How long does accident repair take?

The stages of a bodyshop repair

Every insurance repair goes through roughly the same steps. Some are quick. The slow ones tend to be the ones waiting on somebody else.

1. Estimate. The damage is looked at and priced, from your photos, on a mobile estimate at your home or work, or at the workshop.
2. Authorisation. The insurer agrees the cost, or on a non-fault claim an independent engineer does. Sometimes that's done from photos and the estimate, sometimes an engineer wants to see the car.
3. Parts ordered. This is usually when a date gets set, because the repair can't really start until the main parts are in.
4. Strip-down. Bumpers, lights and trim come off so the damage behind them can be checked.
5. Supplementary. Any extra damage found is priced and sent back to the insurer for approval.
6. Repair. Panels are repaired or replaced, and after a heavier knock the body is checked for alignment.
7. Paint. Preparation, matching the colour to the car's paint code, blending into the panels either side, then curing.
8. Reassembly and checks. Everything goes back on, electrics and warning lights are checked, and any driver assistance cameras or sensors that were disturbed are recalibrated.
9. Valet and handover. Every car we repair is valeted before it goes back to its owner.

It's quite normal for the first three stages, the ones made of phone calls and deliveries, to take as long as all the hands-on work after them.

What slows a repair down

Parts are the big one. Most panels, lights and brackets come from the manufacturer, and if one is on back order or has to come from abroad, the car waits for it. Newer models and less common makes are more likely to be caught out.

Hidden damage comes next. A bumper that looks scuffed can have cracked mountings, a bent reinforcement bar or a broken parking sensor behind it. That goes back to the insurer as a supplementary, and that part of the job stops until it's approved.

A few other things add time:

• a liability argument on a non-fault claim, which can hold up authorisation
• recalibrating driver assistance systems after the windscreen, front bumper or mirrors have been disturbed
• hybrid and electric cars, where the high voltage system has to be made safe before some work can start
• aluminium body panels, which need different tools and joining methods from steel

Can you speed it up?

Some of it, yes. The parts that depend on you:

• Send clear photos early, in daylight, showing the whole car and close-ups of the damage. Our online quote form takes them.
• Tell your insurer which bodyshop you want on the first call, before they book the car in somewhere else.
• Answer calls from the engineer or claims handler, and keep your claim reference handy.
• If you're paying for any extra work yourself, give the go-ahead quickly.

What nobody can hurry is paint curing, or a part that isn't in the country yet.

How long does accident repair take for small damage?

Less, because most of the process above doesn't apply. Scratches, small dents, scuffs and stone chips rarely need parts or a strip-down. Our express repairs line fast-tracks them, and if you're paying privately there's no insurer authorisation to wait for. Smart repair methods work only on the damaged area instead of the whole panel, which is a large part of why they're quicker.

Staying mobile, and when it won't be repaired

If the accident wasn't your fault, a replacement car similar to yours should cover the whole repair. If it was, it depends on your policy. Courtesy car or replacement car sets out the difference.

Sometimes the estimate comes back higher than the car is worth, and the question stops being "how long" and becomes "will it be repaired at all". That's covered in is my car a write-off?

Getting a repair date from us

Ring our Basildon accident repair centre on 01268 590 722, our Dartford accident repair centre on 01322 930 719 or our Sydenham accident repair centre on 020 8659 2221. We'll deal with your insurer and give you a realistic date once the parts are confirmed. How we handle insurance work is set out on our accident repairs page, and you can read our Dartford Google reviews.