There are many steps in the repair process to properly repair your vehicle as quickly as possible without sacrificing safety. This could your first time taking care of collision repairs or you may be curious what steps we take to repair your vehicle. Either way, we have summarized the steps below to act as a guide of what to expect during the repair process. If you still need an estimate, click below to start the process.

1. Drop Off/ Check In – Your vehicle is dropped off at our repair facility. We enter the information for your vehicle in our computer, create a folder for your repair, label your keys, and scan your vehicle for any diagnostic trouble codes. We also may take additional photos of your vehicle during this step and document any prior damage not related to the repairs.
2. Vehicle Disassembly – Your vehicle is pulled in to the shop and we disassemble and remove any parts in the area of repair. Removed parts are sorted between damaged and undamaged parts to make the estimate writing process easier.
3. Write Estimate or Supplement (Blueprinting) – Once the vehicle is disassembled so that all the damaged components can be located, an estimate or supplement is written for any damage found. An estimate is written if we do not have one on file prior to vehicle drop off. A supplement is written if we already have an estimate on file. A supplement means we are adding to our current estimate. Once the estimate is written, it is sent to the insurance company or the customer for approval.  Estimates requiring additional OEM research may take multiple days to complete.
4. Order Approved Parts – While we are waiting for approval for damages to be repaired, we will order any parts the insurance company approved prior to drop off, if any. The time to receive parts varies. Most parts are received within 2 business days after ordering, but some parts may take up to 2 weeks to receive or longer if they are on backorder.
5. Wait for Estimate/Supplement Approval – After sending in our estimate or supplement for approval, we must wait for approval before ordering any remaining parts or starting most repairs. Depending on the insurance company and how busy they are, each approval may take up to 2 weeks. The average approval takes 3-5 business days.
6. Review Insurance Approval – Once we receive an approval back from the insurance company, we will review the approval to ensure no items needed to complete repairs are missing. If missing items are found upon review, we will resubmit the estimate or supplement for approval in an attempt to get repairs fully covered before starting work on the vehicle. The time it takes for us to complete an estimate or supplement review will vary based on the number of approvals we currently have to review. Approvals are reviewed in the order they are received. 
7. Order Additional Approved Parts – After we receive approval from the insurance company, we will order any additional approved parts that were not previously approved. The time to receive parts varies. Most parts are received within 2 business days after ordering, but some parts may take up to 2 weeks to receive or longer if they are on backorder.
8. Begin Repairs – Once we have received all parts necessary to start repairs, we will begin repairs on your vehicle. Time for repairs varies but our goal is to spend 5 hours on your vehicle each day once it reaches this point in the process. You can estimate the time by dividing the number of labor and mechanical hours on your estimate by 5. You will need to add 2 days for every 5 calculated to account for weekends.
9. Prime Vehicle – After repairs are completed, any repaired areas will need to be primed and blocked. This restores every repaired area to the same condition as a new, undamaged panel. If this step were to be skipped, you would see sand marks and the repaired area through the new paint.  The primer takes up to a day to dry completely.
10. Paint Vehicle – When the primer is dry, we will prep your vehicle for paint, then paint your vehicle. During the prep stage of painting, the vehicle is covered with plastic and any edges or recesses in the area to be painted are masked off to keep the paint where it is needed and prevent overspray. During the paint stage, our painter will mix and match your vehicle color and then apply the paint to your vehicle. The paint is then protected with a clearcoat.
11. Buff and Polish – During this stage, we will buff your clearcoat to match the factory clearcoat on the rest of your vehicle. We want to match the smoothness or roughness of the rest of your vehicle’s clearcoat to restore your vehicle to pre-loss condition. We will skip this operation if the insurance company does not pay to match the clearcoat.
12. Reassembly – After painting and buffing your vehicle, we will begin reassembly. This is the stage where we fully reassemble your vehicle in preparation to deliver it back to you. Usually this will be completed in 1 day but may take up to 3 days depending on the severity of the repairs completed.
13. Final Supplement Approval – During reassembly, we may find additional clips, screws, or additional hardware that is broken or missing. If we need to order any of these items, we will send in a final supplement for approval. We will also send in for approval any part price change invoices or sublet operation invoices that need approval. Depending on the insurance company and how busy they are, each approval may take up to 2 weeks. The average approval takes 3-5 business days.
14. Quality Check Vehicle – Once repairs are completed, we will quality check the vehicle. If any issues are found, the vehicle will be moved back into the shop to correct any issues or mistakes. If repairs have been completed to quality standards, the vehicle will move forward to the delivery stage after payments from insurance are verified. A post scan is also preformed during this step to verify no new or related diagnostic trouble codes are present.
15. Verify Payments – During this final step, prior to delivery, we will ensure we have documentation on file as proof of payment for any payments still not received from insurance. We also double-check the file and ensure that there are no items that were unpaid by insurance. If unpaid items remain, we will request approval one final time.  The customer may also opt to pay the remaining balance out of pocket. Any amount left unpaid by insurance is the responsibility of the customer. We will do everything we can to ensure the customer has no out of pocket costs other than a deductible or other insurance charges.
16. Vehicle Delivery – Once payments are verified, the file is in order, and your vehicle has passed quality inspection, we will reach out to let you know you may pick up your vehicle from our shop. All completed repairs are covered with a lifetime warranty, so you can rest easy knowing your vehicle was repaired properly and covered if any issues present themselves.