Specialties
Carl's Collision Center in Fall River, MA is an I-CAR Gold Class, ASE certified, OEC Collision Performance Network shop, also holding 20+ manufacturer certifications: Tesla Approved Body Shop, Mercedes-Benz Certified Collision Repair Center, Volvo Certified Collision Center, plus Ford, GM, Honda ProFirst, Acura, Hyundai, Kia, Nissan, INFINITI, Alfa Romeo, Fiat, Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram, and more. These are not decorative badges. Each requires annual training, an audited facility, and equipment most independent body shops will not invest in.
EV collision repair, including Tesla work, runs in-house. Our dedicated aluminum bay is sealed off from steel work and outfitted for the aluminum-bodied vehicles that require it, such as Tesla, Mercedes-Benz, Ford F-150, and a growing number of modern vehicles. ADAS calibration is performed in-house on most makes, with OEM-specific procedures coordinated through our specialty partners and documented to manufacturer specification.
Fall River is our flagship and the primary site for classic and vintage car restoration, RV repair, and oversized vehicle work. We also handle frame and structural repair, refinishing on both PPG waterborne and solvent paint systems, bumper repair, fleet and commercial repair, on-site rental coordination via Enterprise and other rental car companies, glass replacement, and paintless dent repair. Every repair carries a lifetime workmanship warranty for as long as you own the vehicle.
History
Established in 1994.
Carl's Collision Center opened on Globe Street in Fall River in 1994, eventually moving to its current location on Bay Street in 2004. Decades later, this is still the flagship: the original shop, the largest of our three locations, and the one that grew up alongside the South Coast's body-repair trade.
The work has changed completely in that time. A 1994 collision job was mostly hammer-and-pull on steel sheet metal. A 2026 job is high-strength steel, structural aluminum, electric powertrains, bonded composites, and a dozen calibrated cameras and sensors per vehicle. We added the training, the certifications, and the equipment for every one of those shifts as they happened, year by year.
The customer base has grown but not turned over. Drivers from Fall River, Somerset, Swansea, Westport, Tiverton, and Dartmouth still bring their cars here. Some of them are now bringing in their adult kids' cars after years of bringing in their own.
Meet the Business Owner: Carl G.
Carl Garcia grew up in the industry, learning and training under his father who first opened a body shop in Fall River in 1964. Carl first opened Carl's Collision Center in Fall River in 1994 and still owns and operates the business today. The business expanded with its Newport location on JT Connell Highway in 2018, then expanded again into New Bedford with its Orchard Street location in 2022.
Carl's name on the building is not a vendor brand. Three shops all run to the same OEM standards, documentation protocols, and training calendar as the flagship location in Fall River. When a technician is asked why a repair has to be documented to OEM specification, or why the aluminum bay is sealed off from steel work, it's because Carl's Collision Center repairs vehicles the right way, by factory procedures, which allows them to offer a lifetime warranty on the craftsmanship of all vehicles they repair.