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3 Factors Affecting How Quickly Your Car Is Repaired

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You were just sitting at a red light when all of a sudden you were hit from behind, yep a rear-end collision, and now you need your car repaired so you can get on with your life. You need your car so you can get back and forth to work and get your kids to school, so how long does it take for your car to be repaired after a car accident?

Factors Affecting Length Of Time Include:


#1. Type Of Damage

The length of time it will take for your vehicle to be repaired will largely depend upon the amount of damage that has occurred to your vehicle. There are factors such as how quickly the insurance company acts to inspect the car’s damage or okay the repair shop that estimated the damages to start the repair work and the actual extent of the damages.

A minor accident in a parking lot or a low speed rear end collision will likely take a week or less to repair. If instead it was a high impact rear end collision where the back of the car was pushed forward or another type of high speed accident and especially high speed accidents that cause extensive damage, the repairs may take weeks or even months if getting the proper parts is a problem.

A car can be repaired if the cost of repairs does not go over the value of the vehicle at the time of the accident. Every insurance company has their own percentage of damage they will accept before determining a car a “total loss.” If a car is totaled out then the owner would receive actual cash value as a settlement for the vehicle instead of getting the vehicle repaired.

An insurance company can give you a specific answer as to how long your car’s repairs will take once the car has found to be repairable and the body shop involved has completed an estimate of repair. An estimate should include how much parts will cost and the amount of labor required to fix the car.

There are, of course, a lot of variables to how long it will take to repair a vehicle after an accident. In some cases there will be an estimate of how long the repair will take but then it takes longer due to waiting for parts, there is more damage that is found during the repair process, etc.

While there is no specific set time it takes for repairs to occur, such as bumper damage only takes a day, etc. below is a guide or rule of thumb for how long repairs in average take:

  • * $1,000.00 worth of damage normally takes 3 to 5 days,
  • * $2,000.00 to $4,000.00 worth of damage usually takes a repair shop 5 to 10 working days,
  • * $5,000.00 and above worth of damage done to a vehicle normally means the car will be at the repair shop 14 or more working days.

#2. AvailabilityOf Parts Required

Additionally, the type of parts required and the kind of vehicle that is involved in the repair has a part to play in the period of time the repairs will take. If you have an exotic foreign sports car it could take extra time to obtain the parts if they are not locally stocked.

The above information is based upon the time after your car has been seen by the auto insurance claims adjuster and is ready for repair. Other factors involved are the length of time it takes for your insurance company, or the other party’s insurance company adjuster to come to your vehicle and give their estimate for repairs.

#3. How Busy Repair Shop Is

As mentioned earlier keep in mind there are variables that can affect the length of time the repairs will take even if the mechanic has given you a rough estimate. There are factors such as how busy a repair shop is, how much repair work they have on their lot waiting to be repaired when your car arrives, the time it takes for parts to arrive if ordered, etc. Keep in touch with the repair shop to see how the work is progressing and if they think there will be a delay.

If there is a long delay on starting work on your vehicle then you may want to contact your insurance claims adjuster to see if there is the option to change garages and have a body shop work on the vehicle who will be able to fix the car in a reasonable amount of time.

When you are getting your car repaired after an accident select an auto body repair shop that you are comfortable with. We recommend you choose a quality repair shop; one which has professional certifications. If you do not know of any repair shops you would want to use to fix your vehicle then try obtaining recommendations from friends, family and even your insurance claims adjuster.

A quality repair shop will work hard to ensure all repairs are done properly, that your vehicle is delivered on time, and that you are kept well informed of their progress by phone or email.

Most insurance companies and adjusters know through their time and experience which shops are doing good, quality and professional repairs for reasonable industry prices. A shop that has a written guarantee for repairs is a good indicator as well as to the quality of the work the shop does.

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Posted by Stacy Homer last updated on Monday, August 9th, 2010 at 1:11 pm

Category : Insurance Information

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4 Responses to “3 Factors Affecting How Quickly Your Car Is Repaired”


Pamela McCree July 13, 2011

I live in Michigan. I had an accident in the beginning of June. Had car repaired but when I got it back my instrument panel, driver seat and muffler were not working properly. Took car back a 2nd time. Seat and muffler fixed, which I split cost of the latter 50/50. Now get car back instrument panel (rpm, speedometer, gas gauge does not light up evenly) is still not fixed and now I don’t have air condition (but I did after 1st time I picked up my car) my question is do the insurance company or dealership have to buy back my vehicle after three tries to fix?

stacyhomer July 25, 2011

Hi Pamela, you’d have to call your insurance company to explain the situation. Each of them differs and you’ve not mentioned your current insurer here.

ryan November 14, 2011

I am from CA and my concern is from a claim I had filed back in August of 2011 and approved for the repair shop to cover the damages resulting in a total of roughly $8000. My issues/concerns are not with the insurance company, but the repair shop as they have a written time to repair vehicle on the estimate of 7 working business days. My vehicle has been at the repair shop from mid august till the end of october. I was following up non stop but continued to get excuse after lame excuse. The shop kept blaming shipping to wrong address or just other very unbelivable excuses. Also I thought I was to pay my deductible of $1000 to my insurance and now he is demanding it from me. I am very upset with the quality of business that I recieved, and to top it off I have had my car back now for about 3 weeks, and now it wont start still. I am so upset I dont even know where to start or what my options are. Someone please help with good quality information on this problem im occuring.

admin November 18, 2011

Hi Ryan, Was the repair shop repair shop recommended by the insurance company or you chose it yourself? If it was recommended to you by the insurance company then you should go back to them and explain what has happened. Surely they must help you.