A bad color match on a repaired vehicle is a telltale sign of an improper repair. There’s nothing worse than getting your vehicle back after being repaired only to find that the paint does not match like it used to and this will not go away. Although there are a variety of new colors that come out each year, we have all the toners we need to mix our own paint in our state-of-the-art mixing lab here at center collision. New Modern vehicles are painted at the factory with a base coat clear coat system. The base coat, which is the color, is made from a waterborne paint system and the clear coat which protects the color and makes it shiny is a solvent based product.

We use only the best PPG products to match the color and provide durability on the clear coat giving the vehicle a factory looking finish and a color match that cannot be detected.

When you are getting an estimate either from and insurance Adjuster, a photo app, or a collision shop you can be certain that it will not include all the necessary parts, repairs, and procedures simply because it is being written based off what a person can see from the outside of the vehicle. Once the vehicle comes to our shop and is disassembled, additional damage which is accident related is usually discovered at that time. During our repair planning process, we identify what has already been approved on the initial estimate and then we create what we call a supplement which would include anything in addition to the initial estimate that would be required to return the vehicle to its pre accident condition. Once we have a solid

repair plan including any additional repair time, parts, or required procedures, we send this information to the insurance company right away along with supporting photos.

At Center Collision we always write our estimates using genuine factory replacement parts “OEM”. Often, when we send our repair plan to the insurance companies, their Adjusters will review them and replace some or all of the factory replacement parts with aftermarket parts in the hopes of saving some money on the repair for themselves. When we find that this has happened, we advise the insurance company of the difference in the quality of the parts and the lack of safety testing and recommend that they change their estimate back to the original parts we had requested. Washington state law requires insurance companies to use replacement

parts that are “like kind quality”. This is a fairly generic standard that is easily interpreted to include aftermarket parts by an insurance company who is determined to minimize a claim. If your insurance company insists on using aftermarket parts on your vehicle, we will let you know and allow you the opportunity to discuss your contract with them before proceeding.