We wanted to show our customers the best way of taking images for an estimate on car repairs.
It’s always best to bring vehicles over to us for inspection because images give us the full story. When we receive images of dents, it can be very difficult for us to see the real damage. Sometimes we need to see further than the obvious damage for various reasons which we will go through.
So, it doesn’t look too bad but there is questions to be answered on this before we can give a repair estimate.
-Does the car have parking sensors?
-Is there further damage that we would notice that the customer wouldn’t?
-Which type of paint is it? A pearlescent paint?
-Is there damage behind the bumper that we cannot see?
If the answer is yes to any of the above, then the cost will be more.
We can only work with what is provided to us. When sending images of car bumper damage, it’s best to send some images close up (see above) as well as images like these.
From the images, we can see that the car does have parking sensors. We can also see another image from a different angle that gives more evidence that it’s only a scrape and not dented.
But what we can’t see is behind the bumper, and unfortunately, we would only see that once the bumper is removed.
First of all, when it comes to paintwork damage such as scratches, we won’t know if we can polish the scratches out until we have a look at it ourselves. A good indicator is if your finger nail catches in it, there is a low chance that we can polish the scratches out. Therefor, we would need to respray the scratched paintwork. But again in terms of knowing how deep the scratches are, we won’t until we have a look for ourselves. We sometimes need to repair scratches if they are deep enough, otherwise you may see the scratch marks under the resprayed boot lid.
Now back to those images of the BMW. Even if we could give you an estimated cost, these images don’t help us much.
-How far do the scratches go?
-Where are the scratches located on the boot lid?
-Do we need to replace badges?
-Does the boot lid have a spoiler?
-Does the boot lid have need stripped down of any brake lights etc?
The list of questions can go and I’m sure you get the idea.
On the first image, it looks like the panel beside the boot lid has been marked also. This leaves us with some questions.
-Would the customer be happy to leave this as the damage is so small on that panel?
-Does the customer understand the work involved to paint a panel?
Here is a single image that would help us determine a more accurate car repairs cost. It will also help us manage customer expectations as well as helping us educate the customer about the work involved to repair the scratches.
The image helps us a lot but doesn’t answer all of our questions and that is why it’s best for us to look at the car for ourselves.
The image shows that the boot lid does have a spoiler. Not all spoilers come off well and sometimes they need replaced because of this.
The boot lid also has badges which will need replaced. Sometimes we can do sections up to the top edge which would save replacing badges. Usually this isn’t the case though.
The quarter panel is the panel that has the slight scratch onto it. This means that if we cannot polish the scratch out, the only way to repair properly is to respray the quarter panel. This quarter panel doesn’t have a quarter glass window that needs removed and refitted. This itself saves the customer money. It still means that we need to drop the rear bumper, taillight removed and wheel splash guard. Quite a lot of work for a tiny paint mark.
Images show the quarter panel is dented. The images are alright, which helps us determine the location of the dent, which should help us determine if we need to blend the colour onto the rear door or not.
They also show us the dent close up.
So this should be pretty straightforward then?
Not always, and in this case as you can see from these images why.
The quarter panel damage from different angles shows us that it’s quite a nasty dent. It would mean that we would need to spend longer repairing it than originally first thought.
The rear bumper could actually warrant a new bumper and may also need a bracket.
So as you can see, images don’t show us everything that we need to see. Images of vehicle body damage such as dents and scratches can help give you an estimated cost of car repairs but that’s exactly what it is…An estimated cost. Not a quote.
Cars are becoming more complex which means that it’s less likely than before to give customers an accurate cost of car repairs. Complexities such as ADAS systems for a start! Read more about ADAS in our blog here.
This is why it’s always best to bring the car over to us. This allows us to assess the vehicle damage for ourselves and depending one the damage, even then it’s only an estimated cost. If you have bumper damage, you might have major damage behind the bumper. Damage such as a bumper crash bar that needs replaced, or even worse, an air con unit and more.
When taking images, try and send us a few high quality images which show us the damage fairly close up. Also get us images from different angles as this will help us give you a more accurate cost. Registration plates are handy as sometimes we need to check colour codes if it looks like a pearlescent and helps us price parts if needed.
Looking for high quality car repairs near you? We offer numerous services to keep your car looking great and running smoothly from our headquarters in Cambuslang, Glasgow.
Contact us today to find out what we can do for you and keep up to date with all things Dentzap on our socials.
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