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Getting the Best Sound in Your Car

Posted on: June 19th, 2019 by Accurate Auto Body Repair No Comments

Between commutes, road trips, and daily driving, we spent a tremendous amount of time in our vehicles. That can be a boring prospect if you don’t have entertainment on deck. But if you have a solid playlist lined up, the entire mood of the drive can change. You’re probably familiar with the feeling the right song at the right time through your stereo brings, but you might not be as familiar with how much better that feeling can be with the right sound system to make that song, and all the others on your playlists, sound their absolute best. As your local auto body shop, we see a lot of cars and their sound systems. If you think the sound in your vehicle could be amped up, or elevated, here are our tips on how to get the best sound quality possible.

Don’t Stick With What You’re Given

We’re sure this doesn’t come as a surprise, but it’s rare that the sound system that comes standard within your vehicle offers the best sound quality possible. But here’s the bright side of that – with today’s after-market options, you aren’t stuck with the standard equipment. If sound quality is important to you as a driver, you have plenty of options.

Pad Your Car

While you need to be able to hear some things on the road, a lot of vehicles are….noisy. Road noise makes it difficult to hear the sound of your music accurately and can affect the harshness and quality of the sound. If you use a sound-deadening product like Dynamat or Hushmat for example, you can reduce vibration and road noise. By doing this, you don’t have to turn your music up as loud when you’re driving, which allows your amps to work a little less and lets you hear your music more clearly.

Get Your Subwoofer On

One of the most common after-market add-ons for an in-vehicle sound system is a subwoofer – and for good reason. It’s not unusual for a driver to not even notice that they’re missing the bottom octave of their music until they hear the same song with subwoofer installed. As an added bonus, a subwoofer can take a load off your full-range speakers, making your existing sound system last longer, too.

Invest in Quality

This should go without saying, but if you’re going to amp up the sound system in your vehicle, do so with quality in mind. If you weren’t happy with the quality of sound your pre-existing system gave you, taking the cheap route certainly won’t make it any better. Invest in high-quality equipment and you’ll get high-quality sound.

From amps to subwoofer boxes to cables and beyond, there are countless customizations you can make to your vehicle’s sound system in order to elevate it and meet the needs of your daily life and sound preferences. Just make sure you consult with an expert and have any after-market systems or components installed by a professional, too. There are too many moving parts in a vehicle (no pun intended) to be trying your hand at wiring things yourself.

Things to Consider When Doing a No-Insurance Repair

Posted on: May 21st, 2019 by Accurate Auto Body Repair No Comments

Getting your vehicle repaired is always a hassle, but sometimes it’s very necessary. There may be a number of reasons you’re looking into doing a repair without using insurance to cover the costs. Perhaps you don’t have insurance, or the repair isn’t covered. Maybe you simply don’t want to use your insurance to cover the damage in order to avoid making a claim that may affect your coverage. Whatever the reason, when you’re considering a no-insurance repair, make sure you have these bases covered.

Pay Attention to the Full Scope of Repairs

You should always pay attention to the scope of repairs presented to you when you bring your vehicle in for an estimate, but when you’re not using insurance it’s extra important. Ensure that your autobody shop isn’t adding in anything unnecessary or glossing over things that are important. Don’t be afraid to go line item by line item on what’s proposed.

Can it Happen in Stages?

If you’re strapped for cash but know something needs to be repaired now, ask if there is any way to break up the repairs into stages. If possible, take care of the critical items now and circle back when you’ve had time to save a little more money to take care of the remainder.

Be Picky

When you use your insurance for repairs, there are often guidelines in place as to what specific parts must be replaced using OEM parts and what can be replaced using other third-party parts. When you’re not using insurance to complete a repair, those guidelines aren’t in place. You may consider doing some research on which parts its recommended be replaced by OEM parts for your vehicle before signing off on the repairs.

Ask About Repair Options

If the repairs are necessary and you can’t count on insurance to help, but the number on the estimate boggles your mind, consider asking your auto repair shop about options. There can be different levels of repair from good to best, designed to fit your budget. Shops should be able to provide you with options to make sure you can drive safely without diving headfirst into a mountain of debt.

Working with an auto repair shop on your vehicle when you’re not using insurance can be tricky. But if you’re working with a team you trust, and a team that has extensive experience in executing no-insurance repairs with the same level of care and dedication as they do all of their repairs, you have nothing to worry about. If you’re not sure what that team is for you, give us a call today.

Car Issues You Should Not Fix Yourself

Posted on: February 7th, 2019 by Accurate Auto Body Repair No Comments

The internet is a pretty big place, and you can find more or less any information you want out there anymore. While this is extremely beneficial in a lot of ways, it has spurred the creation of a DIY society that, unfortunately, assumes similar knowledge across those reading articles and watching videos. When it comes to automotive repair, there is a lot more to it than meets the eye. So if something’s up with your vehicle and you’re thinking about trying the DIY route, maybe stop and reconsider. And if you’re battling anything on the list below, call your trusted repair shop first, don’t even begin the YouTube search. There are just some car issues you should not fix yourself.

Windshield Replacement

There are so many options out there for windshield crack patches, and depending on the chip or crack, these might actually be viable options for you, but when it comes to replacement, it’s best to leave it to the professionals. A lot of auto insurance providers will cover this kind of replacement, or at least make it reasonably priced with your deductible, and if there is a small expense, it’s worth it to avoid a shoddy replacement job that results in a leaky windshield or worse.

Transmission

This one should be pretty obvious, but transmissions are not to be messed with. They’re complex systems that impact your vehicle’s ability to do everything, and an unsafe transmission is an unsafe vehicle, period. They’re mazes in their own right, and should only be navigated by someone with extensive experience doing so. Save your vehicle, and your fingers, the pain and take it to the shop.

Whole-Car Systems

If something’s off that’s impacting your whole vehicle, like an electric system, chances are it’s too complex for most people to tackle on their own. An apparent solution to the immediate problem might just spark an issue somewhere else. Whole-car systems need to be approached as interconnected things, which requires extensive knowledge of every piece of that puzzle. Professionals deal with these things on a daily basis and have the experience necessary to navigate even the most complex automobile issues.

Anything Airbag Related

Airbags are one of your biggest lines of defense if you find yourself in an accident, so it’s not exactly something you want to tamper with on your own. If your vehicle is showing signs of an issue with a safety system that could literally save your life in the event of a crash, let the shop handle it.

Body Repair

This one is a little more debatable, and some people are staunch on doing their own auto body repair but hear us out. Matching paints can be difficult, and if the paint isn’t applied correctly, a botched job can be easy to spot. That might be easy enough to get over, but if you’re dealing with body damage, trying to fix it yourself and failing could result in greater damage over time if a part of the body is rubbing up against more important systems, or poking into an area it shouldn’t be.

In some areas of life, DIY can be an excellent choice, but when it comes to auto repair, we recommend leaving it up to the professionals, almost always. You use your vehicle daily to get you to the places you need to be, compromising quality and longevity of a repair in order to try your hand at it at home isn’t the way to go.

Find the Best Hotel for Your CO Winter Adventures

Posted on: January 2nd, 2019 by Accurate Auto Body Repair No Comments

Colorado Winter Lodging Ideas

Winter time in Colorado is an exciting time, indeed. Whether you’re a fiend for the slopes or just like to see what the Rockies have to offer in all their snowy, wintery glory, there are countless adventures to be had all through the winter in this great state. But figuring out where you want to stay during your Colorado winter adventures can be a…. slightly less thrilling prospect. As your Denver auto body shop, we know there are so many choices, and given the unpredictability of the mountain weather this time of year, it’s important to have a spot you know can be flexible should you get snowed in an extra day (or two). Depending on what kind of experience you’re going for, there are a number of Colorado winter lodging options you can look at to create the perfect backdrop and home base for whatever you get up to in the city or the mountains this winter.

City Living

Hanging in the city has its perks. If you’re Denver-bound for a vacation or staycation, there’s always the chance you’ll get 6 inches of snow one day only to have it melt away with 60-degree temperatures three days later. If not, you’ll at least have plenty to explore in the way of good food, gorgeous museums, and countless breweries. There are a number of excellent hotels in Denver, but if you’re looking for a unique experience that exemplifies the artsy side of Denver, we’d recommend the Art, a Hotel downtown, or Moxy in Cherry Creek.

Resort Life

If spending all your free time on the slopes is your idea of the perfect Colorado winter lodging, then you’re probably familiar with ski resorts. If you can swing it, the resorts directly tied to the mountain you’ll be shredding up all day is a perfect choice and lets you really soak up the whole ski bum experience.

Get Eclectic

If you’re looking for something a little more local when you head to the mountains, try an Airbnb. It’s a great way to get a different perspective on wherever you’re visiting, and often hosts have recommendations for places to eat, visit, and check out while you’re there. You never know, you might just find a new favorite, or discover a fun new winter activity you hadn’t thought of trying before! There are also a number of boutique inns that offer different experiences than your average hotel or lodge, like the Distillery Inn in Carbondale, a 5-bedroom inn attached to Marble Distilling, for those winter tasting sessions that keep you a little too warm.

Mountain Lodge

Maybe living the ski bum life isn’t quite in your budget, but you still want that classic mountain experience, there are a number of mountain lodges that aren’t directly affiliated with the slopes they’re closest to that might offer a more affordable price and a slightly more rustic experience. Shop around and see the cool features lodges offer for yourself!

The Classics

When all else fails, there are always the family-friendly classics like Holiday Inn Express, or the YMCA of the Rockies in Estes Park. These won’t be so robust on the features or unique decor, but they are a tried and true option for the weary traveler who got caught in the snow or just needs a place to rest their head for the night before heading onto the next adventure.

No matter what you’re looking for, there is lodging to suit your needs in Colorado. Where are your favorite places to stay when you get to adventuring in the winter?

When You Should Actually Use 4WD and When You Shouldn’t

Posted on: November 27th, 2018 by Accurate Auto Body Repair No Comments

When To Use 4WD

As winter weather rears its head again, we find ourselves checking our tires a little more closely, looking into the features our vehicle might have to help us get through the winter weather without having to drastically alter the way we travel. For some, those 4WD systems are looking awfully tempting nowadays, but before you activate that feature, as your auto body shop we urge you to consider a few things. There are some instances where it’s useful, and some instances where it really ends up doing more harm than good.

Know the Difference

First things first, you need to know what you’re working with. 4WD systems are typically only found in larger vehicles, like trucks and SUVs. Many vehicles now come with AWD (all-wheel drive) which is a different system entirely. Before you consider putting your vehicle into 4WD, it might be a good idea to make sure you actually HAVE a 4WD system to turn on. Once you have that sorted out, you can look into when you should actually be utilizing the system.

Off the Beaten Path

On the whole, there are very few times you should actually utilize your 4WD system. One of them, perhaps the most obvious, is when you’re going off-road. When your tires are officially off the pavement, and you’re dealing with uncertain terrain, that’s when this system really shines. Of course, if you’ve never really off-roaded before, we recommend taking it slow and simple to start, until you get used to how the combination of utilizing your 4WD system and driving off road causes your vehicle to handle differently, but once you get the hang of it, it can be a great way to fulfill your inner adventurer and make that system work as intended.

Deep Snow

Now, for the one on most driver’s minds this time of year – snow. 4WD may help you get through deeper snow, and afford you better traction while you navigate those wintery roads. Bear in mind, this isn’t for a light dusting. We’re talking those six-inch nights that lead to dicey commutes the following morning. And, regardless of whether or not that 4WD is giving you an added boost on the roads that are still snow-covered, it’s no excuse for taking the proper driving precautions to account for the less-than-ideal conditions you’ll be driving in.

Beware of Ice

Because, as helpful as 4WD may be in the snow, it doesn’t do a lick of good if you hit a patch of ice. 4WD will not make you stop any faster than any other driving system. Ice is still slippery, no matter what, and if you’re using your 4WD as an excuse to drive without care in winter driving conditions, you could find yourself in a wreck pretty quickly.

Choose Wisely

It’s important to know when to use this system and when not to, because putting your vehicle into 4WD when it’s not required can cause serious damage. If it’s engaged while you’re driving on dry, paved roads, you are likely causing damage to the 4WD components and putting yourself in a position where the system might not work when you need it to.

It may not be the most exciting thing, but reserving that 4WD system for the times when it’s actually needed is the best way to extend the capabilities of what that system can offer you as well as the life of your vehicle. Knowing you can count on the system in deep snow (but not ice!) and during those off-road adventures is worth the peace of mind, but don’t neglect to make sure you have quality tires with the right amount of traction (do the penny test to make sure they aren’t too bald!) as well.

How and Why You Should Get Those Hail Damage Dents Fixed

Posted on: October 25th, 2018 by Accurate Auto Body Repair No Comments

Why Fix Hail Damage

If you drive a vehicle in Colorado, you’ve definitely heard of or experienced hail damage. It’s something countless drivers deal with each year as the unpredictable Front Range storms roll in and out in 20 minutes, leaving dents and paint chips in their wake. Something we get asked a lot is whether or not fixing the hail damage is even worth it – worth the insurance claim, worth the whole process, worth the potential hike in insurance rates. We get it, it’s a hassle, like most automobile repairs, but there are a number of reasons you absolutely should fix hail damage. Here are just a few.

Hurts Resale Value

If you don’t fix hail damage and get them taken care of, and eventually want to sell your vehicle in the future, that damage could cost you big in the form of profit. Hail damage, understandably, hurts the resale value of your automobile. Because it’s so obvious, and the cosmetic can be the maker or breaker of a sale, it’s definitely a tally in the negative column when potential buyers are weighing their options. Even if you’re trying to resell it back to the dealership you got it from, or trading it into another dealership, you’ll get less cash than you would if you had gotten the dents fixed.

Risk of Rust

Those dents sometimes include paint chips, and those paint chips can lead to rust. Rust, of course, can lead to bigger issues, causing damage that goes beyond cosmetic if left to its own devices for too long. When rust starts to rear its head, you’re in the position of having to fix not one, but two problems and insurance is far less likely to help you out.

Insurance Woes

Let’s say you received some hail damage and decided to let it go, not filing a claim and deciding to live with the cosmetic damage. That might be fine and dandy, but what if you find yourself smacked with a second round of hail and want to make a claim?

Because you never claimed the first round of damage, insurance may have a harder time accepting your claim this time around, unsure of which damage was caused by which incident. Oh, and if you’ve heard those stories about people who make the claim, get the insurance money, and pocket it – think twice before attempting that particular strategy – it’s actually insurance fraud and you would be facing very serious consequences if you went down that path.

Unexpected Damage

Sometimes, hail damage goes beyond the cosmetic. Sometimes, those dents, or that hail, manage to impact things under the hood, alignment of your wheels, ball bearings, etc. The list goes on, but if you don’t get your vehicle checked out at all after a hail storm, you might be missing some serious issues that will land you in the shop with a much bigger bill down the road. There’s just no way for the average person to truly tell where the hail damage ends, and whether or not it is purely cosmetic. It’s far better to take it in and get an estimate than assuming the best and having to pay for the worst later.

Hail damage can be a major pain, but there are plenty of reasons to get it handled straight away. If you need a team you can trust, we’d be honored to help you understand the extent of your damage and be realistic with you about what the cost of the repairs might be.

Lane Paint – Can We Do Better in Colorado?

Posted on: October 5th, 2018 by Accurate Auto Body Repair No Comments

Better Lane Paint

As your auto body shop, if there’s one thing we hear complaints about in Colorado often, it’s the lane markers. Any time it rains, it gets difficult to see them, fast. But the question is, are there better lane paint solutions? To find out, we did a little digging into how the lane markers are created now, and whether or not it’s the best option for our state and the safety of our drivers. Here’s what we found out.

Reflective Paint

While some critics have said they don’t believe that CDOT uses reflective paint on their lane markers, turns out that’s just a myth! They do, in fact, use a reflective paint on all their lane markers. So if that’s not the answer to why the visibility on the lane markers fades so drastically in a solid summer/fall storm, then what could it be?

The Winter Compromise

As it turns out, the culprit to blame is winter. Because Colorado tends to see some solid snow action every year, many lane markers are placed on the road in a slight indent, so that when the plows are out in the winter they don’t scrape the paint off. Because of this, when we get a solid rain, the little inlets fill up with water, making the reflective paint harder to spot. It’s a compromise that was made to keep the lane markers lasting longer and therefore creating an efficient use of taxpayer’s money, but the trade-offs can be frustrating for drivers.

What Can We Do?

Unfortunately, there’s not much to be done, because the CDOT makes these decisions after considering a number of factors, including best utilization of the funds available. However, if you’re worried about being safe on the road when those markers get less visible, we urge you to consider being more aware of your surroundings. Just like you would do if a winter storm hit and the lanes got wiped out, following the flow of traffic around you and adjusting to create lanes together is a good way to go. As long as you know what’s happening around you, your eyes are on the road, and you’re taking everything as it comes, at a reasonable speed to keep you safe, you should be ok. Even though it can be frustrating, understanding the reasoning behind some of the decisions made for us Coloradans on the road can help ease the frustration and better prepare you to be the safest driver possible. And hey, that’s never a bad thing.

What to Look for After Your Vehicle Comes Out of the Shop

Posted on: September 28th, 2018 by Accurate Auto Body Repair No Comments

Examining Car After Collision Repair

When you get your vehicle back from an auto body shop, it’s tempting to just breathe a sigh of relief that you finally have it back, and drive away without taking a proper inventory of the repairs and making sure everything looks/feels/operates as expected. The time you have to do this is right before you drive away from the repair shop, so don’t miss that chance. If something is wrong, you want to catch it before the liability is no longer with the repair shop. So what should you do? Here are our tips for examining car after collision repair.

Get the Closeup

Get up close and personal with the work done. Check over the places you knew needed repairs, and make sure to clarify if there were any additional repairs needed that you may not have spotted before you dropped the vehicle off. Keep an eye out for obvious changes in paint lines, or if there are still visible scratches. This is your chance to really examine the details of what your shop did, so don’t be afraid or feel weird about looking with a critical eye.

Take a Step Back

As important as it is to look closely with a critical eye, it’s also important to step back and look from a distance. Sometimes, things that weren’t so obvious up close and personal become clear when you’ve taken a step back. The key to making sure everything looks right is taking a peek from different angles. Each new perspective lets you see potential issues that you may not have seen from another angle.

Examine Alignment

Alignment can sometimes get messed up in the repair process, so examining this is crucial. If your car isn’t aligned properly, you could find yourself back in the repair shop sooner than you think, and you could be damaging your tires, forcing you to replace them before they would have needed replacing otherwise. Not to mention misalignment puts more of the workload on one half of your vehicle, making other parts wear out faster on that half, too.

Be Critical About Color

This is one of the things many drivers don’t realize will bother them until it’s too late to do anything about it without investing more money. Your repair shop should have matched your vehicle’s paint exactly through color matching, but make sure that’s true upon closer inspection. Make sure it doesn’t look drastically different in the sunlight, or from an angle. This is a big deal, and you’re allowed to be extra critical about it. After all, you’re the one who has to drive the vehicle around every day, and if the color is off, chances are it will get under your skin after awhile.

Which Parts Were Used?

Ask about what kinds of parts were used in your repairs. Manufacturer approved parts are the preferred choice. Some shops will use after-market parts that won’t hold up as long, may not fit quite right, and could break down faster, leaving you back in the shop before you know it. At the very least, you should KNOW what parts were used in your vehicle’s repair, and what kind of warranty they may have.

Take it for a Test Drive

Ask if you can take the vehicle for a test drive (if the shop doesn’t offer) before signing away their responsibility. Sometimes issues aren’t obvious until you’re driving and hear a sound that’s off, or feel something pulling one way or another where it didn’t before.

Speak up

If you see any issues or feel/hear anything during your test drive, you have to speak up! Let them know you have concerns about the job done, and ask what can be done to remedy them. You should be able to trust your repair shop to work with you to do the best job possible, and they should be willing to address your concerns with either information to help ease them or a plan of action to correct any mistakes they may have made.

Getting your vehicle back can be an exciting time (you know, minus the repair bill), but don’t let the excitement stop you from ensuring the job was done well, and your vehicle truly is ready to be back on the road.

What to Look for in Auto Body Repair

Posted on: August 31st, 2018 by Accurate Auto Body Repair No Comments

Auto Body Shop Selection Tips

So you need work done on your vehicle. It’s never a fun appointment to schedule, whether it was in the wake of a crash, or you were the victim of a classic Colorado hail storm, it doesn’t really matter. All you know is that you need to get your vehicle repaired, and for so many of us, that means $$$$ that we don’t necessarily have (or want) to spend. When you’re looking for the right auto body repair shop to trust your vehicle with, it’s understandable you’d have a lot of questions. That’s why we’ve compiled auto body selection tips to pay attention to before you make that decision. The right shop will treat your vehicle like it were their own, ensuring the repairs are done properly, with no cut corners to surprise you a few months down the road, it’s a big decision. These keys will help you erase doubts about the decision you make.

Shop Around

Estimates may play a big part in the final decision you make. Whether your insurance is covering everything past a deductible or not, those estimates come in handy. Especially if you’re uninsured or have a high deductible, and you might be surprised at the difference in estimates several different repair shops will give you. If you pick a few around the city and its suburbs to check out, you’ll likely have a pretty solid idea of the reasonable range you’re looking at in order to make the repairs you need to get your vehicle back to good as new and on the road again. It’s much better to be armed with information from several shops rather than going in blind and agreeing to the first estimate you’re given.

Are They Answering Your Real Questions?

Some shops will skirt around the real questions you’re asking in order to shmooze you into the sale, but don’t be fooled! Head into the estimate appointment armed with the questions you definitely need answers to before you agree to let them hold and repair your vehicle. Ask about warranties (you’ll want a written one, and one-year is a minimum – make sure you’re checking the stipulations tied to it), what insurances the shop has (you want to know you’re covered if your car is stolen, destroyed, or burglarized while it’s in their care), and always ask about materials. If the shop isn’t planning to use high-grade, manufacturer-approved materials, you could be getting a less-than-desirable job. If paintwork is involved, make sure to inquire about the type of paint, how many coats, and clear coat your shop plans to use. All of these things could impact the final product, and you don’t want to shell out all that money for a vehicle that doesn’t look shiny and new when it’s all said and done.

Your Intuition Is Worth Something

Gut feelings are there for a reason. If you’re meeting with a shop’s team for an estimate, and you don’t feel right about the situation, it probably isn’t the shop for you. You’re going to be working with these people for awhile as they repair your vehicle, after all, you should be at ease, comfortable, and trusting. If you’re not, that red flag is worth paying attention to.

What About Word of Mouth?

Let’s talk reputation. There are many things in this world that most people make their decisions on based off of who in their circle of people recommended something to them. When you seek the advice of someone you trust, that recommendation is often as good as gold, and weighs more than a hundred online reviews from strangers you don’t know. We recommend asking several friends. If one place pops up more than once, it’s probably worth checking out. Word of mouth is a powerful thing, and good reputations generally aren’t earned on a fluke or two.

Taking these things into consideration can help make your choice much easier. At the end of the day, choosing an auto body repair shop is all about trust, fair pricing, and quality of work.

Four Auto Body Repair Tips

Posted on: August 20th, 2018 by Accurate Auto Body Repair 1 Comment

When the time comes that you need auto body repair work done on your vehicle, the situation can be overwhelming. Especially in the aftermath of a crash, when you’re dealing with insurances and trying to process what’s happened. However, there are a few things you should know – these auto body repair tips will help you look out for your best interests and ensure your vehicle is getting taken care of well and quickly.

You Have a Choice

When you’re talking with your insurance in the wake of an accident, they will likely give you recommendations of shops to visit. These are shops the insurance company has worked with in the past, but at the end of the day the choice is really up to you. You can do your own vetting of local shops rather than the big box places if you’re looking for a different standard of service. If you have a favorite auto body shop, but they aren’t on the “suggested” list you hear, don’t get discouraged! Making the choice should be about who will do the job well and thoroughly, not who will get it done the quickest and the cheapest. If you settle for the latter, you’ll be right back in the shop before you know it.

Check the Lights

When you get your car back, it’s important to check the engine lights and make sure they are all, appropriately, off. You should also take note of any lights that are illuminated before you hand your vehicle off to the shop. If you notice a light still illuminated when you pick up your vehicle, don’t panic! It could very well be that the computer simply needs to be rebooted and the lights will disappear. However, it can also indicate an issue that is still present under the hood. Checking with your technician before you leave will give you a peace of mind and save you a trip when you get home and realize something’s still lit up!

Get Meticulous

If the repairs you’re looking at include body paint retouching, you’re gonna want to get up close and personal with the finished job. It’s pretty annoying to have a single patch on your vehicle that doesn’t match the rest. Don’t be afraid to examine it from several vantage points. Sometimes it’s more obvious up close and sometimes the difference is most apparent when you’re several feet back from your vehicle. Either way, this is something you want to notice before you drive away.

Learn more about our Auto Body Shop Services.

Avoid Aftermarket

You’ll have some choices to make with your chosen auto body shop. There are levels of parts you can elect to have used in the repair work. You can get new parts from the manufacturer, used parts (still from the manufacturer, or manufacturer certified), or you can choose aftermarket parts. The latter will almost always come back to make you regret the choice. Aftermarket parts are often cheap imitations that aren’t built to hold up to the actual wear and tear a normal person puts on their vehicle in daily usage. We know the price tag may be tempting, but consider the damage you could do to your vehicle (not to mention it’s resale value) if you settle here. Choosing new or used manufacturer parts is pretty much always the way to go.

Having to take your car, truck, SUV, van, or motorcycle in for repairs is never a fun time. It almost always comes with a bill you’d rather not have to budget for, and even if insurance covers most of it, you’re still left dealing with the hassle of it all. But if you keep these tips in mind, you can make the most of a bad situation, and feel comfortable with the choices you’re making. And when you’re dealing with your main mode of transportation, peace of mind really is priceless.