Car accidents almost never end once the bits and pieces of your car have been swept off the road. For substantial vehicle damage your car will likely be towed away to an auto body repair shop capable of handling repairs and accommodating inspections from your insurance company. For lesser damage you are left driving off with a vehicle without knowing for sure what it is going to cost to get repairs.
If you are lucky to escape the accident without any injuries or with very minor injuries, you don’t feel so lucky because you have to deal with getting your car repaired so you can get to work, shuttle your children around, and live your life happily. Until the repairs are made, nothing will feel back to normal. This makes choosing an auto body mechanic after a BC car accident extremely urgent.
Verify with Your Insurance
If you will be reporting your car accident on an insurance policy, it is important to check with the insurance company before committing your vehicle to the care of a particular repair shop. There may be discounts for using select shops and some insurance companies may only cover work performed by their preferred service providers.
If you don’t check with your insurance agent before committing to one auto repair shop you risk the claim for repairs being denied from your insurance, so always check first.
The best set up is to have your insurance company send you the check personally so you can take the repairs into your own hands. You then have the freedom to pick the best repair shop for your needs. This can sometimes give you some free cash from the insurance payout to pocket for other uses. When your insurance pays the repair service directly you aren’t likely to get any overage for your own use.
Now, what about that deductible? If you believe your damage is not going to meet the amount of your deductible, you may still want to report the accident with your insurance company and have them come out to inspect the vehicle. They may see something wrong that you didn’t notice and it may in fact be enough damage to warrant some coverage.
If you don’t contact the insurance you will never know if you could have received some help paying for the damage, so this should always be your first step. Choosing an auto body mechanic after a BC car accident is easier when there are guidelines or restrictions from an insurance company, but you have to be aware of these things upfront.
Also, make sure you ask your insurance about coverage for a rental vehicle while your car is being repaired. This makes life more convenient since you won’t be stranded during lengthy repairs, but not all insurance covers this.
When it’s Not Your Fault
If the accident was caused by someone else, then the claim should rightfully be absorbed by their insurance policy. In this case you will need to consult with your attorney and go through all legal proceedings to see how you should go about choosing an auto body mechanic after a BC car accident. In many cases you will be able to get quotes from two or three different repair shops and submit them to the other person’s insurance for coverage. They will likely pick the lowest one, so don’t include any repair shops you would not feel comfortable using for the repairs.
You can often get a free rental car when the accident was not your fault and the repairs will take more than one day to fix. Make sure to discuss this with your attorney if this is going to be needed.
Finding the Best Shops
Whether you are making a claim with your insurance, someone else’s insurance, or no insurance at all, choosing an auto body mechanic after a BC car accident is very important. An inexperienced or careless repair shop could create more damage under the hood than you originally went in with while a body shop could send you out with mismatched paint and a car you don’t want to be seen around town in.
Following are some tips that you can put into practice right now to work toward choosing an auto body mechanic after a BC car accident:
1. Ask friends, relatives, and coworkers if they have ever used a repair shop in British Columbia. Listen to their recommendations as well as their warnings against certain shops. Firsthand experience is extremely valuable in determining the best shop for your car.
2. Look around online to find websites for British Columbia repair shops. Many shops now have some amount of information online regarding what services they provide and some may even have special deals for customers who find them online.
3. Look at yellowpages.ca and other online directories that may feature consumer reviews of some repair shops. This is a good way to find names and addresses of all repair shops in BC, but some may have reviews which will give you some idea whether to use or avoid certain shops.
4. Don’t hesitate to call shops of interest up or take your vehicle in for them to look at it. Ask if they could fix this type of damage and how long it would take them to start working on it and have it completed. Comparing the amount of time you will be without your vehicle is often just as important as comparing prices, especially if you will not receive a free rental vehicle while the repairs are being made.
5. Get quotes from at least three different repair shops before letting any one take on the job. Make sure there is agreement on what needs to be done and choose the shop that has the best price with a great reputation and understanding of your car.
Never just drive up to the nearest repair shop and tell them to fix your car. They may do a great job, but you will never know if you paid too much or if all of the repairs made were entirely necessary. The process of getting quotes can be a hassle, but it is the only way to ensure the repairs made are accurate and the price is entirely fair.
This article is considered general information only.
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