Hail Damage while at Dealership

[Phknlwyr]

It hailed here in DC yesterday while my car was in the loving bosom of the Audi dealership having some work done. The Service Tech (with whom I have worked for several years and hold in high regard) called his morning to tell me everything was done on my car BUT that it has sustained some hail damage on last night's storm. When I retrieved my car, there were about 8 dents in the hood, two on the roof, and two to three smaller dings in the trunk lid. The tech suggested that I contact my insurance company to see if they will help with the dent repairs.

Hail, like most weather, is an unpredictable act of God that usually means you're on your own. I get that as a consumer and more so as an attorney. BUT, I also get that a B ailment was created when they took my car, meaning they were charged with the reasonable care of my vehicle.

SO, dealership members, what have you all done for customers when their cars have been damaged on your lots? I accept that I may very well be up the creek sand paddle, but I have had three cars - 2 Audis and a Porsche - regularly serviced at this dealer over the past 7 years to the tune of thousands of dollars. Telling me to call my insurance company seemed a bit cold. I spared my tech the legal analysis because he's a great kid but wonder if Hyper or others have practical experience with this phenomenon.

[q5 dave]

dam. glad i garaged my car last night which dealer?

[Stan77]

IMHO, dealer is 100% responsible for your car from taking it till handling in back to you, basically it is THEIR problem to keep your car safe. But it depends on regional service agreement, just check your dealer service agreement for force-majors.

[mjfloyd1]

I had this happen with a BMW - they returned my car looking like a golf ball and didn't say a word. Eventually their insurance covered PDR.

[Stan77]

I'll add. Few years ago my q5 was dented by unknown car on dealer's parking just before handling in. Basically, situation was tricky, car wasn't inside the gates of service zone, just parked outside the entrance, the bill has been paid and i just picked up the keys, so they could ask me to call police and insurance company, but because they wanted to keep up good reputation in my eyes, they give me new A6 as a replacement car and fixed my car for free without paperwork. So, if you're maintenancing 2 audis and 1 porsche at their workshop, they should do a step forward and fix your car for free, basically, it costs nearly zero to dealer and will improve your satisfaction of their service. That's it.

That step from my dealer forced me to buy 3 more audis from 'em =)

[snowmuch]

IMHO, dealer is 100% responsible for your car from taking it till handling in back to you, basically it is THEIR problem to keep your car safe. But it depends on regional service agreement, just check your dealer service agreement for force-majors.

I think they make you sign something when you drop off the car and the agreements basically waive their responsibility while your car is at the dealership

[Stan77]

I think they make you sign something when you drop off the car and the agreements basically waive their responsibility while your car is at the dealership

Yes, but it depends on service agreement. Topicstarter should check his own.

Anyway, relationship between customer and service is built on a personal conversation and companies, if their managers are not completely stupid ALWAYS doing a step forward to keep their customer. At least how it works in Russia.

[Fast4DR S6]

It is an Act Of God, but that still sucks. Apparently my wife called me and said that hail was large then golf balls falling from the sky. Curious if they took any preventive measures with any of the high end dollar new cars on the lot. Did you discuss with Matt?

It hailed here in DC yesterday while my car was in the loving bosom of the Audi dealership having some work done. The Service Tech (with whom I have worked for several years and hold in high regard) called his morning to tell me everything was done on my car BUT that it has sustained some hail damage on last night's storm. When I retrieved my car, there were about 8 dents in the hood, two on the roof, and two to three smaller dings in the trunk lid. The tech suggested that I contact my insurance company to see if they will help with the dent repairs.

Hail, like most weather, is an unpredictable act of God that usually means you're on your own. I get that as a consumer and more so as an attorney. BUT, I also get that a B ailment was created when they took my car, meaning they were charged with the reasonable care of my vehicle.

SO, dealership members, what have you all done for customers when their cars have been damaged on your lots? I accept that I may very well be up the creek sand paddle, but I have had three cars - 2 Audis and a Porsche - regularly serviced at this dealer over the past 7 years to the tune of thousands of dollars. Telling me to call my insurance company seemed a bit cold. I spared my tech the legal analysis because he's a great kid but wonder if Hyper or others have practical experience with this phenomenon.

[VVG]

Whatever the insurance issues, don't forget about diminished value. This should be covered also. Even if they fix your car, it is now worth less.

[Phknlwyr]

I think they make you sign something when you drop off the car and the agreements basically waive their responsibility while your car is at the dealership

.

I drop off my car, talk to the service guy about what I need, and get out of Dodge. They never make me sign anything unless it's for the loaner or it's time to pay.

[Phknlwyr]

It is an Act Of God, but that still sucks. Apparently my wife called me and said that hail was large then golf balls falling from the sky. Curious if they took any preventive measures with any of the high end dollar new cars on the lot. Did you discuss with Matt?

Matt came over to say hello as he usually does. He said the suits were on their way up from Charlotte to assess the damage. He said they're looking at $1.5-$2m in damage to the cars on the lot. I told Max to keep me apprised of their plan to address the dents on the inventory cars so that I could possibly get in on that deal. That was my subtle hint that I want something done. They'll handle their business. I have faith but I wanted to know if anyone had experienced this specific issue which is why I posted here.

[olesen]

I had this happen a couple of years ago...my insurance covered the damage and I wouldn't have expected the dealer to pick up the cost of repair.

[plat]

Personally, if my car got hail damage and it was with the dealer when the damage was done, I would not expect the dealer to be responsible for it. Hail is a natural occurrence and a dealership cannot do anything to prevent the damage from happening. No one can predict when the hail will occur either. I am with the poster above. I would claim this hail damage from against my car insurance.

[DrBeerMD]

Unless I'm missing something here you do like when you have your car any other place and something happens to it, you call your insurance company. That's what they are there for. If you don't want to make a claim, then take it over to a reputable PDR facility and have them fix the 8 dents and write them a check for doing so. Seems like a no brainer here to me. Shit happens all the time and this was out of anyone's control.

When you park your car at a pay for use lot and it hails do you ask the parking attendant or owner to pay for your hail damage?
What about when you hand it over to the valet at dinner and the same happens?
Ultimately the responsibility of your vehicle is in your hands IMO.

[DadzS6]

Normally the Dealer, as you know, will not be responsible for "an act of god". However, Rockville Audi strives to make their clients happy even when you didn't buy your car from them. They do all the service on my cars when I drive them to MD to see Family even though I live in Florida (until next week when I move back to Md). so while I am sure this will cost you something out of pocket, I would venture a guess they will do the best they can to try to make you happy. Max is solid and pays attention to the details and doesn't forget what he needs to do. My bet, you end up as happy as someone can be in this situation.

Sorry it happened however. The last Summer i lived in Rockville we had a cray hail storm, likely my car had no damage but my Boss at the time had extensive damage and they had to cut his roof off etc to get it all fixed. Hopefully your car is not nearly as serious.

[agent47]

If the dealership is actually offering or even hinting at taking care of the issue, good. Otherwise , like others said, going through your insurance or getting the dents fixed out of pocket is the only option . Out of pocket might get expensive quick since there will more damage than the eye can see. I live in North TX , hail and crazy bad storms are expected. Out here, one of the dealers has all of their lot covered as in a covered parking lot where every car (new or sold,in for service) is under some protection. That isn't the case with the other dealerships though. Hope things get fixed for you one way or the other.

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[Chris@EPL]

They could have at least tried this:

[agent47]

They could have at least tried this:

Haha. I have seen this.On a side note- can you do me a huge favor? Ask Tony to please work on the c7.5 3.0T ecu tune?

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[Chris@EPL]

Haha. I have seen this.On a side note- can you do me a huge favor? Ask Tony to please work on the c7.5 3.0T ecu tune?

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We have some, what ECU do you have?

[agent47]

We have some, what ECU do you have?

I am 99% sure its the Simos 16 based on the info I have about the C7.5 engine. I can still check . What's the easiest way to check? Also any easier way to reach out to you, like by text ?

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[litigator]

Was the car directed to be stored inside? Sometimes I ask my SA to do so and even take a picture of the location of it when I leave.

[Chris@EPL]

My email is [email protected] and we are still working on the SIMOS 16

[RRF985]

If you had your car at Rockville Audi I wouldn't expect them to try and help at all. One of the worst service departments I've ever been to. I'd just call your insurance, get it fixed, and be done with it.

[Phknlwyr]

If you had your car at Rockville Audi I wouldn't expect them to try and help at all. One of the worst service departments I've ever been to. I'd just call your insurance, get it fixed, and be done with it.

I have never purchased a car from Rockville Audi because they have never been reasonable to deal with on the sales side of the dealership IMHO. When the wife was ready to buy a new Cayenne last year, we spent 10 minutes waiting, while no one else was in he dealership, for someone to speak with us. The salesman was too busy regaling his buddy with stories of God knows what so we walked out. Ironically, I have had nothing but good experiences with their service department. Max always takes great care if me, Matt checks in when I come pick up the cars, and Rich does great work for me in the garage area. No complaints.

I have no problem taking care of the damage on my own. I certainly do not expect Rockvilel Audi to pay for the damages UNLESS they offer to help as a customer service initiative. It all comes out in the wash. Unfortunately, the back of a pick-up truck and the front of my S6 met each other a few months ago and I'm not about to make another insurance claim. First one in 29 years of driving and hopefully the last!

I appreciate everyone's feedback. Thank you for your opinions and experiences.

[Stan77]

I have never purchased a car from Rockville Audi because they have never been reasonable to deal with on the sales side of the dealership IMHO. When the wife was ready to buy a new Cayenne last year, we spent 10 minutes waiting, while no one else was in he dealership, for someone to speak with us. The salesman was too busy regaling his buddy with stories of God knows what so we walked out. Ironically, I have had nothing but good experiences with their service department. Max always takes great care if me, Matt checks in when I come pick up the cars, and Rich does great work for me in the garage area. No complaints.

I have no problem taking care of the damage on my own. I certainly do not expect Rockvilel Audi to pay for the damages UNLESS they offer to help as a customer service initiative. It all comes out in the wash. Unfortunately, the back of a pick-up truck and the front of my S6 met each other a few months ago and I'm not about to make another insurance claim. First one in 29 years of driving and hopefully the last!

I appreciate everyone's feedback. Thank you for your opinions and experiences.

still can't get how porsche dealer can work same as toyota. If you're buying porsche , the process itself means that customer must be LICKED.

[SunDevil]

Unless I'm missing something here you do like when you have your car any other place and something happens to it, you call your insurance company. That's what they are there for. If you don't want to make a claim, then take it over to a reputable PDR facility and have them fix the 8 dents and write them a check for doing so. Seems like a no brainer here to me. Shit happens all the time and this was out of anyone's control.

When you park your car at a pay for use lot and it hails do you ask the parking attendant or owner to pay for your hail damage?
What about when you hand it over to the valet at dinner and the same happens?
Ultimately the responsibility of your vehicle is in your hands IMO.

My thoughts exactly. Act of god. You (your insurance co) pay for damages. Employee of the company runs into your car .... they pay.

A little hail damage is not going to impact the value of your car.

[bobamoo]

May be an act of god, but if you have comprehensive, you are covered. Hail is a peril covered on all standard auto insurance forms. But, your dealer also has a policy called garage keepers coverage. All shops who keep customers cars have it (if they don't they are asking for trouble). It's a liability policy that covers loss to customers cars while in their possession, whether by an employee or other cause, such as fire or vandalism. And yes, should cover it while sitting on their lot. While they can not control the weather, the car was in their possession. I'd press them. Your insurance carrier can help recover from them if they pay the claim. Policies can vary by state and carrier, check your policy.

[SunDevil]

May be an act of god, but if you have comprehensive, you are covered. Hail is a peril covered on all standard auto insurance forms. But, your dealer also has a policy called garage keepers coverage. All shops who keep customers cars have it (if they don't they are asking for trouble). It's a liability policy that covers loss to customers cars while in their possession, whether by an employee or other cause, such as fire or vandalism. And yes, should cover it while sitting on their lot. While they can not control the weather, the car was in their possession. I'd press them. Your insurance carrier can help recover from them if they pay the claim. Policies can vary by state and carrier, check your policy.

Interesting. Curious how this turns out.

[tonymission]

Don't know anything about precedence here, but it would seem they'd have to cover it under their insurance.
If you had the car at your house and knew a storm was coming--possibly with hail-- then you would make sure it was in the garage.
My GL insurance covers us if the sky suddenly opens up and rains into a customer's house while we're re-roofing it. Act of God, but someone has to pay and I'm more responsible than anyone else ultimately.



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[4Chio]

One of the companies own/partners in is a PDR and this is considered an act of god! You pay! geez we still talking about this !!! LOL agree you will never know or anyone else will know you had any hail if it is done right!

My thoughts exactly. Act of god. You (your insurance co) pay for damages. Employee of the company runs into your car .... they pay.

A little hail damage is not going to impact the value of your car.