Is it better to bring your car to auto body shop or get mobile collision repair?

I’m not saying that all people that offer mobile collision repair service in Columbia md are bad. I just want you to be cautious, because any time people are in a recession or the economy is going through tough times, you’ll find people preying upon those consumers looking to save a buck.

I can’t count the number of times I’ve had customers come into my Auto body & collision repair Shop  and tell me they only need a quote to get the bodywork on their vehicle Redone. When I walked out to the vehicle with the the customer so that they can point out which panel they’re looking to have repair performed, I looked at repairs that was done  and realize that the Auto Body Tech who worked on this panel most not be qualify to be called “Technician” and should not be working as such. When i ask my customer who performed this work on their vehicle? They reply with “I had a man approach me in the Walmart parking lot and told me he could save me money by him doing the auto body repair work and leaving it ready for paint”.

After  I took a few moments to gather my thoughts and told this poor customer on how poor the quality of work this certain individual has performed and they were better off not even having the work done at all. The response was the same “he told me that I was going to save a bunch of money in collision and dent repair work”.  Unfortunately, nothing could be further from the truth, I then show the customer that all that person did was pound out the metal and glob on a bunch of bondo filler and sand it down somewhat and spray a little bit of spray can primer.  The damage this individual did to the customer’s vehicle will actually cost more than the original damage. Instead of keeping the repair area small they consumed the entire panel obligating me to have to blend in the adjacent panels.

As oppose if they just kept the repair area small, it we could have kept the paint work small with in that same panel and avoid having to blend into the adjacent panels. These are just some of the examples that have occurred. My customer tried to get back the money that this con artist charged him and he replied “sorry no warranty available”. There’s a saying that’s very common “you pay for what you get” sometimes cheaper is not better so buyer’s beware.

Also buyer beware because once you’ve had your vehicle worked on and your not satisfied with the quality of repair that the mobile person has performed. Your insurance will not allow you to file a claim and fix it.  Your insurance will deny the claim and state that you voluntarily chose on your own to have the vehicle fixed.

Makes sure the individual you’re dealing with has a business license and is registered with the B.A.R (Bureau of automotive repair) and has some sort of insurance in the event that they damage your car or don’t repair you vehicle to your satisfaction; you have some sort of legal recourse to go after. When your  dealing with a business that is registered with the B.A.R you have the protection knowing that if that shop or business performs a poor quality repair or fraudulent repair you as a consumer can report them to the B.A.R and have them investigated. If the agent from the B.A.R finds that you have a valid claim they can require the shop or mobile repair to pay you back for your improper repair or even even fine the shop or business. Use your common sense when you deal with individual your who may look or acts suspicious your gut feeling is probably right and decline to have your repairs done.