What do they mean by “Certified”?
When you contact your insurance carrier to inform them of your accident, they will attempt to entice you to bring your car to one of their “Certified repair facilities”. But make no mistake, when they say “Certified” what they mean is “certified by them” which really means, “Contracted with them,” and we all know how that works. When a facility is contracted with an insurance company, the repairs are performed for an agreed contracted rate. This rate is ALWAYS much cheaper than what the shop charges normally. When the shop gets paid less, your car receives less care and attention to detail. Your car becomes a “quantity, not quality” job and is rushed-through to ensure the maximum profit is attained by the shop. The insurance companies try to counteract this effect by offering a lifetime, limited warranty on the repairs. They tell you that if the shop does not complete the job to their or the “industry standard” satisfaction they will pursue making the shop correct the mistakes. Unfortunately, the insurance company’s opinion of a job well done does not usually parallel to yours and in the end you will end up fighting the insurance company to repair your car properly instead of the repair shop because the repairs shops warranty runs out in 6 months. Insurance companies are experts in stalling and 6 months of giving you the run around is no challenge. Another thing insurance companies excel at is defending themselves in court. History shows us there is little hope once the situation escalates to that level.