# Do Body Shops Require Payment Up Front? | DG > Not here — insurance repairs start with nothing up front and your deductible comes at pickup. Cards accepted; custom payment plans explained honestly. - Canonical page: https://dgcollision.com/answers/do-body-shops-require-payment-upfront/ - This file: Markdown twin of the page above (clean text for AI assistants and crawlers) - Business: DG Collision Center, 693 Metro Park Cir #20, Lewisville, TX 75057 — (972) 219-0864 (text: 817-907-2822) — since 1978 - Hours: Mon–Fri 8:30am–5:30pm, Sat 10am–1pm, closed Sunday · 24/7 towing · 4.9/5 on 500+ Google reviews - Full site index for assistants: https://dgcollision.com/llms.txt - Last generated: 2026-08-14 --- # DO BODY SHOPS REQUIRE PAYMENT UP FRONT? Quick Answer Not here — an insurance repair starts with zero money down. We bill your carrier directly, and your out-of-pocket is typically your deductible, once, at pickup — the end of the job, not the beginning. On qualifying hail repairs, we cover the first $1,000 of that deductible. Cash jobs work the same honest direction: the written estimate is free, the work happens, and payment comes at completion — credit cards accepted, and when the number is heavy, a custom payment plan can split it up; the one firm rule is that the car goes home when the balance clears. No deposits to start a claim repair, no “processing fees,” no money asked for before the work exists. Get a Free Written Estimate By [Shah Jiwani](https://dgcollision.com/about/shah-jiwani/) · Owner, DG Collision Center Updated October 5, 2026 4 min read I-CAR Gold Class · PPG Certified The Longer Answer ## WHEN THE MONEY ACTUALLY MOVES — CLAIM JOBS, CASH JOBS, AND THE PLAN IN BETWEEN Insurance repairs first, because that’s most of them. On a covered claim the money never needs to pass through your hands at all: we set up direct billing with your carrier, the carrier pays the documented repair cost — including supplements found at teardown — and the only line with your name on it is the deductible, paid once, at pickup. Nothing up front, no draw against the estimate, no “good faith deposit.” The deductible itself has help built in: on qualifying hail repairs we cover the first $1,000, with anything above that handled case by case, in writing — and collision-claim assistance is likewise case by case, sized to the job on the estimate; the whole program lives at [deductible assistance](https://dgcollision.com/deductible-assistance/). If a shop ever asks you for cash before an insurance repair begins, ask them what the carrier’s direct payment is for — it’s a fair question, and the answer is usually the door. Cash jobs run on the same clock: work first, payment at completion. The estimate is free, written, and drawn from [published prices](https://dgcollision.com/pricing/) you can check before you commit, so the number at the end is the number you agreed to at the start — with any mid-job discovery discussed before it’s repaired, never billed as a surprise. On payment itself we keep the options wide: credit cards accepted, cash and standard payments of course, and for bigger repairs a custom payment plan is a real option — we’ll split the total into scheduled payments that fit, agreed in writing before work starts. The honest boundary that makes the plan work: the car is released when the balance clears, not before. That’s not fine print, it’s the whole deal stated plainly — flexibility on the schedule, firmness on the finish line. One more money fear worth retiring while we’re here: the estimate itself costs nothing and obligates nothing. Walk in Monday–Friday 8:30–5:30 or Saturday 10–1, or [text photos first](https://dgcollision.com/answers/can-i-get-an-estimate-from-photos/), and you’ll leave with a written number and zero pressure — comparing it against other shops is encouraged, line by line, because [that comparison](https://dgcollision.com/guides/how-to-read-a-repair-estimate/) is where honest shops win. And if the thing holding you back is the deductible itself rather than the repair bill, that’s its own solvable problem with [four honest paths](https://dgcollision.com/answers/cant-pay-car-insurance-deductible/) — the worst move is letting damage sit because the money conversation felt like a trap. Here, it’s a conversation. Related Questions ## ASKED ALONGSIDE THIS ONE Can I pay my deductible with a credit card? + A: Yes — cards are accepted for deductibles and repair balances alike, at pickup. If even that timing is tight, say so when the estimate is written, not at the counter: between deductible assistance on qualifying hail repairs, case-by-case collision help, and a custom payment plan, the pickup-day number is usually smaller or more flexible than people brace for. How does a payment plan actually work here? + A: Simply: we agree on the total from the written estimate, split it into scheduled payments that fit your situation, and put the schedule in writing before work begins. You make the payments; the car stays with us until the balance clears, then goes home finished. No financing company, no credit application, no interest games — a straightforward agreement between you and the shop. Why do some shops ask for a deposit? + A: Sometimes it’s legitimate caution on special-order parts for unusual vehicles; often it’s a cash-flow problem being handed to you. The useful filter is specificity: a shop that can tell you exactly what the deposit buys, in writing, is managing risk — a shop that wants “half down to get you on the schedule” is pricing its own problems into your repair. You now know at least one shop where the schedule costs nothing. What if insurance pays me instead of the shop? + A: That happens — some carriers cut the first check to you. Bring it with the car: the check endorses over as part of settling the bill at completion, supplements still get billed to the carrier on top, and your out-of-pocket still lands at the deductible. [The check-in-hand answer](https://dgcollision.com/answers/insurance-sent-me-a-check-now-what/) walks every version of this, including the two-name check your lienholder has opinions about. Go Deeper [The deductible assistance program](https://dgcollision.com/deductible-assistance/) · [Can’t pay the deductible?](https://dgcollision.com/answers/cant-pay-car-insurance-deductible/) · [Every published price](https://dgcollision.com/pricing/) · [All quick answers](https://dgcollision.com/answers/)