Got into an accident?
This applies to Classic vehicles and Modern vehicles.
What you need to know....
You just got into an accident. You're stressed out, adrenaline is pumping and your not sure what to do. Once everything calms down you realize how much damage was done to your vehicle (and hopefully no one injured). What do you do now?? Naturally you call your insurance company right? Not necessarily, read more to find out why!
We no longer repair modern day vehicles. If your classic car was in an accident, call us first! We will walk you through the steps and make sure you don't get steered to a shop that doesn't have your best interest at heart! For modern vehicles you will want to find the shop that has your best interest at heart and not following insurance repair standards.
But what do you do after you call your insurance company?
Most insurance companies may recommend a shop for you to take your vehicle to. These are called "Direct Repair Partners" (DRP) . So what does that mean? In short, these are companies that have signed up to work with certain insurance companies and agree to a set hourly rate (typically lower than the average rate), cheap counterfeit parts, used parts that may have been damaged or bad body and paint work, etc. It doesn't sound too bad does it? However, what happens often is that these rates are usually so low that some businesses find themselves not making enough money off these jobs and eventually find ways to still make a profit off the work. Downside...that usually means cutting corners. Things maybe not being fixed, or fixed properly (to OEM standards). Or only doing work that the insurance company will cover and not repairing properly. In the end, they end up working for the insurance company instead of for you, the customer!
Now, you do not have to take your vehicle to these Direct Repair Partners. You have the right to take your car where ever it is that you want. Whether that be a dealership that you have a close relationship to, someone that your family has known for a long time, or even somewhere new. Your car will still be covered by your insurance company!
What makes us different?
First, we are not associated with any insurance company as a Direct Repair Partner.
Second, we work for YOU not the insurance company.
Our priority is that your car is repaired to as close as possible to pre-accident condition. And is safe for you and your family to continue driving in.
For the modern vehicles make sure the shop is following and completing the OEM procedures/standards. These are tools and guidelines from the manufacturers on how they recommend/require them to check certain areas for damage and proper ways to repair them. What parts to use and not use, materials to use and where to use them, what components to check and possibly replace, checking seat belt systems, scanning the vehicle, properly calibrating the vehicle and many more checking points. All of these things must be completed to repair a modern day vehicle.
Unfortunately, most insurance companies do not "cover" these repairs. Which means that the balance may be left for you to cover (above your deductible). But you can contact your insurance company after the repair is completed and paid in full and go after them for re-imbursement that you paid over the deductible. Sometimes this is quite a fight with the insurance companies but isn't you and your families safety and peace of mind worth it?
For the classic vehicles that have been in an accident some of this is the same. Insurance companies don't want to pay more than they think they have to. There is no estimating software for classic vehicles and we don't know how much work has gone into making the car look as good as it did before the accident. There are no OEM procedures to follow but we have our own standards to which we repair/restore classic vehicles. Since we can not call the local Chrysler, Ford or GM dealer and order a new fender, we have to use a aftermarket (Classic industries, AMD etc) fender or a used fender. The problem with the aftermarket fender is they are close in fit at best. Almost all aftermarket parts have to be repaired to fit properly. This takes more time which costs more money. The used parts we always media blast to bare metal so we know what the foundation is and build from there. And most of the time we have more repair work to do from rust, bad body repairs etc. These costs have to be done and the insurance company owes for these repairs.
Our policy is to repair your vehicle properly and safely. We will not lower our standards based on the insurance companies standards.
For the classic vehicle owners, you can contact us and set up a consultation for us to talk to you about what we do and how the process will work. There is no fee for the consultation.
For the modern vehicle owners, you can contact us and set up a consultation for us to go over some of the things that will need to be inspected due to an accident, what questions you should ask potential body shops before you drop off your vehicle and what to expect during the process of your repair. There is a $50.00 fee for the 30 minute consultation.
