Taking your body-damaged car to a Santa Rosa CA auto repair shop could either be a walk in the park or a waking nightmare. A reliable auto repair shop can restore your vehicle to its former glory at reasonable rates; but you could also fall prey to fly-by-night shops which perform shoddy jobs at astronomical costs. Indeed, finding a good auto repair and service shop can be a lot more challenging than you might have imagined.
According to an article by Philip Reed, senior consumer advice editor at Edmunds.com, you’ll find at least three unethical auto body repair shops for every ten, no matter what state you live in. So what exactly makes a good auto body shop? Here are a few indicators:
Word of mouth
While companies spend millions of dollars on slick advertising campaigns; at the end of the day, the best kind of promotion is still by word of mouth. Check out what other consumers have to say about prospective Santa Rosa CA auto body shops by browsing through consumer review sites. You can also ask friends and colleagues for recommendations.
Try mom-and-pop shops.
The fact that some body shops have larger staffing, could just translate to a larger bill for you. Smaller businesses, on the other hand, generally limit their staffing to the most essential personnel. By keeping their human resource as small as possible, mom-and-pop business owners can save on overhead costs, and pass the savings on to their customers.
Excellent Training
The fact that a body shop is small doesn’t mean it can’t offer the same quality service as a large operation. Companies like Guanella Auto Body, for instance, hire technicians who have been certified in luxury auto collision repair. In any case, be sure to check out the technician’s training background so you’ll have more assurance about the staff’s capability to repair cars in both the mid-price and high-end spectrum.
Loaner cars
You don’t necessarily have to hitch a ride or rely on public transport while your car is being repaired. Some body shops conveniently offer loaner cars which you can get around in for the duration of the work being done on your own car. Good customer-oriented car body repair outfits don’t want you to be high and dry while they restore your ride to its optimum condition and appearance.