REPAIR AND REFITTING

Repair and Refit Services for All Makes and Models

Repair covers a lot of ground depending on what’s damaged on the car. That comes down to repair, dents in the door, scratches on the moulding, bent chassis rail, structural repair.

The way we go about repairs is important, because we aim to achieve the highest possible quality of collision repair possible when we take on a project.

We’re a Certified Structural Repairer (with CRA) and we also are a Certified Structural Repairer from MTA. Each organisation has a code of ethics and it is important for us to uphold these ethics as part of retaining our certification.

The types of repair we do break down into three areas:

• Structural Repairs

• Minor Repairs

• Plastic Repairs

In addition to repair jobs, we also help with painting, including spraypainting after repairs.

Once the repair has been done, then the car is sent to the paint shop where the car is prepped to paint, which involves repairing panels, priming (if it’s a second hand panel that we haven’t removed or can’t remove), refinishing (which involves application of paints that we use through the spray booth). We’re fully certified, so it means that our own insurance provides cover for us if the customer is ever unsatisfied.

Remove and Refit

If a person’s got some damage to a bumper, generally we need to remove that bumper from the vehicle to repair or to paint, or to get to an adjacent panel so we can complete the repair effectively. Rather than try to work around something that could cause damage, we need to have it out of the way. It’s a trade industry standard that these parts are removed. Some panel beaters don’t do that - they take short cuts and they keep the part on while they repair it - so you might see a bumper on a car and it’s got spray on the grills and inside or that sort of thing. That’s because it’s been left in place while they repair the work.

The disadvantage is not only cosmetic - it’s also potential misrepair, so you might not be able to get to something to properly repair it. You might have a funny gap so the bumper looks like it hasn’t been properly repaired. Resale value can also be affected because it creates a visual issue for potential buyers.

Remove and refit is an important factor for warranties - if you have a brand new car or a car that still has a warranty and its got a dent in the rear guard - then tail light, bumper, roof mouldings, anything that is an adjacent panel to where you’ve got to paint has got to be removed. If you don’t remove it, then you’re not going to be able to get into areas to key it for the paint to stick, so therefore further down the track you get paint coming off. This could present a warranty problem because the manufacturer doesn’t want to know about it, they weren’t the ones who created it, and if the repairer won’t accept responsibility then it falls to the customer. That is why in any warranty scenario, it is important clarify exactly who is responsible for what.

If an insurance company comes back to us saying “we’re not going to let you do this, this and this,” then I’ll ring them saying we’re not going to be able to provide a warranty for that part of the job. So therefore (insurance company), can you sign this document saying that you hold yourself liable for it. (As an insurance assessor, in that situation they are the ones who are liable for it.) In these (rare) circumstances, we can help push that obligation back onto the insurer, so that the customer still ultimately receives a warranty on repairs.

Insurance companies generally don’t get into that type of discussion because it they understand that in the insurance game the lower value cars may not be around for another three years. So they will sometimes require us to say that if it’s an old car so if that comes up it will totalled off so you’re not going to do the job. But on new warranty cars they can’t go any other way apart from doing the job right so that we can provide a warranty on the vehicle.