You’ve had an accident and now your vehicle is in desperate need of auto repair. Most of us never want this day to happen, but, unfortunately, it tends to occur for a great many people on a daily basis, often through no fault of their own. Maybe a person backed into you in a parking lot, or maybe you got into a serious accident and your vehicle is now unable to be driven. Lots of people get into accidents and then give the keys to their car to the mechanic without knowing what to expect during the auto repair process, often because they’re intimidated and don’t believe that they can ask questions. Knowing what goes on behind the scenes in an auto repair shop can help you to feel more confident in giving your vehicle over to a mechanic.
The Estimate
The first thing that has to be done is an estimate. The estimate lets the mechanic and you know how much the auto repair is going to take. This process can be fairly quick, but may take a few different steps before it’s finished. For instance the mechanic may be able to ascertain the damage simply by putting the vehicle on a lift and looking under it, but more often now than ever before the mechanic is required to hook your vehicle up to their computer, which instantly tells the mechanic what is going on. There may, however, be some hidden damage that the mechanic is unable to see until they are getting into the repair, which may be why the mechanic needs to contact you about extra fees at some point during the repair.
The Insurance Company
If your vehicle was hit by someone else, or if you got into an accident, the insurance company will need to be contacted. Most auto repair centers contact the insurance company for you, but make sure that you ask before you make any assumptions. The price may be negotiated by the insurance company and between the garage and the insurance company decisions will be made about your vehicle and what should be done. Sometimes the insurance company finds that the vehicle is too broken to fix and opts to pay you for the vehicle instead of fixing it, allowing you to purchase a new vehicle.
The Fixing
Once the debating is done, it’s time for the auto repair to begin. The mechanic pulls apart the vehicle to fix whatever needs to be fixed, and has been agreed upon with the insurance. The repair process can take awhile, not necessarily because the mechanic is backed up, but often because the parts have not arrived. Mechanics can’t fix the problem until they have all of the necessary parts, which is why some people find that their vehicle takes much longer to repair than they originally assumed it would take.
The entire process can be very quick or it can take awhile. You should always feel comfortable enough with your auto repair center to contact them to ask how your vehicle is doing in the repair process.
