How Do We Know What To Charge

Accidents are never fun, you have to take the time out of your day to get your vehicle to the shop, and play the middle man between your insurance and the body shop. You take the time to bring your car around the city to two separate body shops, and then have to send in two estimates on the damages. So, what happens after you’ve had that additional estimate done?

What most people outside the industry don’t know is that the body shop doesn’t dictate what is done to your vehicle, your insurance does. We create an estimate based on what we believe will be required to repair the car, but that doesn’t mean that the insurance company will pay it. A body shop can give you an estimate on what they know to be damage done during an accident, but they must go off of what your insurance approves for the vehicle. In the state of Minnesota, we are fortunate to be able to approve or decline the use of aftermarket parts, but that’s the extent of control you have over repairs.

Once your vehicle is brought into the shop, the technicians will perform a teardown, and pull all the pieces off of your vehicle to see if there’s any additional hidden damage. This phase is referred to as the blueprinting of the vehicle. It allows the body shop to write a preliminary supplement for the insurance to look over and approve. The insurance has three options. They can have a representative from their company inspect the disassembled vehicle through photos or in person, they can have one of our employees do it for them, or they hire an outside company to approve these supplements. These processes can take weeks, depending on how well established the relationship between the insurance adjuster and the body shop is. 

Your insurance, or the other parties insurance, often dictates the hourly rates, the markup on parts, and the number of hours that can be charged for a certain repair. We have to make sure that we’re getting enough money to do the work, so you can imagine where the back and forth could take additional time while repairing your vehicle. Best case scenario, you find a body shop that’s direct repair with your insurance. State Farm for example has direct repair programs with many body shops across the nation, and this simply means they trust the body shop to write an estimate that meets all of State Farms compliance requirements. This keeps the repair time on the vehicle at a minimum, so you can get your car back quicker than going to a non direct repair facility. 

We are at the mercy of your insurance, and cannot work on a car if they’re not informing us of the work needed to be done. We do our best to keep our customers, employees and insurance companies happy, but we have to work with each insurance to establish a unique repair process for every vehicle that comes through our doors. Keep tabs on your repair, by working with us to get all the necessary information prior to bringing your vehicle into the shop, and remember to keep in contact with your agent to ensure you’re back in your vehicle as soon as possible!

Don’t Worry, It’s Just A Recall

Last year alone, manufactures issued 927 recalls, that affected 53.2 million vehicles. This is the third year in a row that recalls have broken the all time high record, each year progressively seeing higher numbers. A recall on your vehicle is simply when the manufacturer finds a part on a model or a range of models that does not comply with federal safety standards or is found to be faulty in some way. These recalls are often a free repair, and can be done at your local dealership.

 
Car manufacturers are required to send out a notice letter letting their customers know if there’s been a recall on their vehicle, but in some situations you won’t receive one. If you bought your vehicle after a recall was issued or just missed the letter in the mail, you can find the necessary information on the NHTSA website. While there usually is not a time limit on when you can get the recall done, it’s best to do it sooner than later. However, if your recall is on your tires you have 60 days to get into the dealer for repairs or replacement.

Once you’ve become aware of a recall on your vehicle, you’ll need to contact your local dealer and set up a repair appointment. You are not required to pay for the repairs tied to a recall if your vehicle is less than 10 years old. In the off chance your dealer tries to charge you for the repairs, request to speak to a manager and explain the situation. If you have one, bring your recall letter in as proof of the recall, though the dealer should already be aware. You can contact the manufacturer if the dealership continues to try and charge you, and if you have no luck there contact NHTSA directly.

A recall is not always an “immediate danger” situation, they are generally issued as a cautionary warning, as an issue has surfaced in various models or within a year range similar to your vehicle. Be patient, as sometimes it takes the manufacturer a few weeks to formulate a plan of action, and don’t worry too much. You will get your vehicle fixed, and it should only be a minor inconvenience.

Distracted Driving

You constantly hear about texting and driving, and how many accidents that causes, but did you know that the biggest cause of accident is purely driving while distracted? Distracted driving of any kind can lead to a devastating accident, all because you wanted a piece of gum or were reaching to change the song on your stereo. 

Even if you are at full attention while driving, on average during the day there are 660,000 drivers using their cellphones while out on their commutes. Imagine how many other drivers are out driving without their full attention at hand. That puts you and your family at risk. Taking your eyes off the road for even a moment can be the split second an irresponsible driver veers into you. 

Before each drive you should be verifying that your mirrors and stereo are preprogrammed to the way you need. The less you have to fix while on the road, the fewer distractions you have to deal with. Your turn signal is a great way to warn other drivers of your intentions, and while it's unnecessary if used miles before your turn, you still want to give ample time for a quick response if needed. Using your turn signal early can help keep other drivers informed and prevent accidents. 

Avoid driving your vehicle late at night, or during hours you're not fully awake. Thousands of car accidents a year are attributed to driving drowsy. Add that to driving at night and you're looking at your chance of being in an accident tripling, simply because your visibility is impaired. If you're on a long road trip pull over for a nap, or find a hotel close by. Make sure to pull completely off the road and give yourself ample space for passing vehicles. Your state of mind is extremely important while operating a vehicle, for your safety and for others. 

Teach your children and loved ones a valuable life lesson – make sure they know how detrimental picking up their phone or any form of distraction during a car ride can be, and make sure they're spreading the word. Being vocal with your peers and adults about their driving habits can be the difference between life and death. In the end, accidents do happen, and are often times unavoidable. We are here for you when life gets in the way. Bring your car down to Oakdale Collision for an estimate in your time of need.

Asked and Answered: What to Look for When Buying a New Car

This month, we're posting a little differently. We wanted to talk about what people might think about when looking to buy a new car, specifically young people.  We enlisted the help of a young woman who's name is Catey C. and we were pleased with the well thought out questions she came up: 

Hi, I’m Catey, your friendly Millennial who’s in the market for a new car, and I have a few questions, besides which shade of pink should I pick. I’ve put my Venti Pumpkin Spice Latte down long enough to research them, so here’s my three top questions about cars from a Millennial.

• What’s the best feature(s) should I be looking for in a car? This is going to vary from person to person, obviously. I don’t really like taking selfies and posting them on Instagram all that much, therefore interior wifi isn’t a huge concern for me. However heated seats and backup cameras are a must for me. I live in Minnesota (I don’t think that needs any further explanation). Also, I have the wonderful skill of managing to hit either a tree or the only car in the parking lot. I completely joking, I’m not that bad of a driver. Overall, the features that are going to keep you safe and not bumping into trees are going to be your best bet. If you can afford the leather seats and the massage feature, go for it. Otherwise focus on what's going to be more practical and what’s going to pay off in the long run. 
• Which car is more fuel-efficient? Bankrate.com has a list of the most fuel-efficient cars in their category. Once again, it depends on what you’re in the market. For me, I’m leaning towards a compact SUV, because I like bigger cars, but I don’t want to become an Uber for my sister and her friends. Bankrate.com suggests the Toyota RAV4, it 23 MPG in the city and 30 MPG on the highway. It also has 176 hp and it’s starting price is $24,350. Just because the RAV4 was suggested by one website, doesn’t mean that is the car I’m going to chose. I probably pick which ever car is going to get me to Canada the fastest after the election. 
• Should I Lease or Buy? Here’s the thing for me. It would be more cost effective for me to lease a car, however I can’t surpass the set mileage. I mentioned before that I have a younger sister who has a tendency to make spontaneous plans that usually involves quite a bit of mileage, and guess who my parents are going to send to drive her all over the place. However, I really don’t have the funds to purchase a car, and I would like to avoid taking out a loan. It would be easier to buy a car since I have the tendency to bump into things (Once again, I’m joking). Overall, I will be leasing a car, because it’s more cost effective for my situation at the moment. Yes, the limited miles is going to be a pain, but I would rather be able to drive a newer car every few years than being stuck in the same car. Because what may have been cool seven years ago, will be outdated and impractical. 

You made it through all my jabber! If I could give you a cookie, I would! I don’t speak for everybody, especially for Millennials. I’m just a kid in the market for with a couple of questions. I hope you all can take something away from this, or at the very least, enjoyed my ramblings. Thank you for reading.

If you were in the market for a new car, what are some of the questions you would want answered? 

Newly Installed- Jollift In Ground Car Lift

It's finally arrived...our brand new Jollift from FI.TIM. 

What is a Jollfit exactly? It's an in-floor lift system to help our technicians work more efficiently and the lift doesn't take up extra room in the shop because it's installed into the floor. 

We are one of only a few people in the Midwest to try out the new lift system. We hope you enjoy the pictures of the delivery, installation, and us trying out the lift. 

The new lift being delivered

We had to cut holes in the concrete of the shop. 

Installing the lift into the floor. 

So shiny and new! 

Making sure it rises and lowers properly.

We had to put a vehicle on it to see how well it works. 

Another picture testing it out. 

OK, last one testing it out...we promise!

Here's to Oakdale Minnesota

In this month's blog post, we wanted to share a little bit about our shop and what makes us tick! We also wanted to talk a little bit about the town we call home and why it's so awesome. 

Oakdale Collision Center has been in Oakdale, Minnesota for more than 12 years and we love being a part of the community. There are so many things to do and to be a part of. Our shop is right in the middle of a great area. Just across the parking lot is Precision Auto Repair (definitely check them out for your next oil change, brake services, or auto maintenance) and Catrina's Mexican Restaurant. which is one of our favorite places to frequent for lunch.  

Not only do we have our business here, but the owners (Michelle and Don) grew up in Oakdale and live here currently. 

Oakdale is such a great place to be! There are plenty of community events to participate in from the Oakdale Chamber of Commerce's Golf Tournament to helping pack food for Feed My Starving Children.

One of the things that we are proud of is giving back to the community we love. We are even a drop off spot for food donations for the Christian Cupboard and often take donations to help homeless pets.  

 

We love that our clients become like family because they are our number one priority. Our personable, friendly staff will always take time out of their day to make sure that you have everything you need. 

Thanks for stopping by to get to us know us a little bit! 

I-CAR Professional Development Program

Did you know that our auto body technicians take part in the I-CAR Professional Development Program? As an auto body repair facility, we are committed to repairing your vehicle to its pre-accident condition. We require all of our technicians to stay up-to-date in all faucets of the repair process. That includes I-Car, which is an international organization dedicated to providing the necessary information, knowledge and skills required to perform complete, safe and quality repairs. Their focus is to provide collision repair shops with access to high-quality, industry-recognized training solutions.

We want to make sure our collision repair technicians have the most up to date training and knowledge available in the industry to keep you as safe as possible. The I-Car collision repair training is designed to give all of our repair technicians the knowledge they need to perform safe, complete, and quality repairs- every time, all the time!

As new technology emerges, it’s important to stay on top of training and make sure our shop can handle whatever gets thrown our way. In addition to the initial training, we attend yearly refresher courses to make sure we are up to speed with everything out there. I-CAR training gives our staff the up-to-date knowledge and skills to maintain a competitive edge and to stay proficient in today's fast-changing collision repair techniques.

You can read more about I-Car,  by visiting their website. 

Before and After Photos

What better way to show you some of the jobs we've encountered and some of the work we've done than with before and after photos! 

From small dents in a side door to full blown fender benders, we have seen a lot! We can take your car from damaged to driving in no time at all, and make it seem like your accident never happened. 

Before

After

Before

After

During

And here are just a few that are in progress of being repaired. 

Minnesota Potholes

It's a fact that potholes are a huge part of life in Minnesota, especially in the winter and spring.  They seem to get bigger or at least more widespread every year once the snow melts and even if the road has been repaired.

Large or small, potholes can do a number on your car and on your wallet. Trust us, we’ve seen it all.  A new survey from the Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of America found that over half of car owners in the U.S. have reported some type of damage due to a pothole. So how do you avoid them? You can’t swerve on the freeway or you might risk bumping into the car next to you which could lead to an accident. Running over them could land you right in our shop fixing the undercarriage of your car. 

Here are few tips to help you avoid them:

• Don’t swerve! As we stated above, it won’t solve the problem. It will probably make it much worse.
• Reduce your speed. Hitting a pothole at a slower speed typically results in less damage.
• Beware of puddles! They may look shallow, but could be very deep and could cause a lot of damage to your car.
• Keep your tires properly inflated. A poor inflated tire could pop if you hit a pothole just right.

If you can’t avoid the pothole, here is a form to fill out that lets the state of Minnesota (MNDOT) know where it is. This helps to make sure the location makes it on their repair list.

Looking for more information on pesky potholes? Here are a few links we thought we should share:

Mapping Potholes

Minnesota drivers have few options for claiming pothole bills

Tips To Avoid Costly Pothole Damage

AAA GivesAdvice on How To Avoid Pothole Damage

Welcome

Welcome to the Oakdale Collision Center blog! We are so very excited to finally have a blog and share some insights with you about collision repair, insurance help, dent removal, and the latest technology on the market.

Locally owned, we have been serving the Oakdale area for more than 12 years and we are here to get your car looking like new again in no time at all. Our skilled technicians will provide you with a full service repair and detail work, and your car won’t leave our shop until you’re completely satisfied.

We are licensed, certified, registered, insured, and bonded. All our repair work is warrantied with a 100% satisfaction guarantee.

Want to find out more about us? Take a look at the video.

Thanks for visiting us and check back soon for more blog posts.