Reviewed : 11/22/2025
Comment : After I hit a deer, my father told me to have the car towed to Ultimate Collision Repairs based on his previous positive experiences. The insurance company person who took my claim (clearly based in Florida and not NJ) initially suggested that my car be towed to a shop they worked with in Staten Island…despite being in NJ…thank goodness I didn’t do that.
Ultimate was quick to provide the initial and then supplemental estimates to my insurance company - they are very detailed, catching every issue, so if you read another review complaining about the price, you get what you pay for. Not every repair shop will have nearly one of every luxury vehicle being fixed on their lot - that takes an extraordinary amount of skill and lifelong learning.
Once it became obvious that the damage was going to mean a total loss, I had an increasingly difficult time getting in touch with anyone from the insurance company. Finally, over a month later, someone from the insurance company left a voicemail asking me to “release the charges.” I’ll admit that I didn’t understand what that phrase meant, having never gone through this before. I’m so glad that I spoke with Alejandra at Ultimate first because she gave me some background on what the insurance company was trying to do, which gave me a chance to read more online.
The insurance company continued to demand that I release the charges BEFORE receiving any documentation that my vehicle was actually a total loss and BEFORE receiving any vague notion of a settlement number. The insurance company claimed that they couldn't provide a settlement number without knowing the final charges from Ultimate, which is absurd because a valuation is the only way insurance should be able to calculate a total loss; what the insurance company owes the repair shop has no bearing on the car's value. By releasing the charges early, I would have had little room to negotiate if needed.
I am grateful that Matt and Tyler stepped in, both on the phone and via email, to defend me against the insurance company’s bullying, reassuring me that I was doing the right thing, that this wasn’t the normal procedure for any insurance company to follow. The insurance company threatened that I would have to pay for storage due to any delays (after waiting over a month for them to respond), and Ultimate reassured me that this was just a base tactic. Matt and Tyler literally told the insurance company that they don’t work for them, that they work for the car owner. On a phone conference call with the insurance adjuster standing next to him, Matt openly supported my decision to refuse to release the charges, acknowledging that it was not routine. The team at Ultimate provided me life guidance, far beyond what they needed to do, and even more than what my parents could muster. After a particularly frustrating call with insurance, I called Alejandra in desperation for help, having never gone through this intimidation scheme before, and she was so kind in forwarding me to Tyler.
Tyler provided the field connections, background information, and life tools for me to finally get the insurance company to fold, all for free and without hiring a lawyer. Within 12 business hours of contacting the right people, the insurance company folded, providing empty apologies but also a settlement number. When I signed the release form with Bridget at Ultimate, I had no regrets or worries left.
Thank you again to Ultimate, for making a hellish >month-long ordeal with insurance finally come to a satisfactory end. I have a better idea how to handle a situation like this in the future, and I also now know about insurer report cards, appraisal clauses, value disputers, etc., but most importantly, I know that if anyone needs a car repair, Ultimate Collision Repairs has the experience, the team, the honesty, the skills, the whole package.