1/4 It is extremely busy at many bodyshops (photo: Imke van de Laar)
If you want to have a scratch or dent in your car repaired before going on holiday, you should act quickly. Because it is extremely busy at bodyshops. The waiting time can now be months.
When you enter the workshop of Autoschade Mosman in Helmond, you immediately hear that hard work is being done. Employee Martijn Verheijke gives a short tour. “This BMW has damage to the side, part of the suspension of the car on the bridge is being replaced. The Volvo has damage to the front bumper and the tailgate of this car has to be dented out.” And so Martijn can go on for a while. “Yes, we have a line full.”
After two quiet corona years, it is now suddenly very busy at the bodyshop. “Ten to twelve cars are brought in per day. A big difference with the beginning of the year. How long we spend on that depends on the damage. Repairing a complete sidewall naturally takes longer than a scratch on the bumper.”
“There is a lot of traffic on the road again, so there are also more car damages.”
A call through the province shows that Autoschade Mosman is certainly not the only company where it is so busy. We are told at almost all companies that we can only bring a damaged car in August.
Martijn can only guess at the reasons. “There is a lot of traffic on the road again, you can also see it in the traffic jams. And that results in a lot of car damage. I think that is the main cause.”
An additional problem is that not all parts of the cars are currently available. “Factories were closed during the corona crisis. As a result, there is less stock. For example, I have a Hyundai here that I cannot make. We are still missing a headlight and a front bumper. They were not delivered, so unfortunately we cannot finish the car. .”
“It’s so busy that the parrot mimics the sound of the telephone.”
Most people want their damage to be resolved quickly, preferably before they go on holiday. And so the agenda in Helmond is packed. “We can schedule a few more cars for the last week of July, but after that it will be August before it’s your turn.
The parrot in a cage in the workshop makes it seem even busier than it already is. Martijn explains with a laugh: “We have a good imitator in our midst. The telephone rings here so often that the parrot can now imitate it very well.”
Martijn has a tip for all motorists: “Be careful”. And he adds with a laugh: “But also keep driving damage.”