3 Things You Need To Do To Repair Your Vehicle After An Accident

Do you have a vehicle that was recently damaged in an accident of some kind? Are you now trying to figure out how to have it taken care of with minimum effort on your part? Dealing with a damaged vehicle is never fun, no matter what caused the damage. Fortunately, there are a few things that you can do to help make everything easier for yourself. Some might be obvious while others are going to be less so. A few of the things that you might want to do include the following.

Check insurance policy: A lot of people assume that their insurance will or will not cover the cost of repairs after an accident without ever checking their policy to be sure. If you only have basic liability insurance, you are probably not covered. But it doesn't hurt to check your actual policy for confirmation. Similarly, if you have comprehensive coverage, then you should expect your policy to cover the cost of taking your vehicle to the auto body shop, but you really should check just to make sure. Once you know just what your insurance will or will not cover, then you can make further plans regarding exactly when and where to take your vehicle.

Get multiple quotes: It's all too easy to just drop your vehicle off at one auto body shop and let them do the work without much thought on your part. But if you don't shop around at all, you could wind up paying significantly more for the same work being done on your vehicle. Prices can vary dramatically at different locations. Work done at a dealership is almost certainly going to be much more expensive than work that is performed at a small shop closer to the outskirts of town — lower overhead means a lower cost and significant savings for you. It's worth it to get at least two or three quotes before settling on one shop.

Install used parts: There are some car parts that should never be reused once they're pulled from a vehicle; these include things like fan belts, brake pads, and other parts that wear out easily. But things like bumpers, fenders, and even entire doors are more sturdy and can easily be installed even if they've been used before. Not every auto body shop is going to be willing to do this, but a large portion of them will. This is going to be cheaper and, sometimes, faster than ordering a brand-new auto body part from your local dealership.

Talk to your local auto body shop to make an appointment. 

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