Hail damage is estimated panel by panel: on each part of the body you count the dents by size, mark the material and paintwork, then add up the small dents from the whole car to a single number, which selects the flat rate from a band table. To the flat rate you add surcharges for larger dents, removals, part replacements and paint, and finally you check whether the repair cost is approaching the total loss threshold.

Below you will find the whole process in the order in which it is done at the car and at the desk.

What you need before you start calculating

An estimate is only as good as the data it is based on. Before you open the price list, gather:

  • vehicle details — make, model, VIN and registration number,
  • the vehicle's value — needed to assess whether the repair is worth it,
  • suitable lighting — a lamp or a line board, because in diffuse daylight some shallow dents are invisible,
  • the price list you charge by — your own, or the one that applies to the given partnership,
  • photos of each damaged panel, taken before work starts.

If the inspection and the estimate are done by different people, agree on a common way of recording. An estimate based on notes on a scrap of paper, later copied into a spreadsheet, is the most common source of discrepancies.

Estimating hail damage step by step

  1. Assess each panel separately. Go round the body in a fixed order, for example: bonnet, wings, doors, pillars, sills, boot lid, roof. A fixed order protects against missing a panel.
  2. Count the dents in size bands. Typical bands are up to 40 mm, 41–70 mm and above 70 mm. Each dent is assigned to one band.
  3. Mark the material. Steel and aluminium are priced differently — aluminium is harder to work, so price lists provide higher rates or surcharges for it.
  4. Mark whether the panel is going to be painted. A panel intended for paint can be repaired less conservatively, which is why many price lists have a lower rate for it.
  5. Add up the dents up to 40 mm from the whole car. This total selects the band from the flat-rate table.
  6. Add surcharges for larger dents. Dents of 41–70 mm and above 70 mm are not included in the flat-rate total — they are charged with an amount per dent.
  7. Add removals, part replacements and paint. These items are usually priced according to manufacturer times or the estimating systems your company uses.
  8. Check cost-effectiveness. Compare the repair cost with the car's value, and the cost of repairing individual panels with the cost of replacing them.

How to count dents so the result holds up

Most disputes about a PDR estimate concern the counting itself. Two principles bring order to the subject.

A total for the whole vehicle, not for each panel. If you calculated the flat rate separately for the bonnet, roof and boot lid, the same number of dents split across three panels would give a different price than if it were concentrated on one. The cumulative total method removes this problem: dents up to 40 mm from the whole car form a single number, and that number selects the band from the table. The side effect is favourable to the customer — the bigger the damage, the lower the price of a single dent.

The raw count selects the band. Aluminium and paintwork should not “shift” the dent count into a higher or lower band. They are separate rate modifiers. This way, anyone checking the estimate can see where the band came from and where the surcharges came from.

With very large damage, the band table runs out. In price lists based on this method, above 100 dents a fixed amount is added for each additional dent — in the WE-PDR default price list, PLN 13.50 net.

A few practical tips for the counting itself:

  • count in one direction and mark the areas you have counted, for example with tape or a washable marker,
  • divide large panels (roof, bonnet) into sections and count section by section,
  • describe dents on edges, body lines and near reinforcements in the notes — repairing them is often harder than their size suggests,
  • if a dent is on the boundary between bands, adopt one rule for the whole company and stick to it.

Extras: removals, replacements and paint

The dent repair itself is not the whole estimate. To get access from behind you often have to remove the headliner, door trim, lights or mouldings. Some parts cannot be repaired and have to be replaced — this usually applies to ancillary parts: mouldings, badges, seals, aerials or roof rails.

These items are entered as amounts, according to the standards you use every day. In the estimate they should be visible as separate lines, not “included” in the flat rate. The insurer or customer can then see straight away what is PDR repair and what is associated work.

Also record what you are not doing. If no panel is being replaced, the estimate should state this rather than stay silent — it makes later conversations about the scope easier.

Check whether the repair makes sense

The last step is an economic check, at two levels.

The whole vehicle. Calculate what percentage of the car's value the repair cost represents. In WE-PDR the colour bands are: 0–50% safe, 51–60% caution, 61–69% high risk, 70% and above total loss. These are warning thresholds in the app, not a rule — the total loss threshold differs between insurers and policies, so always compare the result with the terms of the specific contract. More on this in the article on total loss after hail.

A single panel. A badly damaged panel is sometimes cheaper to replace and paint than to repair paintlessly. Compare the repair cost with the full cost of replacement: the part, labour and paint.

The most common mistakes in a PDR estimate

  • calculating the flat rate separately for each panel instead of from the total for the whole car,
  • including large dents in the flat-rate total instead of charging them with a per-dent surcharge,
  • leaving out pillars and sills because “hail falls from above”,
  • no photos before the repair — without them it is hard to defend the dent count,
  • removals and replacements entered without a breakdown into lines,
  • no vehicle value, so nobody sees that the cost is approaching a total loss.

The estimate as a document, not a note

A well-prepared estimate ends with a document that can be passed on: a technical assessment with a damage map and photos, and a calculation broken down into the flat rate, surcharges and additional work.

In WE-PDR, the data from the vehicle inspection goes straight into the hail damage calculator, which calculates according to your company's price list and shows the percentage of the vehicle's value as you go. Whatever the tool, stick to one principle: every number in the estimate should have its source — in the counting, in the price list or in a standard. If you are wondering what affects the final amount the most, read what the price of PDR repair depends on.

Frequently asked questions

How is the cost of PDR hail repair calculated?
Most often as a flat rate: dents up to 40 mm from the whole car are added up to a single number, which selects a band from the flat-rate table. Larger dents are charged with a per-dent surcharge, and removals, part replacements and paint are added on top.

Are dents counted separately for each panel?
You count them on each panel, but the total for the whole vehicle goes into the flat rate. This way the same number of dents gives the same price regardless of how they are distributed across the body.

What dent sizes are distinguished in an estimate?
A typical PDR price list has three bands: up to 40 mm, 41–70 mm and above 70 mm. The first is included in the flat rate, the other two are charged with a surcharge per dent.

When should an estimate set off alarm bells?
When the repair cost approaches the total loss threshold, i.e. a certain percentage of the vehicle's value. This threshold depends on the insurer and the policy, so it has to be checked in the terms of the specific contract.