You may not be happy to hear that the "law of averages" dictates that you're likely to be involved in an automobile accident at some stage during your driving career, especially when you're having to deal with just that occurrence. Regardless of fault, you now need to ensure that your vehicle is restored to its former glory, and this will involve working with panel beaters and a repair shop. As this is all new to you, where do you start?

Full Assessment

In most cases, an insurance company is involved, and ultimately, they have to "sign off" before money will be made available to effect panel repairs. However, the process starts before this with a full assessment of the damage, made by qualified engineers. They use their previous experience and quite sophisticated technology to determine what's needed and how much it will cost, using a computer program to come up with the estimate.

Ordering and Prioritising

Assuming the insurance company is happy with the solution, then the repair shop identifies what parts are needed and places an order for those that they don't have on hand. Once again, computer software prioritises your vehicle in the system to ensure that work begins when all parts are available so that the job can be moved through in the least possible time.

Getting Ready to Start

After the vehicle has been disassembled appropriately, the technician will then be able to conduct a final inspection to figure out whether any more parts need to be ordered that may not have been immediately evident before. This is covered by a contingency included in the insurance documentation and more often than not is a straightforward part of the process, but sometimes an additional assessment may be needed to append to the paperwork.

Jigging and Beating

In the case of an extensive accident, the chassis may need to be adjusted so that it is once again straight, and this requires the use of a mechanical jig. Once this has been perfected it's possible to fit new panels fairly easily and to align them into the proper shape.

Sometimes existing panels simply need to be straightened, and this is where the "panel beater" comes into his or her own, using special techniques and experience to make everything look like new again.

Final Touches

Once each panel has been adjusted so that it looks exactly like it did prior to the accident, the vehicle is moved into the paint shop, where new paint is very precisely matched to the remaining, untouched parts of the car.

Only Work with the Best

When working with the best repair shops in the business, it's impossible for the untrained eye to detect that the vehicle was involved in any kind of accident whatsoever.