What Are Smart Car Repairs?

03/10/2016

If you’ve been in the market for repairs to a minor dent or scratches in recent years, the chances are that you’ll have come across the term ‘SMART repairs’.

In this article, we’re going to explain all you need to know about this quite recent phenomenon, which is spreading fast through the car industry.

But first, a bit of background…

 

Send It To The Shop

It wasn’t at all long ago when, if you needed to have bodywork repairs done on your car, it would have been sent to a specialist bodyshop.

Most car manufacturers would have their own dedicated facilities, but it has only been in recent years that the body repair shop has commonly been integrated into the services of a typical franchised dealership, with most car-makers running their body repair operations at separate sites.

This was because, as it was more common to replace body panels, rather than repair them, large spaces were needed to store them pending fitting.

And the need for a replacement panel or two would mean that repair times often extended to several days, because the body shop may have had to order the specific part or parts needed, and wait for them to be delivered.

So when the biggest part of the cost of body repairs started to become the hire of replacement cars, so that a damaged car’s driver could stay on the road while the repairs were done, the insurers started to look at ways in which they could rein in this growing expense.

And this has been one of the main drivers behind the development of the ‘SMART repair’ concept.

The development was also heavily backed by the car dealers themselves. When they accepted a car in part exchange, they would often find that it had minor body blemishes, in the shape of small dents or scratches.

These would not be big enough to warrant the expense of putting the car into their own bodyshop, and in any case, the garage would want to either get the car back on sale on their own site, or sell it on through their usual channels, as quickly as possible. 

So there was a big emphasis on the commercial benefits of SMART repairs to the trade.

 

What Makes A Repair SMART?

SMART is an acronym, derived from the phrase ‘Small, Medium Area Repair Techniques’.

Effectively, these methods have allowed the motor industry to divide car body repairs into one of two categories.

While a traditional bodyshop can still be kept busy on repairing major body damage and fitting replacement parts, many of the smaller jobs which it would once have also had on its books are now delegated to another site, specialising in SMART repairs.

A SMART repair can be carried out with all panels still fitted to the vehicle, so the technique will only be suitable when individual body panels have only sustained superficial damage, and there is none to adjoining areas or the main body shell underneath.

It is therefore ideal for fixing relatively minor scratches and dents, and only requires that the bodywork specialist carrying it out can easily reach the affected area.

Because they are mainly cosmetic fixes, many SMART repairs can be done more cheaply than any which involves removal and replacement of any body panels or parts – and this has been one of the biggest factors behind their massive growth.

 

Environmental Benefits

Because they do not need the large premises of old, SMART repairs bring big advantages in terms of their impact on the environment too.

While there is still a need for traditional body shops, which are fully equipped to carry out extensive repair jobs, SMART repairs don’t involve the removal of any body panels. 

Hence, they cut the use of expensive consumables such as metals, paint and other substances used to prepare the parts, as well as the equipment needed to fit them.

As a result, a SMART repair can usually be carried out in a smaller space than a full-blown body panel replacement. So less energy is also needed to do the job, making it a greener alternative to traditional body repairs.

 

Where Is A SMART Repair Suitable For?

The most common area of a vehicle which is treated to a SMART repair is the bumper. This perhaps isn’t surprising, as these parts are fitted specifically to absorb some of the impact in the event of a collision. But the repair technique is also suitable for use on small areas of bodywork, especially below the waistline.

There’s even a system which can be used to remove minor scratches and scuffs from alloy wheels – the kind of damage which often results from a minor encounter with a kerb. Small areas of a wheel can be cleaned, sanded down and then ground to a smooth surface once again, before being treated with a quick-drying lacquer to restore the original appearance.

Repair of windscreen chips which have not developed into a full-blown crack in the glass can also be carried out using a form of SMART technique. You’ve probably seen fleeting demonstrations of this technology in TV ads, and like SMART body repairs.

The aim is to prevent you from having to go through the costly and often time-consuming process of involving your insurance company in getting the work done, and possibly save you the need for a complete windscreen replacement.

And SMART repairs are also now available on any fabric or leather trim inside a car, as well as hard plastic and soft vinyl in areas such as your car’s dashboard or interior door panels.

 

Are SMART Repairs Worthwhile?

There is scepticism in some quarters over whether or not a SMART repair can achieve the same high standard of finish as a regular body shop.

For example, a thread on the Honest John motorists’ advice website contains widely varying opinions, from fleet operators who’d used the system many times and seen the benefits in terms of greatly reduced down time for their vehicles, to individuals who had a job done, and could still see traces of the patching-up some months, even years, later.

So the main message if you’re considering whether a SMART repair is right for your car is the same as it would be for any other kind of maintenance: the job is best done by someone with whom you already have a good working relationship.

For instance, in the case of a car which is still under warranty, and which was bought new from a franchised dealer, that dealer is your best first port of call.

If that dealer already has bodyshop facilities – as we do here at Lindop Toyota, at both our Queensferry and Wrexham sites – then you can be sure its staff will be properly trained in the use of the technology, as part of our ongoing programme to keep them up-to-date with the latest innovations.

It means we can offer our customers the benefits of this speedy and convenient repair system.

And you have to factor into any decision to have SMART repairs done on your car whether they will increase its value. But here’s a thought: there are so many used cars being sold on and traded in day in, day out, that it’s definitely a buyer’s market.

So if those buyers have a choice between a car with pristine bodywork, and one on which the body shows signs of wear, careless use and neglect, well… the car with the perfect body is going to win every time.

SMART repairs really can save you time, and the loss of your no-claims bonus for minor and cosmetic damage on any vehicle. Contact Lindop Toyota today to find out more about these and our full range of body repair options when you need to get your car’s body back into shape. And we will repair any make, so get in touch soon.