If your collision repair bill grew after you dropped the car off, you ran into a supplement, and it is usually a good sign, not a scam. A supplement is an addition to the original estimate for damage or operations that could not be seen until the car was taken apart....
If your car is in the shop after a collision, whether you get a rental, and who pays for it, depends on your coverage and who was at fault. In California, a rental during repairs comes from either your own rental reimbursement coverage or the at-fault driver’s...
Whether a collision repair shows up on CARFAX depends on whether the accident or repair was reported to a source CARFAX collects from, not on the repair itself. Many repairs do appear; some never do. If you are worried about your car’s history report after a...
A collision repair estimate can look like a wall of codes and abbreviations, but once you know the parts, it tells a clear story about what will be done to your car and who pays for what. Learning to read a collision repair estimate helps you spot missing operations,...
Your car is a total loss in California when the cost to repair it, plus its salvage value, meets or exceeds its actual cash value (ACV) just before the crash. Unlike some states that use a flat percentage, California uses this “total loss formula,” so...
No. In California you are never required to use your insurance company’s preferred body shop. State law lets you choose any licensed collision repair facility you trust, and your insurer must process the claim either way. Below is exactly what the law says, why...
