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1. Prepare Estimates
Our
Estimator will inspect your vehicle and begin to
document the damage caused by the collision in the form of an estimate.
In some
case you may already have a preliminary estimate of this damage
prepared by
your insurance company. In any event, this step must be accomplished
prior to
beginning the repair process.
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2. Owner signs
repair authorization
Before
any work can begin, you must first sign a repair
authorization allowing us to repair your vehicle. At this time it is
not
unusual for our Estimator to request another signature in advance to
cover any
additional charges that may be found once the repair is underway.
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3. Insurance approval
The
insurance company that is involved must also approve the
repair estimate before we can begin work.
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4. Parts ordered
electronically
Upon
receiving approvals from you and the insurance company,
we will begin the process of locating and ordering the parts necessary
to
repair your vehicle.
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5. Parts received
Once
all the parts are received and accounted for, we can
schedule your vehicle repair.
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6. Completion date
given
At
this time we will provide you with an Estimated
Completion Date. It is important to understand that certain types of
damage
become apparent only after your vehicle has been disassembled.
Therefore, your
vehicle’s completion date may need to be revised.
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7. Vehicle scheduled
for repairs
We
can now contact you to schedule a convenient time for
your vehicle to be repaired. In some cases your vehicle may already be
at our Repair
Center,
in which case it will be available for immediate repair.
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8. Vehicle
disassembled and re-inspected
As
your vehicle’s outer panels are removed and the physical
structure of the vehicle is revealed, often additional or “hidden
damage” is
discovered. This additional damage is difficult to diagnose at the time
of the
original estimate as it cannot be seen or predicted until we perform
this
thorough inspection. Please note that any additional damage may alter
your
vehicle’s completion date.
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9. Supplement damage
report written if necessary
This
report is written to cover any additional or “hidden”
damage that may be discovered once your vehicle’s outer panels are
removed and
the physical structure is revealed. This is referred to as Supplement
Damage in
insurance terms.
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10. Supplement
approved
The
insurance company must authorize this additional damage
before we can continue the repair.
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11. Additional Parts
ordered
Should
we find additional damage, we will need to repeat
steps 2, 3, and 4. For this reason, our Estimator may have asked you to
sign an
authorization document in advance to cover these additional repairs.
Please
note that this additional damage may alter your vehicle’s completion
date.
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12. Customer updated
With
your permission we will contact you and update you on
the progress of your vehicle’s repair at this point. Should anything
have
affected the completion date we originally gave you, we will let you
know now
and tell you why.
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13. Vehicle set on
unibody equipment (if
needed)
Your
vehicle was manufactured in compliance with tight
structural standards. Exact location and fit of integral parts are
critical to
the operations and appearance of you vehicle. In this process we
measure you
vehicle against published factory specifications and return your
vehicle to
within the manufacturer’s prescribed tolerances to ensure proper
operation,
location and fit of body of structural parts.
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14. Structural and
body repairs
Our
Repair Technicians will now undertake structural and
body repairs.
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15. New panels
installed and checked for proper fit
All
collision related repairs require some degree of
cosmetic repair and often require replacement of factory panels. We
will check
for proper fit here and ensure your vehicle’s parts look, fit, and
align the
way they should.
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16. Corrosion
protection reapplied to repaired areas
Most
of today’s vehicles incorporate some form of corrosion
protection applied by the original manufacturer. We will reapply this
protection
to ensure that your vehicle conforms to the original manufacturer’s
standards.
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17. All metal work
done and initial tests done
It
is at this point in the repair work that we begin to
check systems for proper functioning and perform quality control
systems for
the repair work. An example of a systems check would be the resetting
of your
safety systems involving your passive restraint or air bag system.
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18. Customer updated
Once
again with your permission we will be contacting you to
update you on the progress of your vehicle’s repair. Should anything
have
affected the completion date we originally gave you, we will let you
know now
and tell you why.
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19. Vehicle prepped,
primed, and blocked
Our
technicians will begin the refinish process by applying
a primer. Surface filler is sprayed on to ensure a quality, uniform,
and smooth
surface. Block sanding is the method of further preparing the surface
of your
vehicle for paint.
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20. Vehicle is masked, taped, and placed in paint booth
To
ensure that the highest quality standards are met, we
carefully mask your vehicle to protect it from overspray during the
refinish
process. Only the area that needs to be refinished is left uncovered.
We then
place your vehicle in a controlled atmosphere called a paint booth,
where paint
material is applied.
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21. Vehicle is chemically cleaned and tacked
This
process removes all outside contaminates that may have
been deposited on your vehicle during the repair process. Tacking the
vehicle
then removes any dust particles that may remain.
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22. Vehicle undergoes multistep refurbishing process
Most
of today’s vehicles are coated with what is known as a
basecoat/clearcoat
refinish system. Sometimes a single-stage system is used. In any event,
all
systems involve several application steps to ensure a quality finish.
We will
only use refinish products that meet or exceed the original
manufacturer’s
specifications and are backed by a lifetime paint performance guarantee.
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23. Reassembly,
final inspection, and test drive
Once
your vehicle has gone through the refinish process we
then reattach the other parts such as mirrors, molding, and other
hardware. Should
your repair require a wheel alignment or services such as air
conditioning
repair, we will perform them at this time. Your car will undergo a
thorough
cleaning, test drive, and quality inspection before being returned to
you.
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24. Confirmed delivery date given
We
will contact you and make arrangements to get you back in
your vehicle at your earliest and most convenient time.
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25. You’re driving off in your fit and finished vehicle
Take
comfort in the fact that our work is guaranteed as long
as you own the vehicle.
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