Auto Body Repair Basics For Your Next Collision

Automobile accidents are a regrettable fact of life for lots of people in St. Peters, St. Charles, O'Fallon, and Lake St. Louis, Missouri. With scores of drivers on the road each day, a lot of them distracted by telephone calls, messy burritos, bad weather, or lack of sleep, accidents are inevitable. Thankfully, most of these accidents are relatively minor and no one gets hurt.

But a small accident can seriously damage the outside of your car. Areas such as the fenders and doors are especially prone to damage.

While it's generally the insurance company's job to get the car patched up and back on the road when this happens, there are a few things you should know to ensure that your vehicle is properly fixed. Here’s some of the top auto body repair tips from the collision professionals, Jungerman CARSTAR in St. Peters, MO.

1. You can pick the auto body shop

It is true that your insurance provider could refer you to an auto body shop that they like. However, do not forget that you have the right to ultimately decide on where your vehicle is taken for its repair. You can’t really demonize auto body shops that the insurance provider recommends because most are really fine shops. There are a couple of bad ones out there that might do shoddy work. Those kinds of shops will reach out to the insurance people by promising to cut costs, but unfortunately they cut corners as well when it comes to the repair. Do not simply trust an auto body shop because it is the one that the insurance company told you to go to.

2. Avoid aftermarket parts

Whenever you take your car in for auto body repair following a collision, you should inquire about the replacement parts which are utilized by the auto body shop. Auto body shops might use new original parts, used parts, or aftermarket parts. While used parts were made by your vehicle manufacturer and work as well as new original parts, aftermarket parts are often cheap imitations with inferior quality. These parts can rust, rattle, and ultimately diminish your automobile's value.

3. Carefully examine paint match

More often than not, you see vehicles on the road with body panels that do not match in color. Matching a newly painted body panel to the rest of your car is a difficult challenge, and sometimes there can be a large, obvious difference in shade. When you pick up your automobile from the auto body shop, ask which panels are original and which ones were painted. Step back ten feet from the car and see if there is a difference in color. If there is, there may be additional paint work necessary to get a better match.

4. Check warning lights

After an accident, there are some warning lights which could turn on in your dashboard. These can include the airbag light, the low coolant light, the check engine light, and others. When you pick up your finished car, make sure all of the issues have been corrected and none of the lights are lightened. Illuminated lights can indicate that your car's on-board computer might need to be reprogrammed, or that specific electrical components need replacement.

Auto body repair is something that everybody in a collision should know about. If you want to find out more about this worthwhile subject, or if you need auto body repair in St. Peters, Missouri, visit Jungerman CARSTAR.