No, and the fastest way does not involve coming in at all
An estimate from photos needs nothing booked. Take three pictures with your phone: one from a few steps back showing the whole side of the car, one straight on at the damage, and one close and from an angle so the depth of the dent or the scratch shows. Send them by text or through the contact page with the year, make and model, and our estimator reads them and writes a proper estimate, with parts and labour line by line, before the day is out.
For most of what comes through the door, that is enough to plan around. Scrapes, dents, bumper covers, a door that needs paint: the photos tell the story. You get a number you can hold beside your deductible, a rough timeline, and a plain note about anything the photos cannot settle, which is usually whether something behind the panel is bent. The answer on how a photo estimate works goes through it step by step.
People sometimes assume a photo estimate is a rough guess and the real one comes later. It is the real one. It is written in the same estimating software the insurance companies use, and it is what we send the adjuster if a claim follows.
If you are not sure the damage is worth an estimate at all, send the photos anyway. A scuff that buffs out gets described to you as a scuff that buffs out, and nothing is charged for saying so.
Yes, you can just drive in, and most days that is fine
If you would rather someone see the car, drive in. The lot is at Sheppard and Don Mills, beside Fairview Mall, and most days there is time to walk around a car with you and talk through what we see. It takes a few minutes. You do not need to call ahead, and there is no charge for looking.
The honest caveat is that a drive-in is a look, not always a finished estimate. If the car is in the middle of a repair queue and a customer is at the counter, you may get the walk-around and the written estimate later that day, once the photos we take are written up. On a busy morning after a snowstorm, the wait can be real. If timing matters, texting the photos first and then coming in means the estimate is ready when you arrive.
Estimates here are free either way, whether by photo or in person. The page on whether body shop estimates are free covers the one case where a fee might exist, which is a teardown to look for hidden damage that you then take elsewhere.
When we do ask you to book a time
Some situations need a slot. If the insurance company wants its own appraiser to see the car, that appraisal is arranged for a time when both the car and the appraiser can be here, and we set it up with the adjuster. If the damage is low on the car, behind a wheel, or under the bumper, the car needs to go on a lift to see it properly, and lifts are in use during the day, so a time is arranged.
A car that cannot be driven is the other case. A tow-in is coordinated so someone is here to receive the car and the keys, and so the tow operator knows where to put it. Tell us when the tow is coming and we will be ready for it.
Insurance-direct claims have one more moving part. If the adjuster has already approved an estimate from another shop and you are moving the car here, bring that estimate or the claim number with you, and we work from it rather than starting the paperwork from zero. No appointment is needed for that either; it is a short conversation at the counter.
- Photo estimate: no appointment, written up the day the photos arrive.
- Drive-in look: no appointment most days, a short wait on busy mornings.
- Insurance appraisal: booked with the adjuster.
- Lift inspection or tow-in: arrange a time so the bay and a person are ready.
What to bring, whichever way you come
For a photo estimate, nothing but the photos and the car’s year, make and model. If there is a claim already, the claim number and the insurance company’s name let us start the conversation with the adjuster right away. For a drive-in, the car and, if you have it, the ownership and the insurance slip so we can confirm the vehicle details.
If you would rather do this in Mandarin, that works too; 我们说普通话, and the estimate can be explained either way. And if you get the photo estimate and then decide to come in, the number does not change because you showed up in person. It changes only if we find something the photos could not show, which we tell you before any work starts.
Once you have the estimate, nothing is committed. You can sit on it, take it to your broker, or compare it with another shop. When you are ready, the drop-off is the one thing we do schedule, so the parts are here and the rental, if there is one, starts the same day the car does.
Questions people ask
How many photos do you need?
Three is enough: one wide, one straight on, one close from an angle. If the damage covers more than one panel, add a wide shot of each. Daylight or a bright garage helps; a flash straight at the panel hides the dent.
Can I send photos on a weekend or in the evening?
Any time. The estimate comes back on the next business day. For a drive-in, check the hours on the contact page before you head over.
Does a drive-in estimate cost anything?
No. Looking at a car and writing an estimate is free. The only charge that ever comes up is a teardown, where panels come off to find hidden damage, and that is agreed with you or the insurance company before it happens.
Will the insurance company accept your photo estimate?
Yes. Insurance companies work from photo estimates every day, and any difference between the photos and what we find on the car goes to the adjuster as a supplement. You do not have to get a second estimate.