When your car is damaged, getting it fixed up and back on the road is usually your highest priority. Unfortunately, the effects of an accident or storm damage can last long after completing repairs. If your car suffered damaged during a hail storm, then you may be concerned about the long-term effects on its resale value. This loss of value can be especially devastating on new cars, where you have already suffered the impact of depreciation and may still be paying money on your loan. Fortunately, there are steps you can take to maintain your car's value after a damaging weather event.

Start By Getting Your Own Estimate

When your car is in an accident involving another vehicle, it is essential to report the accident to your insurance company right away. For weather damage, however, it can sometimes be advantageous to wait. If the damage to your car appears to be relatively minor and your comprehensive deductible is high, then it may pay to have an estimate performed first. If the cost is less than your deductible, you should pay for repairs out of pocket rather than filing a claim. By taking this approach, the damage may not show up on your car's history or it may only show up as a very low-cost event.

Use a Reputable Shop and Save Documentation

Whether or not you file a claim, it is imperative to use a reputable body shop to perform repairs. Keep all documentation related to the damage and repairs, including any claim or pay-out information from the insurance company. It is also essential to keep invoices from the body shop that show labor, the costs of the parts, and the brands of any parts used. This last point is particularly important, as buyers will likely want proof that your car was repaired using new, genuine parts when possible.

Prefer Paintless Dent Repair

Three major events are likely to decrease the value of your vehicle: frame damage, airbag deployment, and repainting. Hail storms will not damage your vehicle's structure or cause your airbags to deploy, but heavy hail can damage the car's paint. Where possible, favor paintless dent repair (PDR) over traditional body repair. Shops that perform paintless dent repair will use a variety of tools and methods to pull or push dents out of your vehicle's sheet metal, maintaining the original paint. Be sure that the documentation that you save shows that the damage was repaired using PDR so that you can prove that the vehicle's paint is original.

Ultimately, it is impossible to avoid some loss of value after any damaging event. Even without filing a claim, repairs may show up a vehicle history report. By following these steps, however, you can minimize your losses while still using your insurance coverage to reduce your out-of-pocket expenses.

For more information, contact a hail damage repair company.