You Must use the insurance company preferred shops.

Auto insurers contract with providers to repair vehicles for a pre-negotiated rate (think of it as managed care for sick cars). And your car could be the victim of cost cutting. Some practices, such as requiring low hourly labor rates and making the shop pick up the rental car tab if a repair takes too long, could tempt shops to cut corners -- by, say, neglecting to align the wheels or using plastic filler in a dent rather than replacing the sheet metal.

"Insurers have wired Direct Repair shops to give them so many discounts that, to stay alive, the shops often do the bare minimum," says Erica Eversman, of Vehicle Information Services, which provides consulting and forensic experts for both insurers and consumers.

Your insurance company's warranty.

All respectable shops will stand behind their work and most parts are covered by the manufacturer's warranty. Deeming the insurer's warranty all but useless and nothing more than a ploy to steer you into one of their shops.

All replacement parts are created equal.

Not True. Original-equipment manufacturer (OEM) parts are designed to match precisely and may be safer. But insurers prefer that shops use generic or salvage replacement parts because they're cheaper. If you cause an accident, you could be bound by wording in your policy to use aftermarket parts or pay the difference for OEM parts. But if someone hits you, tell the shop to use OEM parts.