Learning how to protect your car from hail damage is incredibly important, particularly if you live in northern states. Hail damage to automobiles is devastating and can include a broken windshield, chipped paint, dents, and dings.
The potential for damage and overall vehicle devaluation increases when you don’t have a garage or carport. However, several things can be done to protect your car from hail in the absence of a garage. Below are some tips you can follow to safeguard your car against damage from hail storms.
Sign Up For Weather Alerts
There is an old (and gold) saying that precaution is better than prevention.
No matter who said that, but they are damn right.
The knowledge of a hail storm prior to the event will give you enough time to take appropriate precautions.
This way, you won’t have to prepare an emergency plan at the eleventh hour and can totally ensure that your car is safely tucked away before the storm arrives.
Hence, you need to install a weather app which will notify you when a heavy storm is coming your way. Don’t forget to have that notification turned on. Also, you can get a weather station too!
Get a Carport to Protect Your Car From Hail
Buy a carport if you already don’t have one. It will provide your car with safety and shade when the storm strikes.
Additionally, it will help you protect your car from hail.
Moreover, they aren’t very expensive. You can get a nice port within a budget of $200-250.
In addition, it’s not particularly hard to install as it takes only an hour or two to set up the whole port.
If You Are At the Wheels, Take Cover At Once
If the hails start to descend when you are driving, then get to the nearest cover you can get.
You can pull over your car under a freeway overpass or get into a gas station with canopies.
You need to remember that although the windshield of your car is strong enough to withstand the hails, the side windows are not.
That’s why you should drive into the hail storm to keep your side windows safe while looking for a sanctuary.
Park beside a Large Building
If there’s no gas station or a mall near you, then you should park your car beside a large building to in order to use it as a shield.
If a storm is coming from the north, then don’t park on the north side of the building as that’s the same direction the storm is coming from.
Instead, park your vehicle on the south side of the building.
That way the storm could blast the hail completely over your car and leave it unscathed.
Leave Your Car in Your Garage
Your garage is the ideal location to keep your car while you wait for the storm to pass away.
Make sure that you have got your car inside the garage before the hail starts to descend.
Take a Trip Down To the Mall
Shopping areas or malls are a great place to park your vehicle.
As most of them have a covered parking space or a garage, where you can leave your car to protect it from hailstones.
Meanwhile, you can enjoy a meal at a restaurant or hit the movie theatre for some kick-ass action films.
Get a Car Cover
Car covers can be pretty effective at protecting your car from damage by hailstones.
You can easily get them from any local auto supply store or even supermarkets with an automotive section.
However, it’s important that you know the specifications of your car as the majority of covers are designed for specific car models.
Drape Your Car with Blankets
Impact of hailstones can be cushioned by blankets which will be vital in preventing broken glass or paint scratch.
It’s important that you shroud the whole car with a blanket. The more blankets you can drape the car with, the better.
Make sure that the blankets cover the side glasses as they are extremely vulnerable to cracking.
Finally, duct tape the blankets at the bottom of your automobile. It will prevent the blankets from being blown away by the storm.
Although these layers of the blanket should be enough for a typical hail storm, they won’t be of much help if a tree falls on your car.
Put Your Floor Mats on the Windshield
Can’t get a car cover or blanket to shield your car?
Enter the floor mats.
You can throw your floor mats over your car windows.
Although they won’t be enough to cover the whole car, they will dampen the impact of hails. This way, the extent of damage can be minimized.
Final Thoughts
We hope you learned a lot of useful information regarding how to protect your car from hail. On average, hail storms cause around $8 to $10 billion in damage annually.
And although there are ways you can repair hail damage on your car, an ounce of prevention is worth many pounds of cure.
You don’t want to contribute to that amount and increase it further. For this reason, follow the above-mentioned and take all the necessary steps against the hail-storm, so that your own car doesn’t become its next target.
Now we would like to hear from you. Using the comments section below, tell us if you know any additional ways to protect your car from hail damage. And until we meet again, drive safely.
