A car accident can be one of the scariest things that happen to you. One of the first thoughts that go through someone’s mind after getting into an accident is “How am I going to pay for this?”
Getting an auto repair quote doesn’t have to be difficult or stressful, were her to give you some advice to make this process a little easier for you.
1. You Pick Whos Insurance to go Through
Most people don’t know that if you aren’t at fault, you can choose whether to go through your insurance of the other driver’s. Unless you only have liability insurance, then you have to use the other driver’s insurance.
You can choose to pay your deductible and use your own. This might be the fastest way but most deductibles are around $500. If you don’t have the money, you can choose to use the other driver’s insurance and it won’t cost you anything.
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If you choose to go with the other driver’s insurance, they will need to admit fault, or you’ll have to wait for the police to determine who is at fault. This can take a few weeks. The nice part about this is once the liability is determined to be on the other driver you won’t have to pay your deductible.
On the other hand, if you pay your deductible then it’s determined that you weren’t at fault, you can be reimbursed the money you paid.
2. Get a Quality Auto Repair Quote
The key here is to only get quotes from somewhere you would actually like to get the work done at. You want to make sure that the quote is thorough, all of the damage due to the accident should be taken into account.
Don’t go to the place that might be the easiest for you to get to. For example, the neighborhood shop or a shop connected to the gas station. While these places might be good for small repairs and regular maintenance, they are probably not the right place for major work.
After an accident, you should get a quote that will repair the damage using the highest quality parts.
3. Don’t Let the Insurance Company Hold You Up
You should never let the insurance company delay your inspection or repairs. You do need to give them a reasonable amount of time to get to you, but if it’s taking too long you can take matters into your own hands.
First get two different auto repair quotes, if they are similar – go ahead and get the repairs done. Contact your insurance company and tell them, and ask for reimbursement for the repairs.
The only problems with this are you will have to pay for the repairs upfront and since your car is now in working order there is no rush for the insurance company to settle.
4. Goto a Quality Shop
When picking a place to get work done at almost everyone is afraid of getting ripped off. But the longer you put off getting the work done, the more expensive the damage will be to fix.
You can always start by asking family and friends for recommendations, but be sure to check online reviews. Keep in mind that the reviews can be a bit skewed, but it should give you an idea if people are generally happy with the services or not.
Keep in mind that the cheapest price is not always the best.
5. Don’t Get Low Balled
Sometimes the insurance companies will have deals with repair shops. The shops fix your car for cheap in order to get more business from the insurance companies. With 4,548,000 car crashes a year that require damage to be fixed, there’s plenty of work to go around.
This doesn’t always mean that the best work is being done. If there is a huge price difference between what a shop you chose told you and the price the shop insurance company send you to, be cautious.
A little bit of a difference could be because of the deal but too big of a gap could mean that the work is sub-par.
6. You Can Choose Not to Fix Your Car
Most people don’t know that they can choose to simply not get the car fixed. If you would rather have the money that the repairs would cost, that is an option for you.
You’re owed the money for the damages whether you get the repairs done or not. Let’s say there’s $1,500 worth of damage but you can still drive it, then that money is yours regardless of what you do with it.
However, if you don’t get the repair done, the insurance company can exclude that part of your car. If you get in another accident and that same spot is damaged, then they might not give you the money to fix it again.
If you received a loan to buy the car and are still making payments, your lender may require you to make the repairs since the damage brings down the value of the car.
7. You Can Choose Not to Total the Car
If the car damage estimate is more than the insurance company determines that the car is worth it’s considered totaled. The insurance company will give you the Kelly Blue Book value of the car and the company will scrap your car. In 2006 the auto loss ratio was around 69 percent.
If for some reason you would like to keep your car, you can do that. The insurance company will give you the money, minus what they would have made scrapping the car. That way, you have the money to get some of the repairs done.
If you plan on driving your car you need to make sure that it will pass a safety inspection and be insurable.
8. Know When to Get Help
One of the more important pieces of advice is, know when to contact a lawyer. If someone gets injured you shouldn’t hesitate in contacting someone.
A lawyer can help you with any claims to medical compensation. this is even more important if someone receives a life-altering injury. According to US Attorneys, if a commercial truck is involved 77 percent of those people who are injured are those who are driving the smaller car.
Stress-Free Auto Repair Quotes
When you follow the advice we’ve outlined you should be able to get a stress-free auto repair quote. If you have any questions or comments contact us, we would be happy to help.
