What Auto Body Repair Shops don’t want you to know.

You ever notice how often an auto body repair shop can change names. It seems like every few years a shop gets bought out by some new company from out of town or even out of state. There is a reason why so many shops change names so often and why auto collision shops like Miracle Body and Paint who stay in business for over 25 years are so rare.

The main reason is insurance carriers. If you have read our blog before you know that most insurance carriers have what they refer to as preferred collision repair centers. These “pre-approved” shops contract with the insurance company to estimate and repair as many cars and trucks that insurance carrier can send them. In exchange they save the insurance company money by providing the estimates and providing discounted rates to the insurance provider. This is usually a great deal for the insurance provider but not so much for you the consumer.

The major problem with this system is it creates a situation where the auto body repair shop views the insurance carrier as the client. You as the owner of the vehicle are not the person they have to keep happy. Because Miracle Body & Paint is an independent shop, we don’t have to keep the insurance company happy as much as we have to keep you happy. We don’t depend on insurance companies to send us business; we depend on your satisfaction and your referrals. This also allows us to provide fair accurate estimates that make sure every part of your car damaged in a collision is repaired. Once we complete your repairs we are also able to provide a discount on your deductable that other shops would normally give to the insurance provider.

So why do so many shops change names? Because they lose contracts. Once a collision repair center gets overwhelmed with work they either get too slow to keep up with the work, start cutting corners and do bad work, or they get undercut by another shop willing to give an even steeper discount to the insurance provider. In any case, the new auto collision repair shop with the contracts finds itself overwhelmed and needing to expand, they buy the old preferred collision repair shop that used to have the contract, and the cycle repeats itself. In the end your best bet would have been to choose Miracle Body & Paint to begin with.  If you are ever involved in an accident in the San Antonio Texas area please stop by our auto collision repair shop and let us give you your quick and free estimate. You may save more than you expect on your deductable.