Even though you baby your sports car and take great pains to care for it perfectly, accidents do occasionally happen. When they do, the sports car owner must decide where to take their vehicle for body repair.
Choosing a body shop is an important process. You want to make sure your sports car is restored to pre-accident condition and, of course, you don't want to overpay for the necessary repairs.
As with any service, there are both great providers and horrible providers. Most probably fall between the two extremes. Considering, however, the importance of a sports car to a motor enthusiast, it seems reasonable to take special care to try to find the best possible service.
There are at least three factors one should evaluate when choosing a body shop for their sports car. Although these guidelines are certainly not meant to be comprehensive, they do provide a great starting point for any sports car owner in need of bodywork.
The first factor is the reputation of the body shop. Check with other sports car owners, your regular mechanic and others to find a body shop known for its quality workmanship and fair pricing. A good shop will have a good reputation. Similarly, one is best to steer clear of outfits that are not so highly regarded. Don't be seduced by one shop's advertising claims or overlook another shop that doesn't advertise at all. Instead, seek out the opinions of experts and those with direct experience with area body shops when choosing your repair site.
The second factor is your opinion of their actual work. Any body shop should be more than happy to show you some of the work they have recently completed or currently have in progress. By evaluating their actual work product, you can often decide if you believe they can handle your specific sports car body issue. If you feel their efforts look less than perfect or seem somehow "off," you can anticipate having similar feelings about the work they would do on your sports car.
The third factor is how solidly a shop will stand behind its work. Bodywork can usually be done in a way that can last almost indefinitely, and a good shop should be willing to stand solidly behind its repair work. Ask the body shop about any guarantee they are willing to issue or what their specific policies are if the work performed fails to meet your exact specifications. A body shop manager who acts offended or is reluctant to stand behind their work without hesitation is probably a poor choice for a discriminating sports car owner.
Bodywork can be expensive and time-consuming. Poorly performed bodywork can be a drag on sports car performance and can result in multiple expenditures to have the very same problem corrected. It pays to make sure the work is completed correctly the first time.
A sports car is always an investment, and is often a passion. It only makes sense to be sure talented professionals will be handling your sports car in the unfortunate event of an accident. A sports car owner should not rely purely on instinct of a prominent yellow page advertisement when choosing a body shop. A smart sports car owner who looks carefully for a great body shop is likely doing himself or herself a great favor.
Accidents happen, but there is no reason to compound the annoyance associated with them by choosing a second-rate body shop. Choose wisely, and the memory of that unfortunate accident can be nearly erased.
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