There is a fine line between advising a customer and coaching a customer in the collision repair industry. Advising someone on their legal rights is best left to a licensed attorney. But coaching? That is something we can — and should — do. 

Collision repair professionals have something most consumers don't: experience. We see insurance claims every day. We understand estimates, valuations, supplements, repair procedures, comparable vehicles, salvage, and the strange maze of paperwork and phone calls that seems to multiply whenever an insurance company declares a vehicle a total loss. 

Our customers don't have that experience. Most have never dealt with a total loss before. And when they hear the words “Your vehicle has been declared a total loss,” they often have no idea what happens next. 

That is where we can make a tremendous difference. 

Total Loss: A Whole New Game  

Years ago, a total loss seemed relatively simple. The adjuster and the customer determined the value, the insurance company paid the customer, and the vehicle changed hands. 

Today, there can be a surprising number of players involved — insurance companies, valuation companies, salvage companies, lienholders, and others. Somewhere in the middle of all that activity is a customer who may simply be trying to figure out what their car is worth and how they are going to get to work on Monday. 

Our job isn't to negotiate their claim for them. It isn't to provide legal advice. And it certainly isn't to tell them what they must do. 

But we can coach them through the process. 

At our shop, we regularly point customers toward resources such as www.yourvehicleyourchoice.com, particularly the Total Loss section. The basic philosophy is simple: 

Step 1: YOU should determine the value of your car.  

Step 2: Negotiate a settlement with the insurance company …and everything is negotiable!  

Step 3: Get paid—or get the agreement in writing. Step 4: Release the vehicle.  

That process puts the customer back in the driver's seat—at least figuratively, since their actual car may still be sitting at the repair shop. 

Then I Got to Be the Customer  

A couple of weeks ago, I got an unexpected opportunity to practice what we preach. 

We had arrived at our lake home for a long weekend, about 45 minutes from our shop. Friday morning was beautiful, and I decided to take one of my cars that I keep there for a drive. 

It was a super clean modified 2005 Mini Cooper S. Windows down. Sunroof open. Six-speed manual transmission. Perfect morning. 

About 20 minutes into the drive, I noticed a black wall of smoke behind me. 

“Is that my car?”  

Surely not. The car was running great. It sounded great. 

I pulled over into the center median to investigate. When I stopped, smoke began pouring from the front end. Then the flames appeared. Within moments, my Mini was engulfed in fire. 

I stood beside the highway watching traffic fly past while taking video of my increasingly crispy Mini Cooper. When the officer arrived, he suggested I call my insurance company. 

I told him, “I only have liability.” Fortunately, I was wrong. I actually had full coverage. 

I opened a claim and, remarkably, my insurance company presented me with a total loss valuation the same day. The valuation was prepared through Audatex. I wasn't even aware that Audatex provided total loss valuations. 

The report stated that 30 comparable vehicles had been identified. However, only three were provided as the basis for the valuation. 

That was my cue to do exactly what we encourage our customers to do. I did my homework. 

I researched the vehicle, reviewed the comparables they provided, found additional comparable vehicles, gathered recent professional photographs and pulled together service records. 

Then I moved to Step 2: 

Negotiate.  

Then Came the Salvage Company  

While I was negotiating with my insurance company, my phone and email began getting hammered by a large salvage company. 

I despise text messages, so I responded with the universal response: 

STOP.  

The emails were more interesting. 

They told me I needed to complete their documents so they could instruct my insurance company to pay me. I laughed. Nonetheless, I opened the documents and found a lengthy release to sign. It was multiple pages long. 

My general rule is simple: if a document is so complicated that I feel like I need an attorney to explain what I'm signing, I'm not going to sign it without getting that explanation. 

So I didn't sign it. I continued working directly with my insurance company. We eventually reached a settlement that was nearly 40% higher than the original offer. 

My insurance company offered several payment options. I accepted the payment, then returned the title to the salvage company using the FedEx information they had previously provided. Case closed. Or so I thought. 

I later received another call from that same salvage company telling me I needed to sign their documents in order to get paid. I explained that I had already been paid. Their agent was baffled. And I wasn't signing “their” documents. 

What Did I Learn?  

I learned something I already knew — but experiencing it personally made it much more real. 

Customers need coaching.  

Not legal advice. Not someone negotiating their claim for them. Not someone telling them what they have to do. 

They need someone who can say: “Slow down.” “Here's what usually happens next.” “Here's some information you may want to consider.” “Here's where you can research the value of your vehicle.” “Don't sign something you don't understand.” “Make sure you know what you're agreeing to before you release the vehicle.” That's coaching. And it builds trust. 

When a customer walks into our shop after a crash, they aren't just looking for someone to repair their car. Sometimes they need someone who understands the process well enough to help them navigate what comes next. 

A total loss can be emotional, confusing, and financially significant. We may not be attorneys, insurance adjusters or valuation experts — but we are collision professionals. We've seen this movie hundreds of times. 

Our customers may be seeing it for the first time. So don't leave them stranded when you learn their car is not repairable. 

Coach them through it.  

They'll remember that long after they forget what the final repair bill — or total loss settlement — was.