38 Percent of Consumers Don’t Trust the Car Mechanic, Studies Show

According to a recent RepairPal survey, 38 percent of consumers who own or lease a vehicle worry that they can not trust the mechanic. Additionally, 66 percent of drivers think that they have been ripped off by a repair shop.

Almost half of the studied consumers said that they would rather do their taxes by hand than get their car repaired. All of this added anxiety of dealing with repair shops causes many consumers to wait as long as possible, which may in turn create more problems.

Direct Paint and Collision recommends that drivers always have a Havertown auto body shop that they can trust. When it comes to collision repairs, you’ll have no choice but to call around to different local shops.

First, always have an accident checklist in your car just in case. Determine which local auto body shops offer services that you need and take a look at local reviews too. Then keep a few shop phone numbers on your accident checklist.  That way you’ll already know a little about the shop so you’ll be prepared to make a decision.

At Direct Paint and Collision, we make the post-collision process as painless as possible. We’ll deal with your insurance company, supply you with a rental car, and repair your vehicle. We build lasting relationships with our customers in an effort to combat the distrust of mechanics.

Choosing the Best Auto Repair Parts

Your car is one of your largest investments—an investment that you depend on everyday. When you get in an accident, the repair process can be stressful, however, working with your insurance company and local repair shop does not need to be painful. We want to make sure you get understand the process.

What are Your Options?

The insurance company will show you a list of preferred or recommended auto body repair shops. These shops have been approved by the insurance company to make estimates and repairs on their own. This ideally means you get fixed faster. It might also mean the repair shop is looking out for the insurance company more than you. You do NOT have to use any of these shops, it is the LAW that you have freedom of choice. If you have a local shop you can use them instead of the insurance company’s chosen shop.

What are OEM Parts?

One of the most common concerns with insurance company preferred shops is that they are pressured by the insurance company to keep costs down. This is often most evident in the parts with which they choose to make repairs. In the industry people generally refer to three different types of parts:

• OEM, or Original Equipment Manufacturer parts, are new replacement parts built by the original maker to the original specifications.
• LKQ (Like Kind and Quality) parts refers to used, recycled, or rebuilt OEM parts.
• Aftermarket parts are made by a third party manufacturer and may or may not be built to the same specifications as the OEM part.

Why are Some Parts Bad?

Many insurance companies favor aftermarket parts because it costs less. However, these parts come with a risk:

• Since these parts may not be designed for your specific model car, it can be harder for a shop technician to install the part properly.
• It can be a gamble. Some could be great but others may diminish your car’s value and safety and come without a warranty.

Pennsylvania law states that estimates must identify when non-OEM parts are used. 

If you have a fairly new vehicle, you’ll want to make sure OEM parts are used for repairs. While LKQ and aftermarket parts may sometimes be just as good quality, it’s hard to know what you’ll really get. Make sure you talk it over with your trusted auto repair shop instead of only listening to what the insurance company has to say.

If your car received poor quality parts, you may not pass post-repair inspections. Learn more about post-repair inspections.

Why Do I Need a Post-Repair Inspection?

Statistics show that if you drive a car in the United States, the odds are you’ll be in an accident an average of once every seven years. And if you’ve been in an accident, the last thing you want to have to worry about is whether or not your car has been repaired correctly. Unfortunately, statistics also show that there’s reason to worry about the quality of your repair.

California’s Bureau of Automotive Repair (BAR) found that in the course of the post-repair inspections they performed, 60% had remaining damage, and 42% still had significant safety problems.

The findings of the California BAR are symptomatic of a disturbing trend in the collision repair industry. Many body shops are pressured to turn over a high volume of repair work, especially if they’re members of an insurance company’s direct repair program (DRP).

Direct repair shops receive a steady stream of insurance company referral work and, in exchange, they’re expected to perform repairs within that insurance company’s guidelines.  Insurers rarely agree to the repairs quoted in the initial estimate, often insisting on less expensive methods or parts that were not made by the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM).

No mechanic wants to work with knock-off or salvage parts, because it’s easier to repair a car with products that were made by the original manufacturer. However, if they have a DRP relationship with an insurance company, they may be forced to use cheap parts and shortcut methods to keep that stream of referrals coming in.

If you’ve taken your vehicle to an insurance company’s “preferred” DRP shop, or to a fly-by-night, temporary operation, you’ll probably want to take a closer look. The paint may look shiny and new, but beneath the surface might be remaining damage or improper repairs.

What Problems Are Caused By Improper Repairs?

When you go to resell your car, a person with a trained eye will be able to spot a poor repair, which can significantly reduce the resale value of your vehicle. Even more important than the threat to the value of your car, however, are the safety problems that can result from a substandard repair.

Every modern vehicle is engineered to respond, in an accident, in a very specific way. The frame is designed to crumple around the occupants of the vehicle, reacting in coordination with the airbag system, with split-second timing. If substandard parts are used in a repair, this “crash management system” can be disrupted.

When you consider the fact that an airbag has to respond and deploy in milliseconds to prevent a passenger from hitting the steering wheel of their vehicle, even the slightest disruption in a vehicle’s crash management system can result in serious injury.

What Can Consumers Do?

The best way for consumers to protect themselves from substandard repairs is to have an industry professional perform a post-repair inspection. Choose a high quality collision repair facility that does not have DRP relationships, who can provide an objective evaluation of the repair.

An in-depth inspection will often have a cost involved, however, a diminished value assessment that finds existing damage will help you receive compensation for any losses. Many auto body shops will first provide a free consultation to determine whether or not a full, in-depth inspection is necessary.

We would all prefer to live in a world where vehicles were always repaired correctly the first time. Unfortunately, pressure from insurance company DRP’s are contributing to an increase in repairs that leave existing damage. The best way to protect yourself from this disturbing trend is to get a post-repair inspection, and ensure that you and your family are driving in a vehicle that’s fit for the road.

This post was contributed by…

Mark Schaech is VP of Operations of Mark’s Body Shop in Baltimore, Maryland. His collision repair facility performs in-depth post-repair inspections.

More info on Post Repair Inspections - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QnDAqeo0Zoc