After the storm with hail on June 27, many complained about dents in the car.
In the hail damage center in Lenggries, all impacts are carefully examined.
Lenggries – On June 27, a severe storm raged across the region.
It only hailed for a few minutes, but the ice lumps, some of which were the size of a golf ball, caused immense damage – especially to cars.
Because many car owners are affected, a service base has now been set up in Lenggries.
There, various car insurance companies carry out collective assessments for two weeks.
In the hail damage center: motor vehicle expert Markus Plebst notes every single dent
A gray VW Beetle drives into a box in the white tent on the Isarring in Lenggries.
Hail damage cannot be seen at a cursory glance.
Markus Plebst is already ready and greets the owner of the car.
Plebst is a motor vehicle expert at Württembergische Versicherung.
He routinely circles the vehicle.
"First, I get an overall picture," he says.
A so-called dent reflector, a round disc with a striped pattern, helps him with this.
"The reflection of the pattern on the paint makes every dent visible," explains Plebst while holding the reflector at an angle to the Beetle's hood.
In addition, the walls of the individual boxes in the tent are also striped.
And indeed: the small dents are now visible on the bonnet, the fenders and even the strips below the windows.
"In order to see every dent, the car should be clean," says the expert.
"Dust is the worst thing." Plebst doesn't miss a dent.
He notes each one on his clipboard.
Three quarters of an hour is scheduled for each car, after which the next one is ready.
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A computer program determines the extent of the damage
With the help of magnets of different sizes, he can better determine the diameter of the impacts.
He then enters all the data into a computer program that calculates the extent of the damage.
For this purpose, the size and number of dents and the value of the car are compared.
“The customer can decide whether the insurance company should cover the repair costs or whether he wants the amount of the damage paid out.” The net amount of damage minus the agreed deductible is reimbursed.
"Hail damage is covered by the partially comprehensive insurance," explains Plebst.
This is how the dents disappear again
If the customer decides to have it repaired, workshops mainly use the gentle repair method.
"The dents are either pushed out," explains the motor vehicle expert, "or a plastic mushroom is glued to hard-to-reach places and the dent is pulled out." The paintwork is not damaged in the process.
However, delivery bottlenecks are often making it difficult to repair hail damage.
"Strips, like those on this Beetle, are often hard to come by," says Plebst, "but sunroofs are also affected."
Damage to the cars can cost up to 10,000 euros
Plebst cannot say how high the damage is on average, which is inspected in the 14 days that the experts are on site in Lenggries.
"That ranges from 1,000 to 5,000 euros," he says.
"Depending on where the car was at the time of the storm.
With higher quality cars it can be up to 10,000 euros.”
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