The auto body repair industry definitely falls into a category of professions that cater to customers who don’t necessarily WANT your service. They are forced to search for your services because of an accident, and their vehicle has been damaged and needs repair. This poses great stress on the customer, as we know ourselves how stressful the situation can be. We’ve wrecked our cars too. It’s terribly annoying, especially if you’ve experienced physical injury as well.
Because of this, we know we need to take extra precautions in our level of customer service. Dealing with auto body shops in McAllen can be a headache to say the least. With the rate of scams, fraud, and shoddy repairs, customers should be leery of auto body shops in McAllen. You, as the customer, should have the upper hand on your repair, careful not to cause more damage than what was already there. To do this, becoming educated in the process of collision repair will help you better understand and know what to expect, and what NOT to expect when you need to take your vehicle in for costly repairs.
We are going to highlight a few points on the process to give you insight:
1.) INSURANCE
If you are using your insurance for your repairs there are definitely a few things to note. Insurance companies will always be after the bottom line, not your preference of quality on the repairs. Taking this to note, if you are using your insurance to pay for your repair, you have to know that the auto body shop you choose is under your insurance company’s’ orders. They are the ones who are paying us for the repairs, and they will only pay for what they exactly authorize. Everything must be approved through your insurance, and if they say they aren’t going to pay for it, they simply aren’t going to pay for it. While we would love to make-up for their shortfalls, we simply can’t give things away for free.
Example:
Your insurance company approves only after market headlights for your repair. We must order the after market headlights, and perhaps, they aren’t just exactly the same, or come with a flaw. More times than not, they aren’t going to make you aware that they are approving only after market parts, or that the quality isn’t a concern. You can demand from your insurance that they replace these lights, or provide better ones if you are not happy with them.
We do our best to let you know when decisions are made about your vehicle. Taking your vehicle in, and never asking a questions, or being updated on SPECIFIC details of your repair can leave you with even more problems once you take your vehicle home. Get informed, and make sure you know what is going on.
Ask questions. A ton of them. Make your insurance answer all of your questions, and know what questions to ask. Like these above. This is going to help you get your vehicle back to you the way YOU want it.
2. Time Estimates
You should get multiple estimates when you are looking for auto body shops in McAllen. Get full estimates with estimated time of completion. If someone’s sticks out as being sold as a super fast repair, and the other have a way longer time estimate, be aware. Super fast repairs can certainly mean skipped procedures and processes, shoddy or “mickey mouse” repairs. There are many auto body shops in McAllen that will take the short cut to getting your car out, and this can be dangerous and costly in the future. Repairing a vehicle is an extraordinary process, and should take time. Our time estimates are more lengthy, but we must account for all of the correct procedures and processes to be performed on your vehicle. This means safe, quality repairs, that are built to last. Actually, they are built to last just as long as the rest of the vehicle that wasn’t damaged.
While we know patience is hard to come by when you are without your vehicle, it cane certainly help to avoid additional stress. Know that we are doing our best to get your vehicle repaired CORRECTLY.
3.Quality
This may one of the most important topics when it comes to auto body repair in McAllen. Quality can make the difference in experiencing costly repairs down the road. One of the biggest quality concerns is going to be in the paint department. automotive paint is a very technical process and requires talented, knowledgeable painters and well maintained, professional grade paint booths. We recently upgraded our paint booth to a state of the art GIVCO down-draft paint booth. We are the only public body shop to have one of these in the Rio Grande Valley. The only other one is located at the technical college, in which new technicians learn on. The biggest flaw that can occur during paint is debris. And this means DUST, particles, and dirt. These getting in the paint can lead to bubbling paint spots in a few years. When you vehicle comes out of paint, it should look like the day you got it at the dealership. DO NOT let small flaws go unnoticed. These small flaws can be HUGE in the future!
Here are a few flaws to look out for:
Debris. Here you can see small speckles of debris in the paint. Run your hand over parts of your vehicle to feel for these. If you feel these, the paint needs to be redone. This can lead to peeling and bubbling paint in the future.
Orange Peel. This happens when the technician uses inadequate spray techniques, causing this not so noticeable flaw, that looks like an orange peel. It has a slight bump to it and won’t always be in big areas on the vehicle. There may be small patches or areas that have this.
Paint Drip. One of the most common flaws in paint jobs, the drip. These occur when the technician does not take his time when painting the vehicle. Paint should be applied in thin coats, with time in between for setting. Spraying it all at once can lead to paint build up, being to thick, and dripping.
Part of our customer service stand is that we want our customers to be educated in the process of collision repair. This helps our customer and us to produce a vehicle that is perfect, and has the best quality repairs available.
We will post more about what to expect in the auto body shop. Visit our Website to learn more about our shop and what we do!
Auto Body Repair Shops and Collision Centers of McAllen 