Car repair shops inundated with calls after Borderland hail storm
A day after a hail storm battered parts of the borderland, car repairs shops are getting flooded with calls.
Tuesday night, rain and hail slammed El Paso, mostly the west side. There were reports of quarter to golf-ball sized hail.
Wednesday morning, El Paso Dent Repair told ABC-7 they received over a dozen calls and emails. That was all just before noon.
“Directly after the storm, typically the cars that get damaged the worst tend to be the ones that end up in the front of line. They’re the ones that are most worried about it, and they’re the ones that contact us,” said Chet Williams, Owner of El Paso Dent Repair.
Williams said it usually takes about 2-5 days and costs about $3,000-$5,000 to repair depending on the amount of damage. Some can be finished sooner, some can take longer.
“Typically the procedure is to get underneath the dent and push it back up with a series of minute pushes and try to get the metal back to flat, to what we use the term in the industry, pre-loss condition,” said Williams.
Typically, after a storm, Williams said several companies from out of town will come in and some aren’t trustworthy.
Williams said, “Some are good reputable guys out there trying to do the best they can, unfortunately the compensation is a little bit lower because they’re offering perks for people to try and get them in their doors, so most of the money is not going directly to the repair process itself which can compromise the quality of the repair.”
Williams recommends going with a local business, checking their reviews and checking with the Better Business Bureau.
KVIA 2019
