Sorry to hear about your truck man....that sucks....but at least your able to go get something new out of the deal.

As for the hail......we had golf ball sized hail back in April.....and there were some people who had upwards of 7-8k worth of damage done to their car. In fact, a co-worker's neighbor had her car totalled out.....

I've seen softball sized hail twice...but both times it was under tornado warnings.....When it hails, even the small ones can do major damage if it lasts long enough...

In fact, my car was out in that storm sitting on the street and didnt have a single dent. However, my neighbor with a lifted pickup had 2k in damage.....

 

well i ttok the truck to my mechanic and he found a few problems with the truck. There was a seal that was siliconed over and when he poked at it fluid started to leak out and stupid stuff like that. It seems to me that the silicone was there to mask a problem so who knows what else is goign wrong. The dealership fought me the whole time about fixing it and wouldnt throw in new tires on the deal so i said "**** it your a bunch of crooks and left". So onward with the search til i find the right truck.

 

I've seen large hail- like, paintball sized- maybe once round here, that's what you midwest guys get for not having a garage! I just got my 97 and still havn't been able to drive it cause some dick hit me 12 hour after getting it, it's been with progressive for too long already but i plan on trading it up in a few years (or keeping it as a beater) for a slightly used Cummins 4x4

 

sorry to hear about the 97, i have one myself. i sold the new ones this summer though - you won't have any complaints about your new 3rd gen - they're great trucks


by the way, what are you gonna do with your '97?

 

when i find the truck i really want i'll just sell it outright.... probably try ebay

 

Good luck finding your new ride! This time of year is great for buying a vehicle due to the dealers trying to clear out the old models. I almost always buy mine in Sep, Oct, or Nov. The newspaper ad idea is a good one - I have used one dealers advertised discount as a "price match" at another dealer that had what I wanted many times. It works.

Sorry bud, but "paintball sized" is not considered "large hail". We had a storm in north STL county a few years ago that actually knocked HOLES in vehicles sheet metal. A buddy of mine actually got insurance money for his driveway to be repaired because the hail knocked chunks out of it. You can't imagine how much roof and siding damage there was. I have been lucky so far - the worst stuff hasn't hit my stuff. (the sound you hear right now is me knocking on wood...) We have golf-ball or bigger hail somewhere around here every year.
I have a 3 car garage - but 1 is for tools and work area, 1 is for the wife's car (mandatory), and my Nova sits in the other one. My poor truck has to fend for itsself outside.........