Hail damage - loss of value?

My Beech Sundowner sustained some hail damage a few weeks ago. About
15 planes on the ramp (IJD) were hit. I have a fist sized hole in one
wingtip and all the control surfaces are dimpled. There's a few on the
wing tops and fuse top, but you really have to look in the right light
to see them. Tail cone and stab tips also show light damage.

What's a real shame is this plane didn't have a mark on it. Had been
painted about 4 years ago and looked real sharp. But the reality is,
aside from the wingtip, you don't notice the dimpling, I'd say most of
it is light to moderate - perfectly airworthy.

My A&P is doing up an estimate now and is guessing about 15K, which
includes reskinning all the control surfaces. Insured hull value is
46K.

So, if I were to turn around and try to sell this plane in the
condition it's in, what kind of loss of value am I looking at? Lots of
planes out there show some hail damage but never really thought what
that impact on value would be.

I know one of the insurance options is a "loss of value" check, with
the understanding that the repairs won't be made. I also understand
that this option is probably the least beneficial to me. So far the
adjuster has been great, flew out and looked the plane over and said
get an estimate, maybe 2. He says the best option for me would be to
get it all fixed... but then it's all in the logs, so i still take
somewhat of a hit. Will be interesting to see how this all plays out.

Try placing some dry ice on the dents. It will sometimes take them out
if not too old..

The realistic solution here is to insist on full repairs - meaning
including the reskinning. Also, make sure you get your estimates from
shops that don't have a reputation for taking a year to do jobs like
this (they are out there - the one at my home field is one of them).

The estimates will be high - meaning not worth it. The insurance
company will total the plane, write you a check, and sell the plane.
Then, if you still want that plane, you buy it - at market value. That
way, they take the market value hit.

Michael


wrote:
My Beech Sundowner sustained some hail damage a few weeks ago. About
15 planes on the ramp (IJD) were hit. I have a fist sized hole in one
wingtip and all the control surfaces are dimpled. There's a few on the
wing tops and fuse top, but you really have to look in the right light
to see them. Tail cone and stab tips also show light damage.

What's a real shame is this plane didn't have a mark on it. Had been
painted about 4 years ago and looked real sharp. But the reality is,
aside from the wingtip, you don't notice the dimpling, I'd say most of
it is light to moderate - perfectly airworthy.

My A&P is doing up an estimate now and is guessing about 15K, which
includes reskinning all the control surfaces. Insured hull value is
46K.

So, if I were to turn around and try to sell this plane in the
condition it's in, what kind of loss of value am I looking at? Lots of
planes out there show some hail damage but never really thought what
that impact on value would be.

I know one of the insurance options is a "loss of value" check, with
the understanding that the repairs won't be made. I also understand
that this option is probably the least beneficial to me. So far the
adjuster has been great, flew out and looked the plane over and said
get an estimate, maybe 2. He says the best option for me would be to
get it all fixed... but then it's all in the logs, so i still take
somewhat of a hit. Will be interesting to see how this all plays out.

The estimates will be high - meaning not worth it. The insurance
company will total the plane, write you a check, and sell the plane.
Then, if you still want that plane, you buy it - at market value. That
way, they take the market value hit.

This is what I'm hoping for, but don't think the final number will be
high enough. Early estimates are about 15K, which includes reskinning
all the control surfaces... probably not enough to total.

In article . com,
wrote:

This is what I'm hoping for, but don't think the final number will be
high enough. Early estimates are about 15K, which includes reskinning
all the control surfaces... probably not enough to total.

as long as it's fixed correctly and fully, it shouldn't take a hit in value.
(especially after a few years).

--
Bob Noel
Looking for a sig the
lawyers will hate

wrote in message
ups.com...
There's a few on the wing tops and fuse top, but you really have to look
in the right light
to see them.

That's no reason to ignore it. This should be included in the repair as
well.

On 9 Aug 2006 16:23:00 -0700, wrote:

My Beech Sundowner sustained some hail damage a few weeks ago. About
15 planes on the ramp (IJD) were hit. I have a fist sized hole in one
wingtip and all the control surfaces are dimpled. There's a few on the
wing tops and fuse top, but you really have to look in the right light
to see them. Tail cone and stab tips also show light damage.

What's a real shame is this plane didn't have a mark on it. Had been
painted about 4 years ago and looked real sharp. But the reality is,
aside from the wingtip, you don't notice the dimpling, I'd say most of
it is light to moderate - perfectly airworthy.

My A&P is doing up an estimate now and is guessing about 15K, which
includes reskinning all the control surfaces. Insured hull value is
46K.

$15k probably is a good estimate.

$10k for a new paint job with all the bondo work to fill the hail
dents on the body and wings.

$5k to reskin the ailerons, flaps, and elevators is light, but not out
of the ballpark.

If the work is done correctly, the plane will look better out of the
shop than it did before the hail. This should help offset the value
of having reskinning entries in the logbook.

-Nathan

"Nathan Young" wrote in message
...
On 9 Aug 2006 16:23:00 -0700, wrote:

My Beech Sundowner sustained some hail damage a few weeks ago. About
15 planes on the ramp (IJD) were hit. I have a fist sized hole in one
wingtip and all the control surfaces are dimpled. There's a few on the
wing tops and fuse top, but you really have to look in the right light
to see them. Tail cone and stab tips also show light damage.

What's a real shame is this plane didn't have a mark on it. Had been
painted about 4 years ago and looked real sharp. But the reality is,
aside from the wingtip, you don't notice the dimpling, I'd say most of
it is light to moderate - perfectly airworthy.

My A&P is doing up an estimate now and is guessing about 15K, which
includes reskinning all the control surfaces. Insured hull value is
46K.

$15k probably is a good estimate.

$10k for a new paint job with all the bondo work to fill the hail
dents on the body and wings.

Bondo???? I am not being sarcastic. Is this crap actually used in aircraft
repair?
10K sounds about right for decent paint job without sheet metal repair.

$5k to reskin the ailerons, flaps, and elevators is light, but not out
of the ballpark.

I had to reskin one aileron on a 182 and 5K to reskin, paint and balance all
control surfaces seems pretty inexpensive. My understanding from the
original post was that the $15K was for reskinning control surfaces which
seems about right.

If the work is done correctly, the plane will look better out of the
shop than it did before the hail. This should help offset the value
of having reskinning entries in the logbook.

-Nathan

Howard

On Fri, 11 Aug 2006 15:03:54 GMT, "Howard Nelson"
wrote:


"Nathan Young" wrote in message
.. .
On 9 Aug 2006 16:23:00 -0700, wrote:



$10k for a new paint job with all the bondo work to fill the hail
dents on the body and wings.

Bondo???? I am not being sarcastic. Is this crap actually used in aircraft
repair?
10K sounds about right for decent paint job without sheet metal repair.

Well, it probably is not automotive bondo, but there definitely is a a
sandable filler that paint shops use to cover hail damage and misc
dings. It must be an aviation grade bondo. :-)

I had to reskin one aileron on a 182 and 5K to reskin, paint and balance all
control surfaces seems pretty inexpensive. My understanding from the
original post was that the $15K was for reskinning control surfaces which
seems about right.

I had one of my ailerons reskinned (Cherokee), and recall it to be
around $1k.

The paint and balance would be done in the paint shop anyway, so that
cost should not be calculated into the reskin cost.

So, $5k is light, but I don't think outrageously low. $15k seems
substantially too high. However, I do not know how much a flap skin
or elevator skin costs. Also, the OP's aircraft was a Beech, so
perhaps the skins cost more, or the amount of manhours to replace is
higher than my Cherokee.

Go to Jenkins airport in Delaware. Aviation junkyard. You can get
what you need for about one tenth your estimates. Look up Joe Jenkins
in phone book.
..