If you're like me, you drive your car everywhere. But after 15 years of reliable services, dents and rust now cover my car's hood, trunk and doors. I don't want to sell my car and buy a new one, so I decided to take it to an auto body and paint shop. Not only did the shop repair the dents and remove the rust, the technicians repainted it. If your car or truck looks less than stellar, take it to an auto body shop for repairs. My blog shows you where to look for the best auto body services and how to even perform your own repairs at home. Don't sell your car. Give it a makeover instead.
Drivers usually think a collision involves another car smashing into a moving or parked vehicle. Collisions take a lot of other forms. One of the more surprising and no less damaging ones is when a tree branch falls onto a car. Whether the branch was rotted, struck by lightening, or collapsed under pressure from heavy winds doesn't change the next step. Collision repair work has to be done on the car. Due to the unique situation of the tree branch likely being stuck in the car, extra work is required to properly remove the debris before taking the car to a collision repair shop, such as Convoy Collision and Auto Body.
Do Not Pull The Tree Branch Off The Car
Pulling the branch off the car by yourself or with inexperienced helpers is a bad idea. For one, you do run the risk of hurting yourself or someone else if the tree branch tears free and causes an unforeseen injury. And then there is the matter of causing even more damage to the car. If, say, a portion of the tree branch is tangled in with broken or dented sections of the car's body, yanking the tree off could make the damage far worse. Now, some may say the body is already seriously damaged and these portions have to be removed anyway. True, but the engine, radiator, or other parts might end up being severely damaged. The car could even end up totaled.
Cutting the Tree Branch
One way to deal with the removal of the branch is to cut the tree section apart and take it away piece by piece. Smaller branches can be easily cut away with a hacksaw. Using a hacksaw on the larger piece of the branch remaining on top of the car might be workable. In some situations, a power-saw is suggested. The real question here is "Who is going to do the cutting job?"
Asking the Body Shop
Unless you have a lot of experience using saws and know a little bit about dealing with damaged cars, don't even try a DIY job. Calling the insurance company to recommend someone to deal with the situation is another plan, but it may be wise to call a local auto body collision repair shop and let the manager know about the situation. Someone from the shop may be capable of effectively removing the tree and towing the car to the garage. The body shop definitely will employ great care to avoid causing any damage to the car so as to avoid being responsible for their repairs.
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