Georgia Car Accident Property Damage Guide: How to Get Your Car Repaired

If your car was damaged in an accident, you may be thinking: Who is going to pay to fix it? Where should you take it for repairs? Do you have to use the insurance company’s body shop? What happens if the repair shop finds more damage?
This guide explains how to get your car repaired after an accident in Georgia, including opening the insurance claim, getting the vehicle inspected, choosing a body shop, handling repair estimates and supplemental damage, getting a rental car, and dealing with a total loss or diminished-value claim.

Most property damage claims can be handled without a lawyer. If you were injured in the accident, you can learn more about your options on our Athens car accident lawyer page. We offer free consultations and there are no fees unless we win.

Georgia Car Repair After an Accident – Quick Answers

Who pays to fix my car? Usually the at-fault driver’s insurance, although you may use your own collision coverage in some situations.
Can I choose my own body shop? Yes. You do not have to use the insurance company’s preferred repair shop.
What if the body shop estimate is higher than the insurance estimate? Ask the shop and adjuster to address the difference and, when appropriate, submit a supplemental estimate for additional accident-related damage.
What if the shop finds hidden damage after repairs begin? The shop can document the additional damage and ask the insurer to evaluate a supplement.
What if my car is totaled? The insurer generally pays the vehicle’s fair market value rather than repairing it.

How to Get Your Car Repaired After an Accident in Georgia: Step by Step

1. Report the Accident and Open the Property Damage Claim

Get the other driver’s insurance information from the police report and report the property damage claim. Ask for the claim number and the name and contact information for the adjuster handling the vehicle damage.

2. Ask the Insurance Company to Inspect the Car

Ask how the insurer wants to inspect the vehicle. Depending on the claim, an adjuster may inspect it in person, review photographs, or work from an estimate prepared by a repair facility.

3. Choose a Body Shop

You can choose where to have your car repaired. The insurer may recommend a preferred or partner shop, but you are not required to use that shop simply because the insurer recommends it.

4. Compare the Insurance Estimate With the Body Shop Estimate

The insurer’s initial estimate and the repair shop’s estimate may not match. If the shop believes additional accident-related repairs are necessary, ask the shop and adjuster to work through the differences before repairs are completed.

5. Have the Shop Submit a Supplement if It Finds More Damage

Collision damage is not always visible during the first inspection. If the shop finds hidden or additional accident-related damage after repairs begin, it can document the damage and submit a supplemental estimate to the insurer for review.

6. Arrange a Rental Car While Your Vehicle Is Being Repaired

Ask the adjuster when rental coverage begins, how the rental will be arranged, and when the insurer expects rental coverage to end. Keep the adjuster informed if repairs are delayed for reasons outside your control.

7. Inspect the Repairs Before You Accept the Car

Before taking the car home, look it over and make sure the accident-related repairs appear complete. If something is still wrong or the car is not driving properly, tell the repair shop and the insurance adjuster promptly.

How to Deal With Insurance Adjusters After a Georgia Car Accident

Insurance adjusters handle claims every day and are trained to control costs. While they want to resolve your claim, they are also trying to minimize the amount the insurance company has to pay. Understanding how the process works can help you avoid common mistakes and delays.

Be an advocate for yourself. Don’t be afraid to ask for more compensation for your car or more days with the rental car. The worst the insurance company can say is no.
Follow up consistently. Delays are common in property damage claims, and polite persistence often moves the process forward.
If you don’t hear back from the insurance adjuster in a timely manner, call them again to follow up. If you continue to not hear back from the adjuster, call the general claims phone number and ask to speak to a manager or supervisor.
Keep a written record of who you spoke with, when you spoke, and what was discussed. Save estimates, photographs, rental receipts, emails, and text messages related to the property claim.
Keep in mind that conversations with the insurance company are often recorded, so be thoughtful and accurate in what you say.

If you’re getting the runaround, delays, or inconsistent answers from the insurance company, it may be a sign that you need additional help.

Opening the Property Damage Claim After a Georgia Accident

Report the Claim to the At-Fault Driver’s Insurance

You should have the other driver’s insurance information from the police officer or the police report. If you don’t, you can buy the police report on www.buycrash.com.

Look up the insurance company’s claims phone number. Call it and tell them you would like to report a claim involving their insured driver. Ask for a claim number and the name and number of the claims adjuster. Write that down.
Ask them to start the process of inspecting your car and getting you a rental car. Just say “I’d like to start the process of getting my car repaired and getting a rental car. What do we need to do to make that happen?”

Notify Your Own Insurance Company

You also need to contact your own insurance company to let them know you’ve been in an accident.
You need to do this even if the other driver’s insurance is going to repair your car because your insurance policy requires you to notify it of accidents. If you don’t notify them and something happens with the other driver’s insurance, your insurance company may deny your claim.
Call your insurance agent or your insurance company’s claims line. Tell them you’ve been in an accident, it wasn’t your fault and that you just wanted to report it. Your insurance company will give you a claim number and may give you the name and number of the claims adjuster. Write that down.

Should You Use Your Own Insurance or the At-Fault Driver’s Insurance to Fix Your Car?

In most cases, you can pursue a claim through the at-fault driver’s insurance, but using your own coverage may be faster in some situations.
Most of the time, the other driver’s insurance will accept responsibility for the accident and take care of repairing your car and getting you a rental car in a timely manner.
If the at-fault insurer has not accepted responsibility or is delaying the claim, using your own collision coverage will get the repair process moving sooner. You’ll have to pay your deductible but your insurance company will go after the other driver’s insurance for repayment through a process called subrogation. When they are repaid, you’ll get your deductible back.
If the other driver’s insurance denies the claim, you’ll definitely need to go through your insurance company.

How to Get a Rental Car After a Georgia Car Accident

Delays in providing a rental car are one of the most common complaints in property damage claims.
Ask the insurance adjuster for a rental car. Say “can we start the process of getting me a rental car?”
Usually they will send you to a rental car company they have a partnership with and they will handle paying for it.
The insurance company should pay for a rental car until your car is repaired or, if your car is totaled, they pay you for your car. If you need the rental car for a couple more days, tell the adjuster why and ask.
Sometimes there’s a delay in getting you a rental car and you may have to pay for your own while you wait for the insurance company to get you one. Ask the other driver’s insurance to reimburse you. However, they may not pay 100% of your costs because you didn’t go through their partner rental car company.

Who Pays to Fix My Car After an Accident in Georgia?

In Georgia, the at-fault driver’s insurance is generally responsible for repairing your car or, if it is totaled, paying its fair market value.

Can I Choose My Own Body Shop After an Accident in Georgia?

Insurance companies often want you to take your car to their “preferred” or “partner” repair shop.
Georgia law gives you the right to choose where you want to have your car repaired and the insurance company cannot deny your claim because of that.
The insurer may write its own estimate or dispute parts of the repair shop’s estimate. Ask the shop and adjuster to identify and address any differences in labor, parts, or repair procedures.
If the shop’s estimate is higher, ask whether the difference can be resolved through a revised estimate or supplement before agreeing to pay any difference yourself.

What If the Body Shop Finds More Damage or the Insurance Estimate Is Too Low?

If the repair shop finds additional accident-related damage after work begins, they should document it and submit a supplemental estimate to the insurer. If you find additional problems after the car is repaired, the car is not repaired correctly or there is still an accident-related problem after repairs, notify both the repair shop and the insurance adjuster promptly.

When Does an Insurance Company Total a Car in Georgia?

A car is typically considered totaled when the cost to repair it approaches a large percentage of its value—often around 60–80%, depending on the insurance company.

There’s no law or rule on this in Georgia. Insurance companies have their own rules on when they consider a car totaled or a total loss. They vary from company to company.

Generally, if the cost to repair your car is anywhere from 60-80% of its value, the insurance company will consider your car totaled and pay you fair market value for it.

For instance, your car is worth $25,000 and it will cost $20,000 to repair it. The repairs are 80% of the value of your car and the insurance company will consider it totaled.
But if the repairs are $5,000, the insurance company will pay to repair it.

How Insurance Companies Determine Fair Market Value

Insurance companies often rely on algorithms and software programs that may not reflect real world prices.
Under Georgia law, the fair market value of your car is what a similar car in similar condition with similar features would sell for.

Research Kelley Blue Book, Auto Trader, Edmunds, CarMax and your local dealerships to get an idea of the fair market value of your car.

Do Recent Repairs of Improvements Increase My Car’s Total-Loss Value?

If you recently had work done on your car or had it repaired, get those receipts to the insurance adjuster and ask that they include those in their offer. They should increase the offer to include those but may not reimburse the full amount.

How to Negotiate a Low Total-Loss Offer

The insurance company’s first offer on your car is usually not their best offer.
If you think the offer is fair market value, you can accept it.
But if you think it’s low, don’t be afraid to ask for more.
Give them three to five examples that you found after researching. Say “thank you for the offer. I am asking for $XXXX for my car because I think that’s fair market value based on these other cars.”
Use the strongest comparable vehicles you can find: similar year, make, model, trim, mileage, options, condition, and geographic market.

What If I Still Owe Money on a Totaled Car?

Sometimes the fair market value of your car is less than you owe the bank for it.

If this happens, you probably have “gap insurance” through the bank or company that is financing your car loan.
Gap insurance covers the difference between the fair market value of your car and the amount to pay off your loan.
Contact your bank or financing company and ask if you have gap insurance and let them know you will need to make a claim.

Can I Keep My Car If the Insurance Company Says It Is Totaled?

If the insurance company says your car is totaled but you want to get it repaired and keep it, Georgia law allows you to “keep salvage.”
The insurance company will pay you for the fair market value of your car but they’ll take out the cost of “salvage,” which is the money they make selling it for parts or scrap metal.
You’ll have to have the car rebuilt and then apply for a “rebuilt title” before you can legally drive it.
You can read more about that process here: https://dor.georgia.gov/motor-vehicles/title-motor-vehicles/salvage-titles

Can I Recover Diminished Value After My Car Is Repaired?

Yes. Georgia allows you to recover diminished value from the at-fault driver’s insurance, even after your car has been repaired.

Diminished Value Claims After a Georgia Car Accident

A car that’s been damaged in an accident is worth less than one that has not. This is called “diminished value.”

The more it costs to repair your car, the more diminished value it has.
An older car that needs $1,000 worth of repairs has a very small diminished value claim and the insurance company may not offer anything at all. But a new truck that needs $25,000 worth of repair has a diminished value claim that’s worth pursuing.
Once your car has been repaired, ask the insurance company to compensate you for its diminished value. Say “Can you please make me an offer for my car’s diminished value?”
Georgia law doesn’t have a formula or calculator to determine the diminished value of your car. If you don’t like the insurance company’s offer you typically need to hire a “diminished value appraiser” to pursue it further.

Do You Need a Lawyer for a Car Property Damage Claim in Georgia?

Usually not. Most straightforward property-damage-only claims can be handled without hiring a lawyer. You may need a lawyer if:

The insurance company disputes fault
Your car is totaled and the value seems too low
The insurer delays inspection or payment
You are dealing with both vehicle damage and injuries
You are being pressured into a quick settlement

If you were injured in the accident, you can learn more about when you need a lawyer here. Contact us for a free consultation. There are no fees unless we win.

Frequently Asked Questions About Getting Your Car Repaired After an Accident

How do I get my car repaired after an accident in Georgia?

Report the claim, get the vehicle inspected, choose a repair shop, compare the repair estimate with the insurer’s estimate, and have the shop submit a supplement if it finds additional accident-related damage.

Who pays to fix my car if the accident was not my fault?

In most cases, the at-fault driver’s property damage liability coverage pays to repair your car. Depending on the circumstances, you may also choose to use your own collision coverage.

Do I have to use the insurance company’s repair shop?
No. Georgia law allows you to choose your own repair facility. But if your repair shop charges more than the insurance company determines is reasonable, you may have to cover the rest.

What if the body shop estimate is higher than the insurance estimate?

Ask the repair shop and adjuster to identify the differences and determine whether the insurer will revise its estimate or approve a supplement. Try to resolve the difference before repairs are completed or before you agree to pay it yourself.

What if the body shop finds more damage after repairs begin?

Ask the shop to photograph and document the additional accident-related damage and submit a supplemental estimate to the insurer for review.

Should I use my own insurance to fix my car if the accident was not my fault?

You may choose to use your own collision coverage if the at-fault insurer is delaying or disputing the claim. Ask your insurer what deductible applies and how it will pursue reimbursement.

How long will insurance pay for a rental car while my car is being repaired?
Usually until your car is repaired or, if your car is totaled, the insurance company makes you a total loss offer for it.

Can I recover diminished value after my car is repaired?
Yes. A car that’s been damaged in an accident is worth less than one that has not been. The amount of a diminished value depends on the year, make and model of your car and how badly it was damaged.

What if the insurance’s total-loss offer is too low?
The first offer is usually not the best offer. Make the insurance company a counter-offer using three to five examples of similar cars for sale.

Georgia Guide to Handling Damage to Your Car After an Accident