(WXYZ) — If you've been in a fender bender or a car crash in the last six months or so, you've probably had trouble finding a shop to fit you in or may have experienced long wait times after dropping your car off for repairs.
In some cases, metro Detroit customers say they're waiting weeks, or even months, to get their car back.
“It's very frustrating," Brian Watkins of St. Clair Shores said.
Watkins can't believe how long it's taking to fix his wife's car. The wreck happened on May 24 in Detroit. He arrived on the scene to help his wife, and while they were waiting for police, another car crashed into them.
The truck was totaled, and then the quest to fix his wife's car began.
“How many repair shops did you call?” I asked.
"I called three different repair shops," he said, adding that it would take ”about four weeks to get us in with the car just sitting there. And 10 to 12 weeks for the repair."
Because of the nature of the crash, the Watkins' were able to get two rental cars, but for only three weeks maximum. Their rental car coverage is about to run out.
“We did take the cheapest rental car they had, which does not fit my family at all," he said. "I have four girls and my wife and myself, and we are driving a tiny Toyota Corolla."
Tristan Haisha, the owner of Collision Guys' Auto Body Shop, has been in this business for nearly 10 years. They have six shops in the southern part of Michigan — five of them are in metro Detroit.
“The number one challenge, I would say, is locating the original parts needed. And aside from that, it's finding qualified help to add to our teams.”
In fact, "finding affordable parts" and "finding qualified/responsible technicians" were the top two challenges independent auto repair shops are expected to face in 2023, according to an IMR survey conducted at the beginning of the year.
Haisha said it's important for people to get into trades as they need more mechanics.
"[The need is] A lot more urgent because the people that are in, that have been in the industry for years, are getting near retirement," he said.
But, he said the shortage of qualified workers and affordable parts is only part of the problem.
“Our wait times could be reduced by 40% to 50% if insurance companies would assess all of the damages on the first original estimate that we received from them," he said.
“We absolutely are seeing much longer lag times on people getting back into their vehicles after a collision," Denise Mansfield, the owner of Mansfield Insurance in Shelby Township, said.
Mansfield said the problem is not with adjusters, but rather a perfect storm of low parts inventory, limited staffing at collision shops, and more complicated repair work.
"Even if they bring new people on, they've got to get them up and running to be able to have them learn how to put these very complex vehicles back together," Mansfield said.
Her advice to consumers is ask your insurance company for an extension to your rental car coverage agreement, check your policy's requirement on where you can get your car fixed, and communicate frequently with the repair shop.
For customers, the frustrations come on the heels of the pandemic’s global supply chain crisis and chip shortage.
