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05-17-2019, 09:08 PM | #1 |
Scooby Newbie
Member#: 496126
Join Date: Jan 2019
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2019 WRX hail damage
So yesterday there was a relatively big storm and there was 1/2 inch diameter hail that pored down for around 5 minutes. I counted 16 dents that are visible and there's others that I can see but are small, so I have 2 questions.
1. Does Subaru have thin metal on their body panels because the 2 other cars I had didn't get near the damage 2. How should I deal with this issue, should I repair it myself or have it done by a body shop?
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05-18-2019, 08:09 AM | #2 |
Scooby Specialist
Member#: 260128
Join Date: Oct 2010
Chapter/Region:
Tri-State
Location: Western NY
Vehicle:2019 WRX Limited Lapis Blue Pearl |
Hail damage is very finicky. Growing up in areas where we got frequent hail, I saw varying degrees of damage on cars parked next to each other, even on dealers lots, of cars that came off the same assembly line.
This is what insurance is for. Pay your deduct and have a repituble body shop fix the damage. Paintless dent repair can be pretty good. |
05-18-2019, 12:33 PM | #3 |
Scooby Specialist
Member#: 141952
Join Date: Feb 2007
Chapter/Region:
MWSOC
Location: milwaukee'ish
Vehicle:2023 M340i |
Yes, fix it yourself. Take a ball peen hammer and hit from the inside out where you think the dents are.
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05-18-2019, 03:53 PM | #4 |
Scooby Specialist
Member#: 472037
Join Date: Jul 2017
Chapter/Region:
MWSOC
Vehicle:2018 WRX Limited CWP |
Depends on how much it's going to be.
Take it to a bodyshop or PDR place and get an estimate. If it's gonna be higher than your comprehensive deductible, I would go though insurance. |
05-19-2019, 05:17 PM | #5 |
Scooby Newbie
Member#: 501801
Join Date: May 2019
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I would try what n2oiroc said first. If at that point it isn't fixed up to your liking you can always take it to a shop. Plus you'll at least learn something.
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05-20-2019, 09:19 PM | #6 |
Scooby Specialist
Member#: 492327
Join Date: Oct 2018
Location: A car lounge in the midwest
Vehicle:19 WRX 16 STI 17Mk7R 20Supra 20Forester |
Yeah, Subaru metal is pretty soft in areas that are steel.
Being a trained PDR tech myself, I suggest you take it into your bodyshop who knows what they are doing. The more misc dents you add into the dent, the more difficult it will be for the PDR tech to repair. You also need to remember that metal stretches. If you stretch the metal, it will never be repairable completely even by the best tech. 99% of the time, the untrained eye do not know where to push (or pull), where to knock down. GL. |
05-22-2019, 11:34 AM | #7 | |
Scooby Specialist
Member#: 76586
Join Date: Dec 2004
Chapter/Region:
RMIC
Location: Denver, CO
Vehicle:2006 9-2x Aero |
Quote:
I would have assumed N2oiroc was being sarcastic because thats a really bad idea. Your own shiny new car isn't the place to try to learn to do body work. |
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05-22-2019, 11:39 PM | #8 |
Scooby Newbie
Member#: 501941
Join Date: May 2019
Location: Portland, Oregon
Vehicle:2019 Outback Metallic red |
That's a bummer about your dents from the sky. I have to say, the metal on my '19 Outback seems to be pretty thin compared to other cars I've owned. Enough so that the hood flaps around right at the base of the windshield starting at about 60 mph.
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05-23-2019, 07:31 PM | #9 |
Scooby Newbie
Member#: 409971
Join Date: Jan 2015
Chapter/Region:
Tri-State
Location: Pittsburgh
Vehicle:2018 WRX |
Light body panels are (part of) how Subaru hits its fleet fuel economy goals. Compare the weight of the hood or roof of your car to anything on the market under 100k, bet it will be lighter. I know a guy that put a cheap carbon fiber hood on his 16 WRX, it actually weighs more than the stock hood.
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05-24-2019, 05:19 PM | #10 |
Scooby Specialist
Member#: 492327
Join Date: Oct 2018
Location: A car lounge in the midwest
Vehicle:19 WRX 16 STI 17Mk7R 20Supra 20Forester |
That's true. The hood is made out of aluminum which is very difficult to PDR vs steel. Subaru went cheap by using thin steel vs aluminum to reduce weight which result in flimsy panels that are easy to dent.
One can easily dent the door panel just by pushing at it hard enough with their finger. Different story if aluminum. |
06-16-2019, 10:30 PM | #11 |
Scooby Newbie
Member#: 496126
Join Date: Jan 2019
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thanks for the input, I ended up getting it done by a guy who does dent repair on the side and he did a great job. this wouldn't have been my first rodeo with body repair but I wasn't to worried the first time because my first repair was on a Porsche 944 that I beat.
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07-06-2019, 09:24 PM | #12 |
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Join Date: Jun 2019
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07-10-2019, 01:57 PM | #13 |
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Member#: 504102
Join Date: Jul 2019
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I used a plunger on my previous car (e36 bmw) on the hood to remove a golf-ball sized dent and it worked - maybe worth a shot.
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07-13-2019, 04:37 PM | #14 |
Scooby Specialist
Member#: 492327
Join Date: Oct 2018
Location: A car lounge in the midwest
Vehicle:19 WRX 16 STI 17Mk7R 20Supra 20Forester |
Those were steel hoods. VA hoods are aluminum and plungers will not work.
Get it done right the first time using a PDR professional. |
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