Let’s face it. We all hate visits to the body shop. There boring, smelly (in a high kind of way) and you always seem to meet the dullest of people there who seem to have the life sucked from them. Sometimes we have no choice…<\/p>\n
A general rule of thumb: if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.<\/p>\n
One such instance where this rule is in play is when the body shop will claim to be able to help you save a stack of money\u00a0by \u2018saving the deductible\u2019 from your insurance claim.<\/p>\n
What this actually<\/i> means is that the shop is going to scam the insurance company by not collecting the deductible payment.<\/p>\n
You might probably be thinking, \u2018Wait, but this scam is just between the shop and the insurance company. I walk away with a bit of cash\u00a0saved and am probably in the clear. Isn\u2019t that awesome?\u2019<\/p>\n
Thats where you’re wrong. What you don\u2019t <\/i>see about the scam is that the shop is actually intending to shortcut a lot of the necessary repair work for your vehicle, or even overcharge you for something else to balance out those waived \u2018deductible\u2019 charges.<\/p>\n
In other words, you\u2019re getting screwed over. Trust me!<\/p>\n
If you\u2019re not careful, you\u2019re letting the shop get away with low quality body work\u00a0that do not meet industry standards and may even be dangerous.<\/p>\n
The worst part?\u00a0You can easily counter this if you just open your eyes and pay closer attention to the repair work they\u2019re actually doing!<\/p>\n
When i say ‘the devil is in the detail’, i really mean it.<\/p>\n
For example, to ensure they\u2019ve properly carried out the repairs, you want to make sure that the lines and panel gaps of your car are both flush and have the same sized gaps.<\/p>\n
Simply crouch down until you\u2019re at eye level with the body of the car. Examine the lines, making sure there even,\u00a0straight and flush throughout the edges of the panel.\u00a0You\u2019ll easily be able to spot a low quality repair done if these gaps do not have an even width from top to bottom, showing that they\u2019ve not been aligned properly, or worse still used a shite copy panel, which doesn’t line up, period.<\/p>\n
Many people will completely skip over these subtle details, which is why they probably don\u2019t get their money\u2019s worth when it comes to body repairs.<\/p>\n
Do not be one of those people.<\/p>\n
As soon as you hear the words \u2018Save The Deductible\u2019, be very cautious of the shop you\u2019re working with, or better still walk out\u00a0whilst throwing the odd insult at them.<\/p>\n
This is a classic one, but nonetheless will sting just as bad if you are not cautious. Some bodyshop\u00a0owners might try to earn a quick quid\u00a0by charging you for new original (OEM) body panels, when they\u2019ve actually used aftermarket parts or in some cases, hammered out the original part from your car and poly-filla’d it up. They will go out of their way to repair your original part, install it back in the car but charge you for the new part instead.<\/p>\n
Always remember: quality is key.<\/p>\n
For example, instead of turning a blind eye towards the replacement parts your body\u00a0shop uses, take the time to make sure that quality OEM panels are used, and not cheap fibreglass alternatives from China.<\/p>\n
Do not sit by wary as they pull an invisible veil in-front of your eyes. Ask for specifics about the parts that are being installed. Ask to see any old body parts or review the original quote and request documentation of the parts the body shop had used for the repair.<\/p>\n
Don\u2019t let them corner you into giving up unnecessary money. Instead, corner them <\/i>by beating them at their own game. It is required by law to disclose in their estimates that they intend to use non-OEM parts, so by asking them, you\u2019ve given them no other option but to cooperate and play the hand that you\u2019ve dealt them.<\/p>\nKnow Your Vehicle, Know Your Estimates<\/b><\/h2>\n
Let me ask you a question: if you don\u2019t understand the work that is being done on your car in the first place, what\u2019s preventing the shop from pulling off unnecessary work on your car that bears no relevance to the body repair, just to earn a\u00a0few bucks?<\/p>\n
That\u2019s exactly how plenty of unscrupulous body shop owners charge a hefty price tag for the repair of your car, simply because you didn\u2019t run through and understand your estimates.<\/p>\n
The next time your car gets into an accident, understand beforehand just how much it would take at a bare minimum to repair the damaged parts. This initial diagnosis is important, as many shops will make use of the driver\u2019s ignorance on his own car to earn undeserving money.<\/p>\n
To illustrate my point, let’s say your ball joints are damaged by the crash. This should be an inexpensive and fairly easy repair, if <\/i>you knew that. But if you just walked-in\u00a0clueless\u00a0about the state of your car, it does not take much for them to \u2018sell\u2019 (literally) you on the idea that you need to pay hundreds on other irrelevant work to get your car fix when it should <\/i>only cost you at most a tenner or so.<\/p>\n
Once the body repair is finished, run through each line of their quote meticulously, understanding every item on it and comparing it to the original amount you\u2019ve initially totaled before.<\/p>\n
If there\u2019s a huge discrepancy in the price estimates, you know you\u2019ve caught a dishonest body repair shop red-handed.<\/p>\n
To sum up, there are a bunch of invisible games being played around you that you probably didn\u2019t even know about. If you don\u2019t pay close attention, you run the risk of getting bent over without the lubricant,\u00a0right under your nose. Get acquainted with these rules, and learn to play safe \ud83d\ude09<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Let’s face it. We all hate visits to the body shop. There boring, smelly (in a high kind of way) and you always seem to meet the dullest of people there who seem to have the life sucked from them. Sometimes we have no choice… The Devil Is In The Details A general rule of …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":458,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[67],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-739","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-automotive-repair"],"yoast_head":"\n