My car was hit recently while parked in a parking garage. It was totally the other person's fault and his insurance will pay for the repairs. Apparently I have a choice of either using one of the "approved" body shops that the insurance company recommends...or getting a check from the insurance company and taking my car in to a body shop of my choice. I don't have any experience with these situations, so my question is: which option should I take? I've always worked off of the assumption that insurance companies will do everything they can to avoid paying and, in the cases when they must pay, they pay as little as possible. Which option will give me the best repairs? Thanks for any advice.
I would get a list of the approved body shops and then stop by them and check them out. Ask them to see some of the work they've done. You should be able to figure out if they run a clean ship or not. Some body shops can be pretty shady and do halfass work. You'll just have to use your best judgement.
Also, check with the Better Business Bureau of Central Texas. A business doesn't have to be a member to have a negative rating or even reports of customer complaints (both satisfied / negotiated settlements or not). The only calls I've ever received from them is a request for membership, however I do know of a few roofing co's who have bad ratings through them & also have a hard time hring crews due to pay issues. Unfortunately, their website is sorta clunky because it doesn't have an easily found way to find information on a co. with complaints (satisfied or not) if that co. isn't a MEMBER of the BBB. You can also find this info in the handbook they publish. The link for checking ANY co. is here: The Link
i guess what i'm trying to gauge is whether it's better to take it in to an insurance "preferred" body shop...OR have them cut me a check and i pick my own. does anyone have opinions on this issue?
the preferred shops are shops that insurance companies have reviewed and they meet their standards of repair and customer service handling. It means that the shop can write the estimate and the ins. co. will trust them that the estimate and repairs will be done correctly and without padding of the bill. If you are going to do it on your own it is a different set of circumstances. You can choose the parts you want to use, so instead of an OEM part, you can save dough by asking the shop to use recycled parts. You can cut corners when you are working with the shop directly. If you go through insurance and use an approved shop, the entire bill will be covered as the ins co will pay the shop directly. Yes, you can ask for a list of shops and check them out before you decide which one to use. The non approved shops may charges higher rates than the prevailing competetive price and that difference is NOT covered by the insurance.
are you being paranoid... I wouldn't say that. It is insurance, everyone is skeptical about it. If you have questions about recycled parts look here. link see #27 In essence, the approved shops give the larger insurance companies a volume discount.
