The Most Common Types of Collision Repair: What You Need to Know
The United States is predominantly a car culture. People love their cars— from the lush green of the West Coast to the hills of the midwest, to forest country in the East. Our culture is deeply embedded with cross-country trips, road trips, and long commutes.
With occasional travel comes the occasional fender bender or collision. In 2019, there were about 33, 244 crashes in the United States. In a lot of cases, the crashes are minor collisions that damage vehicles and render some of them undrivable.
So with the varying degrees of vehicle collisions, what are the most common collision repairs? We thought we’d dive into this question.
If you were recently in a fender bender or collision and are looking for repairs, look for a trusted auto body shop in El Paso.
Common Types of Collision Repair
If you are involved in a car accident or fender bender, the last thing on your mind is likely to be the state of your vehicle. The first concern is to make sure everyone is ok and no injuries were sustained. Once the dust settles, the reality of your vehicle’s un-driveability might become all too clear. Perhaps it’s a minor scratch that ruined the brand new paint or perhaps there is a major dent that affects the vehicle suspension and how it drives. Regardless of the damage, you likely want to get it repaired as soon as possible and move on with your life.
Collisions happen, and the most common types of collision repair include the following:
Bumper and Fender Work
The most common types of car collisions include rear-end collisions. These happen often all across the nation’s roads due to distracted drivers, sudden stops, weather conditions, or lack of brake control. When another vehicle rear-ends your vehicle, you are likely to see damage to the bumper, taillights, quarter panels, or trunk. Sometimes the damage goes beyond the visible and can include the vehicle’s suspension or other internal parts.
Average Repair Time: When getting bumper or fender work, you can expect one to three days of labor. The bumper repair can be straightforward and be done in a day, while the paint and detailing can take a little longer.
Frame Repair
If the collision caused significant damage, it’s likely that you might need some kind of frame repair. In crash scenarios such as t-bone crashes, the frame— or chassis— is likely to be damaged. The frame of your vehicle is intended to support the mechanical components, the car body, or shape, and protect all internal car parts as well.
More serious car crashes might involve damage to a component that helps support the vehicle’s integrity. The repairs needed vary depending on the depth of the damage. If you have major damage on your vehicle’s frame, it refers to compromised structural support, bent beams, broken panels, or shaken compromised alignment support.
Your car may still be driveable with frame damage, but you should get an inspection to ensure you are not endangering other parts of the vehicle. A collision repair center conducts an in-depth damage inspection to test out what parts of your vehicle were damaged and what repairs you should do.
Average Repair Time: Because frame repair involves welding, laser straightening, repair, or replacement of parts, these types of repairs take a few days.
Alignment Repair
Another common repair needed after collisions include alignment repair. Although it’s not always obvious if the vehicle needs alignment repair, skipping out on the inspection can mean substantial damage to your car. This is especially true as vehicles continue to drive over potholes or bumps and the alignment damage compounds. A wheel alignment will ensure the longevity of your tires, as well as enhances your vehicle’s performance and safety. If you think your vehicle is:
- Pulling or drifting to one side
- The steering wheel is acting a little funny or is hard to manage
- The steering wheel seems off-center
- The steering wheel is shaky or loose
Average repair time: Depending on the extent of other damage or other work that is needed, an alignment can take about one day to complete. If parts need to be repaired or replaced, it might add to the time.
Auto Body Dents
With any collision, it’s likely your car suffered some type or degree of dents to the body. They can happen with fender benders, collisions, or other accidents that don’t involve another vehicle.
Average Repair Time: Dent repair turnaround time—like most other types of repair— depends on the extent of the damage. If your car needs paintless dent removal, it can take from three hours to a few days. If you need to replace a panel, this may also take a few days.
Get Collision Repair and Get Back On the Road
You want your car back as soon as possible. We know that getting involved in a wreck or collision is stressful in a myriad of ways, so we want to do our part and get your vehicle back to good-as-new conditions so you can get back to your life.
Do you need collision repair in El Paso? Call Sergio Lewis today.
