Nobody ever wants to be in a situation where they need to take their car to a body shop after a crash or a coming together. But for most car owners, this is an almost inevitable process and one that cannot be avoided. The reality is that it has nothing to do with how good you are as a driver – you could be the best driver in the world, it is one of the other guys on the road that is more than likely going to be the reason behind things going wrong. So, instead of hoping that you are never in a situation where you have to repair damage to your car, it is better to plan for the day that you need to effect repairs in the repair shop.
With this in mind, here are a few steps to help ensure that when that day comes that you are sorted and that you know what to do.
Ask around
There are a lot of people who purport to be able to fix cars. The panel-beating and repair industry attracts all sorts. And while there are plenty of excellent service providers out there, there are also many fly-by-nighters and sharks. So, do your research and find out what operators are in working in your area.
Ask for recommendations on via Facebook or search for something like ‘car repair Perth’ in Google to see what comes up. Look at the work these people have done and form opinions of your own. Ask friends who have had accidents – perhaps they can even facilitate an introduction for you when the time comes.
The fact of the matter is that when you actually need to get your car repaired it will be a frantic and stressful time. If you intend to call before the time you will find the whole process a lot easier.
Insurance
This is imperative. Most vehicle owners will have some sort of cover and there is a good reason for this. Remember that if you are responsible for an accident then it is up to you to foot the bill for all the parties involved. And this can be very expensive.
The big thing with insurance though is looking at the excess. The higher the excess the lower the premium, but you also need to do the sums. If your excess is too high, then you are going to end up unable to pay the costs.
So, you either need to look at some sort of gap cover, or you should look to take the monthly hit and pay a few dollars extra in order to see that excess amount brought south.
Think about the small stuff
Most standard insurance policies cover you for major accidents and repair work, and for things like third party, fire, and theft. What they don’t cover is are the incidental bumps and scrapes that are a fact of life for most car owners.
These are the niggly things that always seem too expensive to fix and which just stay around forever. Investigate getting cover for these types of repairs.
There are companies that offer policies to cover this sort of thing and it usually turns out that it is well worth it.
