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With hail on the horizon, protect your vehicle from dents and damage

Many cars in Central Texas will sit outside unprotected when storms arrive. Auto shops in Austin say owners can still protect their vehicles without a garage.

AUSTIN, Texas — Severe weather will come to Central Texas, bringing possibilities of tornadoes and hail.

Damage from hail can cost anywhere from $500 to $8,000, according to Nour Alameddine, co-owner of Protech Body Shop.

"It's normally like a quarter-size dent that goes onto whatever panel it hits," Alameddine said. "It doesn't normally chip the paint, so it's just little, minor dents, but it depends on the angle you look at, that you'll be able to see them.”

Many drivers in the Austin area don't have garages or carports to protect their vehicles. As an alternative, some auto shop owners and managers recommend using any sort of padding.

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They recommend using blankets, cardboard and even bubble wrap if necessary. Basically, vehicle owners want to protect their cars and trucks with padding to provide a buffer in between the hail and the hood, roof and trunk.

"When a hail storm comes through, you can kind of see how the storm was hitting that vehicle," Eric Vera, the office manager at Mingo's Body & Paint Shop, said. "A lot of times you'll see the angle, so it's more heavy on one side of the vehicle than it is on the other."

As far as what not to do, Vera, Alameddine and Zeshan Janmohad, co-owner at Low Price Auto Glass, all say don't park underneath trees. Park next to buildings if possible.

"Some people have come out with just a few bumps here and there, and some look like they got acne on their car – just dots all over the place," Janmohad said. "One place I would suggest that you avoid at all costs [is underneath] trees. Hail falls, branches break, then you're looking at more damage than you would have initially with just hail."

Alameddine and Vera recommend parking near a building to protect at least one side of the car. Vera added that using just a vehicle cover may not be enough coverage because of how thin the material typically is.

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