Fierce storms have Northland cities cleaning up.
Rhett Wagner, sales manager for Lamb Auto, which includes Lamb Chevrolet and Lamb Nissan, said most of the vehicles on their lot were damaged and customers are bringing their vehicles in daily because of storm damage.
Wagner said Lamb Auto has a team of experts that repaired the vehicles that were on their lot that were damaged. “They are masters at what they do,” he said. “They are quite amazing.”
Aside from their usual service departments, Lamb Auto brought in 45 technicians from all over the country who specialize in fixing vehicles damaged by storms. Some came from other countries like Argentina and Laos. He expects these senior technicians to remain here for about another month.
The weather-damaged cars and trucks are being repaired under big tents rather than in their service departments. Much of the damage came from hail, but vehicles also sustained wind damage, with gusts at 60 miles per hour throwing rocks that would chip the paint, dent the body and mark the chrome.
“In some cases, cars would be 300 feet apart and one would receive substantial damage, while another would not,” he said, adding that repairs ranged from $3,000 to $15,000. “Our customers have been very happy. We are taking care of their deductibles and getting vehicles done in a short amount of time.”
Sandy Griffis, executive director of the Yavapai County Contractors Association, said recent storms have been costly to many businesses. Yavapai County builders were already overloaded with the construction of homes before the monsoon storms because of growth in the Prescott area.
“So now we have storm business on top of normal business,” she said. “We’ve seen a major boom in business. We were backed up prior to Mother Nature; now, we are scheduled eight to 10 weeks behind. It sure caused havoc.”
Griffis said one of her mottos is asking customers of new homes to be patient. “It doesn’t do any good to bounce from contractor to contractor, because they are all backed up with work.”
She notes that hail damage does not cause leaks in roofs, but hailstorms can remove the protection over roofs. That’s ok for a little while, she says, until roofing companies can get to them.
She recommends that residents make sure the drainage flow on their lots is good before big rain storms come. A lot of people don’t think about the drainage flow when they are having landscaping done, she warns, but it’s important that the water flow away from their home and away from their neighbor’s home as well. She also recommends keeping culverts clean and free of debris. QCBN
By Stan Bindell, QCBN
