Kfz-Sachverständigenbüro Fromm

Independent vehicle expert in Schwabach

Q: Which documents should I bring to the inspection?

Have your vehicle registration certificate and your contact details ready. That is enough at first. For a vehicle from a business, also name a contact person on site. If the reference number from the insurer or the police is not available yet, just send it later.

We come to your vehicle, in the old town as well as in the commercial area or at the edge of town.

Free*
By an engineer
Appointment in 24 h
Own workshop

* For accidents that were not your fault

Maximilian FrommEngineer (B.Sc. in Mechatronics)Member of the Association of German Engineers (VDI)

09131 91 66 143 Report damage

BMW 1 Series with side accident damage, photographed for a damage report

From one of our reportsBMW 1 Series with side accident damage€5,100replacement expense + €490 loss-of-use compensation

5.0 60+ reviews on Google

Four steps

Four steps to settlement

You only take the first step yourself. We handle the inspection and the report. The report is then the basis for the claim settlement (Regulierung).

1 Report damageReport the damage by phone or WhatsApp message. Usually we agree in the same conversation when the inspection in Schwabach takes place. Often this is the same day or the next day.
2 On-site appointmentWe come to where it suits you. For typical damage, we need 30 to 45 minutes. The inspection is the basis for every later repair cost calculation.
3 Report and deliveryThe report is ready one day after the on-site appointment. It goes directly to the people you name. You then discuss open questions about it with us in person.
4 Claim settlementThe figures in the report are the basis for the settlement by the other party's insurer. Once you have the report, you decide yourself whether to have the car repaired or to use fictitious settlement(fiktive Abrechnung). Then you have the calculated amount paid out without repairing.

For accidents that were not your fault, the other party's insurer pays directly We bill the other party's insurer directly, so you receive no invoice from us. It is different for claims under your own vehicle insurance (Kaskoschäden). These are cases of damage covered by your own comprehensive coverage (Teilkasko) or collision and comprehensive coverage (Vollkasko). It is also different for accidents you caused yourself and for valuation reports (Wertgutachten). In these cases, we tell you the price in advance and bill you directly.

Maximilian Fromm

Independent vehicle expert for damage and valuation, engineer (B.Sc. in Mechatronics)

Get your free initial assessment

Describe your case in five sentences or send three photos of the damage. I will tell you whether a report is worthwhile and what we need.

09131 91 66 143 On WhatsApp

Maximilian Fromm measures the paint thickness on a vehicle

Maximilian Fromm on the phone in the CleverCrash service vehicle

Without detours

You do not have to organize everything yourself

When responsibility changes along the way, it is easy to lose track of the case. With us, one person stays responsible from your first description to the finished report, with no switchboard and no changing case handler. As an independent expert office, we work neither for an insurer nor for a repair shop, only for you.

The vehicle usually stays where it is. We come to you, to the repair shop, to company grounds or to the edge of town.

Describe the case by phone. Within a few minutes you learn whether a report is worthwhile and which documents you need. This does not obligate you to anything, even if no report is made in the end.

Scope of the inspection

We determine the damage. The repair stays with the repair shop.

If the same company determines the damage and repairs the car, its interest in the job can affect the assessment. With us, the two stay separate, because we do not carry out repairs. Six steps define the scope of inspection. If your damage does not need a step, it is not included.

Cause and plausibilityWe compare impact height, contact marks and deformation direction with the described accident. We note every difference. If we ignore a difference, the calculation is weaker exactly where questions are most likely.
Separating prior damage from old damageWe separate three things cleanly: prior damage (Vorschaden) that was already repaired, old damage (Altschaden) that is still unrepaired, and the current event. If the three are mixed up, this can be the very reason for a later reduction (Kürzung). Such damage can also appear in a central database of the German insurance industry, where insurers record claims. Read more under HIS entry(HIS-Eintrag).
Structure and axle checkWe also check body damage that looks small for structure and axle. The deformation can reach the side members without being noticed. These are the load-bearing beams in the vehicle floor. The axle mount, where the wheel suspension is attached, can also be affected. We can already see a possible problem during the inspection. After that, a specialist repair shop does the exact measurement, and its result goes into the report.
Paint thickness measurementWe measure the paint layer at the damaged area. Differences from the factory value show earlier work. In this way, they separate the current damage from an old repair.
Driver assistance systems and calibrationWe include the calibration effort that really applies in the calculation. Radar, camera and sensors sit exactly where the impact happens. You cannot see the calibration effort on any photo.
Calculation based on manufacturer specificationsWe take the labor time units (Arbeitswerte), paint levels and parts prices from the manufacturer system. A labor time unit is the time that the manufacturer sets for each repair step. If the calculation is easy to follow, a reduction has no basis.

Schwabach's economy is shaped by precision manufacturing. Mechanical engineering and metalworking are among the most important industries here. So careful work is a good match for this town. If a calculation supports every single item, a flat reduction has no basis. Describe your case to us by phone. We tell you whether a report is necessary.

Four services

Not every type of damage needs the same service

By phone, we decide in advance which service fits your case. This way, the wrong service does not end up in the order.

Damage report

Right after the accident: We document the extent of the damage, the diminished value (merkantile Wertminderung), the replacement value (Wiederbeschaffungswert) and residual value (Restwert), the repair costs, the right repair method and the downtime. We do this for motorcycles, vans, trucks, trailers and cars. If one of these items is missing, the claim settlement can be challenged. Go to service.

Repair estimate or report

For minor damage (Bagatellschaden): For clearly simple damage, a repair estimate (Kostenvoranschlag) is often enough. But it is not as strong as a report. The comparison further below shows from which size a change is worthwhile. See the comparison.

Valuation report and classic car valuation report

Focus on value: For Youngtimer (modern classic, 15 to 30 years), Oldtimer (classic car, 30+ years) and vehicles with special value, we determine the market value, the replacement value and the condition grade (Zustandsnote). This is a grade from 1 to 5 for the state of preservation. It does not depend on an accident. These three values form a reliable basis. Go to service.

Report review and expert statement

In case of a reduction: If the reduced amount differs from the real damage, the reduction does not hold up in at least one place. We go through the calculation and the values. We then record in writing where this is. Go to service.

Real numbers

Where a small dent becomes expensive

Three real cases from our reports show every damage item with its own amount. This way you see what makes up a high total for small damage.

Audi A4 with economic total loss, photographed for a damage report

Loss-of-use compensation Without a car, you have costs that neither the repair nor a replacement purchase covers. For this, loss-of-use compensation or a rental car may apply. The report records how long this takes as downtime. In the cases above, the amount is between €602 and €1,106.

On site

We come to you anywhere in Schwabach

Schwabach is compact in area and surrounded by the district of Roth. The historic old town is in the center. Commercial areas are in the north and east, and residential areas are in between. We come to wherever the vehicle is.

WolkersdorfDistrict in the north.
KatzwangNeighboring town in the northeast, already part of the city of Nuremberg.
RednitzhembachNeighboring municipality in the southeast.
UigenauDistrict in the south.
KammersteinNeighboring municipality in the southwest.
UnterreichenbachDistrict in the west.

Schwabach in numbers

One of the smaller of Bavaria's 25 independent cities

Schwabach had about 40,700 residents on December 31, 2025. As an independent city, it has its own vehicle registration office with the license plate code SC. It is independent of Nuremberg and the district of Roth.

Small independent city40,700 residents. Schwabach is one of the smaller of the 25 independent cities (kreisfreie Städte) in Bavaria. It stands on its own and is not a district of Nuremberg or Fürth.
Own registration office, license plate code SCIf you register or deregister a vehicle in Schwabach, you do not need to drive to another district. The registration office is at Nördliche Ringstraße 2a to 2c.
Business location, 3,900 commercial businessesThe largest employer is RIBE Richard Bergner Holding with more than 1,350 employees. There are also the machine factory Niehoff, a world market leader in wire drawing machines, and Memmert, a world market leader in vacuum ovens. The city connects to the A6 motorway through the Schwabach-West exit.

Sources: Stadtportal Schwabach (population, commercial businesses, companies), Wikipedia article on Schwabach, as of December 2025, Autobahn GmbH des Bundes on the Schwabach-West exit.

Typical for Schwabach

Three damage patterns that are typical for Schwabach

Three damage patterns come up again and again in our work. They are linked to the structure of the city. This is our observation, not an official statistic.

Gold-beater town with narrow street gridThe historic old town is known as the town of the gold beaters. For centuries, gold leaf was made here, and the medieval street grid is still narrow. Where houses have no parking spaces of their own, people park at the curb. Tight parking causes contact, so scrape damage to mirrors and bumpers is common here.
Commercial areas with fleet vehiclesIn the commercial areas around the larger companies, company vehicles often stand in long rows on the same parking areas. Bumps while pulling into or out of parking spaces hit fleet vehicles more often than private cars there. Separating prior damage is especially important for company vehicles that several people use.
Rear-end collisions at the Schwabach-West exitAt the Schwabach-West exit, commuter traffic toward Nuremberg and Erlangen meets the A6. Here we mostly see rear-end collisions in stop-and-go traffic at rush hour.

Possible without a call

A first assessment without a call

After a parking bump or a small scrape, it is often unclear whether a report makes sense at all. Send us photos of the damage and the license plate on WhatsApp. That is enough for a first assessment. Then we tell you how we see the case and what comes next.

Your free initial assessment does not obligate you to anything, even if no report is made in the end.

Damage photo, as customers send it to us on WhatsApp

WhatsApp 09131 91 66 143

Which document your damage needs

Without a first assessment, people often choose the wrong document. For small, clear damage, a repair estimate is usually enough. There is no fixed limit. Courts set it differently, mostly somewhere between €750 and €1,000. In the end, the amount matters less than whether the damage is clearly simple.

Repair estimate

Meant for small damage

Parts pricesList of the needed parts with costs
Labor time units and labor costsHourly rates that the repair shop uses
Repair costsRough estimate of the total repair amount

Vehicle report

Useful for medium and larger damage

Photo documentation with photos, measurements and calculationProves the condition even months later
Market-based Diminished valueGives the loss in value after the repair as an amount
Replacement value and residual valueBoth values together are, in a Total loss the basis of the settlement
DowntimeBasis for loss-of-use compensation or a rental car
Separating earlier damageSeparates today's damage from everything that came before

The flat-rate expense allowance (Unkostenpauschale) is a separate item It covers phone calls, trips and waiting time. Usually €25 to €30 is added next to the stated values. A repair estimate does not include this item, but a complete vehicle report does.

30 to 45 minutesThis is how long the inspection on site takes for typical damage

5.0Average rating on Google, based on more than 60 reviews

Clarified in advance

What would stay unclear without asking

Costs

Who normally pays the costs for a damage report in Schwabach?

If the other party is at fault for the accident, their liability insurance usually pays the full costs. This also applies to commercially used vehicles from the commercial areas of the city. For very small damage, we clarify by phone in advance whether a report is worthwhile.

Is there a cost for the initial assessment by phone?

No, none. The initial assessment by phone is a free initial assessment and does not obligate you to anything. This also applies if we advise against a report in the end, for example for a company vehicle from the commercial areas of the city.

How long does it take until the insurer pays?

It usually takes four to six weeks until the other party's insurer finishes its review and payment. For a company vehicle from one of the Schwabach commercial areas, the internal approval sometimes takes a little longer. If the settlement takes much longer, this is a matter for your lawyer.

Process

Do you also come to the Schwabach old town?

Yes. Whether it is the old town near the marketplace, a commercial area or the edge of town, we come to where your vehicle is.

How long does it take until the inspection appointment in Schwabach?

An appointment is usually available on the same or the next business day. This also applies to company cars from the commercial areas there. The inspection on site takes between 30 and 45 minutes for typical damage. The report is usually ready one day later.

Does the inspection take place in your workshop in Erlangen?

No. We usually inspect the vehicle where it is in Schwabach. Only if we suspect hidden damage at the underbody do we use the vehicle lift in Erlangen-Frauenaurach. We agree on this with you first.

Can the repair start before the report?

Better not. Once the damage is repaired, its original extent can no longer be proven. So please call us briefly before the repair starts.

Which documents should I bring to the inspection?

Have your vehicle registration certificate (Fahrzeugschein) and your contact details ready. That is enough at first. For a vehicle from a business, also name a contact person on site. If the reference number from the insurer or the police is not available yet, just send it later.

Your rights

Does the registration office on Nördliche Ringstraße matter for my report?

Not directly. If there is no total loss, you do not need to go there at all. The report goes only to the insurer and the repair shop. You only go to the registration office to deregister a vehicle after a total loss or to register a replacement vehicle.

Do I decide which expert is hired?

For accidents that were not your fault, yes. This also applies to a company vehicle from one of the Schwabach commercial areas. Suggestions from the repair shop and the other party's insurer are not binding for you. For claims under your own vehicle insurance, the choice is with your own insurer instead.

Report

Do you also inspect company vehicles from the Schwabach commercial areas?

Yes. We also inspect fleet vehicles and other vehicles registered to a business, directly at the site or on the company grounds, just like private cars.

How far is your office in Erlangen from Schwabach?

The two towns are about 30 kilometers apart in a straight line. This hardly matters for the inspection, because we come to your vehicle in Schwabach.

Straight to the expert

Had an accident in Schwabach? Contact us by phone.

There is no switchboard and no call center in between. You reach the expert directly. Your free initial assessment does not obligate you to anything, even if no report is made in the end.