Choosing Your Own Body Shop on Guam: What to Ask Before You Decide

After a claim is filed, most Guam drivers get the same call: the adjuster suggests a shop. Sometimes that's a genuinely good referral. Sometimes it's the shop that agreed to the lowest rate. You usually can't tell which from the phone call.

Here's how to think about it.

Who actually warranties the repair

This is the part that surprises people. The insurance company pays for the repair. The shop performs it — and the shop is the party that stands behind the workmanship. If a panel is refinished badly and the clear coat fails in eighteen months, you are going back to the shop, not the carrier.

So the question isn't only "who's paying." It's "whose name is on the work, and will they still be here in three years."

Read your own policy first

Your policy is a contract. It sets out what your insurer will pay, how loss is valued, what your deductible is, and any conditions attached to repair. Before you accept or decline a recommendation, ask your adjuster to confirm in writing:

Does my policy restrict where the vehicle may be repaired?
If I use a shop other than the one you recommended, does anything about my coverage or payment change?
How is the repair amount determined, and what happens if the shop finds additional damage during teardown?

A reasonable adjuster will answer all three plainly. If the answers arrive as vague warnings rather than policy language, that itself is information.

Questions to ask any shop — including us

Do you write estimates from photos only, or do you tear down?
What happens to the price when hidden damage is found — supplement to the carrier, or a call to me?
What parts are you quoting: OEM, aftermarket, or used? Who decides?
Who does the refinish work, and what's the warranty?
If my vehicle has driver assist sensors, how are they handled after repair? Any shop that gets uncomfortable at question 3 has told you something.

Why Auto Worx is not on any carrier's preferred list

We'll be direct about this: Auto Worx is not a direct repair program shop for any carrier on Guam. Our labor rate is higher than the island average, and we've chosen to keep it there rather than agree to the volume-for-rate trade. That's a real trade-off and you should weigh it. What you get for it is a teardown-based estimate, skillful technicians, and a shop that isn't managing a cycle-time quota set by someone else.