If you live in Burlington, Hamilton, Watertown, or Flamborough and have been in a car accident or are facing issues with your vehicle, you’ve come to the right place.

We at Waterdown Collision understand the importance of knowing that the car repair shop you’ve selected has your best interests in mind. Unfortunately, not all auto body shops are customer oriented and put their customers’ needs first. Many tend to favour insurance companies by downplaying claims, using cheap parts, or even purposely neglecting to give your car the full treatment it deserves.  We’ve written this blog post in order to offer you tips on how to properly select the best auto repair shop.

• Don’t be swayed by insurance company recommendations`

The insurance will make recommendation as to where you can go to repair your vehicle. You are within your right to reject them and to take your service to a mechanic of your  choice. Your claims representatives will try to tell you that they won’t be able to handle your claim as efficiently. They may also explain that it will take up to a week or longer before an adjuster will be available to write an estimate on the damage. Don’t be intimidated – ask around, take down multiple quotes, and ensure you make the most informed decision possible.

• Do Some Online Research

Google+ Reviews and Yelp.com are just two online review sites that customers use to evaluate the level of services they receive from businesses and contractors. You’ll want to pay attention to well-written, detailed reviews with concrete examples and included images. Disregard the vague one-liners, since even the best businesses can end up with a few unhappy customers as well as fake reviewers who purposely try to ruin a good business’ reputation. You can also start a discussion forum specific to your vehicle’s make and model where other forum members can recommend a local mechanic that they’ve dealt with in the past.

• Ask Around

If you don’t already have an existing relationship with a mechanic, ask your co-workers, friends and family members where they take their car for repair. You should at least know one or two people who are happy with their auto body shop and would recommend that you go to them. Going in with a referral will give you confidence that you will be treated well and that the work will be of quality that you come to expect in a service.

• Experience

This may seem obvious, but just because a business has been operating for 30+ years doesn’t mean the same mechanic has been working there for that long. Check out local websites, and don’t be afraid to ask how long the head mechanics have been servicing vehicles and what certifications he/she has. The more experienced the mechanic, the more likely they’ve dealt with the exact same issue in the past.

• Find the Middle Ground

We’ve mentioned that you should be getting quotes from multiple auto body shops. Once you receive 3-4 quotes, try to find the middle ground. What we mean by that is don’t go for the most expensive quote and don’t go for the cheapest. Go for the middleman. In order to do that, you may want to speak with them for a couple of minutes in person to get a feel for what they do and how they operate.

Waterdown Collision is located in Watertown, ON and serves residents in the Hamilton, Burlington, and Flamborough areas. Since first opening our doors in 1974, we’ve been committed to delivering outstanding customer satisfaction. That commitment is evident in our quality of auto body repair, our lifetime guarantee, and our added value service items including our customer shuttle and rental cars on site.