Rochester Toyota recovers from hail storm damage to vehicle lot

Theodore Tollefson, Post-Bulletin, Rochester, Minn.
·2 min read
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May 31—ROCHESTER — When it rains, it pours but when that rain becomes a flood of quarter-sized hail, local car dealerships suffer the storm.

One of the latest hail storms to hit Rochester on Thursday, May 19, brought a lot of unexpected damage to the Toyota dealership lot in south Rochester. Dozens of vehicles at the dealership were hit by hail and received simple bumps and scratches on car paint compared to severe damages that could have been caused by these storms.

"It's pretty amazing what these paintless dent removal companies can do to fix cosmetic issues," said Mike Enke, executive general manager of Rochester Toyota. "So the damage wasn't so bad that it can't be fixed, which is a good thing."

For those who had vehicles purchased before the storm that were still on the lot. Their new vehicles are still insured by Rochester Toyota until the vehicle officially leaves the lot under the new owner. According to Enke, only 10 customers had their vehicles damaged by the hail storm prior to it leaving the lot.

"We fix the cars to the standards that they would have expected when they bought the vehicle. And we would disclose anything that would have been done to the vehicle," Enke said.

While the severe weather season is far from over, Enke says that preparing for storm damage each year as a car dealership isn't always at the forefront of the dealership's mind. Storm damages mainly come down to having the right insurance as a dealership and for the customers.

"You try to protect those assets as best you can. Sometimes storms come out of nowhere, and there's not much you can do. Being properly insured is, I think, the most important aspect of what we do, making sure that we have policies in place so that if damage occurs, you know, we're able to get the vehicles back up to the standards that our customers expect," Enke said.

The worst of the damages Rochester Toyota faced, from the storms in May and dating back to the Dec. 15, 2021, tornado, is signage. Some of the signage is still in need of repair, but will be completed by the end of the summer.