Car accidents happen on a daily basis on roads as busy as those of the United States. Fortunately, most of these accidents are non-fatal. In fact, the number of fatal accidents due to car crashes has been greatly reduced in modern times. This is all due to the hodgepodge of safety features in most modern cars. Thanks to these new safety innovations, from 50k deaths a year back in the 1980s, now were down to just 30k deaths a year. While tens of thousands of deaths due to car accidents may not be something to celebrate, a reduction of 20k deaths does mean that at least 20,000 lives are spared each year thanks to modern safety features. Weve still got a long way to go from reducing that number to zero or at least in the single digits but I’m sure well get there eventually.
With that said, whether you have been in a major or minor car collision, you will probably need to employ the services of an auto body shape right afterwards. Therefore, it is a good idea to familiarize yourself with the different types of services that may be available at your chose auto body shop.
Frame Repairs
For major damage to your car that affects its structural integrity, you will probably need auto frame restoration. This is a type of auto repair technique wherein a heavy machine is used to twist and pull the frame of your car back into its original shape. Vehicles which have been crumpled beyond recognition in their crumple zones will need this type of service.
Paintless Dent Repairs
For minor damage on your vehicle, you should check whether your car is eligible for paintless dent repairs or PDR. There are certified PDR technicians who can perform this task. Ask the auto body shop if they offer this type of service instead of traditional dent repairs. When your car is eligible, there are a number of advantages to paintless dent repair. For one, the structural integrity of your car is kept intact. No additional foreign materials are added to the frame of your car during paintless dent repairs. This is preferable to adding filler material and paint in traditional repairs. To add to this, PDR is very clean. There will virtually be no trace left of the process after application.
The downside is that not all types of damage can be handled by PDR. For now, PRD technology is only applicable to minor, superficial dents.
Basically, the PDR technician uses small hammers to whack your car back into shape. The amount of pressure applied must be just right and the application of the percussive strikes must be very precise.
Windshield Repair or Replacement
If your windshield is damaged, it may need to be either repaired or replaced. For small cracks that do not affect the drivers vision, repairs are preferable because they are much cheaper. A filler material is placed inside the crack and then smoothed out and allowed to dry. After proper application, you windshield will look as good as new.
