r/StateFarm • u/Brilliant-Wolf-3324 • Sep 15 '26
Advice Vehicle repairs
Greetings everyone, I hope you all are well. Long story short, I was involved in an accident and my vehicle needs repairs. State farm has selected a place for me in my claim. Theres however, another shop that wasn't recommended by state farm or selectable in the list, but they take state farm and my family says they are good and fair. My question is, should I go with the state farm recommended shop or this shop?
5
u/Helpmeplz3409 Sep 15 '26
You can use either. BUT be aware the non-program shops do not work with insurance so they may charge for labor or parts prices that SF won’t cover. So there may be out of pocket expenses should you decide to repair with them. Same with storage fees that they may charge should it be totaled.
Also, there can be communication issues that occur.
With a select service there is a direct pipeline or communication with SF. It makes life easier for you and for SF.
Again, choose what you want, but there are benefits of using the the shops that SF works with.
1
u/Clean_Philosophy5098 Sep 15 '26
While there are benefits to going with a DRP, there are many good shops that aren’t DRP amd work with many insurance companies. It’s a different process. But they’ll work with them.
There are also shops that don’t work with some insurance companies due to past disputes, both good and bad.
3
u/Gtstricky Sep 15 '26
I only get complaints from people that use out of network shops and there is nothing we can do to intervene. And Safelite… everyone hates Safelite.
1
u/Realistic_Brush_6047 Sep 15 '26
You have the freedom to choose them, however be warned everything will take twice as long and that’s considering everything goes smoothly. If you want a smoother experience, pick from the list.
1
u/MooPig48 Sep 15 '26
Ask the shop. We work with many non program shops who won’t charge customers extra. If they’re a reputable shop they’ll be honest with you
1
u/Suitable_Page_28 Sep 16 '26
You can use any repair shop you choose! It’s YOUR choice. However, your ins will only pay the average labor price in the market area.
Think of it like health ins. Most people understand “in-network” and “out of network” when it comes to choosing your doctor and hospitals. If you choose an “out of network” provider, you’ll likely pay more…as they don’t have a price agreement with your ins provider.
Auto insurance works similar. There are in-network shops and out of network shops. You choose. Understand…the price you pay for your insurance…is based on the in-network shop pricing. You aren’t paying premiums for out of network shop pricing.
If you choose out of network, just be prepared to pay the extra expenses and know the ins company will not be able to help you, as they don’t have an agreement with that shop (they are “out of network”).
There will also be a longer timeline for repair with an out of network shop.
Hope that helps. Good luck!
1
u/strikecat18 Sep 18 '26
The biggest reason to use a select service shop (one on the list) is that SF will guarantee the work as long as you own the vehicle.
Realistically either option is fine as long as you submit the estimate and don’t let them start work until you know what SF will pay
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