Beware of fly-by-night mechanics

With thousands of cars damaged and needing repair, the storm-chasing mechanics may find their way into Weld County, and -- much like their counterparts who do bogus house repairs -- may be taking car owners for a ride.

Kevin Deubach, owner of American Auto Body in Greeley, said there are storm chasers from outside the state who come in, set up repair shops in tents or in small rented spaces, and offer to do repair work at reduced prices.

"But they do a quick and shoddy repair job," Deubach said, "and when you car breaks down a few weeks later, they're gone."

Deubach said he's been approached by three "mechanics" who want to rent space from him where they can set up shop. He's turned them all down.

Damage estimates for the tornado last week set the number of damage cars at about 5,000, and Deubach said the car repairs will likely run between $6,000 and $12,000, so there will be a lot of money spent in this area on car repair.

Barbara Read of the Wyoming-Northern Colorado Better Business Bureau said -- like home owners -- the owners of damaged cars need to be careful.

"The average person will have an incident that requires some kind of auto body work only once in every nine years," Read said, "so they may not be as familiar with what to look for."

She sent some hints about finding legitimate repair people:

« How long has the company been in business?

« Will the person repairing your vehicle be either I-CAR or ASE certified?

« Try to get a recommendation from someone you know and trust. Good sources for information about auto body shops would be your insurance agent or the service department of the dealership where you purchased the vehicle.

« Check the company out first. The Better Business Bureau provides business records on both accredited and non-accredited businesses nationwide and reports are available 24 hours online at www.bbb.org or weekdays by phone at (970) 484-1348.

* Some out-of-town shops are coming to northern Colorado to help in the volume of work. To check on a mechanic from outside the area, go to info@wynco.bbb.org.

At iron Mountain Auto sales south of Windsor, Joel Woltjen has hired a team of hail repair specialists from Oklahoma, who legitimately travel to different storm-damaged areas.

"They'll set up at the Champion Chevrolet lot at Colo. 392 and 257 in east Windsor," Woltjen said. "They'll be here about a month. For information on that crew or to schedule a repair session, call Champion Chevrolet at (970) 686-2575.