When a customer's brand-new car was hit by a deer, Body Builders Automotive in Rolling Meadows, Illinois, disassembled the vehicle and submitted its findings to the customer's insurer. The insurer denied coverage for new parts and additional safety inspections, telling the shop the work "wasn't necessary" and that "nobody else charges for it," according to co-owner Maria Quintero.
Because the manufacturer's repair procedures called for the parts and inspections, the shop wouldn't substitute in a cheaper alternative to close the gap. The customer ultimately paid the difference out of pocket, Quintero said, and was frustrated with her insurer after years as a policyholder.
"We obviously don't use aftermarket parts because it's not recommended by the manufacturer," Quintero said.
The case is one example of an approach Quintero built into Body Builders Automotive after taking over ownership: telling customers what to expect from a claim before a dispute happens, not after, a strategy other shops in this series have also described as central to advocating for customers in insurance disputes.
From receptionist to owner
Body Builders Automotive was founded in 1984 by two brothers who were technicians, Quintero said. She joined the shop in February 1998 as a receptionist and later worked as a claims processor, in parts procurement, as a front-end estimator, and in accounting. Around 2020 or 2021, one of the shop's owners decided to retire and asked Quintero to buy him out, making her a co-owner of the business she'd started at as a receptionist.
At the time, Quintero said, Body Builders Automotive was a full direct repair program shop, with that work making up about 78% of its business. When she took ownership, the shop dropped every one of its direct repair program relationships, she said.
"We really wanted to be pro-consumer, and we wanted to advocate for the consumer's right to choose the right repair," Quintero said. "It's just sometimes the decisions that are made aren't always in the best interest of the consumer," she said. "It is more in the best interest of the pocketbook of the bill payer."
No estimate before disassembly
Quintero said the shop's process starts with a virtual consultation focused on the customer's concerns before any repair is discussed. From there, Body Builders Automotive tells customers it won't write a front-end estimate.
"We don't write front-end estimates at our shop anymore because we feel like that is a disservice to the consumer," Quintero said. She said an estimate "is not able to identify everything that the vehicle is going to need to bring back the accident condition."
Instead, Quintero said, the shop explains three things it won't negotiate on: safety, structural integrity, and OEM repair procedures. Customers are told an accurate repair plan can only be built once the vehicle is disassembled at the shop of their choice, she said.
Quintero said the biggest misconception she sees is customers believing they need to gather three or four estimates to negotiate on price, when the shop's focus is the safest repair to bring a vehicle back to its condition before the crash, not the lowest bid.
Documenting the shortfall
Once repairs begin, Quintero said the shop updates customers at each stage of a claim. After disassembly, staff tell the customer what was found and what's being submitted to the insurer, she said.
"This is what we found, this is what we're submitting to the insurance," Quintero said of that first call. Once an insurer responds, she said staff tell the customer "this is where we're at, and this is the shortfall," listing what the insurer declined to cover before repairs are finished, so customers know their final bill before picking up the vehicle.
Quintero said shops often avoid delivering that kind of news early because nobody wants to be the bearer of bad news.
"I feel like we are afraid to have conversations, so we omit them till the end, and then it gets worse," she said, adding that the industry has been "conditioned" to withhold updates that customers would often rather hear early.
When a claim stalls
For a claim that isn't resolving fairly, Quintero said the starting point is empathy, followed by resources. She said the shop has built a relationship with a local Illinois attorney and points customers toward options such as filing a diminished value claim or invoking a policy's right-to-appraisal clause when a claim stalls.
Quintero said the shop continues to advocate for customers even after a vehicle is picked up and paid for.
"We continue, even though the car's not there and the money's paid, we continue to advocate for them," she said.
Why she keeps educating customers
Quintero said the responsibility of ownership extends beyond her own building to the vehicles that leave it.
"Not only was I responsible for the people inside my building, but I'm also responsible for the product that gets put on the road," she said. "I could not sleep at night knowing that what we did inside our building caused harm to somebody else."
How Body Builders Automotive builds education into every claim
- Start with a consultation, not an estimate. Virtual consultations focus on the customer's concerns before any repair plan comes up, since an accurate estimate can only be written after disassembly.
- Name your non-negotiables up front. Telling customers early that safety, structural integrity, and OEM repair procedures won't be compromised sets expectations before a dispute happens.
- Flag the shortfall as it happens, not at pickup. Updating customers after disassembly, and again once an insurer responds, keeps a denied item from becoming a surprise on the final bill.
- Keep a list of outside resources ready. A relationship with a local attorney, along with pointing customers toward diminished value claims or their state's right-to-appraisal clause, gives customers options when a claim doesn't resolve in-house.
- Don't stop advocating once the invoice is paid. Customers may need documentation or support from the shop well after a vehicle has been picked up.
Want to share your shop's advocacy story? Every edition of The Advocate profiles a collision repair shop that went to bat for a customer in an insurance dispute, total loss reversal, denied supplement, or claims confusion. If your shop has a story like this, email us at lisa@autobodynews.com to be considered for a future feature.
