How to choose a body shop after an accident

After an accident, it’s essential to carefully consider where to take your vehicle for repairs. Knowing how to choose a body shop after an accident is crucial to ensure quality work.

Insurance companies often push you to use their recommended body shops, which may initially seem helpful. However, this approach can actually reduce the value of your injury and property damage claims. 

These preferred shops often focus only on visible damage, leaving underlying issues unresolved. While insurance-recommended shops have benefits, our car accident attorneys recommend independent options for more thorough repairs.

Want to know the best way to protect your vehicle and your rights? Keep reading to find out.

Guidance on Choosing the Right Body Shop

Learning how to choose a body shop after an accident is vital for your financial well-being and overall comfort. Opting for an unreliable shop can diminish the value of your case and result in long-term financial losses. 

Even if your car seems fine at first, underlying issues might go unnoticed, causing you to repeatedly visit different shops without any clear resolution. This can lead to mounting expenses and significant stress.

However, when you let our California car accident attorneys handle your personal injury and property damage case, you gain the peace of mind you deserve. You can trust that your vehicle will be in good hands, repaired to look, feel, and function as if it were just rolling off the street for the first time.

Here are five tips on how to choose a body shop after an accident to ensure a smooth repair experience:

Infog - How to choose a body shop after an accident
  1. Check for a Valid License and Registration: Ensure the body shop is properly licensed and registered, which reflects their adherence to industry standards.
  2. Inquire about Written Estimates: Request detailed written estimates to understand the repair costs and avoid unexpected charges.
  3. Understand Your Right to Choose: You have the right to select a reputable body shop rather than being forced to use the one suggested by your insurance.
  4. Be Aware of Additional Fees: Ask about potential extra charges to prevent surprises during the entire repair process.
  5. Consider Location and Convenience: Choose a conveniently located shop that can accommodate your schedule while also checking the types of repairs they specialize in and their shop technicians’ qualifications.

So, what is the difference between a preferred auto body shop and a shop you choose? That is a good question our team at Farahi Law Firm is glad to answer so you know how to repair your property damage properly, saving you the long-term consequences of botched car repair services.

What is a Preferred Body Shop?

As the name implies, a preferred repair shop is a vehicle repair facility that has entered into a contract with an insurance company. While you might think sending your vehicle to one of these places will net you better costs and thorough repairs, sending your vehicle to an auto collision repair shop recommended by the insurance companies does the opposite.

But why? Well, it is a common misconception that insurance carriers are there to help you as their client when, in reality, they are in the business of making money. When insurance carriers use a preferred body shop, they expect quick and cheap repairs, not a real in-depth review of the problems with your vehicle after a car accident.

Body Shops and Insurance Companies

These auto shops typically agree with insurance companies for their collision repair services. With this arrangement, they will get steady clients, but no real damage will be fixed. They also have to churn out repairs for the insurance company they partner with as quickly as possible.

By partnering with insurance carriers, body shops lose the ability to advocate for the client’s proper repairs. At the same time, thanks to their contract with insurers, they could get hundreds, if not thousands, of clients every year. 

They would have to use cheap vehicle repair methods because the insurance carrier’s practice is to minimize costs. This approach ensures they pay less than what the client’s accident is worth.

How to choose a body shop after an accident

That is without mentioning the bad state your vehicle would be in due to undercarriage damages. This means that even if your car looks fine on the outside if the frame is damaged, it won’t get fixed in a preferred body shop just because the insurance carrier would deem it “too expensive.” In a way, it would help lower the compensation amount for your injuries.

Some believe that if a car is easy to fix, then the same should apply to people, but this is not the case. Insurance companies often only address superficial damage to your vehicle, which allows them to cut costs while failing to fulfill their obligations under your insurance policy.

What Is the Alternative to a Preferred Body Shop?

When looking to fix your car after an accident or collision with another vehicle, it is always in your best interest to just take the insurance offers at face value. They will try to persuade you to leave your car in their care.

You should never do that; instead, you should take your car to an independent body shop that offers actual car repairs. Unlike a preferred shop, an independent shop has no obligation to follow what the insurance company mandates. In turn, your car will get a thorough review of the damages.

While it may take longer to get your car back, an independent body shop will thoroughly inspect every detail to ensure everything functions properly. This thorough approach can save you money and ensure your vehicle is in top condition.

Knowing that your car will be as good as new after a vehicle collision, even when it could take months or weeks to properly restore it to its condition before the accident, is a soothing thought. You won’t have to repeatedly take your car for repairs and spend more money because of insurance companies trying to cut corners.

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