DENTON COUNTY, Texas — Thousands of North Texas drivers are still recovering from the last round of storms that rained down hail on their homes and vehicles. Some drivers are reportedly waiting weeks, if not months, for repair appointments. What's worse is now there are possibly even more hailstorms in the forecast.
Julius Johnson is in the process of giving his Dodge a serious makeover. But there are hail damage dents on the hood, door panels, side panels and the rear of his car. Driving with hail damage just isn't his style. In fact, Julius believes what you drive is a reflection of who you are, especially when it comes to dents and dings.
"Having a black car -- it just -- It shows a lot," said Julius Johnson, " I like to match my car, but I can't match the dents, you know? So, I definitely want to get them out."
Johnson has shopped all around North Texas for repairs. He has even gone online and received recommendations from friends who know he wants the dents gone. Julius has found many repair shops backlogged for weeks and, in some cases, months. He stopped by a roadside repair spot in Bartonville called Dent Source Auto Hail Specialist for an estimate. It's a pop-up repair shop where John Gloeckler works.
"We do PDR, which is paint-less repair. What they do is go in behind the panel with their jaws and work that dent back out flat," John Gloeckler said.
Dent Source doesn't do major hail damage repairs that would require autobody work. But since Denton County took a major hit last month, Gloecker and his team hope to take advantage of the long list of drivers waiting at repair shops throughout North Texas. On March 15, Denton County homeowners and drivers reported extensive damage after a hailstorm. That storm forced drivers to seek shelter from baseball-sized hail that not only left cars and trucks with dents and dings but also, in some cases, took out front, rear, and side windows.
"I've seen the whole tops of the car smashed in, the back windows busted out, stuff like that," Gloeckler said.
Based on risk, damage, and economics, a study puts North Texas counties among the top in the U.S. for hail damage. The study by Stacker ranks Dallas County number one in the country, Tarrant County number three, and Denton 11th.
Since the potential for hailstorms is in the forecast for North Texas, Julius will have his eyes on the weather to avoid even more hail damage to his Dodge.
"I am worried about what kind of damage it's going to cause and how big it's going to be," Johnson said.