From the moment you are involved in a collision, your nerves can be rattled. Here you are with damage to your vehicle and faced with the responsibility of finding the best auto body shop to make the repairs. Even though there are more than 229,000 registered auto body shops in the United States, not all of them are going to provide the same level of service.
Unfortunately, there are plenty of horror stories to go around from drivers who ended up with subpar repairs after an accident. To help ensure you get the auto body service, take a look at this list of professional tips on finding an honest place.
The Shop Is Certified
Quality and testing standards set forth by places like the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) and I-Car are updated frequently, and the best auto body shops make sure their operations and technicians are rightly certified. Look for shops that advertise that they are ASE or I-Car certified to make sure you’re working with a reliable place.
The Shop Openly Admits Their Limitations
The most honest auto body shop won’t be afraid to refer you to someone else if they are not staffed, qualified, or equipped to handle certain repairs. For instance, if you drive a luxury vehicle and the auto body shop has no experience with restoring luxury rides, they should be upfront with you and let you know they don’t have the experience to do the job.
The Shop Gladly Answers Questions
Are you concerned about how long the repairs will take or whether the new paint color will match the old after repairs? If you have questions about the repair process, make sure you ask any technician you work with during your initial visit. How open the shop employees are to answering your questions will tell you a great deal about what kind of place you’re working with overall.
The Shop Offers Written Service Estimates
When you’re shopping around to find the best place, written estimates are highly useful. You can use these written estimates to compare the different prices among different places and choose the best. Plus, written estimates are usually required for insurance purposes after you have filed a claim.
The Shop Offers a Warranty
The best auto body shops will have no qualms about warrantying their work because they are confident that the work was done properly. Therefore, look for a shop that offers a warranty for a certain amount of time after the repairs are made to your vehicle. You will definitely find a lot of peace of mind in knowing if anything is wrong once repairs are made, the shop will take care of the problem.
Working to find the most honest and trustworthy auto body shop after an auto accident can take some time, but it is well worth the extra effort in the end. Follow these guidelines to make sure you get to eventually drive away in a vehicle that has been repaired by truly skilled professionals you can trust.