Car Crashes: What you Need to Know About Body Shops and Parts

Car accidents are stressful life events that everyone wants to avoid. From fender benders to more serious crashes, at the very least they are inconvenient and can result in mild to severe damage to your vehicle. Unfortunately, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation's latest data summary, 5.5 million total crashes were reported in 2009. It is noteworthy that the number of automobile accidents has decreased steadily since 1999, including all categories of fatal, injury, and property damage-only crashes.

At some point, however, most of us will experience the trauma of being in a car accident. If it happens to you, the stress related to the accident can be minimized when you carefully select the body shop to repair your vehicle.

Most insurance companies want your vehicle properly repaired so that you are completely satisfied with the results but they also want to save money. They may direct you to particular body shops that use inferior parts or even suggest you obtain several estimates. Estimates can vary a great deal including not only the actual work done, but also the quality of the replacement parts. Lower estimates may not include important repair steps like wheel alignments and re-aiming your headlights. Lower estimates may also rely on the use of aftermarket or non-original parts, or even salvaged used parts.

By law, you are only required to obtain one estimate and you also have the right to select the body repair shop of your choice. Making a hasty, uninformed decision may result in a repaired vehicle that is substandard and could even violate the manufacturer's warranty.

Genuine manufacturer-made auto body replacement and repair parts are clearly what you want to restore your car to the condition is was before an accident. Why? Let's consider Volkswagen. Genuine VW parts for all models are designed to precise factory specifications based on form, fit and function. These quality parts are also known as Original Equipment from Manufacturer or OEM parts. Genuine VW parts are backed by a nation-wide warranty so that if you are on the road and experience a problem, you can rest easy knowing the warranty is honored by Volkswagen dealers across the country. Using genuine Volkswagen parts also ensures that the manufacturer's body protection warranty remains in place.

Some body shops use a variety of parts which they may claim meet OEM standards but that is not the same as a genuine OEM part. Strong Volkswagen of Salt Lake City works closely with Schneider Auto Karosserie Body and Paint for customer body shop repairs. Owner Margit Schneider, states, "We at Schneider Auto Karosserie enjoy our partnership with Strong Volkswagen. We have their trust because we never lose sight of who we work for, and that is the customer. We act as their advocate with the Insurance company, never losing sight that our customer is the top priority. Because we want to perform the best possible repairs on every car, we always prefer to use genuine OEM parts in our collision repair services ensuring that we return the car to pre-accident condition."

VW's reputation for reliability, safety and cutting edge technology comes from their commitment to quality. This article is dedicated to Strong VW in downtown Salt Lake City, proud to offer a large inventory of new Volkswagen cars and a variety of models of used cars.