What To Do After Your Car Is Involved In An Accident Or Collision
Every day there are collisions on the road between vehicles that cause damage to the car or truck and require some form of repair. The severity of the damage and where it is on the vehicle can often dictate the kind of auto collision repair work your vehicle needs and where you need to take it for that service.
Auto Body Repair
When your car is in an accident, the most visible damage is often to the car's body panels and sheet metal. Dents in the body or panels that are destroyed by the impact can easily be fixed by an auto collision repair shop in most situations, but there are times when the damage is more than skin deep.
If the collision happens at low speed, it will likely cause only minor damage to the vehicle. Still, modern cars are designed to collapse and crumple in specific spots during a collision to protect the occupants inside. The result can be more damage to the car's structure than you can see on the outside of the vehicle.
In cases where the damage is extremely bad, the vehicle may need more work than you expect, but an auto collision repair shop has the tools and equipment to make the repairs you need and can often go so far as to straighten the frame and structure of the vehicle to restore it to safe and drivable condition.
Mechanical Damage
There are times when an accident with your vehicle damages more than the body, and you may need to have some mechanical repair done to the vehicle. A front-end collision can damage the radiator and cooling system, the engine and components in the front of the car, and the front suspension components, causing the vehicle to handle poorly and potentially be unsafe to drive.
A rear collision can also cause mechanical damage to the drive train, the rear suspension, and potentially the fuel tank and other systems tucked in the rear of the vehicle. Most auto collision repair centers can make repairs to the mechanical systems on the car as well as the body repairs, but there are some cases when another repair shop needs to be involved, and the body shop will often take care of that for you.
If the vehicle needs to go to another shop for some specific work, the auto body shop will arrange to move the vehicle, have the work done, and bring it back for the rest of the collision repair. In many cases, this will all happen without you having to deal with any of it, and once complete, the car will be delivered to you at the body shop where you dropped it off.
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