Experiencing a traffic accident can be a traumatic event that nobody should go through at any point in their lifetime. Even if you luckily end up not hurting yourself physically, there is a very good chance your car got smashed. So, the next step is visiting a car mechanic that can hopefully repair the damage caused by the accident. For some reason after the car has been serviced and repaired, you still have a feeling something is not right with your vehicle. Here are some of the ways you can check the quality of your car smash repairs.

Check your vehicle in a well-lit area

This sounds like an easy step, but also a very important one.

• Check your vehicle under direct sunlight, outside
• Check your vehicle under quality lighting, in your garage
• Check your vehicle under fluorescent light globes

Checking the Functionality of Your Car

Before you start closely inspecting your vehicle for aesthetical imperfections after your doubts about the smash repairs, your first priority should be testing your vehicle to see if it’s controlling and working properly. There has been a number of cases where a car would start steering and pulling to one side after a repair has been completed. This could be due to the poor alignment of the body structure or a bent frame.

While in most cases this can be fixed, it is extremely important to try and notice if this is happening to you, because it could eventually lead to a second accident. Another thing you should most definitely check up on are the Airbags. It isn’t really common for anything to be wrong with them after a repair but there were instances where the car mechanics would sell the Airbags provided by the insurance company, and replace them in your car with cheap or knockoff ones, so it won’t hurt to check it out just in case.

Checking the Paint Job

Now that you’re sure your car has no fatal mistakes that could induce another accident, it’s time to check up on how the car was painted. Before you start, it is strongly advised to first wash your vehicle, as dirt can successfully manage to hide the imperfections a paint job can do. The hardest part about painting a car after it’s been smashed is trying to match the colors and make the car’s paint job look like it’s factory-new. Because of that, it can be quite easy for you to notice the differences, all you have to do is focus on trying to find the contrast between the shades of the color. It is recommended that you do this in a well-lit area, as it will be a lot easier to notice anything concerning, especially if your car is of a darker color. If you manage to find no dissimilarities, it means your car has had a good paint job.

Checking the Dents and the Interior

After you have examined the paint job of your car, the next step is inspecting if the dents have been fixed properly and if there’s any problems with the interior of the car. First, try examining the doors of your car, including the trunk and hood doors. If the appropriate smash repairs have been conducted, you shouldn’t be hearing or feeling any anomalies within the door system. Inspecting if your car has been clipped is another must-do. Considering the fact that clipping has been a popular method of fixing smashed parts of the vehicle a couple of decades ago, some car mechanics tend to still use this technique, which they most definitely shouldn’t be doing. The principle of it is that your smashed part of the car is being replaced by a used part from another car. Even though this once was a viable option, nowadays it’s dangerous and could lead to structural errors because of the light-weight nature of today’s cars. Lastly, you should examine if the wiring has been properly conducted within the interior of your vehicle, as well as if all the lights are working properly and how they were intended to.

Keeping an Eye Out 

Now that you’ve finished inspecting your car and you haven’t found anything weird you might think everything is good to go, but that not might be entirely true. You should keep an eye out for anything happening out of the ordinary and remain doing regular maintenance check-ups at a car repair shop you trust, so you don’t have any doubts in the future. A common problem that occurs after a couple of months after the repair has been conducted is the uneven tire wearing.

This is usually due to the aforementioned poor alignment of the body parts, but it can be extremely difficult to notice until it’s too late, so it’s advised to routinely check it after a repair. Another problem that could arise after some time is fading of the paint. Although not a threatening or a dangerous problem, it can be a proof that after all the paint job hasn’t been properly conducted, usually because of the use of low-quality paints some repair shops use.

In conclusion, car smash repairs can be very tricky and misleading. You should always opt for a car mechanic that has a good reputation, usually indicated by reviews online, or the one you trust the most. If the price of the repairs seems ridiculously cheap, it’s usually not a good sign and if you have the capabilities, you should definitely spend more money in a different shop if that means you’re going to get the desired results. At the end of the day, safety is a number one priority and repairing your car as it should be repaired will most definitely ensure safety.