When it comes to repairing or refurbishing a vehicle – whether the damage is from a single event or wear over time- there are many variables to be considered
2025 COLLISION REPAIR, REFURBISHMENT, AND REMANUFACTURING FORUM
Assessing the Variables of Collision Repair: A Guide to Repair, Refurbishments, and Remanufacturing
By Iriz Guerrero
When it comes to repairing or refurbishing a vehicle – whether the damage is from a single event or wear over time- there are many variables to be considered
The key variables are the age of the bus, cost of repairs and extent of the damage. The age of the bus is important because naturally older buses have higher mileage and depreciation. They also tend to have more wear and tear issues. We recommend operators compare the cost of repair to the market value of the bus. If the bus is going to be retired soon, it may not be worth the repair. To measure an accurate cost of repair contact a qualified collision repair shop that has experience with buses. The shop will complete a thorough inspection and provide a detailed labor and parts breakdown for the repairs. This will help you understand the extent of the damage and cost of repairs. When it comes to outsourcing collision repair work versus conducting it in-house it is important to note that a monetary damage threshold does not exist because it depends on many factors. Bus operators will use practical thresholds to make decisions on outsourcing collision repair. The decision factors that are considered are extent of damage, shop capabilities, fleet size and downtime impact. Major repairs require specialized technicians and equipment. If your shop is not set up to handle that size of collision, it can cost you a lot of time and money.
It’ s essential to work with an experienced insurance company when dealing with major collision work on buses. Buses are a unique market and not all companies are as knowledgeable with these type of repairs. Insurance companies will do their own inspection and estimate of bus collisions. But it’ s important you obtain multiple repair estimates from collision shops to verify accuracy. The insurance estimate will not always match the repair shop estimate. Both will have to negotiate the costs and come to an agreement. Another element to estimation and inspection is the process of cost estimation which requires several steps. It requires documenting the vehicle, completing a detailed inspection with photos / notes and obtaining pricing from different vendors. It requires a keen inspector that can capture the extent of the repair damage during the inspection. This ensures providing the customer with the most accurate estimate, reducing additional costs during the repair. CoachCrafters is fortunate to be part of the niche market of bus rebuilders in the United States. Bus rebuilding all around requires highly specialized capabilities that are not easily found. CoachCrafters is smaller in size and capacity, but that allows us to provide a very personable experience to our customers. We design and provide custom transport solutions that tailor to the specific needs of each project.
Iriz Guerrero is sales and marketing manager for CoachCrafters. CoachCrafters is happy to help and serve the public transportation industry. Please make sure to give us a call at 833-559-7679 with any of your specific maintenance needs, or visit www. coachcrafters. com for more information.
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