Huntsville collision shop owner says it takes a long time to get some car parts

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WAFF) – If you can get into a car wreck, chances are it’s going to take longer than usual to fix that car.

Ingram Collision Center owner David Ingram told WAFF 48 that getting parts for the cars right now was the toughest for him in 30 years.

We have also learned that insurance companies are totaling cars due to this parts backlog.

“With some vehicles there have been significant delays, which obviously costs a lot of time, money and efficiency. I had one car in particular that had a part that had been out of stock for four months,” Ingram said.

Ingram says he thinks this is happening because of a lack of manpower.

“I had another supplier, kind of unusual parts that we needed and their factory was closed for covid. And that obviously adds to the delays,” he explained.

Ingram says wait times for car repairs can become costly for insurance companies that have to pay for rental cars for the owner.

President and owner of Kilgro and Associates insurance agency John Kilgro says companies’ total cars are usually damaged when they reach 75% of their value, but recent circumstances are shifting gears in some cases .

“You might see an insurance company going to say, hey maybe it’s not a total, but given that it’s going to cost us more money in the long run, we’re going to move on. and total the vehicle,” Kilgro said.

Problems finding qualified mechanics are also a struggle for some stores.

Ingram says he’s lucky to have the staff he has, but would like to hire more.

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