Well you’ve just had an accident and now you need to get a visual damage report also known as an estimate on what it will cost to repair your vehicle. Here are some tips to help you get started on your repair process. Before you go and get a visual damage report, wash your car and visually inspect your vehicle, you would be surprised at how many people don’t actually take the time to inspect the condition of their vehicle from time to time. Is there new door dents? Is the bottom of the car rusting, new scrapes or scratches that have nothing to do with the actual accident? Are any parts broken or missing? Once you have accessed the condition of your vehicle you are ready to get a visual damage report.
Sometimes there can be a communication problem when dealing with an auto body shop, or any other service industry business. Every vehicle situation is different, so when getting a visual damage report on your vehicle make sure you ask lots of questions, a good estimator won’t mind answering your questions and going over everything until you understand your visual damage report in full. Most visual damage reports today are done on a computer, and when getting a visual damage report from different shops you may end up with different repair cost. Some of the reasons why this happens may be because one shop is using new manufacture parts while the other shop may be using aftermarket parts; one shop may be repairing the panel while the other shop is replacing the panel; paint techniques may be different, where one shop is using base clear paint and the other shop using single stage paint; or it may be that some part that needs repaired on your vehicle is missed altogether on one visual damage report but not missed on the other visual damage report. One thing to remember is that when an estimator is assessing the damage to your vehicle, some of the damage may be hidden and not visible until the vehicle is actually disassembled, which can change the price of the visual damage report and may lengthen the repair time. Another question you should ask when getting a visual damage report is what is your warranty or guarantee on the body repair and paint. Be sure you read and understand the warranty as these can vary from shop to shop, one may offer only a 1 year warranty while another shop may offer a lifetime warranty.
Having all the information you need and understanding the process will help ease the stress of getting your vehicle repaired. Here at A & J Collision Repair we want to make this process as painless as possible, we are more than happy to answer any questions you may have, and we don’t mind you calling us if you think of a question you forgot to ask while getting your visual damage report. Remember you are the one who has the final decision on where your vehicle will be repaired.