Services
Document a loss
Support a claim
For carriers and employers
Service areas
Middle Tennessee
- Nashville
- Clarksville
- Murfreesboro
- Franklin
- Hendersonville
- Smyrna
- Spring Hill
- Gallatin
- Lebanon
- Columbia
- Brentwood
- Mount Juliet
- La Vergne
- Cookeville
East Tennessee
West Tennessee
Vehicle Damage Documentation Before Repair or Disposal
Detailed photographs and measurements of a damaged vehicle, taken where it sits: a driveway, tow yard, body shop, or fleet lot. Delator Claims Division provides this record to owners, attorneys, fleet managers, and insurers anywhere in Tennessee.
- Coverage
- 95 of 95 counties
- Dispatch
- 24 / 7 / 365
- Metro response
- Under 60 min avg.
- Statewide
- 4-hour guarantee
What this service covers
A damaged vehicle is evidence, and it is temporary evidence. Once a shop removes a bumper cover, pulls a frame, or replaces a panel, the original damage can only be studied through whatever photographs were taken beforehand. Photos taken for a repair estimate are aimed at pricing parts and labor. They often leave out the things that matter to a claim file, such as contact height, direction of force, and unrelated older damage.
Delator's investigators follow a fixed sequence around the vehicle so no side is skipped, then work inward to the damaged areas. The result is a dated set of images, video, and measurements that describes the vehicle's condition. It is not a repair estimate or an appraisal, and on assignments for vehicle owners and claimants it carries no opinion about cost, value, or cause.
When a vehicle needs to be recorded as it sits
- A vehicle is scheduled for teardown and the owner or attorney wants the exterior and interior recorded before parts come off.
- The vehicle is accruing storage fees at a tow yard and will be moved or released within days.
- A fleet manager needs every unit involved in a yard incident photographed the same way for the company's insurer.
- There is a question about which dents and scrapes are from this event and which were already on the vehicle.
- An insurer wants photographs of a vehicle located in a rural county where no staff appraiser can reach it quickly.
What is recorded on the vehicle
- Four corners and all sides
- A full walk-around from each corner and each side at a consistent distance, establishing overall condition before any close views are taken.
- Damage height and location
- Each damaged area measured from the ground and from fixed points on the body, so its position can be compared with another vehicle or object.
- Paint transfer and material traces
- Foreign paint, rubber, plastic, wood, or concrete marks left on the surface, photographed with a scale and color reference.
- Wheels, tires, and suspension
- Tire condition, wheel damage, visible suspension displacement, and wheel position relative to the wheel arch, recorded at all four corners.
- Interior and restraint condition
- Deployed airbags, seat belt condition, seat positions, broken glass, and displaced interior trim, photographed without moving or altering anything.
- Prior and unrelated damage
- Rust, older dents, faded scrapes, and previous repair work noted separately and described as observed, with no judgment on when it occurred.
From request to delivered record
- RequestCall dispatch or submit the request form with the location, loss type and urgency.
- DeployDispatch assigns the nearest available licensed field investigator through the statewide network.
- DocumentPhotographs, video, measurements and factual notes are captured once the scene is safe to work.
- PreserveFiles are timestamped, organized and kept in their original form with a record of who captured them.
- ReportThe package is delivered securely to the requesting party, typically the same day.
What repair-estimate photos leave out
A shop's photographs are taken to support a parts list. They tend to be close, taken at angles that suit the estimator, and without scale. For a claim in which the mechanics of the impact are questioned, reviewers want something else: square-on views of each side, measurements of where damage begins and ends, and images showing how panels are displaced in relation to each other.
Delator's sequence is designed for that later reviewer. Wide views establish the vehicle, mid-range views locate each damaged area, and close views record detail with a scale in frame. Video ties the still images together. If a reconstruction consultant or an appraiser later asks where a mark was or how high a crease sat, the answer is in the record. The interpretation is theirs to make.
Access, storage yards, and timing
Vehicles in claims are frequently held by someone other than the owner: a tow operator, a salvage pool, a body shop, or a fleet yard. Delator coordinates the visit with whoever has the vehicle and works within that facility's hours and rules. The requesting party arranges authorization from the owner or the facility when it is needed, and the investigator does not disassemble or operate anything.
Outdoor storage changes a vehicle. Rain enters through broken glass, exposed metal begins to rust, tires lose air, and yard staff move units with forklifts or loaders that can add marks. Documenting early limits those questions. Field notes record where and how the vehicle was stored at the time of the visit, and whether it appeared to have been moved, covered, or partly dismantled.
On this assignment Delator field personnel record what is physically present: photographs, video, measurements and factual notes. They do not adjust, appraise or value the loss, do not determine coverage, cause or fault, and do not represent any party to the claim.
Delator Claims Division is not a law firm, an insurer or an engineering firm, and nothing on this page is legal advice.
Common questions about this service
Do you estimate the cost of repairs?
No. Delator does not write repair estimates or appraise vehicles on documentation assignments. The record shows the damage in detail so that a body shop, appraiser, or adjuster chosen by the requesting party can prepare their own figures from it or alongside their own inspection.
Can you document a vehicle at a tow yard or body shop?
Yes, with the facility's cooperation. The investigator schedules with the yard or shop and documents the vehicle in place. If the facility requires the owner's authorization or a release, the requesting party provides it. Vehicles are not moved, started, or taken apart by Delator's personnel.
Can you download data from the vehicle's computer?
This service covers the physical condition of the vehicle: photographs, video, measurements, and notes. Electronic data retrieval is not part of it. If stored vehicle data matters to the claim, the requesting party can raise that with their attorney or a qualified consultant before the vehicle is repaired or released.
What if the vehicle has already been partly repaired?
It can still be documented. The investigator records its current state, any replaced or removed parts still on site, and visible signs of completed work. The notes state plainly that repairs were under way at the time of the visit, so reviewers understand what the photographs do and do not show.
Available statewide, including
Every Tennessee county is covered. See the deployment map for typical response tiers by county.
Request documentation anywhere in Tennessee
Dispatch is staffed around the clock. For time-sensitive scenes, calling is fastest; the request form works for routine and scheduled assignments.