Information Blog Regarding Automotive

Before taking your car to an auto body shop for repair, it was probably a twisted mess. Maybe it was being towed to the auto body shop from an accident scene. It’s now been weeks since you took your car for repair. You just need to write the auto body shop a check to get your car in good shape. But, how can you tell if the auto body fixed everything beneath the surface? 

The first step to make sure that your vehicle is fixed properly after an accident is choosing the right auto body shop. But, even when you’ve chosen the best shop and given it the job of fixing your vehicle, you should inspect the performed work before driving away. Here are some of the tips to help you know if an auto body shop has done an excellent job. 

Know What Should Be Fixed 

Before you drop off your car for repair, be clear on the things that will be fixed. Also, discuss how the auto body will repair your vehicle. Have everything written down and get a warranty for the work. Upon your return, go through the paperwork to ensure that all repairs were done correctly. 

Cleanliness

Your repaired vehicle must be clean. Therefore, your vehicle should be washed, vacuumed, and cleaned before you drive away. Make sure there is no dust or dirt in your car. The trunk should also not be full of old parts. Reliable auto body repair shops will even wash the engine compartment. 

Consistency and Matching Colors 

If your vehicle had some paint jobs to be done, colors must be consistent and matching. Your vehicle should not look like it has been painted with three different colors. Therefore, check your vehicle closely to ensure that the applied paint colors are matching and consistent. 

In nutshell, inspect your vehicle closely before you drive away to ensure that everything was done as agreed. In some cases, visual inspection alone might not be enough. So, get a second opinion of an expert if possible. 

After being involved in an accident, you will need collision repair. The first thing that you will mostly think about is how fast you can have your vehicle repaired. Well, this is reasonable because you want to have your vehicle back on the road as soon as possible. This is particularly understandable if you use the car to go to work or school and back home. Nevertheless, you should not have your car repaired at just any collision repair shop. It’s important to have a reputable collision repair shop fix the damage on your car. Here are questions to ask a collision repair shop to ensure that it’s the best option for your vehicle.

Do You Provide Warranty on Your Auto Body Repair Job?

If the collision repair shop provides a warranty, inquire about the duration and what is covered. Some auto body repair shops offer lifetime warranty on materials and workmanship.

Do You Offer Loaner Vehicles or Rental Cars?

You don’t want the inconvenience of not having a car. Therefore, it’s reasonable to find out whether the auto repair shop offers loaners, rentals, or courtesy cars as clients’ cars are being fixed. You can find a shop with a nearby car rental service. Others provide courtesy or loaner cars.

How Long Do You Take to Repair a Car After Collision?

This is the question for which many car owners need an answer. Unfortunately, there is no clear answer to this question. The duration a car takes to repair after collision depends on factors like:

• Damage extent and nature
• How busy the collision repair shop is
• Holidays when the shop has limited or closed hours
• How long your insurance takes to make payment
• How fast the shop can get the paint and parts your car needs

Will Everything Be Put In Writing?

Before anything is done on your car, get a written estimate. This should itemize the bill of what will be done on your vehicle. Also ask for a written payment policy outlining materials, labor rates, warranty information, acceptable payment forms, and guarantees.

A good collision repair shop will be ready to answer any question you might have about its body repair work. This assures you that your car will be in the hands of the right experts.

Many people take their cars to auto body repair shops only when they suffer extensive damage after collision. However, car restoration is very important and it should be done in a timely manner. Essentially, small problems shouldn’t go unchecked. Proper car restoration will give it a longer, healthy life. Here are the major reasons to schedule a car restoration appointment with a reputable auto body repair shop.

Finish

The finish of your car is a crucial component for protection of its exterior. Essentially, even minor chips can lead to cracks that will lessen protection of the finish. The purpose of the finish of your vehicle is to protect its paint job and the underneath steel frame. Once your car’s finish has been compromised, rust and paint problems follow.

Rust

A major reason to schedule a car restoration appointment is to ensure that dents and chips are dealt with before they start to cause rusting. Salt, air and chemicals that your car collects on the road can lead to rusting when they fall on the dented and chipped parts of your car. Rust can eventually spread beneath the paint of the car and eat its metal frame away. Rust does more damage to the vehicle than most people imagine. That’s why cosmetic problems should be fixed the moment they occur.

Safety

The design of your car’s body enables it to provide protection to the driver and passengers. As such, dents compromise the car’s frame integrity. This makes the car vulnerable in the event of an accident. When your car has dents, the problem can escalate if an accident affects the same area. That’s why you should schedule car restoration with experts to restore the safety of your car.

Essentially, car restoration does more than restoring the aesthetics of your car. Schedule a car restoration appointment with a reputable auto body shop to keep your vehicle in perfect shape.

It’s obvious that you will spot exterior damage after car collision. However, internal damage may not be obvious though it poses a danger according to business owner Crystal Fernandez of Auto Masters Collision Repair. To ensure your safety while driving car after collision, here are the things to look out for:

Exterior Damage

Check the vehicle carefully to see if you will notice external damage. When your vehicle has an extensive damage on its exterior, driving it is risky. That’s because some body panels may be loose and loosen further when you drive the car. This poses a danger to you and other road users. Therefore, make sure that your vehicle is checked and fixed after a collision if it has significant damage on the exterior.

Hidden Damage

Some damage may not be visible to your eyes after collision. Thus, your vehicle may be damaged but the damage may not be noticeable immediately. Therefore, check for smoke, abnormal noises, or leaking fluid. These are signs of hidden damage that should prompt you to take the vehicle for repair immediately.

Alignment Issues

The alignment of your vehicle may be affected by collision especially if it has been rear-ended. Consequently, the car may have uneven driving or veer towards a single side. It can also vibrate while driving. Therefore, make sure that your vehicle’s alignment is checked and repaired immediately. Remember that misalignment can add stress to the suspension of your vehicle and necessitate more costly repairs in the future.

Trunk Damage

Trunk damage is very common after collision. Closing a damaged trunk is difficult. A malfunctioned trunk can also pop open when driving. The resale value of your car will also be lower if it has a damaged trunk.

If you have just had a car collision, check your car carefully for these issues. Take it for repair immediately to keep repair cost down if you notice any of them.

For some people, an auto bumper is a minor part of the vehicle. However, the bumper plays a very important role of ensuring safety of the driver and passengers. Essentially, car bumpers protect passengers during accidents. They are designed to absorb the shock that comes with collision or accident. This minimizes the impact that is felt by the occupants and the vehicle.

Materials

Plastic is the material that is used to make most auto bumpers. However, bumpers feature a reinforcement bar that is made of a tougher substance. This can be steel or aluminum. It’s therefore important to note that bumpers are not created equal. Some are capable of absorbing more shock than others.

What Affects Auto Bumper’s Effectiveness?

There are several factors that can affect your auto bumper’s effectiveness. They include the overhang amount and built-on lights. Some governments have regulations that cover the effectiveness of auto bumpers. According to some bumper standards, auto bumpers should prevent vehicle’s body damage during crashes with low impact of less than 5 mph. Nevertheless, this is not applicable in SUVs, trucks, and minivans. That’s because bumpers can interfere with proper operations of these vehicles.

Generally, you can’t determine the effectiveness of an auto bumper by just looking at it. There are also no regulations that require auto companies to disclose their auto bumpers effectiveness publicly. Nevertheless, you can get this information from the manufacturer of your vehicle.

Auto Bumper Repair

If your vehicle has a damaged bumper, it’s important that you have it repaired or replaced immediately. That’s because a damaged bumper may not serve its purpose of providing protection effectively. It can also be an aesthetic issue. Therefore, if your vehicle has a damaged bumper, have it repaired immediately.

Visit a reputable auto body shop to have the bumper checked by experienced professionals and repaired properly or replaced if necessary.

Some of the major collisions that drivers are involved in are rear-end collisions. Perhaps, you were lucky to have a fender bender that wasn’t severe to immobilize the car. Maybe nobody sustained injuries during the accident. However, it is still important to have experts of an auto body shop inspect your car.

Here are some of the reasons to take your car to an auto body shop to have its fender bender inspected by an expert:

The Fender Bender May Expose Your Car to Rust

A scratch or dent on the body of a vehicle exposes it to possible rusting. Essentially, your vehicle has a paint job that is designed to provide protection to its material against water. When the paint is removed, the metallic component is exposed. This can rust very quickly when exposed to water and air.

Therefore, when your vehicle gets a scratch or dent from a fender bender, take it for inspection at a reputable auto body shop. Make sure that it is checked to determine what should be done. Depending on the severity of the scratch or dent, some parts may need repair or replacement.

Protection of Your Car May Have Been Compromised

The rear and front bumper of your car play a crucial role of absorbing shock in the event of an accident. In simple terms, bumpers provide protection to the driver and passengers from the collision force.

Regardless of how small collision seems, the ability of the bumpers to absorb the impact of the shock is compromised. As such, even minor accidents can prevent a car from providing the required protection even in the event of small accidents.

Experts of an auto body shop can assess the vehicle to determine the impact of a fender bender on your vehicle’s protection. If the vehicle has minor dings and dents, they will be fixed. But if the bumpers were severely damaged, the mechanics will recommend replacement.

Don’t ignore any damage on your vehicle no matter how minor it seems or try to fix it yourself. Instead, take your vehicle to a reputable auto body shop to have it fixed by experienced professionals. If you ever need some online auto part check out this site here.

It doesn’t matter if you want to purchase or sell a vehicle. There are always scams that you need to look out for. Scams that might mean that you are spending more money or losing money. When it comes to purchasing and selling vehicles, you should be conscious about getting yourself into something that you won’t get yourself out of. The only way that you know how to spot a scam, is to know how a scam looks like.

Purchasing the vehicle without seeing it

No one in their right mind will ever purchase something without seeing it first. And, the same goes for vehicles. Vehicles are expensive and you will want to see what you are buying.

So, if someone is calling you and say that they want to buy your vehicle right now, warning lights should go off. You should insist that they come to your home and see the vehicle and paying cash for the vehicle. And, if they refuse, you should know that there is something seriously wrong.

Sending someone else to pick up the vehicle with check payment

A person is buying your car, but he is sending someone else to pick up the car and to pay per check. The first thing that you need to know is that the check isn’t going to be cleared. If you are buying as big as another car, you want to pick it up yourself and drive it for the first time.

The only way that you can accept a deal where someone else is picking up the car, is to have the car paid in cash before the car is picked up.

Offering to pay more than your asking price

Will you make an offer on a vehicle that is more than the asking price? Off cause not. This is because why should you pay more than needed. And, this is the same thing that you should consider when someone else is offering more money than the asking price.

They might not be really paying for the vehicle and just stealing it. It is suspicious when someone is offering more than the value or the asking price of the vehicle.

Trying to get you to purchase the vehicle immediately

You are going to look at a vehicle that you want to buy. But, the seller is insisting that you should purchase the vehicle in the next hour or it will be sold to someone else. Never let anyone pressure you in purchase something. Especially if this something as expensive as a vehicle.

Purchasing a vehicle can be exciting. However, it can also be stressful, in worrying about getting yourself into a scam. By knowing the common vehicle selling scams, you will know for sure that the purchase is legit and that you can find the car of your dreams.