In Case of Accident
INITIAL STEPS:
- Make sure everyone is okay!
- Use your phone to take photos of the accident before anything is moved.
- Get names and phone numbers of the parties involved.
- Call the police if needed.
- Call your insurance company to report it even if it is the other person's fault. You only need one estimate amount. YOU choose who you feel you can trust to do the repairs.
- Write down how the accident happened and sign and date it. This way you have your notes when the insurance company calls about the accident.
- Call the other Insurance Company if they are at fault. Remember, it's your car and you choose where it gets fixed. The Insurance Company looks out for the Insurance Company, NOT YOU!
FOR THE BODY SHOP:
- Call you Body Shop. They need to know who's at fault, who the insurance company is, if you've talked to the insurance company and if the insurance company has looked at your vehicle.
- Get the estimate and make sure the body shop explains everything! They should answer all of the questions you have. If something doesn't seem right, ask more questions. Always listen to your gut. Most of the time you are right!
- If the vehicle isn't drivable, Toys Done Right has loaners at no charge, but you must have insurance and a license to use them, just like if you were renting a vehicle. The loaner is on your insurance if something happens, not Toys Done Right!
- WAIT! This is the hardest part. You need insurance approval before starting on the repairs.
- You need an approval! Whether it's their insurance company or yours, make sure they have agreed to the repairs.
- Call the Body Shop and book the repairs. If the vehicle is at the body shop already, call and make sure they have also gotten an approval from the insurance company for the repairs. They can't start until you give them approval to start. The insurance company can't give the approval to start repairs. It's your vehicle, so you must give the approval.
- Make sure you're not getting billed for anything that isn't accident related. However, now is the time to fix anything else since your vehicle is already in the shop.
- GIVE APPROVAL!
- Find out how long the Repair will take.
- Don't pre-pay for anything! Reputable Shops will wait for your car to be done before getting paid.
- Call every couple of days to check on the vehicle's status. A reputable shop will try to keep you informed.
AFTER REPAIR APPROVAL:
- The Body Shop will order and get the parts in. The vehicle and the type of parts the vehicle needs will determine on how long it will take to get the parts in. Normally this takes between 1 and 7 days.
- How busy the shop is will determine when the repairs to your vehicle begin.
- Double the number of hours on an estimate to know how long the repairs will take because of product dry time. In addition, if the repair needs a supplement from the insurance company due to additional damage found that wasn't part of the original estimate, we will need to wait for the insurance to approve the added repair(s).
WHAT TO EXPECT WHEN YOU GET YOUR VEHICLE BACK:
- The car should be clean inside and out! Don't expect them to clean it perfectly if it was overly dirty to begin with. Toys Done Right will make sure your vehicle is cleaner that it was when it came in.
- There should not be any rubbing compound where the work was done.
- There should not be any swirl marks on the paint job that was done.
- The body should look like it was never damaged to begin with. If it is not in this condition, don't accept the repair! The repair shop is paid to fix the vehicle back to pre-accident condition.
- When you drive it, it should drive the same or better than before the accident. There should not be any extra noises and the head lights should be adjusted if they were worked on. However, if you had problems before the accident, do not expect them to be fixed for free!
WHAT TO DO AFTER YOU GET YOUR VEHICLE BACK:
- You may need to stop back to re-tighten the vehicle's wheels after 100 miles. This is done as a safety precaution.
- If your vehicle was painted, do NOT wax for 6 weeks. If you wax your vehicle, it seals the paint without allowing the solvents to breathe. No waxing means the solvents will cure sooner.
BOTTOM LINE, IF YOU HAVE ANY PROBLEMS, CALL THE BODY SHOP! It it's an accident-related problem, the insurance company should pay for it!