After an accident, most people just want one thing: their car back, the way it was before. What many drivers don’t realize, however, is that by the time the vehicle is returned to them, a long chain of auto body repair decisions have been made without their knowledge – decisions that affect their safety, their warranty, and the long-term value of their vehicle. At Nylund’s Collision Center, we believe you deserve to understand exactly what happens to your car after you hand over the keys.
This article walks you through the repair process at many insurance-preferred shops, explains the conflict of interest that can exist in those arrangements, and tells you what questions to ask so that you can protect yourself.
What Is a Direct Repair Program – and Why Does It Matter to You?
Many insurance companies maintain a list of “preferred” or “approved” body shops. These shops have signed a contract with the insurer, agreeing to certain terms in exchange for a steady stream of customers. This arrangement is called a Direct Repair Program, or DRP.
On the surface, that sounds convenient. In practice, though, it creates a conflict of interest. Because the shop has agreed to work within the insurer’s guidelines, the insurance company – not you – effectively becomes the customer. The insurer’s goal is to manage the cost of the repair, which means the shop is often working within a framework that prioritizes what the insurer considers compliant over what the manufacturer recommends.
At Nylund’s, we do not participate in any DRP arrangements. Our repair decisions are guided by one thing: the manufacturer’s procedures for your specific vehicle. That’s an important distinction, and it’s why customers often come to us after having their car repaired elsewhere and finding that something isn’t right.
Person #1: The Estimator – Your Point of Contact, But Not Your Advocate
When you bring your car to a DRP shop, the first person you’ll interact with is the estimator. They catalog the damage, write up the repair plan, and submit it to the insurance company. They’re also your main point of contact throughout the process.
Here’s the problem: that estimator is writing what’s called an “insurance-compliant” estimate. That means the document is built to fit within the box the insurer has defined – which often includes aftermarket parts or used parts, rather than original equipment manufacturer (OEM) parts.
What most estimators won’t tell you: if aftermarket parts are installed on a vehicle that’s still under warranty, it can void portions of that warranty. For example, aftermarket suspension components mean the manufacturer is no longer responsible for that system. That’s information you have a right to know – but in most DRP shops, nobody will bring it up.
Once the estimate is submitted, the insurer may send back a “change request” – essentially a list of items they want removed or swapped out to bring the cost down. That negotiation happens behind the scenes. You’ll never see it. As Rob Grieve of Nylund’s puts it: it’s not good enough until it’s cheap enough. And that’s not a standard any car owner should be satisfied with.
Here is a complete video from our YouTube series, “The Airing of GRIEVEances“.
Decisions Made at Every Stop Through the Shop
The estimator is just the beginning. Once your car enters the repair process, it passes through multiple hands – and at each stop, decisions are made that you may never hear about.
The Body Technician
The body technician is responsible for the physical repairs: replacing panels, welding structural components, and restoring the vehicle’s frame and structure. In a recent post-repair inspection we performed on a nearly new 2024 Toyota RAV4, we found that the radiator support – which was clearly bent and clearly listed on the estimate for replacement – had never been replaced at all. The shop had charged for it. The customer had no idea.
Beyond the missing part, we also found structural components that had been welded in incorrectly and not according to Toyota’s repair procedures. Those aren’t minor issues. Improper welds on structural elements are a safety concern, not a cosmetic one. The body technician made those calls without a single conversation with the vehicle’s owner.
The Painter
After structural work is completed, the car moves to the paint department. Here, too, decisions get made. In the RAV4 case, paint had not been sanded or primed correctly over the weld areas. There were visible runs in the paint on the frame rail. To make it worse, the painter had been paid – per the estimate – to paint the radiator support. The same radiator support that was still bent and had never been replaced.
Nobody called the customer to say, “Is it okay if we leave runs in your paint?” Nobody told them the radiator support wasn’t going to be replaced. The decisions were simply made, the car was reassembled, and it was handed back.
Outside Vendors: The Mechanic and the Calibration Company
Some repairs require work beyond what the body shop handles in-house. In this case, the vehicle needed suspension work. Rather than sending it to the Toyota dealership – where certified technicians with the right tools could handle it properly – the shop sent it to an outside mechanic. The result was suspension hardware that had been installed with the wrong tools, leaving fasteners that hadn’t been properly secured.
The vehicle also required ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance System) calibrations after a front-end hit. Those calibrations need to be performed with manufacturer-specific equipment and software. Whether that standard was met, the customer had no way of knowing.
In total, at least five separate parties made significant decisions about this vehicle — the estimator, the body technician, the painter, whoever chose the outside mechanic, and the mechanic themselves. The customer was consulted about none of it.
How to Protect Yourself When Your Car Needs Collision Repair
Understanding how this process works is the first step. Knowing what to do about it is the second.
Before you ever need a body shop, consider choosing your insurance carrier carefully. Not all insurers treat the repair process the same way. Look for carriers that earn strong marks for claim handling – resources like the insurer report card can help guide that decision before you’re ever in an accident.
When your car does need repairs, remember that you have the right to choose your own shop. Your insurer may recommend their preferred shops, but you are not required to use them. If you do choose a shop on an approved list, ask directly: Do you follow the manufacturer’s repair procedures? Do you use OEM parts? Do you perform all work in-house, or do you send it to outside vendors?
Look for shops that carry manufacturer certifications. A certified Toyota shop, for example, has been trained to repair Toyota vehicles according to Toyota’s specifications. That certification doesn’t automatically guarantee a perfect outcome, but it sets a clear standard that you can hold the shop to.
Finally, ask to see the estimate and have someone walk you through it. You should know what parts are being used, where the work is being performed, and what the repair plan looks like before anything starts.
The Bottom Line: You Get What They Pay For
There’s an old saying that you get what you pay for. In the world of insurance-driven collision repair, the more accurate version is: you get what they pay for. The insurer controls the budget, the DRP shop works within it, and the consumer is often the last to know about the tradeoffs that were made along the way.
The RAV4 we inspected in this episode ultimately became a total loss – not because of the original accident, but because of what happened to it during the repair. A nearly new vehicle, destroyed by a process the owner had no visibility into.
At Nylund’s Collision Center, we do things differently. We follow manufacturer repair procedures. We use OEM parts. We keep customers informed and welcome them to come in and see their car at any stage of the process. And when we can’t do something in-house at the right standard, we send it to the right place – not the cheapest one.
If you have questions about a current or past repair, or you’d like to schedule a post-repair inspection, contact Nylund’s Collision Center. We’re here to make sure you – not the insurer – come first.