Car Accident Damage: How To Restore Your Beloved Vehicle

When you get into a vehicle and hit the road, there is always a small chance of an accident happening. No matter how careful you are, there are always other people driving. Accidents on the road occur way more often than they should and take far too many lives each year. If you get out of one alive, you should first feel grateful for that.

Something that is inevitable when an accident happens, is that your car is going to get damaged. The damage can scale from just a few scratches to entire parts being destroyed. What happens depends on the type of accident. Luckily for you, it is not the end for your vehicle. You can easily get it back in running shape in no time.

Estimating the damage

The first thing you should do when an accident happens is to assess the damage. You can do this on your own, or you can call an expert to do so, which is much more reliable. At DingGo smash repairs, they say that you can even get a free quote from a specialist and see what the situation is like. Some repairs might be more costly, depending on if a certain part can be fixed or if it needs to be completely replaced.

Car insurance or manual restoration?

There are two ways you can restore your vehicle. The more common way is by car insurance, and the other being restoring it yourself. Both of these methods have their ups and downs so it will be up to you what you choose.

Car insurance

How car insurance works depends greatly on where you live and what type of insurance you have. It would be quite troublesome to explain in detail all of the possible insurances but there are some basic steps that are universal no matter where you are.

Document everything that happened

You need to have clear evidence of what happened, only you can provide that documentation. Make sure to take pictures of the damage done to your car on the spot. They must not be blurry, distorted, or shaky. Write down the time and date when it happened. Do not forget about the street and road names.

Weather is also an important parameter of which you must take notice. If you get any injuries you must take pictures of them as well. All of this is important so that insurance companies can do their job correctly.

Moving vehicle to safety 

The next step is to move the vehicle out of the road. If it is in a driveable state, you can drive it yourself. If you can not drive the vehicle, you need to have it towed. Insurance companies can have a towing service in hand, but you can also call someone if you know them to have your vehicle towed.

Choosing a repair shop

Insurance companies can take your vehicle to a reaper shop or offer you a list of them and you choose the one. Repair shops will do the trick of fixing your vehicle, but you can not be certain of how they will do it and how much it will cost. 

If you know a reliable repair shop that the insurance did not offer, you can choose that one. In most contracts, you are not obligated to pick the one that the company offers you. This is great because by doing your own research you can choose the best one and not go in blind.

Manual restoration

Your vehicle is yours only and you know it the best. If you do not think insurance can help you out you can choose the option to fix the vehicle yourself. The upside of this is that you are the boss of this project and it can be a lot of fun. 

The downside is that it may be a lot trickier than you think. If you are not an expert in cars, you should probably leave the job to a professional. You might even end up spending more money if you do not know what you are doing.

The basics

First, you need to have a garage to do this. The garage will protect your car from the weather and it is much better to do it there if it is too hot outside or if it is raining. You need to have lots of tools to do this. You can find different toolboxes online, but it can be pricey to get all of them. Try to find a manual for the car you have, it will be of much help. 

You can not do everything by yourself, so you can call a friend to help you out. Doing so will not only help you but it can also be a really fun time to spend with your friend. Especially if he/she knows more on the subject so you can learn a thing or two. It is ok to take a few beers as well but not too many while repairing.

What to look for

Assessing the damage yourself can be a bit tricky. Car repair shops usually have special laser scanning devices that can instantly see not only the damage from the outside but also the inside of the car in no time. But without such a device, you can still check yourself. Inspect the outside thoroughly for scratches on the paint job. 

Next, check the engine if it works well and if it is making strange noises. Steering is very important, check if the steering wheel is well coordinated with the tires. Tires are also a must, they must be properly inflated. All of these can not work if the battery is messed up. Sometimes a simple pour of distilled water can help, but it also might need to be replaced completely.

Car accidents happen every day and they can happen to you. Your vehicle can be brought back to working shape so be calm and assess the situation properly so you can have it back as soon as possible. When the accident occurs you need to estimate the inflicted damage to your vehicle. 

Once you have estimated it, you can choose to handle the reparations yourself, or if you want insurance do it. Both of these options are viable but which one you choose heavily depends on the situation you are in, so do your research.