Protecting Your Car from Hail: Tips for Prevention Without a Garage

There is no possible way to prevent hail damage unless your car is in a garage or shelter, and you don’t ever drive it. Then you can ensure you don’t get damage to your vehicle. 

There are a few tips for you to TRY  and do your BEST: 

• Check the weather daily. If you see a storm coming and you don’t want to get hammered by falling ice, take an UBER, LYFT, walk, scooter, run, bike, or skateboard where you need to go… but watch for falling ice on your head. 
• Park your Car. If you know hail is coming, park your car in a parking garage. The mall, the office building, and the covered parking at the doctor’s office are great places to park your vehicle when hail is coming. 
• Find Shelter. If it starts hailing, duck in quickly to the nearest covered parking. Gas stations, bridges, underpasses, along the side of a building, a canopy. Think fast and move, or you will be dealing with a hail claim. 

These are the best things you can do. The internet has lots of ideas that won’t work or that may minimize the damage to your car.

Here are some of those ideas, with effectiveness not guaranteed. 

1. In a pinch, you could put the car’s floor mats on the windshield, roof, or hood (with the grip side down) to help lessen hail damage. (What we know: Unless you have about 20 sets of floor mats in your car, maybe this will cover your hood, at least part of it, but still will not ensure that there is no damage) 
2. Blow up hail car covers.  (What we know: This seems like a good idea, but if hail hits it correctly, it will pop. The labor getting this thing on and off is a lot, and you may look a bit ridiculous, but it may work.) 
3. Throw boxes, blankets, and rugs all over the vehicle. (What we know: This may lessen the impact that hail has; there is no guarantee that damage does not occur.) 
4. Attaching blow-up rafts and pool floaties to the car. (What we know: You may look a little ridiculous, but humans are ingenious and we can’t argue with no dents).

What you need to remember: 

• We can replace cars, not humans. Be safe. Make wise choices. Don’t risk your life. Hail is dangerous, and you can be significantly hurt or killed by these ice rocks hitting your head. Stay in your car if you are in a hail storm. 
• Carry Comprehensive Insurance on your Vehicle – If you are wondering what kind of insurance you need to cover hail and the process to cover it and you want some in-depth info, check this out here. We want to make your hail claim easy. We are a local shop that prides itself on fantastic work and customer service. 
• Talk to your Insurance Agent to make sure you are covered.

Stay safe!