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No one ever wants to be in this situation, but your vehicle is involved in an accident and in need of repair. Everyone is OK, but the car needs help. Where do you go to get help in this process?
After you call the police, do their report, and phone your insurance company, then the bewilderment and confusion sets in. You need to know your rights and how the process works.
First of all, you do not need to get three estimates any longer. The law in the State of Georgia is clear. It is your vehicle and the choice of repairs is yours alone. Insurance companies may try to “steer” you to a shop by telling you that they will not warranty the repairs unless you take it there. The insurance company does not warranty the repairs, the shop does, and the reputable shops will tell you what their warranty is. In most cases it is for as long as you own the car. So, the important decision is finding a shop that you trust and getting your car there.
Some repairs obviously take longer than others, but a five-day job is the norm. Since all you will see is the new paint when the car is returned, make sure you find a shop that is I-CAR certified and has all of the equipment necessary for your particular repair.
One thing that often confuses people is the fact that they see that a new bumper cover doesn’t match the car exactly. Look at new cars on the lot; theirs do not match either. The cause of this is the difference in painting plastic versus metal. The difference should only be slight, but there will be some.
Be sure that you have rental coverage on your insurance policy. It is one of the cheapest coverages you can buy, but without it you can rack up quite a bill sometime. If the accident is the other party’s fault, they or their insurance company should provide you with a rental while your car is being repaired.
Make sure that your look your car over carefully when it is completed. Mistakes happen, and most are not intentional. Point them out to the staff member right away, but keep your options open. After you get your vehicle home, you may find other issues. Write them down, and call the collision center and find out when they can correct them. A reputable shop will gladly take care of any problems you may find.
There is a lot more to a good experience in collision repair than just giving them your car and waiting for a call. The staff should be communicating with you a couple of time while your vehicle is there to update you on the status.
But remember, “you get more flies with honey than you do with vinegar”. The people at the body shop that you talk to are the ones responsible for getting your car repaired correctly and in a timely manner. You want to keep them on your side, and not make the process more difficult.
Although no one feels that their vehicle is ever the same after an accident and repair, most of them are. The aftermath of emotions of driving a car that has been wrecked can be nerve wracking. Try not to be “gun shy”, but do recognize if problems come up further down the road.
As a final note, Georgia is one of the only states that recognized “diminished value”. The Georgia Supreme Court ruled that the owner of any vehicle with less than 100,000 miles is entitled to be reimbursed after an accident just because the car has been wrecked and is now worth less. It has nothing to do with how or where the car was repaired. A rule of thumb in these situations is the reimbursement should be about 15% of the final repair bill. If the responsible party (insurance company or individual) does not contact you, feel free to call them and ask for this money. If your car is very new, the sum should be greater, but you may have to hire an independent appraiser to prove this.
If you have questions beyond what has been covered here, feel free to call Gail Dunn, 770-722-5211, or go to our website www.womensautomotiveconnection.com for more information and help.