Hail dents and discounts

[English teacher]

I will be buying a Ridgeline in June (RTS or RTL if the price is right) and
a dealer about 20 miles away has some Ridgelines with 4 or 5 quarter size dents from a hail storm on the lot. I was thinking that the dealer will get some type of insurance reimbursement but I am wondering how would a dealer
price a new RTS with 4 or 5 small dents? Obviously they can't price them at the same level as a perfect model. If I am planinng on holding on to the Ridgeline for 10 years + resale value is not an issue. Would I be a fool to consider the dented truck if they would go way below the average sale price?
(You have to be looking straight at the hood to notice the dents)

Also...anybody recommend a good Texas dealer? I will travel for a good deal.

[Mtnman]

I would contac a paintless dent removal shop and see if they will meet you at the dealer and give you an idea as to the possibility and cost to fix the RL's that you are interested in and then do yous number crunching from there.

[Tcape]

If you can live with the dents, I'm sure you'll get a fantastic deal on a Ridgeline that has them. Probably well below the cost it would take to repair the dents. Sure worth exploring. Nothing to lose by negotiating...and I'd sure lowball the offer. The dealer will want to get rid of those RLs fast.

And has already been mentioned, a good "dent doctor" will probably be able to repair the dents fairly cheap. No matter what, I hope you end up with a good Ridgeline! Best of luck to you.

[Sparkland]

FYI,

Just remember, the dealer will have already gotten an estimate and payment on the hail damage for insurance purposes and that amount say, $1000, will be deducted from any insurance settlement you might receive down the road--for example if your vehicle is totalled or you get into another hail storm.

In essence you are not really saving anything if you ever have to use your automobile insurance for a major claim.

We get a lot of hail here in Colorado and this discussion has come up several times.

Hope it all works out.

Brad

[k757]

Originally Posted by Tcape

If you can live with the dents, I'm sure you'll get a fantastic deal on a Ridgeline that has them. Probably well below the cost it would take to repair the dents. Sure worth exploring. Nothing to lose by negotiating...and I'd sure lowball the offer. The dealer will want to get rid of those RLs fast.

Not likely. I suspect the dealer will give maybe $500 more off.