Laura Bertolli

A unibody is a construction technique for cars, when the body is one whole piece instead of multiple parts making up the body. It is the main way cars are built today. It is good for most driving ways except for off-road due to the fact that since its all one piece it doesn’t move as well as separate pieces would. Trucks and Jeeps and other haulers would usually not use a unibody because of the limitations. A unibody is usually safer because of the crumple zones, which will minimize the impact force when in an accident. A unibody is lighter than a body on frame car, pickups and Jeeps, and is less expensive but it has some disadvantages too. A unibody would cost more money to repair and the durability is lessened in a unibody, making needs of repair higher. It is also harder to tow a unibody when totaled, making bills higher and the overall ride quality is worse, especially with bigger, heavier cars. In a body on frame car, if a part is an inch or sometimes less off, it will effect t...

One of the ways that an insurance company will 'steer' a customer to a specific shop is the use of manipulative statements.  Some we've heard is that the shop is not on our List, so you may have to pay out of pocket for some of the repairs, since THAT shop is SO expensive!  Another is that there may be a delay in the repair time because we have to go out to that shop and INSPECT the vehicle.  But the most comical statement is that the insurance company will guarantee the work if you use one of the shops on their List.  Since when is the insurance company set up to fix shoddy work? We are not on any insurance Lists (although we would be if the agreement was fair), and for some reason, customers bring their vehicles to us after having used the shop on the the List.  We understand that in order to make any money at the shops on the List, some corners may have to be cut.  Or maybe the technicians are paid on commission (flat rate), so they hurr...

I just read a humorous article in Car and Driver entitled, "10 Used Cars to Avoid" written by John Pearley Huffman. My favorite part is about salvage titled vehicles: Insurance companies aren ’t in the business of losing money. So it’s a good bet that if a car has been written off as a total loss, it’s because it really was a total loss. If it had been worth fixing, the insurance company would have fixed it. It’s simple: If a car is so badly damaged that it can’t be fixed to an insurance company’s slight standards, to what standards could it have been fixed? So Insurance companies have slight standards?? Who knew? The point I'd like to make is, please, please listen to your auto body shop about the correct way to fix your vehicle. And forget, or don't believe what the insurance company says about the 'correct' way to fix a damaged car. They will tell you that the body shop is just 'ripping you off', but in reality, it's the other way aroun...