‘These events happen fast’: Belton residents left with damaged cars after hail storm

BELTON, Texas (KWTX) - The severe weather over the weekend brought hail to a large majority of Bell County. Now some people there are preparing to pay anywhere from $350 to $1,500 dollars to repair dents and cracks in their cars.

On Mother’s Day James Michael Horak saw a strong and sudden hail storm at his Belton home.

”Unfortunately these events happen fast,” Horak said. “It only took about 5 to 10 minutes for it to damage, but it’s going to take days and maybe months to fix.”

The storm left all three of his cars with dents on their hoods and cracks on their windshields.

”You know there’s not much you can do about it, there’s really not,” Horak said. “That’s why you have to have insurance and protect yourself from this kind of weather.”

At AGC Auto Glass and Car Care, owner Billy Yoachum has already gotten about 30 requests for quotes online and another 30 calls for similar damage.

”We’re very busy today and going into tomorrow,” Yoachum said. “We’re getting the customers in as fast as we can. As long as the glass is in stock we’re trying to do it as soon as possible.”

Yoachum said you may not even realize you have hail damage on your car. He suggests double checking any tinted windows for splits and sunroofs for dents.

For anyone with damage, he recommends getting estimates from multiple shops and considering paying out of pocket, rather than the deductible.

”Sometimes it’s cheaper to pay out of pocket, especially with how expensive some of the newer cars are,” Yoachum said.

Horak has already reached out to his insurance company and will take his cars into a shop this week for a quote.

”We’ll see what happens with the vehicles, whether they repair or what they’re going to do with it,” Horak said.

In the meantime he recommends preparing for the worst case scenario.

”Stay aware,” Horak said. “Make sure you have good apps on your phone and you listen to the TV stations like KWTX and what they’re reporting.”

The owner of AGC Auto Glass and Car Care added that when you’re getting estimates, find a shop with good reviews. He also said to make sure the shop has the equipment to realign front end cameras, if those repairs are necessary.