Car accidents are a driver’s worst nightmare. When they happen, finding a reputable auto body shop to make the repairs can be a hassle. That’s where No. 1 Auto Body in Howard Beach comes in to save the day. For nearly 40 years, the shop has been providing top-of-the-line quality repairs using the latest technology.
Frank Falanga, the owner of No. 1, has 40 years of experience, and manager Richie Teich has 25 years. Falanga started out at a shop in Brooklyn, then took over the property where No. 1 stands.
The shop crew can work on 20 cars inside the 5,000-square-foot shop and can store 20 more outside the building, so you never need to worry about incurring any more damage to your vehicle while it is at the shop.
With auto body shops all around the borough, No. 1 differs from the rest by putting the customer first.
“We care more. We really take pride in our work,” Teich said. “It’s all about the customer, making them happy.”
Falanga agrees.
“We’re both on top of the work,” he said. “Some shops aren’t like that. They just have a bunch of guys working in the back.”
The shop offers framing and unibody work done by specialists using the Hunter Alignment System, which measures a pulled frame after a collision. Drivers know they’re in good hands when they go to No. 1 — and the proof is in the lifetime warranty guaranteeing the work on all cars that leave the shop.
“We guarantee every job from the body work to the paint,” Teich said. “If the customer is not happy, we do whatever we can to make it so they are.”
Though the automobile industry is always changing, with new cars and new technologies appearing every model year, No. 1 keeps up to date with everything.
The shop has platinum and gold certifications from I-CAR, which, as its website says, is “an international not-for-profit organization dedicated to training the collision inter-industry.”
Members learn about insurance, vehicle manufacturers and other related industry services from I-CAR.
No. 1 also takes a different route when it comes to paint. Instead of the standard solvent paint used by many other shops, its workers use a water-based system.
“It was for the environment and it works better,” Falanga said about the choice. He further explained that the paint matches the factory colors better.
“It keeps the toxins down,” Teich added.
After all the repairs are done, No. 1 makes sure each vehicle sparkles before the owner gets back behind the wheel. “All cars are cleaned and detailed before leaving the facility,” Falanga said.
No. 1 Auto Body accepts insurance from Allstate, State Farm, Geico and Liberty Mutual. The shop is conveniently located just half a block from the JFK AirTrain stop in Howard Beach.
The shop’s address is 102-08 159 Road. It can be reached by phone at (718) 835-0168, and the fax number is (718) 848-5399. It’s open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Friday. So if some careless oaf bangs into your ride, come on down to No. 1 Auto Body, and they’ll make sure it looks like new again in no time.
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