When your car is involved in an accident or collision, the damage to the vehicle can be more mechanical than cosmetic in some situations. Finding an auto repair shop to go over the vehicle and help restore it to running condition is essential. 

Vehicle Damage

More often than not, a car involved in a collision will have some damage to the sheet metal or body, but the mechanical issues that can result from the wreck can be significant. Working with an auto repair shop to correct the mechanical damage is essential, but it is essential to do all the repairs in the proper order, and that can change depending on the collision damage. 

If the frame is bent on the vehicle, it may need to be corrected before the auto repair shop can change damaged parts or correctly align new parts that need to be installed. If that is the case, you can have the vehicle's bodywork repaired first, then have it sent to the auto repair shop to complete the remaining work. 

In some situations, the repairs to the frame or unibody of the car are critical. Still, the shop working on the vehicle might handle both the mechanical and the bodywork so that repairs can be made in one location. This is common with larger auto collision repair centers or body shops that do a high volume of auto repair and body restoration work.

Suspension Damage

Damage to your vehicle's suspension is often common in a side-impact collision, but the damage to the body may look very minimal. If the impact was at the tire and wheel well, the suspension might absorb the impact with minor damage to the fender opening. 

A collision like this can cause the suspension to shift to one side, and the auto repair shop working on the can will have to assess the damage to determine if they can install new parts to fix the car or if the mounting brackets and frame have shifted as well. If there is damage to the mounting points on the vehicle, replacing the suspension parts will not fix the damage, and the vehicle should go to a collision repair shop to have the frame assessed and straightened if required. 

Body Damage

Once the car or truck is straight and square, the auto body repair shop can replace the sheet metal that is damaged, replace any glass that needs it, and deal with all the cosmetic repairs. Once all the bodywork, mechanical repairs, and frame restoration are complete, the vehicle will be ready to go back to the owner. Each repair needs to be handled properly, so talk with the auto repair shop you use to determine the best place to start.