When taking your car to an auto body repair shop for the first time, you should know a few things before arranging to have any work performed. You should also know what to look for after getting your car back from the auto body repair shop.
Selecting a good auto body repair shop:
- You can read online ratings and reviews on Carwise.com to get a sense of the quality of the auto body repair shop based on real customer feedback.
- When doing preliminary research on an auto body repair shop on a review website, pay close attention to the reviews that are well-written and more through. Even the best companies receive one-liner bad reviews from time to time.
- According to a Harvard study, 16% of Yelp restaurant reviews are fake. The auto body repair shop reviews on Carwise.com are 100% real customer reviews from real people who have had their vehicles repaired at these auto body repair facilities.
What to know before having your car repaired by an auto body repair shop:
- You should never drive a damaged car, because it might not be safe.
- Your vehicle is one of your biggest investments. To find a good auto body repair shop, you should go to a review website like Carwise.com so that you can protect your investment by getting it repaired properly.
- A signed copy of the written estimate should describe the condition, what needs to be repaired, the affected parts and the estimated labor charges.
- The estimate should also state that the auto body repair shop will contact you for approval before they perform any work that might exceed the time or cost on the written estimate.
- Don’t be afraid to ask questions about your auto body repair. A professional auto body repair shop will take the time to explain the entire process.
- If you bring your car to an auto body repair shop within the Carwise network, you can view your car’s detailed repair status updates via the Carwise website or mobile app. Many of the Carwise network shops also can send you frequent repair status updates via text messages or email, eliminating the hassle of calling to get updates.
What you should know after getting your car back from the auto body repair:
- The auto body repair bill should describe the all the work that was done. It should list every repair, which parts were used, labor charges, and the odometer reading of the car before bringing it in.
- If there is a discrepancy between the itemized bill and the written estimate, don’t hesitate to ask the auto body repair shop about the differences.
- In some cases, you might not notice any problems until a few months later. For example, you may notice uneven tire wear on your car. This might be a result of the front suspension not being aligned and repaired properly. A good auto body repair shop will stand by their work and fix the problem under the warranty.
- Remember to always keep your paperwork and receipt so that if you discover issues later, you can bring it back to the auto body repair shop to assess what is causing the problem.
Sources:
Harvard University
FTC.gov
