Introduction
At eKomi we work hard to let you know which companies in South Africa (SA) offer the best product and services, whatever your needs are. This time, as we understand how stressful and expensive getting your car repaired may be, we’ve released a new StarInsights report ranking the best panel beaters in SA.
The analytics were based on Google Maps to find the top panel beaters. Still, we also considered several other aspects, such as which panel beaters are most likely to be recommended for fixing the car correctly, which is the most professional, and who receives the highest ratings for the service offered.
Industry Overview
According to reports, South Africa has over 1 million traffic accidents annually. Unfortunately, a lot of these accidents are a result of human errors. The government and authorities are working hard to develop new restrictions and attempt to reduce the rates because the figure is so alarming.
When cars are involved in accidents and not written off, they need to be fixed and that is where panel beating comes in. Panel beating is the action of beating the bodywork of motor vehicles into shape. It’s often commonly mistaken for auto-repair, but a panel beating also known as auto body shop has different objectives.
An auto body shop repairs the body of a vehicle, which holds the engine, passengers, and everything else while an auto repair shop works on the engine. It is essentially the practice of fixing the body of a car utilizing a variety of methods, including metal work, welding, planishing, and putty filling. A panel beater could have to completely replace the damaged sections of the car, depending on how much work needs to be done.
It falls under the automotive industry, making it a compulsory and inevitable service provider to the sector. Vehicle owners, manufacturers and service providers alike have been utilising panel beaters services immemorial of time.
According to the South African Motor Body Repairers Association (SAMRA), more than ten million panel beaters work in South Africa. And the list keeps expanding, indicating that this industry is highly competitive.
Panel beaters fully understand that your brand or business’s perception significantly determines your market share. As a result, everyone is looking at all the tools available to gain, maintain, and improve their reputation.
Although, certification is a prerequisite need for dealers. There are other factors consumers can look at to gain an understanding of making an informed decision when selecting a panel beater. At the same time, reviews will serve as the primary criterion for consumers to choose the most acceptable service provider when selecting the best panel beater.
From the nine provinces in SA, we selected the top-rated and top reviewed per province, caution must be exercised when interpreting the stats, it’s still a fact that there are some panel beaters out there that perform well, but we cherry-picked the top across the provinces. In the next StarInsights we will narrow down our report and focus on per province up to cities, and area.
Top-rated Panel beating company in SA
Panel Beating Company |
Rating |
Number of Reviews |
Province |
| Classic Panel Beaters | 4.7 | 123 | KZN |
| WesKaap Bak werke | 4.7 | 73 | Western Cape |
| Harvey’s of Durban | 4.6 | 86 | KZN |
| CBS Body Works | 4.6 | 50 | Western Cape |
| Park Panel Beaters | 4.5 | 141 | Gauteng |
| Auto Trust Body Repairs | 4.5 | 136 | Eastern Cape |
| Brighton Body & Spray | 4.5 | 88 | Western Cape |
| Mercedes-Benz CV Cape | 4.5 | 33 | Western Cape |
| Morden Collision | 4.4 | 138 | Mpumalanga |
| Forsman Panel Kloppers | 4.3 | 60 | North West |
Top-reviewed Panel beating company in SA
Panel Beating Company |
Number of Reviews |
Rating |
Province |
| Park Panel Beaters | 141 | 4.5 | Gauteng |
| Morden Collision | 138 | 4.4 | Mpumalanga |
| Auto Trust Body Repairs | 136 | 4.5 | Eastern Cape |
| Classic Panel Beaters | 123 | 4.7 | KZN |
| Brighton Body & Spray | 88 | 4.5 | Western Cape |
| Harvey’s of Durban | 86 | 4.6 | KZN |
| WesKaap Bak werke | 73 | 4.7 | Western Cape |
| Forsman Panel Kloppers | 60 | 4.3 | North West |
| CBS Body Works | 50 | 4.6 | Western Cape |
| Mercedes-Benz CV Cape | 33 | 4.5 | Western Cape |
Although there were no panel beaters with 5-star ratings, our top ten list features others with ratings ranging from 4.7 to 4.3 stars. Classic Panel Beaters and WesKaap Bakwerke are tied on the top of the list as the top-rated panel beaters with 4.7 stars. Harveys Durban and CBS Body Works follow with 4.6 stars. Most panel beaters managed to maintain a 4.5-star rating, with only two exceptions for the least rated.
The Park Panel Beaters is at the top of our most reviewed list with 317 reviews. Its top review described the business as having friendly staff and excellent service. It is followed by Morden Collision with 138 reviews and Auto Trust Body Repairs with 136 reviews, described as a quality business with real value for money. This shows that reviews are important to how people perceive a business.
Ratings are also quite significant to a business’s importance, and in the long run, they boost customer satisfaction and sales. eKomi understands the importance of ratings and completed the StarInsights assessment by compiling a list of the top 10 highest-rated Panel Beaters in SA.
eKomi compliments the owners of the top three auto repair shops in both categories for their excellent services and urges all their competitors in the industry to up their game and reach out to a review agency like ekomi, which works with an efficient team to produce reviews that are organic and credible.
The eKomi team presents all panel beaters with an offer to assess customer satisfaction, which includes a free consultation to determine the level of growth a business is at and to heighten its sales development and online search traffic.
Be sure to check out eKomi’s blog in three months to read our follow-up assessment on which panel beaters will be the best and most rated.
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