The repair process is fairly straightforward, but unless you deal with these things every day, you may have had no previous experience.

The first step is the estimate. This is essentially a way of determining the projected total cost of the process. Insurance companies, as a rule, will need to see an estimate before the repairs start, but it’s very important that you too look over it closely. With modern vehicles, a pre-repair scan is often performed, diagnosing any potential problems.

After the estimate has been approved, the repairs can begin. The frame is basically the skeleton if your vehicle, and it needs to be in perfect working order for a vehicle to be considered safe.

In addition to the frame, there are a huge amount of different, individual parts in any automobile. If these parts need to be replaced, they need to be identified, ordered, and installed.

When the frame and the parts are replaced and repaired, and everything is put back together, next comes the paint and refinishing process. You might think that these are purely cosmetic repairs, but a properly finished coat of paint helps protect the rest of your vehicle from gradual damage caused by weather.

Finally, a post-repair scan is often performed. This scans the vehicle once more, looking for any lingering error codes. They could be either legitimate or erroneous, but either way they are addressed at this step.