Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Filing an automotive hail damage claim will not increase your insurance premium!

Many Insurance policy holders are reluctant to file a claim for damages to their vehicles caused by hail storms Many of these policy holders never even file a claim for fear of their insurance company increasing their premium. This is an absolute falsehood no matter what anyone tells you. It is unlawful for any insurance company to raise, or threaten to raise any single individuals insurance premium due to an "Act of God". Hail damage is considered an "Act of nature", and is covered under the comprehensive section of your policy. King of the Ding of Austin is an approved provider for all major insurance companies and is able to handle every aspect of your claim to ensure that your vehicle is repaired to pre-damaged condition. We are locally owned and operated at 12307 Roxie Dr Ste 108 Austin, TX 78759 .  Got a ding? Call the King!

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Considering Buying A New Hail Damaged Car? Think again!

"Hail Sale". Sounds like a blessing to most buyers, but BUYER BEWARE! The vehicle you may think is a great deal can very likely be the worst decision you've ever made. Hail damaged vehicle repair cost can range from several hundreds to tens of thousands, depending upon the type of vehicle and the extent of damages. Dealerships have the upper hand in almost every instance when selling these "Hell Sale" vehicles. Allow me to enlighten you, The Dealer has a brand new ( hail damaged) vehicle, lets say the MSRP is $35,000.00 and he offers to sell you the vehicle for $30,000. Thats a 5,000 discount and a "Great deal right"...Wrong! Okay, lets start with what happens just after a dealership is hit by a hail storm. The Dealer calls his insurance company. Insurance company estimates the cost of repairs at lets just say $8,000 . Subtract the typical dealership deductible (1,000). Thats right, from the start the dealer has an 7,000 check in his back pocket. If he sells you the vehicle for 30,000 and he has a 7,000 check in his back pocket, he has just sold you a hail car for, Yep, you got it, $2,000 over MSRP. The Numbers do not lie, Unfortunately some dealers do. New vehicles also have markup ( Dealer Profit) and a dirty little word called "dealer hold back", all cleverly built right into the invoice just in case you are savy enough to negotiate to see it. Most of this profit you readily see on the invoice, but some is hidden from you in the form of "dealer hold back"."Dealer hold back" is a certain amount of the invoice price which is paid to the dealer directly from the manufacturer, if the dealership achieves a certain volume of sales and also maintains an acceptable customer satisfaction index. Usually paid to the dealer on a quarterly basis." Dealer hold back" is different on every vehicle unless the options and equipment are identical. The above described deal is considered a grand slam in the car business. Remember, you still may want to get this car repaired . Average markup on a new vehicle in that price range can be 3,000 - 5500 or more depending on the MSRP. But don't forget about the $7,000 worth of hail damage to the vehicle which is most likely a low-ball initial estimate of the damages from the insurance company. The actual cost of repairs could be a great deal more. If your are considering buying a hail car from a dealer a good "starting point' for negotiation for the example above would be atleast double what they where giving you off in the first place. . This deal would make sense if the dealer kindly handed over the $7,000 check and then started discounting the vehicle, Because he still has on average 4,000 in mark up and 500 to 1,200 in "dealer hold back". The dealer should be happy just to move this car off his lot and not take a loss. Example: insurance check 7,000 + Mark up 4,000 + Hold Back 750.00 = 11,750. I would say in the above example you should get at least a 10,000 - 11,750 discount for this deal to make sense. Why should any dealer make a huge profit selling damaged goods.   Note: If you plan to get this vehicle repaired the initial insurance estimate may have been on the low side and the actual cost of repairing the vehicle may be higher. An insurance company claims adjusters job is to satisfy a claim at the lowest price point. Any after appraising the dealers entire lot he/she maybe off on the estimate of damages.Also remember the dealership has a deductible on his inventory also which is usually 1,000 on average.  As a convenience to you and because we don't want fellow Austinites getting ripped off. We would love to look the vehicle over for you and give you a true estimate of the actual cost of the damages so that you can make an informed decision before you spend your hard earned dollars. Just give us a call at (512) 257-8306 and bring the vehicle to King of the Ding at 12307 Roxie Drive Austin, TX. 78729. Good luck, we hope you find this information useful. Read this Yelp Review! He was almost "Hail Sale" Victim.

Sunday, August 15, 2010

Environmentally Aware Austinites Consistently Choose Paintless Dent Repair Over Traditional Auto Body Repair and Painting. Austinites Cite The Benefits To The Environment, Cost Associated and Vehicle Repair Time, As Just A Few of the Driving Factors for Choosing The Paintless Dent Repair Alternative...

Large Dent Repair Performed at King of the Ding.
 Just five years ago this type of repair would never have been considered for  paintless dent repair.
King of the Ding continues to push the boundaries of paintless dent repair with new techniques.




Paintless Dent Repair is a new phenomenon that has taken the auto body repair industry by storm. The benefits to local Austinites, auto insurance companies and the environment are quickly being realized.

It used to be that when your vehicle was damaged by a rogue shopping cart or a pulled golf shot (fore left!), you only had two options. Either pay an auto body shop to grind, sand, and paint your damaged panel or just try to live with it.

 Paintless dent repair is the only cost effective and time saving way to have your vehicle restored to pre-damaged condition while restoring your vehicles value and appearance. Repair cost in the hundreds can be reduced to as little as $75.00 for a small door dent.

Paintless dent repair is also helping the environment. Every year, millions of body panels are being repaired by the paintless method instead of repainting them. The Paintless process contributes to the reduction of harmful vapors and paint waste being introduced into the environment.

Insurance Companies world wide have embraced Paintless dent repair as the prefered method of repairing damage caused by hail storms.The paintless process has reduced the cost and time associated with these types of repairs, which saves the insurance industry billions. Paintless dent repair also restores your vehicles value unlike traditional auto body repair which lowers the value of your vehicle.


King of the Ding is Austin's Premier paintless dent repair shop . We are located 12307 Roxie Dr. Suite 108 Austin, TX. 78729 (512-257-8306). King of the Ding Has been performing top quality repairs since 1998. Our master technicians complete door ding and dents while you wait, in our comfortable waiting area equipped with flat screen tv's and free Wifi internet access. Most hail damaged vehicles are repaired in 1-3 days. All our repairs come with a written lifetime warrant and a 100% Money back quality guarantee. Please visit http://www.kingoftheding.com for more details.