How to pick the correct repair facility.

When in an accident, the last thing you want to worry about is picking the right repair shop.

Main Points

• Family and Friend Referral
• Appearance, Presentation & Employee Knowledge
• Insurance Relationships and Recommendation
• Online Reviews

You have been in an accident and all your day to day responsibilities are still the same. Each one still needs to get done but now there is one big issue holding you back. Your car is not safe to be driven, or needs a repair and this task requires immediate attention with little processing time. There are dozens of Auto Body Shops that can do the repairs, but the truth is that you are not involved in accidents on a daily bases so it’s not as easy to know which one to go to as if you were going to Macy’s for a dress or Best Buy for a TV. We can get into detail on some of the core principles there are to pick the perfect auto body shop but this blog is mostly to help you with some proper guidance that will lead you to the proper decision and ultimately an auto body shop that you will love to do business with.

My number one recommendation is to talk with family and friends. There is a good chance that someone close to you has had auto body repairs done in the past and a referral from a family or friend is hard to pass on. These friends know you best and will help steer you in the correct way.

Secondly, appearance and presentation: Once you read my other recommendations you might ask why is this 2nd over the others but appearance and presentation while tell you a million different things about a business. Does the office look clean and organized? How is their curb appeal? How knowledgeable are their employees? All these questions will give you a good idea if they do professional repairs and how much training they give their staff which is both two important things.

My third recommendation is what insurance relationships the auto body has and what recommendation did your insurance company give you. Many Auto Body shops have relationships with insurance companies, some direct and some in-direct. The difference is a topic for another blog but Insurance Companies do their homework when it comes to relationships with service vendors. The more relationships there are means the more credibility that facility has. It means they are licensed to operate, they invest in training, they have the proper tools and equipment. On top of that, many insurance companies do random audits on vehicles to ensure things are in order.

Lastly, the last recommendation is online reviews. Online reviews can be beneficial in the way it gives you an outsider’s opinion. Not all online reviews are accurate but it is a good way to get a general idea. Does the business response to both positive and negative reviews? This will tell you that they care about their customer’s opinion and are there to satisfy them. These are my four recommendations of find the correct shop, I hope they are helpful!