Unfortunately, in our fast-moving world, traffic accidents are unavoidable and can often pose a great challenge. If all the people involved are unharmed, numerous questions soon arise: “How do I find a good garage?” and “Who will bear the costs for the car repairs?”. Regarding the last question, we can reassure you, provided that the accident was not your fault. If so, don't be afraid to have your car repaired. Because the BGB stipulates that the person who caused the accident is obliged to reverse all damage that has occurred. This in turn means that he/she has to pay for the entire accident repair. But what is the point of the Work shop selection on? More on that in the following post.
How do you find a suitable workshop?
If you want to have your car repaired after an accident, you must first hire a motor vehicle expert. He examines the vehicle in detail and prepares a concretely quantified accident report. Then you have to try to find a suitable workshop for accident repairs. Here you have two options or contact points.
Brand workshop and independent car workshop
Either you turn to a brand workshop or to an independent garage. But what are the differences? We create clarity:
Brand Workshop
Let's take a look at the brand workshop first. This is a car repair shop that is contractually bound to a specific car brand. A brand workshop is therefore particularly familiar with vehicles of the respective brand. Especially when it comes to complicated accident repairs, it makes perfect sense to go to such a workshop. In addition, they usually only use original parts from the respective manufacturer. Of course, this affects the final price of the workshop invoice.
Free auto repair shop
Unlike a brand workshop, a free car workshop, as the name suggests, is not tied to a specific car brand. That means she repairs all sorts of vehicles from all different brands. The biggest advantages of an independent car repair shop are, on the one hand, the broader competence of the mechanics and, on the other hand, the lower price. The latter is due to the fact that independent workshops do not install original parts from the vehicle manufacturer. The disadvantage, on the other hand, is that in the case of complicated damage to certain car models, there may well be a lack of the necessary specialist knowledge.
Important: Some fully comprehensive motor vehicle insurance policies stipulate that their policyholders must contact the insurance company's authorized workshops for accident and bodywork repairs. Otherwise, the policy only covers the costs that would have been incurred in their authorized workshops.
Accident repairs: Also possible in the case of a total loss?
Has your vehicle been totaled in a rear-end collision or a worse scenario? Then you are guaranteed to ask yourself whether accident repairs are also possible in this extreme case? The answer is yes. You can also insist on having your car repaired after a total write-off. However, it is usually not worthwhile, because the repair costs are very likely to be significantly higher than the replacement value of an equivalent vehicle minus the scrap value. However, if you are emotionally attached to your old vehicle, you can of course still have it repaired. However, it is important to note a few relevant aspects:
- The cost of the repair may not exceed the replacement value by more than 130 percent. Otherwise you are contradicting the principle of economic efficiency. And this states that the person who caused the accident should not pay more compensation than is absolutely necessary to repair the damage.
- In addition, you really have to have your car repaired if it's a total loss. Otherwise you are not entitled to the 130 percent of the damages. As a result of this regulation, you are obliged to provide evidence of the accident repairs carried out with appropriate documents.
Worth knowing: You can also do without the accident repairs entirely and instead claim the fixed accident damage in money. This is regulated in the Civil Code under the point of freedom of disposition in §249. In this case we are talking about the so-called "fictitious accounting".
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