Research Body Shops in Your Area
It’s always a good idea to get estimates from several different body shops. This allows you to compare quotes and ensures you have enough information to make the right decision. The goal should be to work with a body shop that performs quality work at a reasonable price. But how will you know which shops provide this value? You’ll need to do your research.
The following tips will help guide your research:
- Ask friends and family members about their experiences working with body shops in your area. These word-of-mouth recommendations are often a useful place to start your research.
- Read online reviews of local body shops to see what others have said about the quality of work they received.
- Once you’ve identified a few body shops to consider, check the websites from reputable industry organizations such as Auto Alliance and the Society of Collision Repair Specialists to see if they can provide any additional information about these body shops.
Beware of Online Estimator Tools
While it might be tempting to use some of the online estimator tools available to get a sense of what your repairs should cost, you’re unlikely to gain any useful information from them. It’s important to understand that these tools are basing their rough estimates on information you provide. Unless you have expertise in the area of auto body repair, you most likely won’t be able to provide the accurate information necessary to get a decent estimate from these tools.
When looking at the damage to your vehicle, it may seem like most of the repairs will be relatively minor. However, there may be hidden damage that can’t be identified without a more thorough evaluation of the vehicle. The reverse may also be true: you may think the damage to your car is quite extensive, but modern technology may allow for simple repairs.
The only way to get an accurate estimate of the repairs you’ll need is to work with a trained professional who knows what to look for and what the proper parts will cost.
Don’t Let the Insurance Company Dictate the Repair Process
You have the right to choose the body shop that performs your repairs. Don’t let the insurance company force you to use their desired shop. When negotiating with your insurance company, stand your ground and make sure they allow you to have final say on who works on your vehicle.
Don’t Base Your Decision Strictly on Price
After receiving several different estimates, you may find the costs vary greatly on each estimate. While it may be tempting to choose the body shop offering the lowest price, you may come to regret this decision after repairs are made. While cost is certainly a factor in your decision, quality should be prioritized over price.
A lower estimate may use cheaper parts that may be less durable and of lower quality. In addition, they may be more likely to do sloppy work (evaluating reviews for the body shop will help you determine if this is something to be concerned about). A higher estimate doesn’t necessarily mean you’re getting ripped off. In some instances, you may find that you’ll receive better quality work from the body shop that charges a little more.
Research will be crucial to determining whether you’re sacrificing quality for a lower price. This will ensure you make a fully informed decision regarding who will deliver the best value on your repairs.
Important Information to Receive in Your Estimate
Most auto body shops will perform an estimate for free. The process usually takes around 30 minutes to complete. Always ask for a written, itemized estimate from the body shop. This should include:
- A detailed assessment of all damage that needs to be repaired
- Costs for materials and parts
- Costs for labor (including estimated labor hours)
Accurate Auto Body Can Help
Accurate Auto Body provides high quality collision repair services at an affordable price. Over the past 25 years, we’ve developed a reputation as one of the top auto body shops in Aurora and Denver.
Our Focus on You Service System™ ensures your needs are met throughout every stage of the repair process. As part of this exclusive system, you’ll receive:
- Unparalleled levels of personalized attention
- Faster turnaround times
- Guaranteed pricing
- Comprehensive auto repair consulting to educate you about your options
- Full auto insurance coordination
- Repairs made around your schedule
- Repair updates provided in your preferred method (phone, text, email, web)
We’re happy to perform a free repair estimate and discuss your options in detail. Please contact us today to schedule your estimate. Accurate Auto Body serves customers in Aurora and throughout the Denver metro area.
I’ll try my best to avoid having my insurance company take over the whole repair process. Having a mechanic do it could save me some money. However, I see why the insurance company would want to.
My car was damaged in an accident, and I’m not sure what to do. It makes sense that I would want to get an estimate to see how much it will cost to fix! That way, I can ensure that I handle things right.
It’s great that this article explains that it’s important to use online estimate tools as well as the help of a professional. My cousin was in a collision last week. Her front bumper is quite damaged, so it would probably be best for her to take her vehicle to an auto body collision repair shop.
Thanks for the info about auto body repairs. My car was recently damaged in an accident. I’ll look for an auto body shop I can take my vehicle to.
I will try and find a collision repair specialist that can give me extra inmformation. Maybe I can get a specialist near me to help out. That would hopefully help me with my case.
Thank you for the advice to research and get estimates from a few different body shops in the area. My friend need to get some body work done on her car and has been wondering how to choose the right shop. I’ll be sure to mention this to her so that she can have a little easier time choosing.
Thanks for the tip to look up different body shops near me. I want to make sure my car is taken care of. So I need to find a body shope that I can trust.
I love that you talked about the importance of carefully planning your decision based on the service that you will receive. My cousin mentioned to me last night that he is hoping to find a reliable auto body repair that can restore his old vehicle and asked if I have any idea what is the best option to do. Thanks to this informative article and I’ll be sure to tell him that he can consult trusted auto body repair services as they can answer all his inquiries and will surely provide good-quality service.
My brother was in an accident this last weekend. Fortunately, he was fine, but his car took most of the beating. He does not want to total it because he has invested so much labor in restoring it. Thank you for suggesting getting estimates from different shops that do auto body repairs. Comparing quotes is always a good idea while considering quality along with the price. I will suggest this when he makes his phone call to a professional panel beater.
I want to make sure that I get my car repaired properly. It makes sense that I would want to get a professional to take a look at it properly. They would know the proper repair methods.
After a car accident, one is stressed about the charges, and this is the situation where we don’t research and simply look forward to repairing our vehicle asap.
That is where we make a huge mistake. One of my close friends faced the same thing she ended up paying extra than required.
I think when we are in such a situation we must smartly look into the matter and research the charges and get proper estimates from body shops in our area as well go through online reviews and consult with our close people as well instead of hurrying up.
The point of “Don’t Let the Insurance Company Dictate the Repair Process” is quite important because insurance companies are more focused on cost maximization instead of quality work. So we must choose the service wisely.
Great article. Thanks for sharing the information.
Having an expert assess your vehicle’s body repair state feels extremely important with our current situation. We’ve ended up with quite an irregular dent on the back of our vehicle, and I wondered if this was something that would be costly to repair. Reading this article made me realize that I better leave it up to a collision repair expert so I know exactly what I have to pay.
Another important factor to consider, is to find out if the repair company is also bonded.
I like how you said to look at reviews online. My car has gotten a couple of dents in it over the past couple of years, and I decided that I want to look into getting them repaired sometime this month, so I want to make sure that I find the right company to work with. I’ll keep these tips in mind as I search for an auto body repair shop that can fix the dents for me.