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Chicago Parts Supplier Doesn’t See Value in PartsTrader but Has Ideas to Make it Better by Melanie Anderson
Kent Cogswell, with more than 30 years in the parts business, is the Parts Manager and Warehouse Operations
Kent Cogswell, Mopar Masters Guild Member
Manager for Jack Phelan Dodge of Countryside, just outside of Chicago. Cogswell, 52, has spent decades working as the largest parts Mopar wholesaler in the Midwest and is currently operating from a 35,000-square-foot stand-alone facility where they stock over 14,000 different parts totaling over $1.5 million in inventory. They have a staff of 30 and a fleet of 15 delivery trucks and have sold over $150 million in Mopar parts. The Chicago market became part of State Farm’s PartsTrader pilot program in December. As a parts supplier, See Chicago Parts Supplier, Page 14
Alabama Parts Director Sees PartsTrader as a ‘Toll Bridge’ for Parts Suppliers & Customers
See Parts Toll Bridge, Page 35
P.O. BOX 1516, CARLSBAD, CA 92018
Marvin Windham is the Parts Director for Benchmark Chrysler Jeep Dodge in Birmingham, AL. Windham has been a parts manager since 1976 and his company sells about $14 million in total sales. Currently, they have about 15 customers in the Birmingham area who have remained on the State Farm PartsTrader pilot program. “We receive fax-only orders from PartsTrader for these customers. We didn’t sign up with PartsTrader, even though Birmingham was one of the first pilot cities,” Windham said. Windham believes that PartsTrader
offers no benefits to the repairer or supplier. “If you extrapolate the facts, it isn’t a hard decision for parts suppliers. Currently, we (OEM suppliers) aren’t controlled by the insurance industry, and those on the repairer side, in a lot of cases, have given control to the insurance companies,” Windham Marvin Windham said. “In my opinion, PartsTrader wants to build a “toll bridge” between us and
Change Service Requested
by Melanie Anderson
VOL. 1 ISSUE 7 MARCH 2013
GEICO Joins State Farm in Seeking Gag Order Against Ray Gunder, Tactic to Block Information GEICO has joined State Farm in seeking a gag order against Ray Gunder of Gunder’s Auto Center in Lakeland, FL. Gunder is suing the insurers on behalf of his customers for intentional short pays and a variety of other alleged misdoings. According to Gunder’s spokespeople, GEICO brought in legal cocounsel last week from Arizona, who immediately sent notice to Gunder’s attorney, Brent Geohagan, that they would be seeking a delay/continuance for several scheduled depositions and request the court to issue a gag order to stop Gunder from sharing his legal findings. Last month, State Farm filed a similar motion with the local court to
stop Gunder from sharing information relative to the numerous lawsuits he has filed on behalf of his customers, including deposition transcripts and results of hearings and discovery. “Because no ‘trade secrets’ (i.e. policy premiums, methodology to set or determine pricing, demographics, etc.) will be part or parcel of the discovery in these cases, and because the terms of the insurers’ policy/contracts are readily available to all, as are their marketing efforts, I can see no viable or ‘legitimate trade secret’ concerns that would warrant the courts to issue such an order to silence Ray,” said Barrett Smith of Auto Damage Experts (ADE). “Based upon what has See Gagging Gunder, Page 18
Coming in April... First of Two Special Paint Issues, Plus:
IABA 3rd Convention & Technology Showcase Coverage . . . . . . NADA Convention and J.D. Power Roundable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . AASP/NJ Northeast Conference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Chicago’s Central Collision Includes Broadway Auto Body Rebuilders, Previous Facility Donated
Central Collision Center, a familyowned and operated collision repair business in Chicago, has announced that Tiger Cellini and Broadway Auto Body Rebuilders, Inc., will join the Central Collision Center of Crete team. Beginning March 1, 2013, Broadway Auto’s customers can receive service at any of the six Central Collision Center locations in Peotone, Mokena, Crete, New Lenox, Oak Forest and Tinley Park. “We have our customers’ best interests at the forefront of whatever we do, and know they will be taken care of at Central Collision Center as we have taken care of them,” said Barb Cellini of Broadway Auto. Central Collision Center aims to simplify the repair process for customers by providing exceptional service, consistent communication and
timely repairs. Central Collision, owned and operated by the Caruso family, is proud to welcome the Cellini family and Broadway Auto to its organization. “I remember touring Broadway Auto when I was just starting out in this business and asking Tom (Cellini, now in stage 5 of Huntington’s disease) for advice,” said Mike Caruso, president and owner of Central Collision Center. “We’re excited to have Tiger on our team and care for the Broadway customers while the Cellini family focuses their efforts on the Thomas Cellini Huntington’s Foundation.” Broadway Auto’s former facility will be donated to the Thomas Cellini Huntington’s Foundation (TCHF), a 501c3 non-profit run by Barb Cellini, the Cellini family and many volunteers.
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