When my wife had an accident, my previous mechanic (who doesn't do body repairs) referred me to Penn Automotive. It was our first experience in a car accident so I didn't know what to expect, but working with Penn Automotive made it a not-so-bad experience. A couple months later, I scheduled another visit to make a couple more repairs, which I knew would be costly. They did one of them, and advised that I shouldn't do the other because it wasn't necessary. I appreciated that they didn't just suck money out of my pocket, even though I was willing to pay for the other repair they deemed unnecessary. One month later, I scheduled a safety inspection at Penn Automotive but my car failed the inspection because struts and tie rods needed to be replaced and it also needed wheel alignment. They gave me an estimate for how much these repairs would cost. When they eventually did the repairs, the actual cost was significantly lower than their estimate. They later explained to me that they estimated the cost based on a worst-case scenario but they found some internal parts to be in good shape which saved me about $300. I even paid for less labor hours than was estimated! Very honest folks.
... and Joel who runs the place uses email effectively, which is convenient for people who prefer this kind of communication.