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auto body prep-work to do yourself

When you take your car in for auto body work, the mechanic will have a lot of work to do. Each minute that the mechanic spends prepping your car to make the repairs is money that you will owe when the repairs are finished. So, is there anything that you can do to make the mechanic's job a little easier and lower the cost of the repairs for you? This blog is all about preparing vehicles for auto body repairs. Here, you will learn what prep-work you can do at home so that the repairs are completed more quickly and the cost is less.

auto body prep-work to do yourself

3 Ways To Afford Auto Body Repairs After A Minor Accident

by Jeremy Hudson

Have you recently been in a minor automobile accident? Do you need to get repairs done but you're not sure whether or not you can afford to do so? Getting into an accident, even when nobody gets hurt, can be a drain on anyone's wallet. If you've never had to deal with an accident like this before, you may be wondering how you'll ever manage to afford to get your vehicle back to its previous condition. Fortunately, there are a few things you can do that can make the entire process easier, both on yourself and on your wallet. Some of these things include:

Contact insurance company: Your first step after any accident should always be to contact your insurance company. Although you might think that your insurance policy doesn't cover this type of auto body repair, you may actually be mistaken in this regard. Depending on the policy you have, you may still have a deductible of a few hundred dollars but this may still be the most affordable option that's available to you. Even if the repair isn't fully covered, the insurance company may still cover part of the damage so it's definitely worth looking into what your insurance company will pay for.

Ask for payments: When you go into a shop for auto body repair, many repair places will allow you to make payment arrangements. This is not something that they advertise outright because they would prefer to get all the money at once, but it still may be possible depending on the shop. In order to have the best chances of getting a payment plan set up, you should always ask nicely and not demand that the shop takes payments. If you can't get a payment plan at one shop, you can always go elsewhere to find one that will.

Repairs in stages: Although it may cost you slightly more in the long run, another way that you may be able to afford the cost of an auto body repair is to have the repairs done in stages. Instead of having the shop do everything at once, you can ask them to just do the minimum required to get you back on the road again. In a few weeks or months, when you have more money, you can return to the shop to have them either complete the job or to perform more repairs. By doing it this way, you may be able to set up your own "payment plan" even if you can't find a repair shop that takes payments.

Contact a company, like Westside Fender/Body & Refinishing, for more help.

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