[s-cars] Hail Damage Repair

[Calvin & Diana Craig]

Well I have lived in Denver for 8 years and had no hail damage thus far so I
guess my number was up.  My black 2001 A6 2.7T got pelted last week with
about 50 (best guess) dents.  2 or 3 on the trunk lid, about 10-20 in the
roof and 30-40 in the hood.  Does anybody have any places that they would
recommend in the Denver area?  One thing that I had heard was that because
the roof, I think, is aluminum it takes a little more care than normal sheet
metal.  Does anybody have any experience with this?

The second question is should I claim on my insurance ($500 deductible) or
foot the bill myself?  Do comprehensive claims normally raise your rates?
Of course my situation is complicated since I have 5 cars and my insurance
is a lot of money each year and a small percentage change in my rates can
mean lots of dollars in absolute terms.  The other complicating factor is
that I have two tickets on my record that if the insurance company checks
will show up.  Right now I have a good driver discount which of course would
go away if they found the tickets.  What's everybody's opinion?

Of course I just got this car 2 months ago and the dang thing was in
absolutely top notch condition.  Why couldn't this have happened to my '89
200 wagon with a bazillion miles?  ARGH!

--Calvin