Make Sure That Your Repair Was Done Right

If your vehicle is seemingly repaired and ready to go, how do you really know if the repair was done right? To address this issue, we offer you these simple steps that we recommend you take to review what’s been repaired on your car and ensure everything is operating like it should be.

1.    Whenever you go in to pick up your vehicle from the repair shop, allow a minimum of thirty minutes to complete the whole process.

2.    Ask to go over the vehicle with either the person who wrote the estimate or the person that does the actual repair on the car.

3.  Be ready to ask questions and never hesitate to take all the time that you think is necessary to review the repairs.

4.    Take a printout of the initial estimate with you and compare it to the final statement.

5.    Assess the final statement and make sure that they explain it to you thoroughly. The final bill should be very detailed. They should be able to walk around the vehicle with you and tell you exactly what every expense is for.

6.    Be sure to get a warranty for all of your repairs and understand where the warranty will be good at and what the limitations will be.

7.    If it's raining when the car is repaired, ask to check out the inside of the car. Also, be sure to clear the rain off of the exterior so that you can see the paint.

8.    Ensure that all of the new parts were installed wherever possible.

9.    All of the paint should match completely (color, darker, lighter).

10.    Inspect all of the gaps around the trunk lid, doors, and hood.  Gaps should all be very similar in size.

11.    Open the all of the doors, the trunk, and the hood so that you can inspect for polish or rubbing compounds.

12.    Check the mileage, but keep in mind that most repairs will require a test drive to ensure that the repairs worked.

13.    Check the fuel level. You should have noted your fuel level at the drop-off.

14.    If alignment is what your vehicle needed, get a before and after printout. These should be in factory specification tolerances.

15.    If structural damage is what your car needed, get a before and after printout of that. As with the alignment report, this should be in factory specification tolerances.

16.    Be sure that your radio works fine.

17.    Make sure that the heater and air conditioning blower fan work, keeping in mind that debris may come out of vents from the repair work.

18.    Inspect warning lights on the dash to make sure that none are on.

19.    Check external lights on the vehicle if they were replaced.

20.     Take it to Kurt's CARSTAR Collision Center because ‘Relax We’ll Take It from Here’.