There is an article that was posted on MSN.com titled “7 Things Auto Body Shops Won’t Tell You” that completely astonished me! Who is this person that wrote this nonsense? Don’t you think that someone writing an article that was posted on MSN.com would have done a little research on their topics before throwing out random mumbo jumbo? But then it occurred to me that maybe the majority of drivers out there really don’t know a lot of these things so I figured it would be best to put the truth out there for those who were interested in how things REALLY work. I feel like a super-hero going to combat the evil myths with my cape and shiny belt! Body Shop Babe to the RESCUE!!!!
Buckle your seatbelts and let’s go for a ride I like to call “Clap, Crap or Snap” and let’s see what score this editor will earn.
1. That fender-bender will be a major expense. If the accident is your fault and you have the typical $500 deductible for a collision, kiss your money goodbye.
This little ½ truth is just that so we’ll dub this a “snap” which equals 0 points. The typical deductible for people is $500 and most repairs of any kind in a body shop will cost more than that. Would you term $500 a MAJOR expense? This is where the ½ truth comes in – although $500 is no small chunk of change – the amount you would actually pay out of pocket for a regular old dent in the fender is upwards of $1,000 so imagine THAT expense. No, it’s not going to cost you $100 to have the roaming gypsies come by and apply some magic foam that will pop that dent out and miraculously make your car look brand new again. But, for only $500 you are getting a great deal and saving yourself some true big money to help your little 4 wheeled beauty strut her stuff on the runway once again.
2. Approved shops are beholden to tightfisted insurers. Auto insurers contract with providers to repair vehicles for a pre-negotiated rate (think of it as managed care for sick cars). And your car could be the victim of cost cutting. Some practices, such as requiring low hourly labor rates and making the shop pick up the rental car tab if a repair takes too long, could tempt shops to cut corners -- by, say, neglecting to align the wheels or using plastic filler in a dent rather than replacing the sheet metal.
If you are having your body work done by a reputable shop like Casa Body Shop then this is complete “Crap”! (-1 point) Auto insurance companies have strict regulations, guidelines, certificates & scores that they require of any body shop before they bring them on board to become one of their direct repair facilities (DRP)/indendent repair facilities (IRP). One of my favorite insurance companies who we are an IRP for is AAA (The Auto Club of Southern California). AAA is an insurance company that tells it’s IRPs (independent repair facilities) that they want their AAA cars to be repaired correctly and will cover whatever is necessary to make sure that your car is fixed properly no matter what the cost. There is NO haggling. When a body shop is a DRP/IRP for an insurance company – the insurance company signs them on as a contracted shop that they trust to use for repairs. In turn the body shop reduces their normal rates for the insurance company because they will typically be receiving a higher bulk of vehicles under the contract. The shop is still making money and has no need to cut corners. The insurance company does not want bad repairs done on your vehicle because that is a bad reflection on them. And if you aren’t happy with your repairs, hence your insurance company, then you are out shopping new insurance policies with other carriers right after you talk horrible things about them on Facebook.
I must take this time to warn you that there are many corrupt body shops out there! You want to do your homework about a shop before you send your vehicle there. Are they a member of the BBB and what is their score? (Casa Body Shop is and we have an A+ rating - by the way. J) Look at reviews online. See how long they’ve been in business. There are many many shops out there that are willing to give you a steal of a price to fix your car or completely waive your deductible and then those shops WILL be cutting corners somewhere because they have to make a profit and they don’t care about you!!
3. Not all replacement parts are created equal. Original-equipment manufacturer (OEM) parts are designed to match precisely and may be safer. But insurers prefer that shops use generic or salvage replacement parts because they're cheaper. If you cause an accident, you could be bound by wording in your policy to use aftermarket parts or pay the difference for OEM parts. But if someone hits you, tell the shop to use OEM parts.
This, again, is another winner in the “Crap” category because this guy does NOT have his facts straight. (-1 point) OEM (Original-equipment manufacturer) parts are parts that were made by the manufacturer specifically for their vehicles. Salvaged parts (also termed as used parts) that may be used by the body shop on your vehicle are still OEM parts because they were made by the manufacturer just for your vehicle. At Casa Body Shop we like to use OEM parts, whether they be new or used, over aftermarket parts because they fit the vehicle better and have less flaws and also have a warranty from the auto manufacturer. Aftermarket parts are parts that are made by someone other than your car’s manufacturer to be able to replace a part on your vehicle and most times at a much smaller cost.
One thing I used to have aftermarket on my old Tahoe was I had aftermarket head and tail lamps. I wanted them to be clear and didn’t want the OEM lamp covers. Sure, they looked totally cool but then condensation started to build up and although they had some type of warranty, I knew it was very likely I could have problems with them again in the future because these just didn’t fit as snugly as an OEM part would have. OEM parts are really the best whether they be new or used!
If this guy would have stated that you want to ask your insurance company about only using OEM parts rather than aftermarket parts then this would have been completely correct and would have been a “Clap”.
4. The due date is most likely fiction. Mechanics routinely blame missed deadlines on delays in parts delivery. The truth is that many of them take on more business than they can handle. Before you commit your business to a shop, check the local Better Business Bureau and government consumer-affairs offices for complaints against it.
This is going to get a “Snap” from me for being partially true – at least as far as our shop is concerned. (0 points) The “due date” we will give you will be pretty stinkin’ accurate! We use something called UpdatePromise and it allows the shop to not only text customers with the progression of their vehicles in repair but also tracks the accuracy of each estimator. Each month we are in the top 10 shops for excellent accuracy!! So that part of the statement is completely false because the due date at Casa Body Shop is not fiction.
In the body shop industry the most common reason for a delay in your repairs is due to parts. I do give the writer that part for being true. Casa Body Shop is a fully professional shop. Before we give you a projected completion date for your vehicle we will not only completely disassemble your vehicle to make sure there isn’t hidden damage but we will contact the parts departments we are ordering from and get a time table of when to expect the parts in so we can forecast you a date that is as accurate as possible. The most common way for your vehicle to be held up is either we received the wrong part or the part got delayed for some reason. Although this doesn’t happen often, if it were to occur we would let you know immediately.
So far our good friend Mark Solheim, who wrote this fantastically ludicrous article, has received a -2 on the point scale of our fun game so far. Why did this guy even bother to open up his Word program in the first place since he can’t even get basic facts straight? I bet he got fired from this job as editor and got a job at Taco Bell off Rancho in T.O. They get my order completely wrong EVERY time I go through their drive through! Maybe they’re just relatives of good old Mark.
Anyhow, I’ll go ahead and wrap up this first part of “Revealing the Truth” so you can go check your email and get a snack. But don’t worry, me in my shiny lycra superhero outfit will finish combating these flaming torturous statements tomorrow so you will know the TRUE story about body shops, auto body repair, insurance companies and their contracts with body shops.
