Hail Damages Every Vehicle At McKinney Dealership
March 31, 2017 6:46 PM By Gabriel Roxas
McKINNEY (CBS11) – If you think it’s a pain talking to insurance agents about hail damage, try making the call to report about 1,000 cars. That’s the case for one North Texas car dealer whose entire inventory came under fire from the recent storm.
A large white tent is the final stop for every vehicle on the lot at Pat Lobb Toyota of McKinney after going through a detailed inspection.
There were only a few with so much damage they didn’t make it, but the owner here is determined to restore most of them to their original condition.
If your own hail-damaged vehicle has got you down, this makeshift doctor’s office for dents and the technicians at work want to give you hope.
“I’ve had people give me a hug before. They were so happy,” repair technician William Moothart said.
After hail rained down on virtually every one of the thousand vehicles on his lot, owner Pat Lobb may have been the one who needed a hug.
“God has a sense of humor, and I haven’t figured it out just yet, but we’ll get through this,” Lobb said.
All week, Lobb and his employees have created an assembly line at the lot’s carwash for each damaged vehicle to get a complete diagnosis. After that, it’s on to the other side of the lot where technicians gently pound out each dent.
“You know what’s amazing is I looked at a car the other day here that had… One car had like 60 or 70 dents in it, and the car right beside it had like four. How did that happen? ” Lobb said.
Customers who were waiting to pick up cars they had already bought had the option to order a new one, are now waiting for restoration and get a discount of up to a couple thousand dollars, or take the car as is with an even bigger discount.
Lobb said once the unsold vehicles are restored to factory condition, they will still sell at a substantial discount. Now with more storms on the way, the owner says he’s ready for anything.
“We’ve already had them all damaged, what else could happen, locusts? I’m not sure,” Lobb said.
Once the dealership’s vehicles are all repaired, Lobb plans to invite customers who may have suffered damage at home to bring them here for the same treatment.
Employees have been able to inspect about a hundred cars each day with some having more than $5,000 worth of damage. The owner expects repairs to continue over the next couple of weeks.