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Motorhome’s and RV’s: The Ultimate Guide to Affordable Repairs and Painting

The post Revamp Your RV: The Ultimate Guide to Affordable Repairs and Painting appeared first on Interstate Autobody & Truck.

Collision damage repairs

If you’ve been in a collision, even a minor one, the framework of your vehicle could be damaged. This can have serious implications for both your truck’s overall value and more importantly your safety. Getting this damage evaluated as soon as possible can prevent both future damage for you car and improve your safety.  We’re also happy to help with less serious collision repairs and cosmetic damage. Our team is happy to fix a single truck or your entire fleet of trucks after a full season of winter trucking.

Painting

Paint can make or break you truck’s exterior look. From touching up scratches and imperfections to entire body updates and sanding, we’ve got you covered. We work on cement trucks, boom trucks, dump trucks, semis and more, so whatever type of vehicle you have we’re happy to touch up the paint job and match its current color. Our large facility in the Wenatchee Valley is well equipped and can service your company’s whole fleet of trucks to do routine touch ups or to reflect your company’s new colors.

Restoration

Our team’s mission is to help you get the most value out of your investment. That means keeping your vehicles up to date and putting in the work so they last for years to come. From quick routine inspections to full store updates, we’re happy to give your truck a boost for the new year. From sandblasting to fiberglass work and everything in between, our team will do what it takes to keep your truck and business up and running.

For veteran truckers and up and coming entrepreneurs alike, without your truck you don’t have a business. After a tough winter, it’s important to keep your truck in good shape and check for any impending damages. If you’re interested in collision damage, painting, restoration, or any other truck updates in the Wenatchee area, visit our website or come by our shop today!

Featured image courtesy of Pixabay.com.

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What Is Paintless Dent Repair?

Paintless dent repair (also known as paintless dent removal) is a way of repairing minor dents and dings on your car without a huge hassle. It can be utilized as long as the paint surface is intact, and the shallower the dent, the more likely the repair will be successful.

How Does It Work?

Paintless dent repair, as stated above, can only be an option if the paint is intact, meaning it isn’t scratched, chipped nor cracked. If the paint has been breached, it will require repainting in a body shop. PDR technicians go from behind the panel or through the inner doorframe to access the damage, and push the dents out that way. Most basic dents can be taken care of with minimal effort.

What Are the Advantages?

• Paint: While sanding and repainting requires the body shop to find the exact paint color and type used on your car, paintless dent removal keeps the factory paint job intact, so you don’t have to worry about a bad paint job or an unfortunate mismatched color with the rest of your car.
• Insurance: Insurance companies like paintless dent repair, and, in fact, many insurers now have a list of recommendations for direct repair shops if you don’t have one in mind already. Additionally, paintless dent repairs usually cost less than your car’s insurance deductible, which means that you can pay them in cash. By doing this, many don’t report these damages to the insurance company, so they can keep their insurance bills lower.
• Cost: Traditional dent repair requires sanding, priming, and painting, in addition to a multitude of other procedures. Since paintless dent repair doesn’t require any of these methods, and is just generally a quick and easy fix, it is usually less than half the price of a normal dent repair.
• Less Time: Spending time without a car is problematic, and no one wants to wait around at a body shop for work to be done. Instead of wasting valuable time or inconveniencing yourself with no mode of transport, paintless dent removal can be done in a matter of minutes to a matter of hours (depending on the extent of the damage).
• Convenience: An even bigger upside, many paintless dent removal companies will come to your place of work or home to fix your car, so you can plan it around your schedule.
• More Permanent: Traditional body repair methods consist of removing the panel and hammering out the damage to make it as close to it’s original shape as possible. From there, they may weld and grind it, which is a much more permanent solution, though costly. However, many people go for the cheaper option, which consists of using body filler putty, a temporary solution. It has a lifespan from as little as a few months to a few years. Paintless dent removal, on the other hand, has a much longer lifespan, as the integrity of the car remains intact.
• Quality: Since there are so many steps to standard dent fixes, there are a lot of ways that it can go wrong, and a botched dent repair is not cheap to fix. With paintless dent repair, it’s a simple process with little to no margin of error.
• Environmentally Friendly: Traditional repairs must use non-environmentally friendly products in order to have an effective repair. Paintless dent repair does not require the use of paint or solvents of any kind, so there is no release of toxic chemicals.

Challenges of Paintless Dent Repair

While paintless dent repair is generally the best way to go if it’s an available option, much like anything, there are some challenges to the process:

• Area Specific: PDR can get out most dents, but close to the car’s roof rails or the edges of doors are almost impossible to make smooth.
• Materials: Different materials may make it more difficult to access and repair the dents, and as materials evolve, new techniques must be developed to repair them.

Whether you want to sell your car, or just make it look a little nicer, find out if paintless dent removal is an option for you. Your car and your wallet will be grateful you did.

Featured photo source: Pixabay.com

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Contact the Police

No matter how severe the accident, you should file a police report with responding officers. This will help sort out disputes that may arise down the road and negate any conflicting information between you and the other drivers when it comes time to settle up with the insurance companies. They’ll interview each driver separately and speak with witnesses, but the more information you can give them, the better. Be sure to take accurate notes to the best of your recollection and pictures of the damage, the scene, and every license plate in addition to writing it all down.

Exchange Contact Information with Other Drivers

It’s important you get current contact information from each driver involved and any witnesses that saw the accident first-hand. If possible, get their names, phone numbers, current addresses, driver’s license numbers, license plate information, and insurance information from everyone. Remember, when communicating with other drivers, the exchanges may get heated. Try and stay calm and remember to never apologize for the accident – in doing so, you may be admitting liability for the accident even if you weren’t the one at fault.

Inform Your Insurance Company

Be sure to quickly contact your insurance company and explain the situation. Tell them the truth to the best of your ability and concentrate on facts rather than fault. Withholding information from your insurance company can land you in serious trouble. The police report will be your best resource in finding who’s at fault and if any traffic laws were broken that caused the accident.

Repair the Damage

To get your car back on the road and in safe, working condition, you’ll need reliable auto body repair work. If you’re in the eastern Washington area and in need of emergency or schedule repairs to your vehicle, Interstate Auto Body and Truck is the top resource for sandblasting, fiberglass work, RV repair, and auto body repair on cars and trucks no matter the scale of the damage.

Contact Interstate Auto Body and Truck today to discuss your vehicle repair needs and if you qualify for insurance repair work.

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The Initial Damage May Not Be the Whole Story

Rather than driving around with a dinged-up car and hoping for the best, it’s smart to take your damaged vehicle into the shop in case of repairs that aren’t readily apparent from the outside. Having your car professionally inspected for structural damage to the frame or engine can save you a lot of money in the long run, provided you catch the problem early.

Protect Against Rust

An early repair limits the amount of time your car goes without a protective coating of paint all the way around. During an automobile accident, paint can scratch off and exposure the raw metal beneath it, leaving the material prone to oxidation. The longer you leave it unprotected, the greater the chance of rusting – and the higher the cost of repairs will be.

Prevent Prolonged Issues

The longer you wait to perform repairs, the less likely your insurance will cover the total or partial cost of repairs. Keeping the claim high in their stack will help keep things simple and streamlined rather than waiting for months before you take the car in. Get it done early and you’ll save yourself hours of telephone calls and the associated headaches.

Your Car is an Investment – Treat It That Way

You spent a lot of money on your car. Unless you want to drive it until the wheels literally fall off, you should take good care to make sure it’s fully-functional. While cars that have been in accidents tend to draw a lower resale value, it’s nothing compared to the drop-off you’ll experience if you try to sell your car with damaged parts. While it might be a big financial investment to repair, you should get your money back when you sell it later on.

Ready to stop procrastinating and get your damaged vehicle fixed before it’s too late? Contact Interstate Auto Body and Truck today to get a free estimate on professional auto body repair service for your car or truck.

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1. Get All the Facts

How much is the estimated cost? How long will it take? Are parts in-stock or do they need to be shipped in? Getting these details down in writing can help you understand the timeline of the repair process and comparison shop at other repair shops.

2. Clean Your Car

When you bring your car in for repairs, make sure you remove any personal objects or necessary items you’ll need while your car is in the shop. After repairs are complete, expect your car back from the shop in better condition than you left it.

3. Take a Close Look

Look at the overall condition of the car before moving in closer to look at the repaired area. Uneven panels or small gaps suggest that the new panels not being aligned or installed correctly. To get into the nitty-gritty details, ask for a frame spec printout or reference sheet for your car and compare the factory specs with the post-repair measurements to see how your shop performed.

4. Check the Paint

This is one of the most difficult aspects of an auto body repair, as paint color and consistency matching is incredibly hard for an inexperienced technician. Looking at your car in direct sunlight is the best way to inspect their work, so try picking up your car in the middle of the afternoon to get the brightest light.

5. Be Courteous

Mistakes happen. Even the best auto repair shops will admit they occasionally screw up, but being accusatory and demanding is a good way to demonstrate to the shop that you’re not a good customer. Dispute a repair the right way and your mechanics will treat you much better than if you scream and shout – like with any business.

For information on Interstate Auto Body and Truck’s repair process or to get a quote on our repair services, give us a call at 1-509-782-5188 or use the contact form to get in touch.

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1.Get Estimates

It won’t hurt to ask around when doing repairs. Some auto body repair shops may charge much more than others, but on the other hand, what they’re offering in return may be worth the extra investment. Ask around and get advice from other mechanics and repair shops to see why one is priced higher or lower than others.

2. Check the Warranty

Ask the auto body shop if they offer warranties or guarantees on their work. If you have an existing warranty from the manufacturer, ask the shop if they’ll honor that warranty before work begins.

3. Stock, Aftermarket, or Custom Parts?

Some auto body repair shops will charge varying amounts for the type of parts they’ll need to complete the repair. Get detailed information about the repairs before you hand them the keys: Where do you get your parts? Can parts be ordered elsewhere for less money? Do you have the parts on hand?

To schedule an auto body repair, painting, or car restoration appointment, contact Interstate Auto Body and Truck today!

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We can handle any type of paint or bodywork required for big trucks, semi-trucks, buses, tractor-trailers, commercial vehicles, and heavy equipment. Our 60 ft. painting booth allows us to handle the largest projects in the area. And with over 50 years of experience working on auto body parts, repair, and replacement, there’s nobody in the state of Washington that can compete.

Enterprise trucking companies and independent owner-operators alike have their trucks towed to our facility for repairs. We’ve handled everything from cosmetic issues to complete rebuilds, so if you can get it here, we can fix it!

Oversized and wide load trucks and machinery, like the mega load trucks and equipment, can fit in our facility’s doors. With a 17-foot clearance, our doors are actually larger than the majority of bridges and overpasses in Washington.

Whether you’re passing through central Washington or nearby and need a repair shop within towing distance, trust Interstate Auto Body and Truck. Our expertise and experience can get your job done the right way and quicker than you’d expect. Give us a call or contact us today!

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If your motorhome is a bit dated and could use a refresh, winter is a really good time to get that taken care of. We handle repainting jobs of every size and our painting booth is over 60 feet long. We have 40 years of experience working and painting on fiberglass and we can make that old tan or white RV look modern and new in no time.

Bodywork on a motorhome can be a complicated and costly process, but can also be difficult to handle if performed by inexperienced mechanics. We handle collision repairs, bodywork, and painting all in one. There’s no motorhome job we can’t handle, so whatever your problem is we can take care of it.

Fender-benders and insurance work are our specialty. We can use our tools and expertise to restore your motorhome or RV to a like-new appearance.

Our insurance work quotes are free, so just give us a call or contact us today and get this chore out of the way before the warm weather comes!

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