
Since I'm the chapter newsletter editor I will promote the PDR service.

This guy serves a chunk of NEPA, and performed my work in Larksville, PA....but he is based out of Northhampton, PA (Near Allentown)

[bozola]

Are you sure it's really gone? j/k..

[BlackjackMulligan]

Originally Posted by Uptempo80

Hey guys, I got the ding removed.
I was so surprized how easily he located the Ding, but then again he is a pro.
I met the PDR guy on his location @ the Porsche/Audi dealership near my house. He has a mobile unit, so I pulled up and backed in facing away from the sunlight so it would be easier for him to work.
Quickly and easily he removed the ding. I was so pleased that I tipped him 20 bucks and got some business cards to give to all my local BMW CCA members.
Since I'm the chapter newsletter editor I will promote the PDR service.

This guy serves a chunk of NEPA, and performed my work in Larksville, PA....but he is based out of Northhampton, PA (Near Allentown)

Told you not to worry

These guys are good at what they do.

[Phased]

Worried about them getting one or two dents out? I just had over $10 000 in hail damage fixed using PDR. No drills, no painting, no nothing. And it's perfect. I was so skeptical that they were that good. They obviously had to replace both the front and rear glass, rear-quarter windows and the thin roof rails, can't really pull those dents out.