The claim paperwork lets the repair start the day the car arrives
The single most useful thing to bring is the claim number. With it, the shop can call your insurance company, find the file, see whether an appraiser has been assigned, and get the estimate approved without waiting for you to relay messages. Write down the adjuster’s name, phone extension and email too, because a call that reaches the person who owns the file moves faster than one that starts with a general claims line.
If the collision was reported, bring the report number. If anyone was hurt, 911 was called and police came to the scene. With no injuries, damage that looked to be over the provincial reporting threshold, or another driver who drove off, usually meant a visit to a Collision Reporting Centre afterwards. Either way you came away with a reference number. Your insurance company already has it if you gave it to them, but having it at the counter avoids a second round of phone tag. A hit-and-run claim in particular often waits on that report.
If you are paying yourself, none of that applies, but bring the written estimate you approved so the work order matches it.
One more document belongs in this pile if you have it: the policy’s coverage summary, sometimes called the declarations page. It shows your deductible, whether you carry collision or all perils coverage, and whether OPCF 20 for a rental is on the policy. The pink slip in your glovebox does not list those, and knowing them at drop-off saves a call to your broker later in the week.
- Claim number and the insurance company’s name
- Adjuster’s name, extension and email
- Police or Collision Reporting Centre report number
- The other driver’s details if you exchanged them
- Any estimate already written, by us or another shop
The car’s documents, every key, and the small key nobody remembers
Bring the vehicle permit, which most people call the ownership, and your pink insurance slip. The shop confirms the VIN, the exact model and trim from them, and that matters for ordering the right parts on cars that came in several variants. If the car is leased or financed, have the leasing or finance company’s name handy; some want to be told about repairs, and a total loss involves them directly.
Hand over every key and fob you have, or at least tell the counter how many exist. Keyless cars sometimes need the fob inside the vehicle while modules are scanned or reprogrammed. And look in the glovebox or the trunk tray for the wheel-lock key, the small socket that fits locking lug nuts. Without it, a wheel cannot come off for an alignment or a suspension check, and removing locking nuts without the key adds time and labour nobody wanted.
Take these out of the car before you hand over the keys
Your car may be moved around the lot, driven onto a lift, rolled into a booth and road-tested, so clear it of anything you would hate to lose or would need while it is gone. A 407 ETR transponder is easy to forget because it lives out of sight behind the mirror. It sits on the windshield, it is billed to you, and if the windshield is being replaced it has to come off anyway. Garage door remotes, condo parking fobs and municipal parking permits go with it.
Empty the trunk if the rear of the car was hit, since the floor and the back panel may need to be reached from inside. Take out a child car seat if it was in the car at the time of the collision and keep it aside; whether it needs replacing is a separate question, and the insurance company will usually want to know about it. Remove dash-cam memory cards after saving any footage of the collision, along with sunglasses, chargers and anything left in the door pockets.
Your own photos and a few notes protect you later
Before you leave the car, take a set of dated photos on your phone: each corner, each side, the damage up close, the odometer, and the fuel gauge. They take two minutes and settle any later question about a scratch that was or was not there before. If the car has older damage elsewhere, photograph that too, and mention it at the counter so it is noted on the work order and does not get confused with the new repair.
Tell the counter anything the car does that a technician should know. A warning light that came on after the collision, a pull to one side, a door that no longer seals, a smell of coolant. Those details point the teardown in the right direction. Mention also how you want to be reached and in which language; at our counter, English and Mandarin are both fine.
Plan how you are getting away. Don Mills station on Line 4 shares the block with us, so dropping off and riding the subway home is easy for anyone along Sheppard, with a transfer at Sheppard–Yonge for Line 1. If you have a rental through the claim or through OPCF 20 loss-of-use coverage, the shop can usually time the pickup so you are not left without a car. Your deductible, if the claim carries one, is paid when you collect the car, not when you drop it off.
Questions people ask
Do I need to wash the car before dropping it off?
No. A quick rinse helps the estimator see fine scratches near the damage, but nobody expects a clean car, especially in February when everything on the road is grey with salt.
Can someone else drop the car off for me?
Yes. Send them with the keys, the ownership and the claim number, and let the shop know who is coming. You may need to sign the repair authorization yourself, which can usually be done by email.
Should I leave my winter tires or roof rack in the car?
Take loose items such as a spare set of tires or a cargo box out if you can. They get in the way of the trunk floor and roof work, and they are one more thing to account for at pickup.
What if I do not have the report number yet?
Drop the car off anyway and pass the number along when you get it. The repair estimate can be written in the meantime; it is the claim approval that sometimes waits for it.