If your car is damaged in an accident, you'll have to decide where you want to take it to be repaired. When comparing auto collision repair shops like Mojave Paint And Body 2 in your area, you'll have to weigh their reviews, rates and warranties. If you're moving out of state soon, you'll also want to think about whether they have other locations. Taking your car to a national collision repair chain could help you resolve any post-repair issues that are covered by a warranty.

Look at the Warranties

Virtually all reliable auto collision repair shops offer some form of warranty, although the level of protection that shops warranties afford varies widely. Quoted by Edmunds, auto body repair center owner John Malette advises people to look for a shop that offers at least a one-year warranty.

Look at the Locations

A warranty will only be useful to you if you're near one of the shop's locations. For people who don't plan on moving, they can easily bring their car back to a local body shop if there's a problem with the work that was done.

If you no longer live in the state, though, this won't be a viable option for you. First, the price of the repair would have to be significant to outweigh the financial cost of driving back to the place you had do the work. Second, even if it made financial sense to bring your car back, driving it to the repair shop and back would take at least a day. This doesn't even take into account the time you would be away from your new home while the body shop fixed the issue.

Therefore, if you'll be moving long distance anytime in the next year, you should take your car to a national chain. Unlike a local shop, a national chain will have other locations that will honor the chain's warranty. As long as they have a location where you're moving, you'll be able to easily bring your car in if you have any problems. Of course, before selecting a national chain you should make sure they have at least one location in your new hometown, as many national chains don't have locations in every state.

It's unlikely that you'll have any problems with the work done on your car, but it's not impossible that a repair shop makes a mistake. In case they do, you'll want to be able to bring your car in for any work that's covered under the shop's warranty. If you're moving out of state soon, this means you should select a national chain that has a location near your new home.