REPAIR PROCESS BASICS:
- Contact your insurance company to set the claim up
- You only need 1 estimate (don’t need to visit several shops)
- Our estimates are FREE and take approximately 15-30 minutes depending on the amount of damage
- Another option is to leave your vehicle at our shop to disassemble for more accurate inspection
- We will submit our estimate to the insurance company by email or fax
- Once an agreed price for repairs is reached with the insurance company and with your approval we can order parts and schedule repairs on your vehicle
- We offer free loaner cars and rental vehicles are also available
These are often heard phrases from insurance companies when you want to bring your vehicle to any shop that is not on their list and what our response is:
They are not one of our network shops and they are not on our list, we can't guarantee the repairs.
We are not on everybody's list. That is because we do not want to be. We identify the vehicle owner as our primary customer, not the insurance company. As for guaranteeing our work, they do not need to as we have our own limited lifetime guarantee. When have you ever seen an insurance company with a car being repaired in their office? Truth is they will send you back to whomever you selected off their list.
If you use them, we can't get an adjuster out for several days. If you take it to our network shop we will have someone start on it right away.
This is just another ploy to steer you. We have heard insurance companies tell our customers how busy they are and they can't get someone out for 7 or 8 days.
If you use that shop you will have to pay for your rental out of pocket.
This is not true, but some insurance companies will try to force you into a rental reimbursement, which means they will either try to get you to pay with a credit card and then reimburse you, or offer to send check for x amount of rental days (which you should promptly refuse to do). Most companies have direct bill agreements with rental companies, but they do not always disclose that. Always remember as a claimant against a company, that you also have specific rights that a policy holder may not have.
They charge more than the prevailing rate and you will have to pay the difference in repair cost.
The law states the insurance company will pay the cost of repairs and case law has already determined that labor rate differences of $2 - $4 and hour in a given market area is reasonable and competitive. Sometimes when there are discrepancies in the repair cost because a carrier is trying to force us to do something that is not in your best interest.
Claims take longer to settle if you use them.
Not true – we can settle claims just as quickly if we were a preferred provider. We do look after everything for you including making rental car arrangements and dealing with the appraiser.
