How To Choose An Auto Collision or Dent Repair Shop Near You
The 7 Signs Of A Great Chicago Land Auto Body Shop… And How You Can Know Which Shops Will Deliver Superior Collision Repair
Let’s face it: every wreck is a heartbreak. We all love our cars. Whether your ride is shiny and new, or an older model with a few miles on it, a wreck is never anticipated, and is always a shock. From the very first door ding to devastating collisions, the aftermath can be emotionally and financially draining.
Finding the right collision repair shop near you, local is the first step to a happy ending. But all Plainfield Auto Repair shops are NOT the same. Here’s a handy guide to help you discover which shops are excellent, and which are not.
#1.) A great repair shop will explain the estimate in detail. Fully explaining every step of the repair process upfront before they do it. Without being asked.
At A&G PDR, our customers often tell us about their bad experiences with other shops that merely want to give them an estimate without explaining the work or just treating them as if they are just a number.
Having a number thrown at you, without understanding where it comes from or what the end result will be, is disconcerting, stressful, and confusing. Not to mention, it leaves you with the vague feeling “are we really getting the best quality?”
Great Chicago Land Auto Body Shops make it their standard practice to fully explain every step of the repair process upfront, so you know exactly what will be required to get your vehicle looking and feeling its very best. Without you asking them!
At A&G PDR, we design a “roadmap back to perfection” for every car – a step-by-step process to get your car back to “like-new” condition – and we explain it all to you so you know exactly what you’re paying for, and why.
#2.) A great shop will treat your car like it’s their own.
When you leave your car for collision repair, it can be like having a child at the hospital for surgery but you can’t stay in the room. One of your most valuable and hard-earned investments. You absolutely need to know the level of care and attention so you can sleep at night.
That’s also why…
#3.) The best auto body repair shop isn’t always the biggest.
Sometimes a small, family-run shop will treat your car with more care than a big brand. Here are a few caveats: look for an established shop, preferably one that has been in the business for close to 20 years.
Training is also important. Every worker needs to be a highly trained and experienced specialist with knowledge of the best techniques and tools to get the job done to your satisfaction. At A&G PDR, our workers are highly trained and skilled to take care of your car with the smallest attention to detail and the time to devote to your car.
A&G PDR has been serving the Chicago Land area community for over 20 years. We go above and beyond to treat every car like it belongs to a family member – or even better, ourselves! What we might lack in sprawling facilities, we make up for in attention to detail, cleanliness, and quality workmanship.
#4.) Top quality work for a competitive price.
Top shops are open about pricing and are more than happy to give you estimates for body work, painting, dent repair and or collision services. If you shop around, you’ll find our prices are more or less competitive with other shops in the area.
While you probably shouldn’t worry about pinching pennies if you want the best quality, your chosen shop also shouldn’t be vastly more expensive than everyone else, either. Usually a shop that charges twice or three times what other shops charge simply has high overhead, and or charging for costs that don’t directly relate to your repairs.
Your bill should go directly into getting a good repair with quality paint materials and parts.
#5.) All paints are NOT equal.
It’s widespread “insider” industry knowledge that many of the largest auto body and paint shops jack up their profit at your expense by using cheaper paints. You might even get a lower price, but your car will suffer from a lower quality paint job – in the form of an uneven finish, peeling, shrinking, cracking, or even a color mismatch.
If you care about your car, these “small” mistakes WILL drive you crazy forever. It’s simply not worth getting work done at one of these shops. Support local family owned businesses.
Top quality shops only use the very best automotive paints, and they never cut corners because quality is their signature. Word of mouth about our repairs is the best thing we have in this industry and we strive for 5 star quality on every vehicle.
At A&G PDR, we exclusively use paints made from PPG, specially formulated for auto body repair – the absolute BEST paints in the industry. This is simply the best way to ensure you’ll never see a “wavy,” uneven finish on cars pulling out of our shop!
#6.) A great shop is experienced in everything from micro dents to major collision work.
Top quality shops do it all: from hail damage repair to multi body panel reconstruction. An outstanding auto collision shop will make you feel confident: you can expect your repair to be invisible, the paint to match, and a smile to return to your face when you see the final product.
At A&G PDR, we can help you with everything from simple dent pulls to small collision repair. We’ll walk you through the process, step by step, ensuring the highest quality available at a price that’s more than fair – it’s downright thrifty!
#7.) The BEST shops sometimes have to fix repairs that other shops mess up.
Yes, this actually happens at A&G PDR. To be honest, we don’t like it very much because the heartbreak of an inferior auto body repair only doubles your pain.
That’s another reason why good shops are so extremely attentive upfront – at the start of the process.
At A&G PDR, we feel that by winning your confidence and delivering on our promises, the pain and frustration of your car accident can be kept to an absolute minimum. Unfortunately, not all shops feel the same way.
Hopefully, armed with this list of questions and signs of a good auto body shop, you’ll be able to avoid the pain of picking the wrong auto collision and dent repair shop near you… And find someone you can trust to do an A+ job every time (like A&G PDR!)
If you’re interested in hearing how we’d be able to fix your car and get a *very* competitive quote for your repair, please contact us right away through phone, email, or on our contact us page!
Although a car accident is never a good thing, hopefully we can help you make the best of this unfortunate situation!