But a minor accident can severely damage the exterior of your car. Areas such as the fenders and doors are particularly susceptible to damage.
While it is typically the insurance company's job to get the automobile patched up and back on the highway when this happens, there are a few things you should know in order to ensure that your vehicle is correctly fixed. Here’s some of the top auto body repair tips from the collision experts, Kurt's CARSTAR Collision Center in Maryville, Illinois.
It is true that your insurance provider could refer you to an auto body shop that they like. However, do not forget that you have the right to ultimately decide on where your vehicle is taken for its repair. You can’t really demonize auto body shops that the insurance provider recommends because most are really fine shops. There are a couple of bad ones out there that might do shoddy work. Those kinds of shops will reach out to the insurance people by promising to cut costs, but unfortunately they cut corners as well when it comes to the repair. Do not simply trust an auto body shop because it is the one that the insurance company told you to go to.
2. Avoid aftermarket parts
When you take your car in for auto body repair after a collision, you need to inquire about the replacement parts which are used by the auto body shop. Auto body shops may use new original parts, used parts, or aftermarket parts. While used parts were made by your vehicle manufacturer and perform as well as new original parts, aftermarket parts are often cheap imitations with inferior quality. These parts can corrode, rattle, and ultimately diminish your vehicle's value.
3. Carefully examine paint match
All too often, you see cars on the road with body panels that don't match in color. Matching a freshly painted body panel to the rest of your automobile is a difficult challenge, and quite often there can be a big, obvious difference in shade. Whenever you pick up your automobile from the auto body shop, ask which panels are original and which ones were painted. Step back ten feet from the car and see if there's a difference in color. If there's, there may be additional paint work required to get a better match.
4. Check warning lights
After an accident, there are some warning lights that may turn on in your dashboard. These can include the airbag light, the low coolant light, the check engine light, and others. When you pick up your finished automobile, make sure all of the issues have been corrected and none of the lights are lightened. Illuminated lights can indicate that your automobile's on-board computer may have to be reprogrammed, or that certain electrical components need replacement.
Auto body repair is something that everybody in a collision should know about. If you want to learn more about this worthwhile subject, or if you need auto body repair in Maryville, Illinois, visit Kurt's CARSTAR Collision Center.
