Auto Body Repair Info

Being in a car accident is one of the most stressful things a person can participate in. Beyond the initial stress of the immediate accident, sacred, confused, and talking to the police. There is the additional stress of insurance companies, and then auto body repairs. 

If your car isn’t totaled in an accident, then it will inevitably need body repairs.  Auto body shops are different than auto mechanics. They work solely on the outside of the car, and they have set rates, labor and parts. Which may be a good thing for you. You will always know exactly what you are getting into with an auto body shop. Because auto body repair shops work closely with the insurance companies, they must squeeze every dime out of themselves for you. 

However, having set prices from an insurance agency has its problems, and sometimes an auto body shop will cut corners to ensure they stay within the margin. They may use older parts, or Bondo to fill in holes. They may not do all of the proper alignments, because they cost too much.  They are under tight budgets, and thus they may not do the most upstanding jobs. 

When looking for a repair shop, your hands may also be tied by the insurance companies, but don’t just roll over to them.  Call and work closely with your insurance agent. Then ask them their top three auto repair shops they work with. Then call the repair shops, ask them what type of parts they use. Make sure you have readily available your make and model of car, and your VIN number in case they need that information.  If they use older parts, or fill in holes with only Bondo, then ask about a future accident, and how those parts will hold up. Make sure when looking into a new paint job, the auto body shop uses the manufactures same paint,  and that any rust is scraped away before they begin painting. These types of cutting corners can, in the end, be huge trouble for you. 

Next, ask for quotes, see if the quote they give you is the same as the one for the insurance company. Maybe it is a bit larger, if so, call the insurance company back. 

You want to make sure that your car is taken care of in a timely and efficient manner. With all the run around you will get, it will be easy to get frustrated and simply stop caring. But this is the biggest mistake you can make. Stay on top of everyone, and make sure your car is taken care of to your standards. 

When someone decided to change lanes without checking their mirrors, they ran right into me. Luckily they were insured, so I didn't have a claim on my own insurance! The insurance company worked directly with the auto repair shop, so all I had to do was pay the deductible. Luckily this Tacoma auto body repair shop was good at their work, and took care of painting the car to match the Mini's unique color(which I HATE, because it looks like a Barbie car) and got the bumper, hood, headlight, driving light, and radiator, and installed them in a timely manner. FYI the car is BMW, so the German parts aren't easy to come by, but they took care of it!