More than 200 cars at Winnipeg dealership damaged in hailstorm

A Winnipeg car dealership is still assessing the damage caused by a massive hailstorm that hit the city and parts of southern Manitoba earlier this week.

Mercedes, Rams and Jeeps were among about 250 vehicles that were damaged at the Eastern Chrysler dealership on Main Streetwhenthe storm hit on Thursday,said Jesse Shore, thegeneral sales manager.

"There's kind of a wide range of vehicles affected, some got a little worse than others depending on where they were parked," Shore said in an interview on Saturday.

Damage to the vehicles ranges from pockmarked hoods and fendersto cracked windshields.

Assessing the damage

The dealership is waiting fortheir private insurer to assess the total cost of the damage, Shore said.

"Some cars could be, you know, a $500 paintless dent removal. Some cars might need a new hood or something like that. So it's really hard to say right now."

Despite the widespread damage, all the vehicles can be repaired, Shore said.

It also gives the dealership an opportunity to offer discounts to customers who don't mind driving away in a slightly dented vehicle, he said.

"We're going to run a hail sale for the rest of this month, and probably next month as well, while we get these vehicles fixed. So our customers will be able to come down and get one hail of a deal," he said.

The storm, which started around 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, left hail and fallen trees were across several north Winnipeg neighbourhoods, including North and East Kildonan, Transcona and Garden City.

Ryan Kulbaba's shed got hit hard.

"It's all just destroyed, the whole roof," he said in an interview on Friday. "We've already called the insurance company. I hope they redo our roof for sure, and the gazebo roof. Those are the two things that are damaged the most."

Environment Canada received reports of quarter-sized hail and wind gusts of up to 133 km/hin the Dugald area, golf-ball-sized hail in Winnipeg and Alonsa, and nickel-sized hail in parts of the Interlake.

Manitoba Public Insurance (MPI) saidthey've had more than 1,500 hail damage claims.

The influx of claims comes as MPI workers are poised to go on strike on Monday.

The Manitoba Government and General Employees Union says bargaining is going on this weekend.

If the strike proceeds, MPI saidessential services will continue but some programs, such as driver testing, will be cancelled.