Dealing With Heavy Damage To Your Vehicle After A Collision
When your vehicle is involved in a collision, it is essential to have the damage checked to determine if the car is repairable. An auto collision repair shop is often the best resource for inspecting the vehicle, and you may want to consider having the car towed from the accident scene directly to the body shop you are planning to use.
Inspecting Your Vehicle
Once your vehicle arrives at the auto collision repair shop, you may need to wait a few days to have an insurance-adjusted look over the car and determine if they will cover the damage. While the car is there, the body shop tech may take some time and look over the vehicle to see how much damage there is.
The insurance adjuster and the technician will often discuss the damage and what the auto collision repair shop can do to fix it. After a full inspection, the collision shop will tell you what they found and how much it will cost to fix. Depending on your insurance coverage, there may need to be some negotiations with the insurer to get the price in the right range so you can get your car fixed without having to go into your pocket to pay the bill.
Most auto collision repair shops have someone who works with the insurance companies regularly, so often they can get the work done for you, and they might even get the insurance to pay enough to cover the deductible for you.
Frame Damage
If there was a lot of damage from the collision your car or truck was involved in, the frame could be a concern. The auto collision repair shop can check the frame on a frame rack and determine if it needs repairing.
The damage to the vehicle's frame can compound the issues because most newer cars use a subframe design that incorporates the car body into the structure. Frame and body damage can make it harder to straighten the car out, but a good auto collision repair tech can use a frame rack and pull the vehicle back to the original specs.
The amount of frame damage can prompt the insurance company to total the car if the frame repair will take a lot of time. Often the cost of the work is higher than the car's value, so the insurance company will not pay for it. This does not mean repairs are impossible, but often it does not make financial sense, and the repair shop can tell you if they believe that will be the case after they look at the car or truck.
For more information on auto accident repair, contact a professional near you.