Hopefully you will never find yourself in a situation where you will need the services of an auto body shop. Needing an auto body shop most likely means you’ve been involved in an accident and your car was damaged. In this case, choosing a good auto body shop will help make the experience a less stressful one. Here are some tips to finding a good auto body shop.
Ask your friends and family if they know a good shop. Any business can advertise, but you’ll do better with a shop that friends, family or acquaintances recommend. It’s a business that has proven it can satisfy customers. And it might not be the biggest or best-known shop in your area.
Try to get a feel for the business’s location and overhead. Some shops that are located in the more upscale areas have a higher overhead and usually pass those costs on to the consumer in the form of higher hourly rates. Large body shops with a lot of front-office workers probably have to charge higher rates to pay their staff.
You don’t have to settle for the first place you go to, get some estimates. Taking your car to several auto body shops for repair quotes is the best way to avoid overcharges. It’s also important not to go by just the lowest quote. You may find places that say they can do everything really cheap, but it may be wise to stay away from those places. There may be something they’re not doing, and you could have major problems down the road.
Make sure to ask the right questions. Does the shop provide a written warranty? And if so, for how long? What does the warranty cover?
Having a car accident is bad enough, don’t complicate it by choosing a bad auto body shop. Taking these simple steps and being smart can make the whole experience a lot less stressful.