Two Reasons Failing To Repair Your Vehicle After An Accident Will Cost You Money

You were involved in a minor accident. While you sustained some damage to your vehicle, you can still drive it and the damage doesn't really bother you – so, there is no need to make all the necessary repairs, right? The answer is no. When you don't make the necessary repairs after an accident, you're actually only costing yourself more money. Here are two reasons you want to make sure you are fully repairing your vehicle after an accident.

Rust

While your vehicle may have a beautiful color on its exterior, under all that is a simple, metal body. In addition to making the vehicle more appealing, paint also serves as a protective coat over the vehicle to protect it from things like rust. If the damage sustained to the vehicle caused the paint to chip away in any areas, failing to have the area repaired and repainted puts you at an increased risk for rust damage.

When the metal layer of the vehicle is exposed, this allows pathogens and moisture to seep into it and oxidize. Once this occurs, you will start to see small areas of rust forming along the surface. Rust doesn't just look bad, but in severe cases, it causes the metal to deteriorate, putting the integrity of the vehicle at risk. Since rust spreads easily, even a small area of rust can quickly spread and become a larger problem and costlier repair.

Preexisting Damage Deduction

If you decide not to fix your damaged vehicle after an accident, you want to hope you don't find yourself in another accident any time soon. Say you were recently involved in an accident and sustained $2,500 of damage, for instance. You received the money from your insurance provider, but decided to forgo some of the repairs and only fixed about $1,000 worth of damage. You find yourself involved in another accident a year later where you sustain $2,000 worth of damage in the same area.

When you put in a claim with your provider for this damage, don't expect the full $2,000. Instead, you will receive $2,000 less the preexisting $1,500 worth of damage from the previous accident. This will leave you with only $500 to repair your vehicle. Some drivers are shocked to discover that insurance companies have the right to deduct any preexisting, unrepaired damage from any new claims.

In the event your vehicle is in an accident, save yourself unnecessary stress and money by having your vehicle repaired promptly.

For collision repair, contact a company such as Central Ave Auto Body.