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Tips & Tricks From Santa Ana

Top 10 things to know before having your car repaired:

1. Your car is the second largest investment you're likely to make. Preserve its value and your safety by having it repaired professionally.
2. Never drive a car that could be unsafe because of damages.
3. Some insurance companies may want you to visit their drive-in claims center before having your car repaired. You can do this, or you may leave your car at your collision repair shop and ask that the insurance company inspect the car there.
4. You are not required by law to obtain more than one estimate or appraisal.
5. You have the right to go to the repair shop of your choice. Your insurance company cannot require you to go to a particular shop.
6. Differences in repair estimates are common. A lower estimate may not include all necessary work. If you're not sure why one estimate is different from another you've received, ask the shop manager.
7. Choose a shop that has uni-body repair equipment and certified technicians, such as ICAR (Inter-Industry Conference on Auto Collision Repair) certified.
8. Ask if the shop will be using OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) replacement parts.
9. Ask if the shop offers a repair warranty.
10. Let the collision repair shop you choose help you negotiate your claim with the insurance company, this often leads to a better deal.

Facts on "Burying the Deductibles"

From time-to-time all body shop operators are faced with requests from car owners to "bury the deductible" where automobile damage is covered by collision insurance.

At this point, the car owner should be advised that before he takes his car around the corner "to a guy who will," he should consider the following points:

1. Conspiring to "bury the deductible" is committing a fraud upon an insurance company and it's against the law.
2. Insurance company appraisers know the cost of repairs, as well as body shops, and cannot be fooled by inflated estimates.
3. If a shop agrees to "bury the deductible," it has to take short cuts in making the repairs, and the owner will get a second-rate job, which depreciates the value of the car at trade-in time.
4. A body shop willing to cheat an insurance company will be equally willing to cheat the car owner. A body shop never really absorbs the deductible. The value is taken right out of the job, and it is the car owner who still takes the loss.
5. If the body shop decides to cut corners on the job and it ends up second-rate, the owner has no one to complain to if he conspired to "bury the deductible."

The smart thing for an owner to do is protect his investment by getting a first-class job from a first-class shop and to be glad that all he has to pay is the deductible.

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