Category: Learning Center

Is My Car Safe To Drive After An Accident

Is My Car Safe to Drive After an Accident

When you are involved in an auto collision, it is one of the worst feelings as a driver. Hopefully, all drivers and passengers are uninjured and we’re just dealing with a damaged vehicle and the inconvenience of being delayed in getting to your destination.

In today’s fast-paced society, drivers may be tempted to drive their vehicles as soon as possible after the police have finished with assessing the collision, especially if your vehicle does not “look too bad”. However, it is important to review and understand the damage to your vehicle before driving it after an accident to ensure both you and your passengers safety, but also to prevent further damage to your vehicle.

There are many variables to consider, and of course each situation is different and depends on the severity of the collision. Here are a few helpful things to look for to evaluate if your vehicle is drivable, or if you need to contact an auto body repair facility like Marksman Auto Body as soon as possible.

Are any fluids leaking? If yes, call for a tow truck.
Are all wheels pointing in the correct direction? If not, do not drive the vehicle.
Did the airbags deploy? If yes, the vehicle is not drivable.
Do all the doors open and close normally? If not, call for a tow truck. You and your passengers to be able to exit the vehicle safely once back inside.
Is the front hood closed properly? If the front hood is ajar, do not drive the vehicle as it may fly open once you get underway.
Are the headlights, brake lights, turn signals and mirrors all functioning properly? Driving a vehicle without brake lights and turn signals is dangerous, it is best to call for a tow.
Do you smell anything suspicious? Is there steam or smoke coming from under the hood of the vehicle? If so be safe and do not drive the vehicle.

For any of the above situations, don’t hesitate to seek the help of the responding police officer to help you determine the road worthiness of your vehicle. Police officers are trained to assess vehicle damage and determine if your vehicle is safe to drive.

Marksman Auto Body, Your Trusted Partner in Auto Body Collision Repair

Marksman Auto Body is an independent collision repair facility located in Brunswick, Ohio and we have been in business since 1985. We have outstanding relationships with the major insurance providers and can ensure your car repair is processed efficiently. Moreover, we approach every auto body repair as if we were performing the service for friends or family.

Give us a call today at 330-225-5560 to discuss your auto body repair.

Car Accidents When You Are Out of Town

It can be a sinking feeling and very disruptive if you are travelling in your car in another city or state and you are involved in an auto collision. Of course, we hope that no one was injured and that you only need to deal with the damage to your car.

If you are planning an out-of-town trip in your car it is important to make sure you have all of your insurance information handy in your car before making the trip. Read through your policy or call your insurance agent and review your policy to make sure you understand all of the aspects of travelling out of town. For example, review if your policy includes a rental car if your car is damaged too badly to drive home.

If you are in an accident while travelling, don’t leave the scene of the accident without calling the local police and filing a police report. It is critical to get all the information you can, and a police report is very important.

In addition to filing a police report and getting the contact information of everyone involved in the accident, try to take photos (with your phone camera) of the accident scene and damage to all the vehicles, including:

The vehicles involved and the damage to each vehicle
Photos of any surrounding businesses. These businesses may have security video footage which captured what happened in the accident
Any road debris or other factors which may have contributed to the accident

Contact Your Auto Insurance Company

If you are involved in an accident while travelling, report the accident to your insurance company as soon as possible. It’s even more important when travelling so your insurance company is aware and can send the appropriate claims adjuster for the area. If your car is too damaged to make it back home, your insurance company can help advise you on local auto body repair shops, as well as getting a rental car to make it back to your home.

Getting Your Car Repaired

If your car has only minor damage and you can still drive it and make it back home, you can take your car to any auto body repair company with whom you have a good relationship. You are not obligated to use the auto body repair company that your insurance company recommends.

Give us a call today at 330-225-5560 to discuss your auto body repair.

My Parked Car Was Hit, What Do I Do?

Few things are as disappointing than leaving an event or other activity and walking up to your car to discover it has been hit by another vehicle. Damage to side panels, front and rear bumpers, headlights and taillights, and smashed windshields are all common damage to discover in such a situation.

This type of hit-and-run accident occurs when someone leaves the accident scene without stopping as required by law. When a driver hits a parked car, they are required by law to make a reasonable effort to identify the owner of the vehicle and leave a written notice. If you’re lucky the driver that hit your car has left information to contact them and exchange insurance information. However, often times you are simply left with a damaged vehicle and no sign of the driver that hit your car.

Here are a few things to help in this situation:

Don’t get in your car and drive off. Call the police. It’s important to file a police report for the accident (some states require this) to help catalog and preserve any evidence at the scene.
Look around for any witnesses. Additionally, if you are in a garage or event parking lot, or even on the street there may be security cameras from nearby businesses. If you notice any, ask the property owner to preserve the video until your attorney can request it.
Take accident photos. Get as many angles of the damage as possible including close-ups. Take photos of the overall scene and location from multiple angles.
Contact your insurance company as soon as possible and notify them that you’ve been in an accident.

If you are unable to determine who hit your vehicle you will need to file a claim with your insurance company to get your vehicle repaired. Most auto insurance policies have uninsured or under insured coverage. However not all states require this coverage, so it is a good idea to review your auto insurance policy and check what coverages you have, and what amounts are covered.

Once you have filed a claim with your insurance company, they will likely make recommendations on what auto body repair shop to take your vehicle. It’s important to understand that you are not obligated to use the auto body shop the insurance company recommends. Read our article “Should you use the auto body repair shop your insurance company recommends?” for more insights into this situation.

At Marksman Auto Body we have excellent relationships with most major insurance providers, and our ASE and I-CAR certified technicians can handle any collision repair services. However, what truly sets Marksman Auto Body apart from other auto body repair services is our unmatched commitment to customer service. As an independent auto body repair facility, we have come to nurture all of our customer relationships and approach the repairs we perform as if we were doing them for a friend or family member.

Call us today at 330-225-5560 or fill out the repair estimate form and we will follow up with you right away.

Should you use the auto body repair shop your insurance company recommends?

The short answer is no. Every state has a unique set of laws and regulatory standards when it comes to insurance claims and auto body repairs. In the state of Ohio, consumer protection laws prohibit insurance companies from steering claimants where to take their vehicle for repair. This is for your protection against sub-standard repair quality.

Most insurance companies have relationships with repair shops and may have negotiated preferable repair fees in exchange for referrals. You may hear terms such as “approved mechanic” or “approved body shop” or “within our network”. The insurance company prefers you go there because it will be cheaper and easier for them, but maybe not for you.

When you need auto body and collision repair services, its important to do your research and select the auto body repair facility that is best for you. You may already have a trusted relationship with a body shop, or a trusted friend or family member makes a recommendation. Visit an auto body shop’s website and see if they have reviews posted or do a Google or other search engine query about a body shop and see what reviews are available. At Marksman, we are proud of our customer reviews and have them on our website, and our Google review rating is 4.6 out of 5 with 110 reviews!

Advantages to using the auto body repair shop your insurance company recommends

While you are free to choose any auto body repair facility you wish to have your car repaired, there are advantages to using the repair facility your insurance company recommends, provided the body shop has a good reputation and positive reviews. Check out our article on “Choosing the best auto body repair shop” for expert advice on choosing a body shop.

The repair process may go smoother by using the recommended body shop. Your insurance company may have a direct bill agreement in place, meaning they will pay the body shop directly, so you don’t have to deal with it. You might otherwise have to wait for a check from the insurance company to pay the body shop, which could delay getting your vehicle back.

Here at Marksman Auto Body, we have outstanding relationships with most major insurance providers, and can work with your provider to ensure the auto body repair goes smoothly and as quickly as possible. As an independent auto body repair facility our approach to customer service is unmatched. It’s what sets us apart from other auto body repair shops in Northeast Ohio. We treat customers like family and will not let any repair job leave the building until our customer is 100% satisfied.

Call us today at 330-225-5560 or fill out the repair estimate form to learn how we can help you with your auto body repair.

Teenage Drivers: Top tips to keep them safe on the road and avoid an auto collision

Seeing your young child grow and mature is a rewarding experience, but it does come with a variety of anxieties, such as when they reach that magical age of 16 and wish to begin driving! Operating a motor vehicle on the road is serious business, and teenagers need to be taught to respect the vehicle, other drivers, and to drive defensively!

There are many driver training schools available which partner with local public high schools in offering driver training to teenagers. These driver training schools are great, but equally important are the habits that parents set for their teens when they are in the car. If you drive defensively and present good driving habits while transporting your teens to their activities, they will learn from you and become good drivers. It is especially important to show your teen driver that you are not distracted with your phone or car radio, or eating breakfast or lunch, applying makeup or other grooming activities. Taking your eyes off the road even for a second or two can result in a serious accident and loss of life.

It is inevitable that at some point and a motor vehicle operator you or your teen may be involved in a minor collision that requires auto body and collision repair services. The team here at Marksman Auto Body is ready to handle all of your auto body repair needs. However, following safety tips and best driving practices can lower the risk.

Here are several safe driving tips that you and your teenage driver can follow:

Get to know your car – practice in the vehicle. If you are teaching your child to drive, let them get a feel for the car in an empty parking lot on a weekend.
Adjust your driver settings. Make sure your seat is comfortable and you can easily reach the pedals. Adjust your mirrors so that you have the largest field of view possible. Remove anything from inside the vehicle that would disrupt the view.
Remove Distractions. As mentioned above, turn phones to silent or do not disturb. If you want to listen to music, get it setup and playing BEFORE driving.
Maintain a safe distance. A good rule to follow is one car length for every 10 miles per hour you are traveling. For example, if you are going 50 mph, then you should have 5 car lengths between you and the car in front of you.
Follow Speed Limits. Most accidents are caused by driving too fast, particularly when road conditions require you to slow down. Follow posted speed limits and drive defensively.
Driving with Friends. A new teenage driver and a car full of their friends is a bad combination. Most states have laws regarding how many people a new teen driver can have in the car with them. Be sure to know the rules and ensure your teen driver follows the rules.
Practice with your teen. Go driving with your teen and talk to them without distractions such as phone or radio. Point out potential hazards, other drivers’ behavior, braking sooner rather than later.
Limit Nighttime Driving. It takes a lot of practice to become a good driver, make sure your teen gets many hours of driving before driving alone at night.

Paintless Dent Repair

Cleveland, Akron, Medina, Northeast Ohio

Paintless Dent Repair or sometimes known as Paintless Dent Removal or simply PDR, is the process of working the metal to remove a dent without doing traditional auto body repair where you would grind the paint off, smooth the metal out as best as possible, and fill-in with body filler to finish it, sand it and prepare for painting.

A candidate for paintless dent repair would be when the paint is not broken and we have a fairly smooth dent rather than a sharp corner, and the paint on the vehicle is still in good shape. Sometimes when doing paintless dent repair we can do everything from the front, but sometimes we need to gain access to the metal from behind the panel which is more involved with removal of panels.

In our experience we have seen less professional paintless dent repair technicians drill holes in the metal. At Marksman Auto Body, we never drill holes for paintless dent removal. We prefer less invasive techniques such as suction or glue pulls and specialized tools to pull the dent.

At Marksman we have been able to perform paintless dent repair on larger dents, for example where someone may have sat or fell into a car panel as well as your typical dings and dents from road debris, vehicle doors or hail damage.

Advantages and Disadvantages with Paintless Dent Repair

The advantage of paintless dent repair is that it is a less invasive repair which often means it is a less expensive dent repair. Especially on newer vehicles, if you have the OEM paint and can repair the dent without opening that factory sealed paint it is a much more advantageous and less complicated repair. If done correctly, paintless dent repair will alleviate paint match issues since we will not need to repaint the panel. Also, generally speaking paintless dent repair is quicker than traditional dent repair techniques.

The disadvantages of paintless dent repair are that not every dent is a candidate. Contact Marksman to evaluate your dent and we can advise and recommend on the best procedure for repairing the dent which will bring your car back to its condition before the dent incident. Another disadvantage of paintless dent repair is that there are a lot of auto body technicians out there who claim to be able to perform paintless dent repair and you may get an inexperienced technician who doesn’t fully understand what is involved in providing a top notch paintless dent repair.

Insurance Coverage and Paintless Dent Repair

The insurance providers that Marksman Auto Body have worked with are always onboard with paintless dent repair because it does tend to be a less-expensive auto body repair since we’re not re-painting and having to blend in the adjacent body panels to get an acceptable paint match. Insurance companies will definitely cover paintless dent repair, especially when it results from hail damage.

Marksman Auto Body – Your Best Choice for Paintless Dent Repair in Cleveland, Akron, Medina and Northeast Ohio

At Marksman Auto Body we have a great deal of experience in paintless dent repair often from correcting less experienced technicians’ efforts that did not result in a favorable outcome. We have selected our technician partners based on our own demanding standards of how paintless dent repair should be done. There are a lot of technicians who simply don’t perform paintless dent repair correctly. At Marksman, you can trust that we have vetted the technicians for you and only work with the very best people who can correctly perform paintless dent repair on your vehicle.

Call us today at 330-225-5560 or fill out the repair estimate request form to learn how we can help you with your paintless dent repair.

Dealing with a Cracked Windshield

If you own a motor vehicle it is inevitable that at some point you will need to deal with a damaged or cracked windshield. Whether it’s from a thrown rock on the road, large hail, a random baseball, or you accidentally cracked the windshield yourself, windshields, while strong and durable are in the end made of glass and can be damaged.

There are different types of damages to windshields that you should be aware of, including:

Chips: A chip is a small piece of glass missing from the windshield. The area missing is called a pit.
Bulls-eye: Larger than a chip, a bulls-eye is an area of damage that is dark-colored, circular with an impact hole
Cracks: there are a wide variety of cracks that can occur in your windshield such as
- Edge Crack
- Floater Crack
- Stress Crack
- Long Crack

Generally speaking, some damage to your windshield can be repaired without replacing the entire windshield if it is small and not near the edge. Chip type damage can be filled if it is roughly the size of a quarter or smaller, and there is only one or two chips. If a crack does not reach the edge of the windshield, it may be possible to repair it. However, this type of damage (cracks especially) can expand and continue to get larger. A small crack will only get longer! Because of this it is important to deal with your cracked or damaged windshield sooner rather than later. When damage becomes large enough the windshield can become unsafe with the potential of hurting you while you are driving, not to mention reducing visibility when driving.

Nearly all auto body repair facilities such as Marksman Auto Body in Brunswick, Ohio can assist you with repair or replacement of your damaged auto body windshield.

Does Car Insurance Cover a Cracked Windshield

Many insurance companies include auto glass repair or replacement in their coverage. You most likely will need to have comprehensive coverage for glass damage repair as part of your policy. Give your insurance agent or company a call and discuss what your policy covers. Again, it’s important to address damage to your auto windshield before the problem gets worst and becomes a visibility and safety issue.

What To Do When Your Windshield Cracks

Inspect the damage: usually damage occurs when you are driving. Find a safe and convenient place to pull over and inspect the damage and make a determination if it is minor or severe enough to have compromised the entire windshield. The placement of the windshield crack or chip is a key factor in whether you can continue to drive your car. If the crack is long enough and impairs your visibility, it would be best to not drive the vehicle and arrange to have the vehicle towed to an auto body repair facility.

At Marksman Auto Body in Brunswick, Ohio we will inspect the damage and work with your insurance company to determine the best course of action. If the damage is minor, there is a chance the windshield can be repaired. Major damage would require the entire windshield to be replaced.

Call us today at 330-225-5560 or fill out the estimate request form on our website to learn how we can help you with repairing your cracked windshield.

Why the VIN on your car is important for auto body repair

VIN is an acronym for vehicle identification number. Every vehicle has a VIN. It is an identification number for that vehicle similar to a social security number for a person. With the VIN an auto body repair facility like Marksman Auto Body can learn a great deal about a vehicle such as make, model, year and most importantly be able to ensure we are getting the correct parts when performing collision repair services on that vehicle. Additionally, the VIN can tell us the service records for your vehicle as well as if the car has been in any other accidents and had other auto body repair work. The VIN also tells us about factory recalls, owner registration, insurance coverage and is necessary for warranty claims.

The VIN is a unique code to your vehicle, it is a 17 digit number and is found in a few places on your car. Typically, it is located at the bottom of the front windshield and can sometimes also be found on the inside of the door.

Any auto body repair facility you visit will ask you for the vehicle’s VIN when preparing an auto body repair estimate. In addition to learning more about the car, the body shop uses the VIN to keep track of repairs done to the vehicle for future reference by the owner or the body shop.

How to check a VIN

You may be interested in checking the VIN for your vehicle to see its history. Or you may be considering purchasing a used vehicle and want to review its service records, check for factory safety recalls and determine if it has been in any accidents. There are a number of online resources that can be used to research a vehicle VIN.

The NHTSA offers a free tool to check for vehicle recalls: Check for Recalls: Vehicle, Car Seat, Tire, Equipment | NHTSA and DMV.org also has a vehicle history report: Vehicle History Report – Check Your Car History | DMV.ORG

Additionally, there are paid services such as Autocheck (AutoCheck.com | Homepage | AutoCheck.com) and Carfax (VIN Lookup: Check & Decode Any VIN – CARFAX) that will provide a comprehensive report on a VIN.

Marksman Auto Body – You’re Best Choice for Auto Body Repair Services in Northeast Ohio

For over 36 years the team at Marksman Auto Body has been providing unmatched auto body repair services in the Medina, Summit and Cuyahoga County areas. The team here at Marksman takes great pride in their work and is committed to complete customer satisfaction. As an independent and privately owned auto body repair facility, you’ll receive the utmost attention and care from our team: service that you don’t often fine at the large national auto body repair franchises.

Marksman Auto Body is located in Brunswick, Ohio off SR 303 near I-71. Call us today at 330-225-5560 or request a free estimate on our website.

Getting An Auto Body Repair Estimate

If you drive cars long enough, it is inevitable that you will at some point be in a car accident and will need to have your vehicle repaired by an auto body repair shop. If you were at fault in the accident, you will need to contact your insurance company right away to facilitate getting your vehicle repaired. If the other driver was at fault, you may contact their insurance provider (assuming you exchanged information after the accident) or you may hear from their insurance company shortly after the accident to begin processing the accident claim. The process starts by getting an auto body repair estimate from a collision repair facility.

Do I have To Use the Body Shop the Insurance Company Recommends?

After you have contacted your car insurance company or have been contacted by the other driver’s insurance company, the next step is to get a repair estimate from a quality auto collision and repair shop. The insurance company may recommend a preferred collision repair center for the repairs. Insurance companies have negotiated contracts with auto body repair facilities for lower labor, parts, and materials cost. However, auto body repair shops are not all created equal, and it is important to find a trustworthy and qualified collision repair facility.

In the State of Ohio, you are under no obligation to use the body shop the insurance company recommends. Check out our article “Choosing the Best Auto Body Repair Shop” for insights and advice on choosing a repair facility that is the best choice for you. We hope you will consider Marksman Auto Body!

At Marksman, we provide a complete damage analysis and repair estimate not just of the visible exterior damage to your vehicle, but also any underlying damage. We have excellent working relationships with most insurance companies and will communicate directly with them to facilitate getting the auto body repair estimate approved and getting your vehicle repaired and back in service as soon as possible. Additionally, we can arrange for a rental car while your vehicle is being repaired. Our collision repair technicians are ASE and I-CAR certified with years of experience and modern repair equipment available for your repair. And as an independently owned auto body shop, 100% customer satisfaction is our top priority.

Check out our article “What to Expect During Your Auto Body Repair” to learn more about the auto body repair process at Marksman Auto Body.

Need An Auto Body Repair Estimate? Consider Marksman Auto Body in Brunswick, Ohio serving Medina, Lorain, Summit and Cuyahoga Counties

At Marksman Auto Body we make the process of getting an auto body repair estimate simple and efficient. Give us a call at 330-225-5560 or fill out our Request Estimate form on our website and we will help you with everything involved from dealing with the insurance company, to securing a rental vehicle, and getting your vehicle repaired to the same condition it was in before the car accident.

We are located in Brunswick, Ohio on SR 303 near I-71.

The Most Common Auto Body Repair Shop Services

What are the most common auto body repair shop services?

When you get your driver’s license, start driving and have your own car, eventually you will have the need to take the vehicle to an auto body repair shop, aka a “body shop” for short. Whether you have been in a collision with another vehicle, received dings and dents in parking lots, or perhaps you have hail damage, you’ll want to get your vehicle repaired and back to like new condition. It’s very important to get dents, dings, chipped paint, and other issues where the paint on the vehicle has been damaged repaired as soon as possible. These types of issues can lead to rust on the body if not treated quickly and properly.

If you have been a vehicle owner for a long time, you are aware of what auto body repair shops do and what to expect. For newer car owners though the process can be daunting and the team here at Marksman Auto Body in Brunswick, Ohio thought a short overview of what auto body repair services do (and what they don’t do) might be helpful.

Auto Body Shop Common Repairs

Generally speaking, when it comes to common auto body repair shops, they repair exterior parts of vehicles, such as:

Fenders and Bumpers
Frontend grilles and hoods
Damaged paint areas anywhere on the exterior of the vehicle
Windshields, which may include chipped or cracked front windshields, door windows, or rear windows.

At Marksman Auto Body, we provide a comprehensive set of auto body repair services including:

Panel replacement: Our team of I-CAR certified technicians replace damaged panels whether they are bolt on, spot welded, or sectioned in with the undamaged part of the panel. In any scenario, your vehicle will look just the same as before the accident.
Fiberglass repairs: Let our friendly and experienced team take on any fiberglass repairs your vehicle may need.
Unibody repair: Our state-of-the-art digital measuring equipment assures that every part of the vehicle is brought back to the specifications of the vehicle manufacturer.
Color matching: Just because you got into an accident, that’s no reason your vehicle can’t still look the same as before the damage occurred. Our sophisticated color matching tools and procedures help ensure the best possible color match for your car’s paint.
Dents and scratches: We’re product to offer a full range of auto body repair services and that of course includes fixing annoying dents and scratches, regardless of how they happened.
Paintless Dent Removal (PDR): We are proudly ASE and I-CAR certified, and that means we perform some of the best paintless dent repair in Northeast Ohio! If the dings and dents have no damaged paint, we may be able to remove the dents without costing you extra money on repainting services!
Windshield replacements: whether totally replacing a windshield, door window or rear window, or repairing glass chips or small cracks, Marksman is clearly the best!
Frame analysis and repair: Our experienced auto body repair technicians use the best frame measuring and pulling equipment available to straighten your vehicle’s frame after a collision.
Bumper and plastic repair: We can fix your front and rear bumpers, and everything in between!

What auto body repair shops don’t do

It’s easy to get auto repair shops and auto body repair shops confused. Even Google sometimes will show you incorrect results when searching for one or the other.

One easy way to think about the differences is that an auto repair shop handles everything under the hood of your vehicle, or under the vehicle. Your engine, transmission, tires, brakes, muffler, etc. The things that make you go!

An auto body repair shop is generally going to handle everything on the exterior of the vehicle.

Marksman Auto Body – You’re Best Choice for Auto Body Repair Services near Brunswick and Medina

For over 36 years the team at Marksman Auto Body has been providing unmatched auto body repair services in the Medina, Summit and Cuyahoga County areas. The team here at Marksman takes great pride in their work and is committed to complete customer satisfaction. We perform every repair as if it were for family. As an independent and privately owned auto body repair facility, you’ll receive the utmost attention and care from our team: service that you don’t often fine at the large national auto body repair franchises.

Marksman Auto Body is located in Brunswick, Ohio off SR 303 near I-71. Call us today at 330-225-5560 or request a free estimate on our website.