“Smash repairs” covers everything from a scraped bumper to a car that needs its structure measured and pulled back into shape. On a modern vehicle the difference between those two jobs is smaller than it looks, because so much is now bonded, riveted and loaded with sensors. A bumper is not just a bumper when there is a radar behind it.
A proper repair comes down to four things: finding all the damage, not just the visible damage; using the method the manufacturer specifies for that panel and that material; matching the paint so the repair does not announce itself; and recalibrating whatever safety systems the damage disturbed. Skip any one of them and the car looks fixed without being fixed.
Tell us what happened and whether the car is drivable. If it is not, we will organise towing. If you are at the roadside and shaken, we will walk you through what to photograph and what to get from the other driver.
We look at the car properly, not just the dent. Most repairs that blow out do so because damage underneath was missed at quoting stage, so we would rather find it now and tell you.
We deal with your insurer directly. Images, report, authority. You should not have to project manage your own claim.
Panels come off and the car is measured against the manufacturer’s data. This is where hidden damage shows up.
Sections the maker allows to be repaired get repaired. Sections the maker says must be replaced get replaced, with the correct welds, rivets and bonding for that joint. Genuine parts where the manufacturer requires them.
Colour matched to the panel in front of us and blended into the adjacent panels, because matching to a paint code alone rarely survives daylight. More on how we do this on our spray painting page.
Everything goes back, the driver assistance systems are recalibrated where the repair disturbed them, fault codes are cleared and checked, and the car is driven.
Panel gaps, paint under proper light, torque settings, a clean, and the warranty in writing.
We hold current manufacturer approvals for Tesla, BYD, Zeekr and Lexus. An approval is not a sticker. It means the maker has set requirements for our equipment, our technicians’ training and our repair method, and we repair to their published procedures rather than to a generic one.
It matters most on electric vehicles, where the high voltage system has to be isolated before anyone opens a panel, where the body mixes aluminium castings with high strength steel, and where the cameras that run the driver assistance systems are mounted to the body and move when the body moves. Our Tesla approved repair centre and Zeekr approved repairer pages go into the detail.
We repair every other make as well. The approvals simply mean that four manufacturers have audited how we work.
We are an approved repairer for AAMI, RACV and NRMA and we work with every major insurer in Victoria.
Here is the part most people do not realise. When you make a claim, your insurer will usually nominate a repairer from its own network. Many policies also give you a choice of repairer, either as standard or as an option you paid for, and on most policies you can at least ask. Insurers are required to tell you what your policy allows. If you want CA Autobody, say so, and we will handle the paperwork from there.
You generally have more freedom again, because you are not bound by your own insurer’s network at all. Our accident assistance page covers not at fault claims, towing and how to get a replacement vehicle while your car is with us.
From a dented door skin through to measuring and pulling a bent structure back to specification. See panel beating.
Full resprays, single panels and blends, with the match checked under the light the car will actually live in. See spray painting.
Where the paint is unbroken, we push the dent out and leave the factory finish alone. Cheaper, faster, and better for resale. See paintless dent removal.
A hail storm can leave a bonnet, roof and boot covered in shallow dents. That is the ideal case for paintless repair rather than refinishing three large panels.
High voltage isolation, aluminium structure, sensor recalibration. Done to each maker’s procedure.
Small jobs are still jobs. If it is quick we will tell you it is quick.
Every repair carries a lifetime warranty on parts for as long as you own the vehicle. We also hold a 4.9 rating across more than 350 Google reviews, which for a smash repairer is harder to earn than it sounds, because nobody arrives at a smash repairer in a good mood.
Our workshop is at 7 Ashley Park Drive, Chelsea Heights VIC 3196, between the Mornington Peninsula Freeway and the bay. We offer free pickup and drop off valet in our service area, which means for most of Melbourne’s south east you never need to drive to us at all.
Suburbs we cover include Chelsea, Carrum Downs, Cheltenham, Mentone, Mordialloc, Parkdale, Aspendale, Edithvale, Braeside, Carrum and Sandhurst. The full list is on our areas we serve page.
Often not. Many Victorian policies include choice of repairer or allow you to request it, and your insurer has to tell you what your policy allows. Ask the question before you agree to anything.
It depends on the damage and on parts. A bumper is days, a structural repair is weeks. We give you a time frame once the car has been stripped and assessed, and we tell you if it changes rather than letting you find out on collection day.
Where the manufacturer requires genuine parts, yes, and on our approved makes that is not negotiable. On other vehicles it can depend on what your policy covers, and we will tell you what is going on the car before it goes on.
Yes, and we match to the panel rather than only to the code, because paint fades and no two cars of the same colour are identical after a few summers.
Yes. Bring the car in or send photos to start with.
We have replacement vehicles, and on a not at fault claim you may be entitled to one at no cost to you.
If you are not at fault and the other driver is identified, you generally should not be paying an excess. If you are not sure where you stand, call us and we will explain how it usually works, though your insurer has the final word on your policy.
Sometimes. But cheap quotes usually get there by filling what should be replaced, skipping calibration, or using parts the maker does not approve. Ask any repairer what method they will use and what they will do about the sensors. The answer tells you a lot.
Tell us what happened
Send us the details and we will come back to you with the next practical step. No obligation, and we are happy to help even if you repair elsewhere.
Had an accident? Call us 03 9772 7411
7 Ashley Park Drive, Chelsea Heights VIC 3196
Monday to Friday, 8:00am to 5:00pm
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