Why You Don't Use Small Body Shops
There is a big push these days for folks to move away from large businesses, and patronize small and independent businesses. We agree with the idea for the most part, but there are some areas in life where it just doesn't work. There's no such thing as a small, independent cell phone store or cable company. And for some areas of business, like body shops, a small or independent shop just cannot provide the high level of service and expertise you need.
So while we will be right with you eating at Mustard's instead of McDonald's, there are some good reasons why you should be trusting your Audi, Porsche, Mercedes-Benz, or other vehicle with us instead of a small or independent body shop. Reasons such as:
Training:
Factory certifications such as I-CAR Gold and ASE training help to ensure that our technicians are up to date in manufacturer-specific as well as general repair processes. Independent body shops do not have access to factory training and certification, meaning that their knowledge base will be quite a bit less than our technicians. In addition, they may not receive regular refreshers as our technicians do, meaning they could be using out of date methods and practices. With our technicians having collision certification for Toyota, Mercedes-Benz, Audi, and Porsche brands, there's no reason to take your vehicle elsewhere.
Equipment:
Foreign and luxury brands in particular require specialty equipment for correct collision repair, and require technology that needs to be updated regularly. State-of-the-arts frame alignment systems, measuring systems, and process-specific machines are not cheap, and can also take up space. For many small or independent body shops, these pieces of equipment are just too much of an expense for them to take on, or they may be working with limited space so they would have nowhere to store them. This means they will be using unapproved equipment to make your repairs, possibly resulting in a poor outcome.
Materials:
Here at Platinum Body Werks, we work with Toyota, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, Audi, and many other manufacturers to ensure that the parts and materials going in to the repair of your vehicle are approved by the manufacturer. This can mean using OEM and Genuine products, products that are original to your vehicle. Not all small or independent body shops have access to these materials, so your car may be repaired with an unapproved or subpar aftermarket replacement.
Warranty:
We stand behind our work, with Lifetime Limited Warranties on parts and processes including metalwork, painting, mechanical repairs, and new OEM parts. If there is an issue, we will make sure to resolve it in a timely fashion. Small and independent body shops cannot afford to offer extensive warranties, so you'll just need to hope that the repair is right, or deal with the headaches of trying to get it done right a second time.
Service and More:
A small or independent body shop usually runs with a small staff that takes on a lot of general duties, but here at Platinum, we have a well-staffed shop with specialists who are experts in their fields, from the estimators who first look at your car, to our team that deals with insurance claims and financing, to the technicians that do the repairs. This lets us provide the best in service at all points in the process. A small or independent body shop may have one person filling many of those roles, and may not be able to provide the most accurate information, or the best service in terms of timeliness.
Many of us grew up around small and independent body shops but, while they do hold a place in our hearts, they just can?t keep up with the evolution of collision repair and the technology involved in today's processes. Repairing your vehicle is a precise, important task, and one that should be trusted to the collision repair shop with the best capabilities to return your car in like-new condition. In Melbourne, that shop is Platinumwerks Collision Center of Melbourne, located at Toyota of Melbourne.
