# Hail damage to vehicle: fix it or take the cash settlement?



## Echo (Apr 1, 2011)

Hi guys, we had a big hail storm roll through Lethbridge earlier this month and my poor 2007 Hyundai Tucson took a beating from all those flying frozen golf balls.

The vehicle has a Black Book value of $8,800 and the damage estimate came in at $7,200 and is repairable.

Oh, and I raised the deductible to $1,000 last year (oops!).

So my options are to pay the deductible and get the car fixed, OR take a $6,200 cash settlement and live with the dents. The insurance company would put a 13H (deletion of hail) on the vehicle, so it wouldn't be covered if it got damaged again due to hail.

I say take the cash settlement but my wife wants me to get it fixed (I guess she doesn't want me driving around in a vehicle that looks like it was shot up with a Tommy gun?).

We have a newer Sante Fe that we use as our main family vehicle and that my wife uses to haul the kids around during the day. I drive the Tucson to work and if I have to go out of town. It only has 83,000 KM on it and I planned on driving it for another 8-10 years, so not concerned about re-sale.

What do you say, CMFers - fix it or take the cash?


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## FrugalTrader (Oct 13, 2008)

If you think that you'll be driving it for another 8-10 years, I'd get it fixed. Can you post a picture of the damage? I'm curious.


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## sags (May 15, 2010)

I am with you..........I would take the cash and drive the dented car.

Maybe you could find a local mural painter and use a little of the money to get them to come up with a cool looking paint job that incorporates the dents into the painting.

Like a huge snowball fight, tank/robot/transformers/avengers battle or Disney characters incorporating the dents as eyes or something.

You could have some fun with it, and the kids might love "Daddys car"


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## Echo (Apr 1, 2011)

@FT - I will try and post a couple of pics tonight

@sags - Good one! I'm sure my wife would be THRILLED with that solution


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## avrex (Nov 14, 2010)

I would take the cash settlement.

I admit it. I really don't care what my vehicle looks like. I've driven around town with large dents in my vehicle. It still gets me from point A to point B.


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## Ihatetaxes (May 5, 2010)

Fix it. I've got a great dent guy who takes any little dent out from parking lot dildos. Usually $150 and he does amazing work.


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## donald (Apr 18, 2011)

I would say fix it.Once you start letting something slide it can snowball to where your pride of ownership might start failing you.(other area's of the car)
It is not that old(does not have that many km's)I think fixing the auto-body outweighs 6200 hun cash(-1k deductible)Your car has already reached max depreciation from here going forward.


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## Spudd (Oct 11, 2011)

I'd take the money, as long as you don't think the dents will lead to rusting issues later.


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## fraser (May 15, 2010)

My understanding is that if you take the settlement, ie not repair the car, and you have a subsequent damage claim, the insurance company will reduce the the amount that they pay on that subsequent incident because the car is no longer 100 percent as it were. 

You might want to check on this with your insurance agent.


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## Berubeland (Sep 6, 2009)

I'd take the cash and get the car fixed at a non insurance repair place for 25% of the cost.


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## marina628 (Dec 14, 2010)

fraser said:


> My understanding is that if you take the settlement, ie not repair the car, and you have a subsequent damage claim, the insurance company will reduce the the amount that they pay on that subsequent incident because the car is no longer 100 percent as it were.
> 
> You might want to check on this with your insurance agent.


We had this issue a few years ago , because the car was 6 years old my husband got a new hood at a scrap yard and we left the dents on the roof as who will see them anyway.You may find a cheaper body shop who can work them out for you for a better price.


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## Xoron (Jun 22, 2010)

Take the cash, repair the worst of it (hood) and leave the rest (roof)

Who sees roof damage anyway?


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## m3s (Apr 3, 2010)

Berubeland said:


> I'd take the cash and get the car fixed at a non insurance repair place for 25% of the cost.


+1...

Drive it around with the dents until you find a few totalled Hyundai Tucsons of the same colour and buy the hood! Or maybe even a different colour and repaint, but repainting is never going to be as good as new

Autobody shops are notorious for having a "special" insurance quote price


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## Echo (Apr 1, 2011)




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## Echo (Apr 1, 2011)

I'm not sure these pictures show the extent of the damage but there's some pretty good sized craters along the hood and frame, along with a bunch of other smaller dents which aren't that noticeable.


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## jcgd (Oct 30, 2011)

I would drive it like normal and simply have a $7000 head start on saving for my next car. You would want to drive it for a while though, it would probably be tough to sell for any decent amount. My car has hail damage. In Calgary, it's as common as cracked windshields.


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## My Own Advisor (Sep 24, 2012)

If not selling, take the cash man.

The damage is not that significant. You won't care about it in another few years. I read about that storm, it sounded pretty bad.


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## PrairieGal (Apr 2, 2011)

I am also from Lethbridge and my truck got damaged in the same storm. I have an appointment to get it appraised next week, so I'll see what they say. The thing is, I have been trying to sell the truck, but no bites yet. I am thinking of taking the cash, and then I can sell the truck for a lot less. Or maybe I will take the cash, like someone suggested, and get the hood dents fixed and leave the roof. The place where I work has a body shop, so I can probably get it fixed fairly cheaply.

We have sure had some wild weather this summer, eh?


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## Sampson (Apr 3, 2009)

I didn't even both with the claim. Paying the deductible, or driving with a few dents. I chose the later on a 4 year car I intend to drive another 10.

After my first scratch, within a few months of buying the new car, I realized that I don't care so much.

Take the cash.


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## hystat (Jun 18, 2010)

take the money and run.
You take a risk with that level of body and paint work - it might get done correctly, or it might all peel off in a year. With body shops it's a 50/50 gamble, plus the back and forth hassle of complaints and stress of trying to sue them or whatever after it all peels off....
cash in pocket = low stress.


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## Echo (Apr 1, 2011)

Update: I decided to take the cash - http://www.boomerandecho.com/why-i-took-cash-settlement-for-hail-damage-claim-on-vehicle/


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## Mr_Pacman (Aug 10, 2015)

Hi there,

I'm in Calgary and in a similar situation with my 2012 Subaru Outback which received hail damage to the hood, roof, rear quarter panels and one side of the door and fender. I suspect it's going to be a write off. I like the car and don't mind keeping it with the hail damage (lots of small, shallow dents vs large deep ones that make it look like a golf ball) to use as my daily vehicle.

WEre you, by chance, with TD Meloche Monnex for your insurance?

When you kept the car, were you still able to insure it for collision, theft, damage etc? I've read some insurance compaines put a 13H disclaimer so no future hail claims can be made on the car but allow you to insure it for everything else. I've read other places won't allow you to insure the car for any type of damage going forward if you keep it.

Thanks
james


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## Echo (Apr 1, 2011)

Hi James, I was insured through Wawanesa and they had no problem insuring everything on the vehicle except for future hail claims.


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## carverman (Nov 8, 2010)

Echo said:


> Hi guys, we had a big hail storm roll through Lethbridge earlier this month and my poor 2007 Hyundai Tucson took a beating from all those flying frozen golf balls.
> 
> The vehicle has a Black Book value of $8,800 and the damage estimate came in at $7,200 and is repairable.
> 
> ...


It's a 2007 Hyundai Tucson. Current resale value depending on mileage and model (GL/GLS) (Autotrader.ca) is somewhere between $7940 (137K) and $6650 (110k),
so your mileage is well below that. 

Ok, here is my opinion:
1. So right now, the cost of repairing it is equivalent to what the SUV is worth, but it still has a lot of years of use left for you.

2. The $6200 cash is not going very far to find you a replacement SUV with that low mileage for it's model year. The cash will be gone, while you still own it on other
things, and you are then stuck with a dinged up car that will be "staring at you" as long as you keep it, 
and at some point you may regret that you didn't get it fixed when the insurance was going to pay for it.

3. The car will be practically worthless for resale if you decide to change your mind 1-5 years down the road...is it STILL worth the $1000 deductible?...of course it is!
Fix it and you can still get some resale value out of the car if you decide to sell it outright. With that low mileage (83,000km = 50,000 miles) it has a lot of years
left in it depending on how much you put on each year.

4. Finally if even if you take a chance with no hail comprehensive on it after repairs and "lightning strikes twice"..you will still have the car, and make a decision at
that point to drive it as it is...because by then, it probably will cost a lot more to fix it than it's resale value..(if that ever happens again).


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## carverman (Nov 8, 2010)

Echo said:


> Update: I decided to take the cash - http://www.boomerandecho.com/why-i-took-cash-settlement-for-hail-damage-claim-on-vehicle/


Ok, so in the url you supplied, the blogger took the cash but repaired it anyway in a discount shop.
and here's why:



> I simply cannot stand looking at a badly damaged vehicle every single day.


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## nobleea (Oct 11, 2013)

Unless it's extremely bad, getting hail damage fixed isn't terribly expensive. Maybe 2-2.5K to get 95% of the dents out. 
I bought a hail damaged car (2yr old) from a dealership that specializes in it. It was about 3K cheaper than a non hail damaged model. This got me a <2yr old car for 55% of original purchase price.

Most people who subscribe to this site would be better to take the payout and keep the vehicle. The vehicle will always be worth less, but likely more than the payout value. So in the example above, a hyundai tucson with hail damage might be worth 4-5K, where a non damaged one is worth 7K, but the owner has 6K payout in their pocket. In the world of used cars, someone is always looking for a deal, and if that means a little cosmetic damage to save >30% on a low mileage, newer vehicle, you will for sure find a taker. Especially in that price range.

As you go up in the market, price-wise, it becomes a less attractive option as most people buying a 30K used car will want it to be in great shape.


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## Echo (Apr 1, 2011)

Hi carverman - I took the cash settlement, but never bothered to repair the dents. I barely notice them now! 

This thread is two years old, by the way. The claim was from 2013. I plan to drive the car for another five years (or more if it's still running properly). Still haven't cracked 100,000 kms (about 96k today). It's my short-commute second vehicle.


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## spirit (May 9, 2009)

If you take the money...do you have to give up the car? When our classic Mercedes was destroyed in Edmonton flooding in 2004, our insurance wrote off the car, paid us out and took the car away the same day we got payment.


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## lonewolf (Jun 12, 2012)

deleted post, didn't realize money as taken till after posting


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## OnlyMyOpinion (Sep 1, 2013)

spirit said:


> If you take the money...do you have to give up the car? When our classic Mercedes was destroyed in Edmonton flooding in 2004, our insurance wrote off the car, paid us out and took the car away the same day we got payment.


That was our experience as well - if insurance appraisal shows costs to repair exceed the value of the vehicle they will pay you and tow away the car as a 'write off'. Ours was later listed in a vehicle auction, so the insurer recovers some of their payout. It was almost certainly bought, repaired and recertified for the road. But the insurance company was not willing to negotiate a lower payout and let us keep the vehicle.
If cost to repair is less than the value of the car, they may be willing to pay you and let you get it repaired or not. They will ensure that the damage is not insured so cannot be claimed in the future.


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## OurBigFatWallet (Jan 20, 2014)

My vehicle had some significant hail damage during the major hail storm in Calgary a couple years ago. The damages were about $5500 and the vehicle was worth about $8k. Luckily insurance covered all of it (minus the deductible of course). I got it repaired and glad I did. I tend to be picky when it comes to the vehicle exterior so I wouldn't be able to stand looking at a damaged vehicle every single day. The repairs were done very well and Im still amazed how they were able to get out every single dent


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## Echo (Apr 1, 2011)

spirit said:


> If you take the money...do you have to give up the car? When our classic Mercedes was destroyed in Edmonton flooding in 2004, our insurance wrote off the car, paid us out and took the car away the same day we got payment.


Yes, if they determine the car to be a write-off then they'll trade you a cheque for the car. In our case the damage was a few thousand less than the vehicle was worth so we got the cheque and kept the car.


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## Echo (Apr 1, 2011)

OurBigFatWallet said:


> My vehicle had some significant hail damage during the major hail storm in Calgary a couple years ago. The damages were about $5500 and the vehicle was worth about $8k. Luckily insurance covered all of it (minus the deductible of course). I got it repaired and glad I did. I tend to be picky when it comes to the vehicle exterior so I wouldn't be able to stand looking at a damaged vehicle every single day. The repairs were done very well and Im still amazed how they were able to get out every single dent


Ha! So, you had the same situation and made the opposite choice. I was really torn (hence starting this thread back then) but I'm glad I took the cash. I'm not at all picky when it comes to vehicles. We do have a nice new(er) Sante Fe to drive if we want to look fancy


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