You may start pouring through the yellow pages looking for the nearest auto body repair shop, or you may go online and Google Auto Body Repair, hoping to find a reputable service center that will treat you fairly.
So, you’ve had an accident. Now what?
Let’s face it, when your car is damaged you really are at the mercy of your repair shop. For most of us, these types of auto body emergencies don’t happen that often, so it may be your first visit to the selected shop.
The first thing you want to consider is the location. Are they close by? If you’re without your car for several days, you may not want to have to do a lot of driving between your home and your service center.
Are they reliable? Do they have credentials, like industry memberships, affiliations, factory authorization, Better Business Bureau membership? You’ll want to know how many years they’ve been in business and do they have good references. A good place to check for customer feedback on a business these days is with Yelp or Google Places. Just do a search for the business name and add the words, Yelp or Google Places, and you should be able to find their page if they have one.
Another good thing to find out about is how complete their service is. Do they perform all types of body work on all types of cars, or do they specialize in certain services such as paintless dent removal, or certain types of vehicles, like Hybrids. The more complete their service, the better chance that they are going to be able to provide your vehicle with all the care it needs. Make sure that they are current in their auto painting methods as well as matching paint is one of the most important aspects of auto repair San Jose.
When you visit the shop, make sure that it is clean and organized. If the front office is a mess with papers stacked a mile high, and the garage is full of old parts and grease stains, then their attention to detail probably isn’t at a very high standard.
What forms of payment do they offer? Do they accept credit cards? Do they work with ALL insurance companies? Do they have any financing available? This will simplify your service transaction tremendously, and it also shows that they have enough credibility and business savvy to make paying for your auto body repair much easier.
Finally, does the Toyoto body shop you’re checking out offer any kind of warranty? This is critical because when you drive out of the repair shop, you don’t want to have to find out the next day, the next week or the next month, that something is amiss. Reputable auto body repair shops generally offer very strong warranties, sometimes for the life of your vehicle or as long as you own it.
Finding the best auto body shop in your area can be an intimidating process, but with a little research it can really make a difficult situation a lot less stressful.