Repairing Your Car After an Auto Incident
More than 200 million Americans own a valid driver’s license, and every day, many millions of cars and trucks are sharing public roads and highways. Most drivers are careful and safe about how they drive, but accidents can still happen, and lives and property may be at risk. A car may suffer blunt trauma from a wide variety of sources, such as hail damage or drunk drivers or even vandalism, which may call for windshield replacement or visiting an auto body shop for pound out dents in the roof. Auto hail damage is indeed something to take seriously, and no car with hail dents all over it will sell well or even drive well. Fortunately, car body shops can be found all across the United States, and the staff there can fix just about anything. Still, a car owner may want to call local shops and double check that they can provide the necessary type of repair job. Auto hail damage can be pounded out, and hubcaps can be replaced, and even the car’s paint can be touched up to look like new.
Body Damage on Cars
Cars are made of tough steel and aluminum, but they are hardly indestructible. Every day, countless cars get involved in auto accidents and end up with damaged bumpers, busted wheels, dented bodies, or end up totaled. A drunk or distracted driver is often involved, who speeds through traffic or goes through a red light and ends up hitting another car. In other cases, auto damage takes place due to icy or snowy weather, where cars slide out of control on slick roads and hit each other or strike property, such as fire hydrants. Bad weather includes hail, where sufficiently large hail can riddle a car with dents unless that car is parked indoors or under a roof. Most hail is too small to pose a threat, but all the same, Americans who park their cars outdoors are urged to check weather forecasts for large hail. And of course, there is the threat of vandalism, when one or more vandals will use or throw blunt objects to damage a car on purpose, such as with bricks or crowbars.
If a car has suffered auto hail damage or similar dents, not only will it look unattractive, but the car’s aerodynamic qualities are compromised. What is more, the car may prove difficult to sell for a decent price, as few buyers will like a car that has ugly auto hail damage on it. So, a car owner can look up dent repair shops and general auto body shops in the area, and ask the staff to pound out those dents. Often, this is done on the hood, roof, and trunk, but it can also be done for the doors. Often, the affected area is partially disassembled so the workers can pound on the dents from the opposite side and smooth out the metal.
Cars that suffered such trauma may also have had their paint scratched or scraped off, and many auto shops can offer touch up paint services. Some shops might even specialize in it. Primer is applied, then the paint and sealant to make the car look like new. Some car owners choose to do this alone at home, and order the necessary paint online. Applying paint can help protect the car’s body from rust.
Windshields
Many of the blunt trauma hazards that threaten a car’s body can also put huge cracks in its windshield, such as when a truck’s cargo comes loose and flies around. A cracked windshield is a serious hazard, since the huge cracks distract the driver at all times, and the cracks might spread further as the windshield suffers more pressure and distress. It might even shatter. It is imperative that a car’s owner take their car to a shop and have that cracked windshield removed and replaced, and the same can be done for the rear glass if need be. A car with cracked glass will not pass an official auto safety inspection, so many car owners get new glass so they can keep their car officially safe to drive. They may also repair the glass if they want to sell the car soon.