So, in good ol' Ohio we've been prone to lots of large, damaging hail the past month or so. My fiance and I have my MCS, his BMW 325Ci Coupe, and our BMW 325XiT Sportwagen and we don't want them to get damaged in the hail. We've been driving over to our large mall which is about 3 miles away and parking in the underground garage (we don't have a garage). That tends to get a bit challenging when you have to go back for the third car.

We found this site that manufactures hail blankets that are supposed to protect your car from hail and other elements. We couldn't find any pics or reviews on their site and I wanted to ask all of you if you've heard of them, used them, and what your opinion about them is?

Is it worth considering/getting, or, is it too good to be true?????

Thanks,
Quadrivium

 

I looked at these before but never pulled the trigger. Talking it over with others on a different forum the two main issues where:

-will you scratch up the paint too much with the cover
-given hail is about to start falling, can you put one of these on in a 50mph wind?

In 10 years in KC never had hail damage, but then in the last 2 months have gotten hit 3 times.

If the cost of the cover is cheaper than your insurance deductible, then you could rationalize it as saving money right?

 

No input on the cover, but my younger sister just had her 2008 Nissan Altima Coupe nearly totaled by hail. Her car was parked outside during a severe golf-ball size hail storm in Knoxville, TN (where she lives).

Every single exterior sheet metal panel was destroyed, looked like someone took a pair of ball peen hammers and played the bongo drums on it.

Total Cost in repairs: $8500 (now increased to nearly $13,000)
Deductible: $500
How much her insurance is going to increase: Not sure yet, but I'm sure it will rise drastically :(

I've been in some serious hail storms before, but never larger than marble sized. Seems like it could work, but I remember back in high school just running outside with an old, thick comforter and tossing that over a friends' car and weighing it down with something, can't remember. Did a good job, and I'm sure a king size cheapo comforter would not only cover an entire mini without a problem but would probably do just as good a job as a $250 "hailblanket". Just have to find a way to secure it to the car to prevent it from blowing away.

 

Nice idea....wish I had thought of it. Sounds like a better alternative than the old comforter/quilt in the trunk!

 

I'm from knoxville and that hail storm was the reason I got my mini. It totalled mine and many of my friends cars. Its hailed twice more since then. Currently they are calling forlarge hail as these storms roll through. With this springs weather I think a hail blanket would pay for itself...if it worked. We had baseball sized hail the other day near my house but thankfully I was in a parking garage with the mini.

 

Jeez, yea she took the car home to where our parents live while she was visiting for the summer and it's still in the shop there. Been almost a month since it went into the shop I believe. All 3 of her roommates' cars were totalled as well, and we're really surprised hers wasnt. Most likely, they quoted it at $8500 and started working on it, then had to change the estimate halfway through, but at that point it was too late to total it. She was/is still completely depressed about it, she bought that car brand new and it was her first. Hail sucks!

 

She's lucky to be getting it fixed already. Most shops are backed up till April 2012. I have to wait another month before I can even get a couple for dings out of the Cooper at a paintless dent place. Which are of knoxville was she in? Some areas had softball size hail.

 

Well, home for us is in Kansas City (where I purchased my mini from and somehow convinced her to drive it 1000 miles down to me during her summer vacation ) so that is why it's getting fixed so quickly. I'm not that familiar with Knoxville, but she's not that far from the UT campus.

 

Depends on how it is attached to the car. With the severe winds that would be around, you need to make sure it is on the car where it is needed when the hail starts dropping.

 

I actually had a similar product that I used for a bit back in the 70s for an MG. The question was always where to put the dirty wet "blanket" when you returned from shopping. When they are wet, they are a pain to just "wad up" and throw in the trunk. And try doing it when you are dressed nicely. It was a huge pain.

I used it a couple of times then threw it in a corner of the garage to rot.

 

Thanks for all of the replies, everyone!

Sounds like we are split down the line about 50/50. I like the gigantic king size comforter idea but then you run into the "how do I get it to stay" dilemma like you mentioned. Then, on the other hand, the hail blanket is $248 (not shipped) and then you run into a) does it really work? and b) where do you put the big soaking wad when you're dressed in business clothes like you mentioned?????

One of the people I work with said they can see me laying on top of the MINI when it starts to hail with a tennis/racketball raquet swinging the hail away If I could get up there without breaking the panoramic roof, I probably would!

Thanks again everyone! Now it's time to sit and think all of the comments/suggestions through.....

Quadrivium

 

How much is the deductible on your insurance? If it is about the same just consider this as an investment in saving your deductible and protecting the car.

 

You could get one of those temporary garages:

http://www.portablegaragedepot.com/i...62680&catid=58

The cheap ones cost $279 and maybe less if you shop around. Just have to worry about keeping them tied to the ground but if they are sturdy enough for the hail then they would do the trick without the drawbacks of the cover. Or buy one that can fit both cars.