29 November 2017
 Categories: , Blog

It's an unfortunate fact of life that accidents happen and there are thousands of automobile crashes on any given day across Australia. You may be one of their number if you've been unfortunate to damage your car recently and may be wondering what lies ahead as you make the vehicle "road-ready" again by getting smash repairs. Where do you start?

Initial Inspections

Firstly, the vehicle will need to be inspected by fully qualified engineers before the insurance company will give the go-ahead to release the cash necessary to fix everything. They will use sophisticated technology and computerised programs to come up with the end result and utilise their extensive experience in order to make a decision. Once they know what parts need to be fixed or replaced, software will help them estimate how much labour will be involved, which is often the largest cost.

Getting Ready for Work

Assuming that the insurance company has given the go-ahead, the repair shop will first need to confirm that they have the parts in stock or order them if necessary. Once they know when these parts will be available, the vehicle will be booked into the schedule and repairs can be initiated.

Making Sure

Another checkpoint may be inserted by the insurance company once the engineers begin the process of dismantling the vehicle. Sometimes, some elements of damage may be difficult to determine without disassembly and the insurers will write a contingency into their agreement to cover this type of situation. In the worst case, they'll have to issue a separate assessment to cover the latest details.

Shaping and Adjusting

If your car has been badly damaged, it will need to be placed onto a special alignment tool called a "jig." This machine will line everything up in accordance with manufacturer specifications, so that the detailed work can follow. A variety of different panels may need to be fitted and adjusted next, while others may need to be bent back into shape instead.

Time for Paint

Once all of the mechanical components are repaired and the bodywork is in good shape, the vehicle can be transferred down the line into the paint shop. Today, special equipment is in service to make sure that the new paint exactly matches the undamaged parts of the vehicle, to help skilled technicians complete the job perfectly.

Handing It over

All that remains is for the vehicle to be thoroughly inspected one last time, to make sure that everything works and is in proper alignment. Soon, you'll be able to get behind the wheel again and enjoy your trusty ride.