Hail brings business to body shops
This viewer-submitted photo shows some of the hail that has recently fallen.
GREENSBORO -- It's been a busy week at Crown Paint and Body Center because of the hail that's fallen across the area in recent days.
"Monday morning, it was like a zoo, as soon as we came in, it was calls everywhere," said shop manager Frankie Campbell. He says the shop's written hundreds of estimates in the past few days.
Mark Meissner was among those who brought their cars in for an inspection. "The hail was at least quarter sized, at our house, it went on for at least 25 to 30 minutes," he said. His car had small dents all over the hood and roof.
"As you can see, my car got pounded, the other car was in the garage, and we didn't have room for two cars in the garage, unfortunately this one got to sit out and weather the storm.”
Fortunately, his car can probably be fixed with paint-less repair.
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A red SUV in the shop had an estimated 150 to 200 dents that are slowly being worked out.
"I started on it yesterday," said Donnie Pease, who works for Dent Wizard. "Some cars will take a few hours, some will take a couple of days."
Others may need parts removed and replacements. Some require extensive bodywork and a visit to the paint booth for repainting.
While repairmen can fix the damage after it happens, it's a good idea to know what your insurance will cover before anything happens.
"The main thing would be, look and see how much your deductible is for comprehensive, look and see if you have rental coverage," said Campbell. "Most of us can't be without our car"
The folks with damaged cars are hoping they won't have to go long without them.
"Hopefully not more than a day," said Meissner. "But 150 dings, that might be a little more than three hours, we'll see."