Three costly mistakes you could be making!
A month or so ago, we sent you for a small excerpt from a consumer awareness guide we put together to ensure you’re choosing the right repairer for you and your repair needs – available to view by clicking here. It’s very comprehensive, but we know you can get busy and quickly, so we decided to share some of the 13 page guide with you in little bite sized morsels. Hopefully you’re avoiding these…
Not Seeking Positive Feedback
When we are involved in a collision, often the first person we call is a family member, close friend, or significant other. After we settle down a little and have had time to talk to our insurer and are thinking with a level head again we forget to consider the experiences of our friends and family members have had with repairers. It’s more than just the job they do to fix the damage on your car, it’s also the experience they had with the repairer as a business.
Any car repairer worth their salt should be able to provide glowing references from satisfied customers who’ve used their services. If this is lacking then alarm bells should start ringing. If they don’t have testimonials from satisfied customers it could mean several things:
1. They are just starting out in the business and don’t have any satisfied customers yet. Do you really want them learning the trade on YOUR time, money, and precious car? Or…
2. They are too lazy to have arranged some customer testimonials. If they cut corners here, what other corners will they cut when it comes to your car? Or…
3. They are actually not very good at their job and don’t have any satisfied customers who are willing to give a recommendation, because they weren’t satisfied. It goes without saying… steer clear.
A lot can be said by the reviews of people who have been in similar situations as yours. Be sure to check out a repairer’s webpage for testimonials. If they do a great job, and have excellent service they will want to brag about it on their webpage and even their Facebook page.
Choosing Someone With No Accreditation AKA “The Backyarder”
Most of us know someone who “fixes cars.” This is one of the biggest risks you can take with your car and even your safety. A car that is on the road having not been repaired properly is a hazard to the driver, their passengers and every other road user. Aside from that, having an unqualified amateur work on your car can mean having to take your car in to a qualified professional to fix not only the damage caused by whatever accident you were involved in, but also the damage done by the botch job costing you more money and more time.
Choosing a Repairer That Doesn’t Take Pride In Their Work
If you take pride in your car, and want it to look as good as it possibly can, so should whoever is responsible for repairing and restoring it to its best possible condition. If you see a repairer taking photos both before and after they have repaired your car (to ensure they are doing quality work, not necessarily for advertising), they are doing a wonderful job. A professional should take pride in the job they do for you and their other customers. If you search for a repairer on Facebook or online and their page is filled with pictures of the great restorations and repairs they have done you may be onto a winner.
Be sure to check out the work of your potential repairers if you don’t find any, beware. Your repairer should be as proud of your car as YOU are.