Fix Auto Start to Finish: What to Expect at a Collision Center

November 7th, 2019 by Fix Auto USA

You’ve just been in an auto collision, and your vehicle needs auto body repairs. If you haven’t needed this type of repairs before, your first thought may be how to choose an auto body shop? Once you select a collision center, you’ll probably wonder what to expect when you get there.

 

At Fix Auto, we work hard to provide a better repair experience than you expect, and that starts with four key elements you don’t always find at auto body shops:

• Premier-level customer service
• Highly trained, certified auto repair technicians
• A commitment to safe, professional repairs
• High-tech repair tools, equipment, and processes

Fix Auto collision repair centers are equipped to carry out a full range of repairs, from paintless dent removal to glass repair to full collision repairs work. Our collision repair centers use the latest in auto body equipment, so we can perform repairs on recent models made with metal alloys and other high-tech materials. We also employ computerized quality control processes to ensure our repairs meet your expectations and ours.

If you’re wondering how to choose an auto body shop, here’s what you can expect at Fix Auto.

First visit.

We want your first visit to Fix Auto to be unlike any other experience you’ve had with an auto repair shop. So, we go out of our way to make you feel welcome, relaxed and confident in our ability to correctly restore your damaged vehicle to its pre-accident condition.

Once we assess the damage to your vehicle, we don’t just explain what repairs are needed, we also explain why. In fact, we explain everything that will take place from the moment you hand us the keys to your car until delivery of your repaired vehicle. This includes filing your insurance claim. To earn your trust and confidence, we do not proceed with the repair process until you fully understand what needs to be done and why.

Complete damage analysis.

Many auto body repair shops only inspect the visible damage to your vehicle and prepare their written estimate based on what they see. At Fix Auto, the first thing we do is disassemble the obviously damaged areas to inspect for any underlying damage that otherwise wouldn’t be detected.

We then document all damage to your vehicle, and use it to build a repair plan that identifies the necessary repairs.

When the repair plan is completed, we provide you with a copy and explain all the details while answering any questions you may have. We also provide the repair plan to your insurance company. Once they authorize the repair work as outlined in the plan, we order the parts and get started fixing your vehicle as soon as they arrive.

Body department.

Our goal with every repair job is return the body of your vehicle to factory specifications. This is important for maintaining the safety and structural integrity of your car, whether the damage is minor or extensive.

Many car owners have heard the myth that if a car’s frame gets bent in the collision, it will never be the same again. We can assure you this is not true. Using the proper equipment, our expert technicians can measure and restore critical repair points to within the original manufactures tolerances for the original structure. If we discover the need for additional repairs not listed on the repair plan, we will obtain authorization from you and your insurance company before proceeding with them.

Our experience, expertise, and equipment allow us to repair all makes and models of passenger cars and light trucks, including luxury and foreign models. If your vehicle is repairable, we can repait it at your local Fix Auto location.

Paint prep.

The next step after the body work consists of prepping and repainting the damaged areas. The prep and undercoat are just as important – if not more so – than the top coat color because they determine the durability and longevity of the paint’s finish. Using high-quality products, we take extra care to get these critical steps right.

As an example of our attention to detail, we remove all trim parts rather than just masking them so undamaged areas won’t be affected by overspray. Most important, we use computerized color matching to make sure the new paint perfectly matches the existing color.

Refinish process.

Next comes the top coat refinish process. To apply the paint, we move your vehicle to a special paint booth designed to mimic the conditions of the factory. This provides a dust-free, controlled environment that allows us to bake the paint at the high temperatures needed to deliver a factory-quality finish. We then add a protective clear coat to give the top coat a showroom gloss. Finally, we use special equipment to polish the paint. This ensures the repaired parts match the material’s texture of the undamaged parts.

Vehicle assembly.

After the paint process, we put everything back together, taking extra caution to make sure newly painted areas don’t get scratched or chipped. We reinstall, adjust, and align all disassembled parts to match adjacent undamaged parts. Then we inspect every aspect of the assembled vehicle to ensure it meets our “invisible repair” standards.

Final detail.

As a final quality control measure, we use a completed repairs checklist to verify the quality and finish of your repairs. We clean any nooks and crannies that may have gathered dust during the repairs. Your car is now ready to be delivered to you.

Vehicle delivery.

But wait – you can’t drive off just yet. Our customer service rep first reviews all repairs that have been performed and answers any questions you might have. We then hand you documents for all repairs performed and special instructions for care of your newly repaired vehicle. Most important, you also receive a limited-lifetime warranty on all repairs.

How to Choose an Auto Body Shop

When going through the process of how to choose an auto body shop, here’s what to look for:

• Reputation. First and foremost, you want a shop that is known for safe, accurate repairs. See if the facility has any awards or professional certifications on display in the office.
• Skilled technicians. Repairing today’s high-tech cars requires extensive training and ongoing education. Ask to see the certifications of the shop’s technicians.
• Verified quality. Companies like VeriFacts audit auto body shops to determine their ability to consistently deliver high-quality repairs. Look for the VeriFacts quality assurance seal on the shop’s walls.
• Superior customer service. For example, does the shop work directly with your insurer to expedite the claims process? Does it keep you informed on the progress of your repairs? Do all staff members treat you with courtesy and respect?
• The condition of the shop. Repairing vehicles is a messy business. But that’s no excuse not to have a clean shop, both in the office and in the repair areas. An unclean, cluttered work area could signal a lack of attention to details in other areas.
• Friendly to the environment. Is the shop committed to using green parts, waste recovery, recycling of raw materials, and environmental paint?

Nobody likes having their car repaired, but sometimes it’s necessary. For an auto body repair experience where you drive away with a smile on your face and full confidence in the repairs, visit Fix Auto