August 2018 Southeast Edition

36 YEARS

SOUTHEAST EDITIO N

AUTOBODY

Vol. 9 / Issue 6 / August 2018

AL / FL / GA / MS / NC / SC / TN / VA / WV

Be Wary of Hurricane-Damaged Cars Arriving in AL

by Bryan Henry, WSFA

Gene Canavan remembers the feeling all too well, one of regret: that old nagging buyer’s remorse.

“I’ve been snookered twice,” Canavan said.

The second case involved buying a car that had ice damage and rust after spending most of its life up north in the snow and ice.

“It was on the framing and not on something that really mattered,” he said.

Welcome to the world of buyer beware, perhaps now more than ever.

When Hurricane Harvey battered the Texas coast late last summer, the storm heavily damaged 600,000 vehicles, according to a national research firm. Montgomery mechanic Fred Porterfield might have inspected a Harvey-damaged car, but he thinks it may have come from the New Orleans area as a Katrina leftover. A potential buyer was interested in purchasing a Nissan Altima in June. The would-be buyer had Porterfield check it out.

“It was real bad,” he said. “So I had to go back and check the gas tank and mud was coming out. That See Damaged Cars, Page 4

VW Exploding Sunroof Class-Action Lawsuit Is Partially Dismissed

by David A. Wood, CarComplaints.com

A Volkswagen exploding sunroof class-action lawsuit is hanging on after the automaker filed a motion to dismiss the complaint.

Plaintiff Rosaura Deras filed the lawsuit on behalf of consumers who purchased or leased in California any of the following vehicles equipped with factory-installed sunroofs: • 2005-2017 Volkswagen Jetta • 2015-2017 Volkswagen Golf

NC Law Requires Insurance Companies to Enforce Laws for 3rd Party Claims

by Autobody News Staff

A couple of years ago, Billy Walkowiak approached North Carolina House Representative John Torbett and Senator Kathy Harrington with a concern about diminished value not being covered as required by North Carolina law.

According to state law, if a claimant and insurer cannot agree on the fair market value of a vehicle that has been in an accident and the dollar amount is greater than $2,000 or 25 percent, then each is allowed to

• 2007-2016 Volkswagen Eos

• 2006-2009 Volkswagen Rabbit • 2012-2017 Volkswagen Passat

• 2004-2006 Volkswagen Touareg • 2011-2017 Volkswagen Touareg • 2008 Volkswagen R32

select an appraiser within 20 days. If the appraisers do not agree, they can hire an umpire. If the appraisers cannot agree on an umpire within 15 days, the claimant or insurer may request that a magistrate resident in the county where the insured motor vehicle is registered or the county where the accident occurred select the umpire.

“Insurance companies were delaying hiring appraisers. When you call any of the entities in North Carolina, they are supposed to protect See 3rd Party Claims, Page 4

INTRODUCING A NEW COLUMN!

Auto Body Attorney

• 2006-2015 Volkswagen GTI • 2009-2010 Volkswagen CC

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with Bruce Roistacher

See page 46 in this issue.

Subaru Customers Now Get Virtual Visibility While Car Is in for Collision Repairs

by Denis Flierl, Torque News

Subaru customers now have access to virtual visibility when they get their car repaired in a body shop.

Here’s how Subaru’s new program benefits consumers.

See VW Exploding Sunroof, Page 22

2019 Subaru Forester

Subaru of America is the latest automaker to launch a certified collision repair program, working with its dealerships as well as select independent body shops, that will make

getting your car repaired after a collision easier. While Subaru vehicles like the 2019 Subaru Forester get new safety technology, customers will still be involved in accidents.

According to a report by Automotive News, Subaru unveiled its new plan developed with Wadsworth International, a consultancy in suburban Philadelphia that will administer the program. Subaru isn’t the first automaker to do this, as Wadsworth also provides administrative support to Jaguar Land Rover’s collision certification program.

Subaru plans to expand its pilot collision repair program into a national network this year, certifying 400 body shops by 2019. Subaru of America has 630 dealerships in the US. What are the benefits for SubSee Virtual Visibility, Page 20

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AUGUST 2018 AUTOBODY NEWS / autobodynews.com

CONTENTS AAAS 2018 Annual Conference & Trade Show Proves To Be Exceptional . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Ascue’s Paint and Body Shop Is Successful at 50 and Counting in SC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Atlanta I-CAR Hosts Rockin’ Rides Car Show to Benefit CREF. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Be Wary of Hurricane-Damaged Cars Arriving in AL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 CARCO Adds Windshield Damage Inspections To Fight Fraud in FL. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Collision Repair Students in Chattanooga, TN, Prepare for SkillsUSA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Florida Lawsuits Decrease for Auto Glass Repair. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Monroe, NC, Man Charged With Auto Insurance Fraud . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 NC Law Requires Insurance Companies to Enforce Laws for 3rd Party Claims . . . . . . . . 1 New Auto Body Shop To Come to Meridian, MS. . 8

Conference & Trade Show . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60 ABRA Auto Body Repair Expands With 8 Centers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 Apple Car Project Evolves With Larger Test Fleet, New Hire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 ASA President Dan Risley Resigns to Pursue Opportunity in Home State . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59 Auto Care Association Establishes Al Gaspar Memorial Fund . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 Auto Care Association Named Red Hot Association . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60 AutoInc. Seeks Submissions for Top 10 Websites Contest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 Axalta Releases Spies Hecker Permacron Line . 54 Car Prices Would Soar Under Trump’s Latest Tariff Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 CARSTAR SL, Enterprise Rent-A-Car Fight Cause. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 Center for Auto Safety Renews Call for Ford Recall . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 Deadline Approaching for CREF, 3M Hire

COLUMNISTS Attanasio - Career Estimator Works for SF Giants in Security. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 Attanasio - Reward, Motivate Your Employees Without Breaking the Bank . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 Ledoux - Oldest Body Shops In America: Bistagne Bros Body Shop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 Ledoux - The 1940s – Part 2 – New Products, Higher Speeds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 Phillips - Body Shop Owner Designs Quality Control App for Collision Repair Industry . . . 14 Phillips - How To Increase CSI, Encourage Repeat Business and Differentiate Your Shop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 Phillips - Robaina Direct Addresses Considerations for ‘Small and Medium Damage Repairs’ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Roistacher - Ask the Auto Body Attorney: August 2018 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 Sisk - ASA Hosts Road to Great Technicians Webinar With CARQUEST’s Chris Chesney . . 30 Yoswick - A Decade Ago, a Different National Association Sought to Replace its Executive Director. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

‘Who Pays for What?’ Finds Half of Shops Have Not Billed for Seat Belt Inspections. . . 61 100,000+ Industry Jobs at Risk With Tariffs on Imported Auto Parts, Study Finds . . . . . . 55 14 Charged in Auto Insurance Fraud Scheme in Miami-Dade County, Prosecutors Say . . . 38 AAAS Hosts YANG Meet-Up With Annual

On June 8, the St. Louis I-CAR Committee enjoyed a great turnout of students from Ranken Technical College, local shops and industry groups.

Marketing Vice Chair Sarah Young shared, “The continued conversation and outline of the September 21 Career Fair with CREF was a key topic, touching on the importance down the line of vehicle and collision repair. The group discussed the need for education and general awareness to keep building the future of technicians.”

Shelly Jones, chair for the St. Louis I-CAR Committee, noted, “I thought the meeting went great.

John Helterbrand gave the committee insight on how the classes are going. We discussed where we are with our committee goals for the year. There were many that stayed after the main meeting for

the sub-committee job fair meeting.

“We are coming down to the wire for those companies that want an ad in our full-color collector

item student guide. Every job fair participant receives a copy. Other big news is that this year we have opened up the event to parents of students that attend. This will give parents an idea of the career opportunities in the industry.”

Our Heroes Fundraiser . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 Gerber Collision & Glass Races With Chastain . . 5 Kroger, Nuro Partner to Pilot Autonomous Delivery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 Mazda Recalls 270,000 Vehicles With Airbag Explosion Risk. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 OR Automotive Shops Need To Prepare for New Law . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 PPG Posts Q3 Collision Refinish Training . . . . . 55 SCRS Board Meeting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 SCRS Welcomes Nissan as Corporate Member . 60 SCRS Welcomes Nissan as Newest Corporate Member . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 Spanesi Americas Expands Training Team . . . . 59 St. Louis I-CAR Committee Meeting Attracts Local Students . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Stacey Phillips Joins CIECA as Communications Specialist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60 Subaru Customers Now Get Virtual Visibility While Car Is in for Collision Repairs . . . . . . . . 1 Take Part in This Year’s MSO Symposium in Atlanta . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 TechForce Report Reveals Severity of Vehicle Tech Supply Shortage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 Technology & Telematics Forum To Take Place

NATIONAL

by Chasidy Rae Sisk

With NACE Automechanika in GA. . . . . . . . . . 6 U.S. Aftermarket To Grow at Annual Rate (CAGR) of 3.4% Through 2021 . . . . . . . . . . 61 Volkswagen Adds Another 2,564 Vehicles to Takata Recall List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58 VW Exploding Sunroof Class-Action Lawsuit Is Partially Dismissed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 WD-40 Announces Partnership With Techforce . 47

INDEX OF ADVERTISERS

REGIONAL

St. Louis I-CAR Committee Meeting Attracts Local Students

Publisher & Editor: Jeremy Hayhurst General Manager: Barbara Davies Contributing Writers: John Yoswick, Janet Chaney, Toby Chess, Ed Attanasio, Chasidy Sisk, David Luehr, Stacey Phillips, Victoria Antonelli, Gary Ledoux Advertising Sales: Joe Momber, Sean Hartman, Bill Doyle, Norman Morano (800) 699-8251 Office Manager: Louise Tedesco Digital Marketing Manager: Bill Pierce Art Director: Rodolfo Garcia Graphic Designer: Michelle Lucas Online and Web Content Editor: Rochelle Beckel Accounting Manager: Heather Priddy Editorial/Sales Assistant: Randi Scholtes

Serving Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Virginia, West Virginia, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina and adjacent metro areas. Autobody News is a monthly publication for the autobody industry. Permission to reproduce in any form the material published in Autobody News must be obtained in writing from the publisher. ©2018 Adamantine Media LLC.

Audi Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . . . . . . . 49 AutobodyLaw.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Axalta Coating Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 BMW Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . . . . . . 59 Braman Miami . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Carcoon America Airflow Systems. . . . . . . 21 Certified Automotive Parts Association . . . . 9 Classifieds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 Coggin Deland Honda . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 Dent Magic Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Dominion Sure Seal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 ECS Automotive Concepts . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 EMS Automotive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Equalizer Industries, Inc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 Ford Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . . . . . . . 54 GM Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . . . . . . . . 57 Gus Machado Ford . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 GYS Welding USA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Hendrick Automotive Group. . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Hendrick Automotive Group of Charleston . 64 Hendrick BMW/MINI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 Hendrick Honda Pompano Beach . . . . . . . 16 Hendrick Kia Cary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 Hendrick Kia Concord . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 Honda-Acura Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27, 28-29 Hyundai Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . . . . 61 Jim Cogdill Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram . . . 12 Jon Hiester Automotive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

Kernersville Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram . . 25 Kia Motors Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . . 53 Launch Tech USA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63 Lexus Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . . . . . . 55 Mercedes-Benz. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32-33 Mercedes-Benz Wholesale Parts Dealers . 58 MINI Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . . . . . . . 58 MOPAR Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . . . . . 37 Porsche Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . . . . 55 PPG . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Radley Chevrolet. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 Rick Hendrick Chevrolet Naples . . . . . . . . 47 Rick Hendrick MOPAR Southeast Wholesalers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18-19 Riverside Ford-Lincoln . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 Robaina Industries, Inc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 SATA Dan-Am Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 SEMA Trade Show. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Sherwin Williams Automotive Finishes . . . 11 Smith Kia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 Southside Kia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 Spanesi Americas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Stateline Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram. . . . . . 8 Subaru Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . . . . . 51 Symach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Tameron Hyundai . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 UniCure Spraybooths . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 West Broad Hyundai . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

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3

Continued from Cover

Damaged Cars

told me the car had been underwater and water got into the tank.”

Porterfield charged $80 for the diagnostic test but saved the prospective buyer close to $5,000 in the purchase price. The potential buyer returned the vehicle to the dealer in the Montgomery area.

“Real sluggish, engine light flashing. It barely made it,” said Porterfield.

All of this raises the question of how hurricane-damaged vehicles make it to the marketplace to start with. It’s not as secretive as you might think.

“A lot of people will buy that car,” said Montgomery used car dealer Joe Scott.

Scott has been in the used car business for more than 50 years.

Many of the flood-damaged vehicles can be repaired but sold at a much lower cost. There are buyers, in fact, who will take a chance, pay for it and hope the vehicle performs just fine.

But it is a huge risk.

“They’ll gamble. If they can

Continued from Cover

Virtual Visibility

aru customers?

According to the reports, the intake process at the shop mirrors that of a dealership’s service drive. Estimators meet customers in the body shop’s service area to review collision damage. A key feature of Subaru’s new certified collision repair program enables customers to use their mobile devices to get daily photos of their vehicle as it goes through the repair process.

The software for the program is produced by Audatex, which developed a web portal for Subaru called AutoWatch, allowing customers to get updates by email or text message and to direct questions and feedback to the body shop.

Roy Duplantier, vice president

AUTOBODY

4

buy it half for what the dealer is selling it for, they’ll take a chance on that—same as a wrecked car,” said Scott.

Scott strongly recommends that buyers do their due diligence, such as going online and seeing where the car has been by using sources such as autocheck.com. Scott throws this in for free for his customers at Joe Scott Motors. Scott knows what to look for and makes it a practice not to buy or sell flood-damaged cars and trucks.

“It shows one owner, no accident, and it goes through all the things that could happen to a car,” said Scott.

In the meantime, the “lemon laws” in Alabama don’t apply for used products such as flood-damaged vehicles.

“They will not extend to anything dealing with flood damage. In essence, it’s a buyer-beware market when it comes to any used vehicles,” said Montgomery attorney Aaron Luck.

In the end, it comes down to taking your time, doing your homework, not being afraid to investigate

and ask questions, and by all means finding a vehicle with a reputable dealer.

“Trust me, never buy a car on emotions,” said Canavan.

Canavan was lucky. The corrosion was not a factor in the car’s performance during the time he owned it. But others may not be as fortunate.

The gamble for something cheaper could very well become an expensive lesson down the road. Scott suggests also checking with the Better Business Bureau and asking a dealer for references.

As a footnote to Hurricane Harvey, Harvey tied with Hurricane Katrina for inflicting about the same amount of damage of around $125 billion, according to federal storm damage estimates.

We thank WSFA for reprint permission.

of business development at Audatex, said, “You can get visibility into the shop virtually, as opposed to having to physically visit every shop.”

Collision repair centers that use AutoWatch operate more transparently and tend to repair damaged vehicles faster, Duplantier said. At the same time, the collision repair program allows Subaru to monitor a shop’s repair practices and ensure it is complying with the certified network’s standards.

“We get collision center statistics with cycle time and everything else that they’re doing,” said John Lancaster, Subaru of America’s national wholesale parts manager. “We also get customer satisfaction information, and the customer gets great communication out of it.”

Continued from Cover

We thank Torque News for reprint permission.

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3rd Party Claims

consumers,” said Walkowiak, founder and CEO of Collision Safety Consultants. “There was nowhere for consumers to turn. Even though every policy in North Carolina covers diminished value, there was no one to enforce it.”

Gerber Collision & Glass Races With Chastain

Gerber Collision & Glass joined JD Motorsports with Gary Keller again to sponsor driver Ross Chastain in Overton’s 300 NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Chicagoland Speedway on June 30. Gerber was also an associate sponsor on the No. 1 Chevrolet of Vinnie Miller.

Chastain drove the JD Motorsports with Gary Keller’s No. 4 Chevrolet Camaro. Chastain, having another excellent season, is 12th in Xfinity Series points. Gerber Collision & Glass has been a JD Motorsports partner for eight years.

“I can’t say enough about what a great relationship we’ve had with the Gerber folks over the years,” said Team Owner Johnny Davis. Car owners have trusted Gerber Collision & Glass with their auto body repairs and auto glass repair and replacement for more than 80 years. Gerber started with one auto glass and trim shop in Chicago and has spread to nearly 400 shops in 22 states across the country, including more than 60 locations in the Chicagoland area.

than a month.

As a result, Torbett brought together the Department of Insurance, the Department of Transportation and the Department of Motor Vehicles to figure out who is in charge of the statute.

“We had a meeting of the minds,” said Torbett, the chairman of the Transportation Appropriations Committee for the House of Repre-

...Insurance companies must now enforce the laws in regard to third-party claims — Walkowiak

Walkowiak, a licensed appraiser for the North Carolina & South Carolina Dept. of Insurance, explained to the legislators that he felt consumers were being taken advantage of and there was nobody to stand up for them.

“John picked up the torch and ran with it,” recalled Walkowiak.

Although the statute states that an appraiser has to be appointed within 20 days, Walkowiak said many of his customers wait more

sentatives and chairman of the Transportation Policy Committee. “I told them to get together, meet with their different departments and bring me a solution. They came back, and the Department of Insurance will now be carrying the torch on that.”

As a result, recently the North Carolina legislature unanimously decided to give the authority to the commissioner of insurance to govern the statute on diminished value.

See 3rd Party Claims, Page 12

autobodynews.com / AUGUST 2018 AUTOBODY NEWS

5

SCRS Board Meeting

On Tuesday, August 7, the Society of Collision Repair Specialists (SCRS) will hold an open board meeting from 8:30 a.m. --10:00 a.m. in Room B403 of the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta, GA. There is no fee to attend; you do not need to be a current member or need to pre-register, and anyone wishing to learn more about the association's work is encouraged to participate.

The open meeting will precede the Collision Industry Conference (CIC) meetings Tuesday beginning at 1 p.m. and continuing on Wednesday morning from 8 a.m. until noon. The hour-and-ahalf meeting will include updates from SCRS staff and various committees' chairs highlighting current industry events of importance and work that the association has undertaken on behalf of the membership. The program will also include a live presentation from the SCRS Education Committee on repair facility maintenance and safety considerations.

For more information please visit www.scrs.com or contact our offices at info@scrs.com.

Technology & Telematics Forum To Take Place With NACE Automechanika in GA

The Automotive Service Association (ASA) has announced the 2018 Technology & Telematics Forum will take place in conjunction with the 2018 NACE Automechanika Show at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta.

The half-day program will begin at 1 p.m. on Wednesday, August 8 and conclude at 6 p.m.

Advanced Driver Assistance Systems and similar vehicle technologies continue to redefine the repair process and the knowledge to properly repair today’s vehicles. In today’s market, ongoing education and information are critical to the success of collision and service repair professionals.

Industry trends clearly point toward expanding accident avoidance technology and the use of telematics data. Sensors, cameras,

Take Part in This Year’s MSO Symposium in Atlanta

Listen to intentional discussions around topics that influence your business.

Why? The MSO Symposium is led by high-growth executives from the leading multi-shop operations within North America, including ABRA, Caliber, CARSTAR, Certified Collision Group, Fix Auto, Service King and several others.

These highly experienced individuals gather annually at the MSO Symposium to deliver a program that speaks directly to their circumstances and provides relevant content to collision repair facilities in similar situations.

What?

With an expanded program for 2018, attendees will gain useful information on topics like: OEM Certification Programs - the Reasons “Why”; Pre-, Post- and In-Process Scanning; Talent Development; ADAS & its Impacts; and more . This year, MSO executives will be sharing guidance on what owners with prospective growth paths can do to prepare for expansion and will point out some 6

things to avoid.

When?

The MSO Symposium kicks off at 10 a.m. on Thursday, August 9. AkzoNobel will be providing attendees with a generous lunch, and PPG will bring attendees the opportunity to continue to discuss questions and answers during an evening reception, beginning at 6 p.m.

Who Should Attend?

The MSO Symposium’s program is directly relevant for owners of large yet independent collision repair facilities, OEM collision repair program managers, insurance professionals and members of multi-shop operators (MSOs). The event is exclusive and only open to people within the above categories. If you are a supplier of service or equipment to this industry, a limited number of prominent industry sponsorships are available as well.

Be sure to register today, as seating is limited!

The MSO Symposium is just one of the industry meetings set to take place in conjunction with the NACE Automechanika Show in Atlanta, GA.

AUGUST 2018 AUTOBODY NEWS / autobodynews.com

lidar, radar and similar developments in vehicle technology affect all industry stakeholders and the need to be prepared.

Attendees can expect to learn about the newest options on today’s vehicles and what they need to do to be prepared when that vehicle comes into their shop. The impact on the repair process, claims, service, maintenance and cybersecurity is still being defined. Stay current and don’t get left behind, as the future is here.

All industry stakeholders are encouraged to attend, including but not limited to:

• Collision and service repair facility owners, managers, service writers and estimators

• Executive and management staff from MSOs, networks and franchisors • •

Insurance professionals Technology providers

• Mechanical and collision repair technicians **

**As vehicle technology continues to evolve, the repair process between mechanical and collision is increasingly becoming connected. The beginning of bridging the gap between those who repair today’s automobiles is a goal of this event.

Dan Risley, president of ASA, stated, “This event is unique in that it exclusively covers the latest in telematics and other new technology as it relates to the collision and service repair industries. ADAS and telematics is bridging the gap between the two automotive industries and we want to facilitate the cross pollination of knowledge and information. This year’s advisory board played a significant role in developing content relative to the needs of the market and attendees of this program.”

For registration, please follow www .naceautomechanika.com/ttf.

For more information please visit www.advancedtechrepair.com.

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7

New Auto Body Shop To Come to Meridian, MS

it, not to mention this will be an opportunity for several jobs to come Joe Hudson’s Collision Center will from the workforce training center.”

According to the company open its newest auto body repair shop later this year in Meridian, website, Joe Hudson’s Collision Centers have served local commuMS. nities since 1989 and are described as “stateof-the-art auto body repair shops.”

With locations in Pearl and Hattiesburg, the company operates a Workers on July 8 add a roof to the building that will total of 60 auto body rehouse a Joe Hudson’s Collision Center Credit: Jim pair shops in Mississippi,

by Jim Brock, The Meridian Star

Currently under construction on Highway 39N, between John O’Neil Johnson Toyota and Walmart Neighborhood Grocery, Joe Hudson’s is expected to open for business by the end of November.

Roland Terry, vice president of Meridian-based Construction Services, Inc., said the 10,000square-foot body shop will include 10 bays with “up-to-date automotive repair equipment.”

“I think it will make a fantastic addition to the area,” Terry said.

“With it being a high-traffic area, it will definitely have a nice draw to Brock, The Meridian Star

8

Joe Hudson’s Collision Center will open its newest auto body repair shop in Meridian, MS, later this year Credit: Jim Brock, The Meridian Star

Texas, Tennessee, Georgia, Florida and Alabama.

We thank The Meridian Star for reprint permission.

AUGUST 2018 AUTOBODY NEWS / autobodynews.com

Florida Lawsuits Decrease for Auto Glass Repair Insurance

by Emmariah Holcomb, glassBYTEs.com

Auto glass lawsuits, which had increased from 2006 to 2016, are starting to decline in Florida.

“In 2006, approximately 400 auto glass assignment of benefit (AOB) lawsuits were filed against auto insurers. In 2016, nearly 20,000 lawsuits were filed,” Florida Department of Financial Services said in a January 2018 press release from the Office of the Insurance Consumer Advocate’s news page.

New stats, however, show that the number of lawsuits filed is down more than 35 percent between the first six months of 2017 to the first six months of 2018. This is according to an analysis of cases against insurers that attorneys must report to the state’s Service of

Process Reports database. Its numbers dropped from 13,475 lawsuits to 8,435 lawsuits, according to an article from the South Florida Sun Sentinel.

“We believe the number of lawsuits [is] being under-reported,” said Logan McFaddin, regional manager of the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America in a written statement in an article from the South Florida Sun Sentinel.

Recently a Central Florida contractor was arrested with help from the Bureau of Insurance Fraud investigators for allegedly committing auto glass insurance fraud. This arrest brought AOB issues to the surface in the sunshine state yet again.

We thank glassBYTEs.com for reprint permission.

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Atlanta I-CAR Hosts Rockin’ Rides Car Show to Benefit CREF

The Atlanta I-CAR Committee is seeking more vehicle submissions for its Rockin’ Rides Car Show this year.

The event will be held at the Georgia World Congress Center during NACE Automechanika Atlanta from August 8–10. The car show is limited to the first 100 vehicles, so the committee stresses the importance of registering vehicles early.

Proceeds will be donated to the Collision Repair Education Foundation (CREF) to provide funds, supplies and scholarships to collision repair programs in the metro Atlanta area.

The cost to participate in the car show is $25. All proceeds donated will benefit a technical school program through the Collision Repair Education Foundation.

The application deadline for vehicle submissions is July 27, 2018.

Applications must include a digital color photograph or rendering of the vehicle, all owner and driver information and a signed photography/video release. Registration is available online.

Acceptance emails will be sent out immediately after they are reviewed.

In addition to the Rockin’ Rides Car Show, on Thursday, August 9, the Rockin’ Rides Reception will open its doors to raise money for local automotive schools. Make sure to register for the party; for only $25 you can enjoy food, drinks and great music while hanging out with old and new friends.

The Atlanta Committee has been in place for nearly 15 years, and it has been working with the Collision Repair Education Foundation for 12 years. Not only does this benefit the local school system, but educating future technicians helps solve an industry-wide problem: a shortage of new, well-trained technicians.

I-CAR Atlanta Committee member Jonathan Entrekin, of Caliber Collision, said, “Coming from the shop side, I got involved in raising funds for CREF because every year,

more and more technicians are leaving the industry and fewer are going into it. From my perspective, we’re putting money back into the schools so we can train these students and bring them into the shops and have technicians trained in school programs that have equipment, supplies and good cars to repair.”

The Atlanta I-CAR Committee has raised nearly $400,000 for CREF in the last 12 years. Donations are awarded to collision schools local to the metro Atlanta area.

According to Gerald Poirier, ICAR Committee member from Farmers Insurance, the committee “has established two $4,000 scholarships in Georgia for post-secondary collision schools.” The money can be used for any collision repair school in-state or not. The money is also used for tool grants, makeover grants and other funds. Currently, the committee works with lots of local schools, but they’re looking to include schools across Georgia.

“Maxwell High School of Technology was the first school we partnered with,” said Poirier. “Their program was nowhere near where it needed to be … They had $600 a year

for materials and about 20 students a year coming into the program. About nine years later, they usually have 70– 80 students a year and the amount of materials they have is basically endless.”

Contact Information: Those interested in participating in the Rockin’ Rides Car Show can find more information at bit.ly/Rockin RidesATL or contact michael.j.ingram @sherwin.com

Industry members interested in joining the Collision Repair Education Foundation’s roster of supporters to assist high school and post-secondary collision school programs and students should contact Director of Development Brandon Eckenrode at 847-463-5245 or Brandon.Eckenrode@ed-foundation.org

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Ascue’s Paint and Body Shop Is Successful at 50 and Counting in SC Ascue’s business is continuously evolving. The longstanding auto Earlier this spring, Timothy ‘Pete’ body shop is one cog in the economic Ascue celebrated the 50th anniver- engine that in the past included nightsary of his auto paint and body busi- clubs as well. He said the vision of ness. his ultimate goal of being a successThe milestone highlights an era ful businessman led him in and out of in a life marked with the accomplish- various ventures. ments of a man who started his “I feel like I can go into any working life behind a mule on his fa- business and make it,” he said confither’s farm. dently.

Ascue’s auto body business is Success and family have been undeniably among the most success- his motivation. As a student at Laing ful black-owned businesses in the School East of the Cooper River, the metropolitan Charleston, SC, area. aspiring entrepreneur studied brick masonry and carpentry. He decided against pursuing those skills as careers because he felt inclement weather would limit how much he could work. And work has been at the root of his success.

He watched his parents, Law-rence and Julia Gathers Ascue, work to support The Ascue Family (l to r) Craig Ascue, Tory Ascue, Tim & their eight children. By the Pearl Ascue and Christi Ascue Kershaw time he was 16, in addition Though he’s known most commonly to working on his father’s farm, he for the auto paint and body business found jobs in Charleston, where his he started with his brother in 1968, mother worked as a domestic emAscue is a forward-thinking entrepre- ployee. Working downtown gave neur whose diverse ventures place Ascue the opportunity to see black him among the most auspicious black businessmen such as H.A. DeCosta businessmen in the community. and Henry Smith, whom he emuThe paint and body shop he started lated. And he fell in love with Pearl with his brother Robert ‘Bunny’Ascue Vanderhorst, the daughter of one of has grown to include five components Mount Pleasant’s largest black farmthat make up Ascue’s Auto Collision ers.

Center in Mount Pleasant. Four of the shops are leased to various auto body service companies. Ascue still owns and operates Ascue’s Auto Paint and Body Shop at the location that alone employs 15 people.

Although he’s come to be recognized as a small businessman at the pinnacle of success, Ascue has never abandoned the grassroots beginnings (l to r) Craig Ascue, Juan Baltazar and Tim that formed his life philosophy—pay Ascue align a tailgate nameplate on a Chevy your way through; business is about Colorado. Credit: Tolbert Smalls, Jr. the customer, not the owner; and always strive to increase business “Her daddy had two tractors through employee training. while I was plowing with a mule. I Being able to adapt and diver- figured if I could put her money and sify has also been a key factor to his my work ethic together, we could success. The fields he once plowed make it!” he said, teasing his wife with a mule on his father’s farm in who retired after working for 30 the 10 Mile community of the East years at the veteran’s administration Cooper area are now the sites of res- hospital in Charleston. idential housing developments he’s “She saved me,” said Ascue, constructed. readily admitting her salary often

by Barney Blakeney, The Charleston Chronicle

10

AUGUST 2018 AUTOBODY NEWS / autobodynews.com

bought parts and paid employees to keep the fledgling auto body shop afloat—her salary and money sometimes borrowed from local loan sharks.

Tory Ascue ultrafines and buffs the paint for finishing touches on a 1955 Chevy Truck before delivery

Together, in 1976 they moved the shop from its first rented location to property Ascue had purchased from Smith. As the business grew, Ascue recruited family members, including his four children, to work at the shop. His siblings’ children also worked there at one time of another.

Ascue encouraged his family members to branch off from the tree that was their family business and to pursue businesses of their own.

Ascue said he feels his greatest business accomplishment has been facilitating business careers for them.

His middle son, Craig, is the company’s CEO and his only daughter, Christi Kershaw, is its CFO. His youngest son, Tory, can do everything else. Ascue’s brother Julius is renowned in floor design and his sister Charlotte is a local restauranteur and caterer.

From the great room of his home overlooking an intercoastal waterway that bounds the 10 Mile community, Ascue said the next 50 years of the business he created will be as exciting as the first. “We’re going to franchise, continue to diversify and do business development by incubating other businesses. There’s still hope. Living in America is not as bad as some think,” he said with the confident optimism that’s brought him thus far.

We thank The Charleston Chronicle for reprint permission.

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autobodynews.com / AUGUST 2018 AUTOBODY NEWS

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Continued from page 4

3rd Party Claims

Now, if a consumer brings forward a grievance, the Department of Insurance is required to have a hearing and has the authority to go after the insurance company, the adjuster or the appraiser for any violation of the statute.

“The language that was in House Bill 1007 was incorporated into the budget bill (SB99), which is now law,” said Torbett. “It has been through House and Senate votes that passed. The governor [Roy Cooper] vetoed the budget bill, and then it was overridden by the House and Senate.”

CLARIFY OVERSIGHT AUTHORITY OVER AUTO APPRAISERS SECTION 34.26.(a) G.S. 20-279.2 reads as rewritten: Ҥ 20-279.2. Commissioner Commissioners to administer Article; appeal to court. (a) The Except for G.S. 20-279.21(d1), the Commissioner shall administer and enforce the provisions of this Article and may make rules and regu-

lations necessary for its administration and shall provide for hearings upon request of persons aggrieved by orders or acts of the Commissioner under the provisions of this Article. The Commissioner of Insurance shall administer and enforce the provisions of G.S. 20-279.21(d1) and may make rules and regulations necessary for its administration.

Walkowiak explained that insurance companies must now enforce the laws in regard to third-party claims.

“Now, they can suspend, revoke and fine an adjuster appraiser and the insurance company for non-compliance,” he said. “Our representative [Torbett] is looking out for NC consumers!”

After dealing with this situation, Walkowiak’s s advice to collision repairers who have a concern is to talk to their legislators and get involved.

“Meet with your legislatures and senators to change some of the governing language at the Department of Insurance so they can actively do something when an insurance company is not abiding by the rules,” he said.

Monroe, NC, Man Charged With Auto Insurance Fraud

by Staff, The Enquirer Journal

North Carolina Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey announced the arrest of Gary Miller, 44, of Monroe, NC, on July 3. Miller was charged with felony insurance fraud.

Special agents with the NC Department of Insurance’s Criminal Investigations Division accused Miller of presenting a fraudulent invoice to Allstate Insurance Co. for auto body repair work that was never performed. The action was aimed at increasing the value of a vehicle that Miller had reported as stolen, according to the arrest warrant, according to a statement from the Department of Insurance.

The actions occurred between Oct. 17 and Oct. 24, 2017, according to the warrant. Miller was arrested on May 30.

Insurance fraud costs American consumers approximately

AUTOBODY

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$80 billion per year. According to Commissioner Causey, fraud costs North Carolinians between 15 and 20 cents of every dollar paid on insurance premiums— and it is getting worse, according to a statement from the office.

“I am determined to stem the tide of insurance fraud in this state in order to save residents money,” Causey said in a statement. “That’s why I am dedicated to the mission of our NCDOI law enforcement officers who investigate and prosecute claims of insurance and bail bonding fraud.”

To report suspected fraud, contact the NC Department of Insurance Criminal Investigation Division at 919-807-6840. Callers may remain anonymous. Information is also available at www.ncdoi.com.

We thank The Enquirer Journal for reprint permission.

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AUGUST 2018 AUTOBODY NEWS / autobodynews.com

As part of the North Carolina Association of Collision and Autobody Repair, Walkowiak said the group is actively involved, speaking with attorneys and the Department of Insurance to get the language and polices changed. This includes what the Department of Insurance can do and its role.

Walkowiak is also a member of the North Carolina Department of Insurance External Appraiser and Repairer Task Force, an advisory board of body shops and appraisers that meets monthly. The task force was formed by the deputy commissioner and is overseen by the deputy commissioner of consumer services.

“We need other commissioners and legislatures to see what’s happening, and this is an excellent step toward consumer rights,” said Walkowiak.

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OR Automotive Shops Need To Prepare for New Law

Repair shops in Oregon need to be aware of a new law regarding liens that goes into effect Jan. 1. Currently, repair shops in Oregon have a right to file a lien on vehicles in their possession if the owner of the vehicle does not pay the authorized bill. A new Oregon law is intended to address the issue of a few unscrupulous shops that abuse these liens by overbilling for work done so they can take ownership of the customer’s vehicle. Effective Jan. 1, all automotive repair shops in Oregon must purchase a $20,000 bond in order to exercise their right to place a lien on a customer’s vehicle. The bond costs will vary and are determined by the automotive repair shop’s credit rating. If you need help with the bond, please contact Northwest Automotive Trades Association’s insurance partner, Derek Aldrich with EPB&B at (503)445-8403 or daldrich@epbb .com. He can help you through this process.

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autobodynews.com / AUGUST 2018 AUTOBODY NEWS

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Body Shop Owner Designs Quality Control App for Collision Repair Industry

by Stacey Phillips

On a typical day in a busy body shop, it’s not unusual for an estimator to write multiple complicated and lengthy repair estimates.

More often than not, these are followed up with a supplement or two. Bob Caulfield experienced this first-hand while being employed as a writer at one of his brother David’s collision repair locations.

Bob said that every line of an estimate requires a quality check prior to the final product handed to the customer. After working in the industry over the last decade, Bob found that the process to qualitychecking each repair line, one by one, had become quite challenging given the day-to-day interruptions, chasing the latest estimate revisions and lack of a proper qc pallet to work from.

About three years ago, David Caulfield began working on a solution to this challenge. The goal was to take a complicated procedure and simplify it for the collision repair in-

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dustry. The result was myQCiQ.com, which was introduced in late 2016 and designed to provide a standardized quality control process that any employee could use and that would

verify and record the existence and quality of the products and services they sell,” said Bob, “the QC guy” and business development manager for myQCiQ.com.

work for every vehicle.

The brothers refer to it as “a new approach to quality control.”

“In the past, many industries lacked the technology solutions to

myQCiQ.com gathers the most current repair data from a body shop’s management system and categorizes the damage into the app.

Bob said the first release of the app

AUGUST 2018 AUTOBODY NEWS / autobodynews.com

is designed for a post-repair audit and allows body shops to quickly view, verify, track and grade the quality of the products and services sold, line by line.

“We are improving quality one look at a time,” he said.

The app is targeted to any person in the shop who participates in the quality inspection of a vehicle.

That might be the shop owner, writer, manager, technicians or other quality control personnel. Bob said that customer care personnel are quickly adapting to the app as well.

“We are providing an affordable, simple and easy-to-use quality control tool that standardizes the qc process, so every car is treated the same when it comes to checking for quality,” explained Bob. “I really believe it’s the modern way to qc a car,” said David, CEO and founder of the company. “myQC iQ.com was invented so we can actually have the repair order data come right from the management system into an application that shows you every single line on the

estimate and breaks it down by the area of impact.”

Bob said the myQCIQ.com user can subjectively mark each item as pass or fail. If he or she isn’t satisfied with the quality of the product or service provided and it potentially needs rework, it is deemed as “failed.” The app then sends a message to the technician or the responsible party in the shop to say why it failed, along with a photo.

“Once everything has passed, the information can be forwarded to the insurance company and/or customer showing that to the best of your knowledge, these items are satisfactory to company standards and you’re signing off, so the vehicle can hit the streets safely and correctly,” said David. “The app holds the shop accountable and encourages people to think twice about passing a line item that may be questionable.”

Bob said that by gathering this information, shops can quickly determine where the failures are occurring in the shop and then work to resolve those issues.

“If you don’t keep track of inferior and below-standard workman-

ship, you don’t learn from them and you don’t realize the impact it’s having on your operation,” said Bob. “It really saves a lot of time and money for a shop.”

Not only does the app help reduce cycle time, but Bob said it also improves quality throughout the repair facility and decreases the amount of materials and associated costs that are expended.

The app offers detailed reporting, including the QC Scorecard, which gives a summary of the postrepair audit. Many shops utilize myQCiQ.com’s Customer Quality Certificate as a cover sheet with the final bill.

“It’s a simple way to prove the product and services charged for were quality-checked and verified,” said Bob. “The whole point of this product is to make sure the shop verifies the existence and quality for the products and services they sell the customer and ultimately, the insurance company,” said David.

In many cases, there is a quality control provision in an insurance company’s DRP agreement that re-

quires shops to have a verifiable qc program.

In addition to the information being available to customers, shops and insurance companies, vendors can be given access to the reporting, so they can proactively assist shops if necessary.

The app follows CIECA data standards and allows data sharing through the shop’s management system, whether that’s CCC Secure Share through BMS; Mitchell Estimating, known as UltraMate, using data through EMS; or Mitchell RepairCenter through BMS. In addition to myQCiQ.com, David has developed other apps for the collision repair industry, including UpdatePromise.com, which is now known as CCC Update Plus, SmartShop and DataSpin.

“David has always been on the cutting edge and a forward thinker,” said Bob. Frank Pinto, Jr., owner of Premier Autobody & Frame, Inc. in Santa Clarita, CA, has used the app since it was first introduced about a year ago.

“It’s an awesome app,” said Pinto. “It forces you to look at every

aspect of the repair going down each line of the estimate to make sure you complete everything.”

He said it also helps ensure his employees are being thorough.

“You can’t miss anything on the estimates where it would put you in a situation where you could be liable for something that didn’t get done,” said Pinto.

Mark Cipparone, owner of Rocco’s Collision, has also used myQCiQ.com at his six collision repair locations in New Jersey and Pennsylvania since the app was first launched.

One of the biggest benefits he has found is accountability.

“It’s pretty seamless that someone can quality-check a car and they don’t have to be the top person in the company with all of the knowledge of collision to make sure the procedures were done,” said Cipparone. “It brings common sense into the scenario.”

Rather than go line by line through an estimate, he said the app puts the information in a format that makes it really simple and almost “fool-proof” to verify the car See Collision Repair App, Page 39

autobodynews.com / AUGUST 2018 AUTOBODY NEWS

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Collision Repair Students in Chattanooga, TN, Prepare for SkillsUSA

by Betty Proctor, Chattanooga State

Over the course of six years, Chattanooga State’s associate instructor of collision repair, Tim Chastain, has welcomed females into a predominantly male setting with no regrets whatsoever.

In fact, his female students competing in SkillsUSA for the past five years outnumber the males, 3–2.

After winning a gold medal each during the statewide competition in March, Breanna Britton and Caitlin White are headed to the national SkillsUSA competition on June 25 in Kentucky to show judges just what they’re made of—and they plan to win.

Breanna Britton

Not really knowing what collision repair was, Britton thought she was signing up for an easy study hall when she entered her freshman year of high school in Milan, TN. On her first day of class, she was not listening to her instructor until he noticed her drawing on her hand and stopped to ask her if she liked to paint. Unsure what he meant, Britton followed him through the school’s body shop and into the paint booth while he explained its purpose. Before she knew it, he had placed a paint gun in her hand.

“At that point, I hadn’t yet realized that refinishing was what I wanted to do with my life,” Britton said.

Later into freshman year, after she had a little body work experience, she found out about SkillsUSA and asked her teacher about whom he was taking to the competition.

When he replied that she wasn’t ready, she doubled down her efforts to focus on becoming ready.

That opportunity came during her junior year, but she let a friendship get in the way and chose not to compete. Her friend won first place 16

at state instead, yet chose not to attend nationals. Britton realized her mistake.

“I decided that I was not going to allow anybody to get between me and these opportunities again,” she said determinedly.

During her senior year, Britton’s opportunity to compete finally came, and she won second place at the state SkillsUSA competition. She then made the decision to put her passion first and sought out the advice of her shop teacher, who suggested that to be the best, she needed to attend the best collision repair program in the state: Chattanooga State’s Tennessee College of Applied Technology.

Moving more than 200 miles from home and leaving her parents and five siblings behind was not an easy decision, but with financial help from the Tennessee Promise grant and a full-time job as a painter at Card Monroe Company, Britton knows what she wants and how to make her dreams a reality.

“Breanna sets high goals and is a goal achiever 100 percent,” said Chastain of his talented student, who is also a National Technical Honor Society member.

Whitwell High School. In 2017, White chose Chattanooga State’s collision repair program to do work with the cars she loves.

Chastain is quick to point out that when students first enter the program, he gives them the chance to explore all the aspects within the program during their first semester

so that they can find their best fit.

White’s experience and personality steered her toward becoming an estimator, and her recent gold medal at SkillsUSA state proves it.

“Caitlin greets everyone with a warm smile and she looks at everything methodically,” said Chastain.

As White prepares for the national SkillsUSA competition, she is most looking forward to another new

experience, meeting new people and seeing what other opportunities await.

“I’m preparing for it as I work at Padgett’s Red Bank Body Shop,” White said. “Owner Rick and estimators Tim, Dale and Nathan are all so helpful and just a blast to be around! For every estimate they do, I tag along and write my own estimate while they write theirs, then we compare estimates. If it’s on a car parked near the body shop, we go over both estimates and I can actually see what I missed.”

With a total of five SkillsUSA medal winners, Chastain said it takes a lot of dedication and drive to be the best in your field.

“SkillsUSA builds winners for life. Winning shows that you are the best in your field and that you want to succeed in your career. It sets you apart from the rest of the applicants,” he said.

Both Britton and White have not let the fact that they are women deter them from entering and excelling in the male-dominated world of cars.

See Chattanooga, Page 22

Caitlin White

White’s obsession with cars came much earlier in life thanks to her father, Raymond, who took her to car shows, drag races “and anything to do with cars,” White said.

By the time she was 16, her dad said he was getting her a truck, which they looked at together before she fell in love with it. It took two years for them to refinish the truck, which only further served to fan her desire to be in the automotive world.

Putting her knowledge of rebuilding a car to work by using her years of hands-on experience led her to investigating the world of collision repair at Chattanooga State while she was a high school junior at

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AAAS 2018 Annual Conference & Trade Show Proves To Be Exceptional

by Chasidy Rae Sisk

From June 7–10, the Automotive Aftermarket Association Southeast (AAAS) held its 2018 Annual Conference and Trade Show at the Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort in Miramar Beach, FL.

One of the highlights of the morning was Tom Shay of Profits Plus Solutions presenting “Strategies to Win in a Challenging Economy” and “Characteristics of a Successful Business.” The presentations were sponsored by Highline Automotive

The event attracted members eager to network with industry peers, engage in valuable learning opportunities and enjoy a relaxing time with family and friends.

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According to AAAS Board of Directors Chairman Keith West, “This year’s event was exceptional, as the Automotive Aftermarket Association Southeast is celebrating its 80th year serving the automotive aftermarket. This year’s schedule of events included many opportunities to gather valuable information and network in a beautiful venue, as well as golf and deep-sea fish!”

The conference began on Thursday evening with a cocktail reception, which provided participants with a chance to meet or reconnect with other industry professionals in attendance. The following morning, The Relentless took a group out for a fishing expedition.

“We headed out on the water in hopes of catching Red Snapper, Vermillion Snapper, Trigger Fish and more. The trip provided a great morning of fishing, and the boat limited out on snapper and a record number of keepers,” said Joe Ward, AAAS first vice chairman.

AAAS hosted a reception for the Young Auto Care Network Group

AUGUST 2018 AUTOBODY NEWS / autobodynews.com

(YANG) on Friday night.

AAAS Director of Government Relations and YANG member Matt Ward shared, “YANG has given me a great avenue to network with and meet other industry peers, many of whom I consider to already be lead-

The educational portion of the conference took place on Saturday morning. One of the highlights of the morning was Tom Shay of Profits Plus Solutions presenting “Strategies to Win in a Challenging Economy” and “Characteristics of a Successful

A group of anglers enjoyed a morning of fishing aboard The Relentless

ers in this industry. It is exciting to be in a room full of YANG members that are excited about what they do and the industry they work for. You cannot attend a YANG event and not be optimistic about the future of the automotive aftermarket.”

Business.” The presentations were sponsored by Highline Automotive.

Tom Tucker, director of state government affairs for the Auto Care Association, delivered “a compelling and informative presentation on the state of the auto care industry and the

opportunities AAAS members face now and in the near future. Tucker’s discussion included emerging technology and regulations,” West recounted. “Technology and legislative issues are quickly having a profound effect on the aftermarket industry.

Perhaps now more than ever, it is essential for aftermarket businesses to stay informed and ready to work with each other and similar organizations to ensure that the aftermarket remains a free, fair and competitive industry. Attendees were able to visit with the guest speakers and learn from the many vendors in attendance throughout the morning and during breaks between speakers.”

Attendees enjoyed an afternoon of relaxation, with many participating in the Annual Golf Tournament at Baytowne Golf Club. The tournament was sponsored by Federated Insurance, with proceeds benefitting the association’s foundation (AAASF).

According to AAAS President Randal Ward, “The weather was ideal; the players enjoyed themselves, and money was raised to fund

scholarships and other great causes.”

Saturday evening concluded with dinner and a silent auction that also benefitted the AAASF and was hosted by Michael Morgan, chair-

Roger South of Advanced Rotors poses with the biggest catch of Saturday morning’s fishing expedition

man of AAAS Foundation Board of Trustees.

West stated, “As usual, AAAS members stepped up to raise funds

for a great cause. AAASF awarded 23 scholarships this year to deserving students pursuing technical certifications and post-secondary degrees.

Several members and sponsors donated auction items, and many more enjoyed the fun, camaraderie and atmosphere by bidding generously. At the end of the evening, AAASF trustees raised over $6,000 for the foundation.”

During the evening’s events, West recognized Steve Kampwerth, President and CEO of Auto Electric and Carburetor, with the title of Director Emeritus, the highest honor given to AAAS volunteer leaders.

West shared, “Steve has served in numerous AAAS board and leadership positions since 2002. Kampwerth served as the Chairman of the AAAS Employee Benefit Fund during a time of tremendous turmoil as changes in health insurance regulation shook the foundations of group health insurance nationwide. He worked diligently with the board members, legislators, regulators and staff to navigate the health program through the toughest years it had ever faced. As a result, the AAAS

Employee Benefit Fund did not just survive, but instead is stronger than ever and a cherished, invaluable benefit for our members.

“Kampwerth has also played a vital role in the association’s workers’ compensation programs and in the growth of the AAAS Foundation, which has awarded tens of thousands of dollars in scholarships in its short 13 years of existence. Above all, Steve Kampwerth has been a key player in recruiting new members and telling the association’s story.”

West concluded the conference by thanking the speakers, sponsors and members that made the 2018 AAAS Conference and Trade Show so exceptional.

“This year’s conference was very special,” he said. “Members and friends gathered valuable information, enjoyed time networking and visiting with friends and colleagues.

It was a fantastic event and a phenomenal way to celebrate AAAS’s 80th year of service to members in the aftermarket industry.”

For more information on the association, visit aaas.us.

autobodynews.com / AUGUST 2018 AUTOBODY NEWS

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Continued from Cover

VW Exploding Sunroof

• 2009-2017 Volkswagen Tiguan

According to Deras, she leased a 2013 Volkswagen Jetta in June 2013 and purchased the vehicle on June 3, 2016, at the end of her lease term.

She claims that in 2017 while driving on the freeway, a loud “BOOM” like a gunshot went off in the car, followed by a hail of glass falling on her head and the interior of the Volkswagen. She said she saw a large hole in the center of her sunroof with the edges of the glass pointing upward, indicating the glass wasn’t broken from outside the vehicle.

The plaintiff said VW has concealed defects in the sunroofs because since Dec. 14, 2009, 57 “owners and lessees of Class Vehicles have reported an incident of their sunroof shattering” to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

According to the plaintiff, VW further knew of the defect through its internal tracking systems and because the automaker issued a recall for its 2013—2015 Beetle.

The recall was issued “relating to the shattering of sunroofs,” but “it has done nothing regarding the far more predominant problem relating to all regular and panoramic sunroof shattering that affects potentially hundreds of thousands or more VW vehicles.”

Volkswagen moved to dismiss the exploding sunroof class-action lawsuit, starting with implied warranty claims on the grounds they are barred by the four-year statute of limitations.

Continued from Page 16

Chattanooga

Britton wishes to pay it forward by staying involved in SkillsUSA and making a name for women wishing to work in the industry, while White says, “I’m a girl and the first Skills winner in Estimating for Tennessee.

I hope more young women realize they can do whatever men can do— probably better!”

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The plaintiff does not dispute that she did not file the lawsuit within four years of the date on which she leased the vehicle. However, she argues that her claim was timely because her June 2016 purchase re-started the statute of limitations clock. The judge agreed.

Deras also claims she can bring an implied warranty claim because Volkswagen sold her the vehicle, but VW argues the lawsuit never mentions where she actually purchased the vehicle. However, the judge ruled the assumption is the vehicle was purchased from the same dealership that leased it.

However, according to the judge, VW won the argument about a claim of unjust enrichment by arguing the new vehicle warranty precludes the claim.

Concerning the claim that Volkswagen knew about the sunroof problems because of internal monitoring and complaints made to NHTSA, VW says the allegations are not enough to state a claim in court, and the judge agreed.

Deras alleges NHTSA received 57 complaints of shattering sunroofs between Dec. 14, 2009, and April 11, 2017, and that safety regulators monitored the complaints. Of those complaints, 45 were made before Deras purchased her vehicle on June 3, 2016.

But according to the judge, “the Ninth Circuit has held that consumer complaints suffice to establish knowledge only where there were an unusual number of complaints, such that the manufacturer would be on notice of a specific problem.”

The judge also found the plaintiff contends there are “potentially hundreds of thousands or more of The Tennessee College of Applied Technology at Chattanooga State Community College consistently offers a high-quality education with an 18:1 student-to-teacher ratio, 96 percent job placement rate and 98 percent licensure pass rate.

For more information, visit www .chattanoogastate.edu/tcat.

We thank The Chattanoogan.com for reprint permission.

AUGUST 2018 AUTOBODY NEWS / autobodynews.com

VW vehicles with defective sunroofs, so 57 complaints out of hundreds of thousands of vehicles aren’t an unusual number of complaints.”

“These complaints therefore do not show VW’s knowledge of the alleged defect,” said Judge Jon S. Tigar.

As for the allegation that Volkswagen knew about the alleged shattering sunroofs because of a previous recall related to sunroofs, the judge ruled Deras has cited no authority, and the judge is aware of none, holding that prior recalls of similar products is enough to establish knowledge of a defect.

Therefore, the judge dismissed claims of violations of California’s unfair competition law, California Consumer Legal Remedies Act and fraud by omission, but with leave to amend the claims.

Overall, the judge dismissed all the claims against Volkswagen except claims related to implied warranties.

The Volkswagen exploding sunroof class-action lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California - Rosaura

Deras, et. al., v. Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. The plaintiff is represented by the Law Office of Robert L. Starr, APC, and the Law Office of Stephen M. Harris, APC. CarComplaints.com has complaints about the models named in the lawsuit: • Volkswagen Jetta

• Volkswagen Golf • Volkswagen GTI • Volkswagen CC

• Volkswagen Eos

• Volkswagen Rabbit • Volkswagen Passat

• Volkswagen Touareg • Volkswagen Tiguan

We thank CarComplaints.com for reprint permission.

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23

Historical Snapshot with John Yoswick

—John Yoswick is a freelance writer based in Portland, Oregon, has been writing about the automotive industry since 1988. He is the editor of the weekly CRASH Network (for a free 4-week trial subscription, visit www.CrashNetwork.com).

Contact him by email at jyoswick@SpiritOne.com.

A Decade Ago, a Different National Association Sought to Replace its Executive Director Study” published by the California Bureau of Automotive Repair (BAR).

The report blasts the parts certification process, concluding that “certification has no value to the customer … If there are problems with the certified product, the certifying entity does not stand behind their own certification process.”

Legislation enacted in 2001 authorized $125,000 to be spent by the BAR, a sub-agency of the California Department of Consumer Affairs, to study the best process for certifying crash parts and to designate the agency to bear responsibility for overseeing crash In 2008, Oklahoma shop owner Gary Wano served on the parts certification. For two board of the Society of Collision Repair Specialists (SCRS) as and a half years, the BAR it sought a new executive director following the resignation held meetings with repairof Dan Risley ers, insurers, OEMs and af“Our national advertising cam- termarket parts certifiers. It sent out paign is helping drivers realize the surveys to auto body repair shops savings from dealing directly with and conducted field tests on crash the company and the convenience of parts. In the end, the BAR reached 24-hour service, seven days a week,” several conclusions, most notably: said Bob Miller, a GEICO regional vice president. “The company adds • Elimination of non-certified afmore than 10,000 new drivers each termarket crash parts is not a viable option. Outlawing non-certified afweek.”

GEICO grew by 10 percent in termarket parts (as suggested by 1996 and 16 percent in 1997. Its CAPA) would make the market less growth reached 18.9 percent during competitive and leave a shortage of the first quarter of 1998. It ensures such parts.

• Certification does not protect more than 4.5 million automobiles.

– As reported in The Golden consumers from poor quality parts Eagle. GEICO has continued to grow … If the certifying entity warranted faster than most other auto insurers; their certified parts, it would provide by last year it insured more than 24 “added value” to the certified part million vehicles owned by its more and protect consumers against poor than 15 million policyholders. It quality parts. passed Allstate in 2013 to become the second-largest auto insurer in the The study compared the CAPA QualU.S. It still trails State Farm by 5.3 ity Seal with the well-known Good percentage points of market share, Housekeeping Seal of Approval. The but if its current pace of growth con- Good Housekeeping seal carried a tinues, GEICO could surpass State limited warranty stating that if any product bearing the seal proves to be Farm in less than a decade. defective within two years of the date 15 Years Ago in the Collision Repair of purchase, the product will be replaced or the purchase price refunded.

Industry (August 2003) “If CAPA or Global Validators Aftermarket parts manufacturers and CAPA are likely vexed by the newly feel their certification parts fit the released “Crash Parts Certification criteria of their certification pro20 Years Ago in the Collision Repair Industry (August 1998) GEICO Direct, one of the country’s fastest-growing auto insurers, reached a milestone when it recently added its 3 millionth policyholder.

24

AUGUST 2018 AUTOBODY NEWS / autobodynews.com

gram, why don’t they stand behind their certified parts?” the BAR report asks.

– As reported in Autobody News.

10 Years Ago in the Collision Repair Industry (August 2008) The Society of Collision Repair Specialists (SCRS) has issued a call for applicants following the resignation last week of its executive director, Dan Risley, after almost eight years with SCRS. Some critics of the association say they were not surprised to learn that Risley accepted a position with Allstate Insurance. But most interviewed about the announcement echoed the comments of Oregon shop owner Patty McConnell.

“So sad to see one of our best advocates going over to the ‘other side,’” McConnell said. “Our industry cannot compete with insurers in

terms of pay plans, retirement plans and other benefits. Another sad day for this industry.”

SCRS Chairman Gary Wano said Risley told the SCRS board his decision to accept the job was not an easy one but “would be best for him and his family.”

Risley, who lives in the Chicago area not far from Allstate’s headquarters, is the second high-profile member of the industry to join Allstate this year, following Chad Sulkala, an SCRS and I-CAR board member who left his family’s collision repair business in Boston for a position at Allstate’s home office.

– As reported in CRASH Network (www.CrashNetwork.com), August 19, 2008. SCRS later in 2008 hired Aaron Schulenburg as its new executive director, a position he still holds. Risley spent five years as a project manager with Allstate, then in

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2013 joined the Automotive Service Association as executive director. He left ASA this summer to take a position with CCC Information Services.

Sulkala continues to work for Allstate.

5 Years Ago in the Collision Repair Industry (August 2013) In a 20-page report released last week, the Center for American Progress (CAP) says the alleged conflict of interest by an Illinois Supreme Court justice who voted in 2005 to overturn the $1.18 billion non-OEM parts verdict against State Farm raises troubling issues about the legitimacy of the judicial process.

State Farm is accused in a lawsuit filed in 2011 of giving millions of dollars to third parties who then gave that money to the election campaign of Justice Lloyd Karmeier. Following his election to the Supreme Court, Karmeier was among the justices who voted to overturn the verdict against State Farm in a class action lawsuit (Avery v. State Farm) over the insurers’ use of non-OEM parts.

“The facts surrounding the Avery v. State Farm case prove that unlim-

ited direct contributions to candidates have the potential to create conflicts of interest that cause the public to doubt the integrity of judges,” the CAP report concludes. “The current Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) lawsuit can unearth the truth about State Farm’s actions.”

Karmeier stands for re-election next year, and the plaintiffs in the current RICO lawsuit have told the judge in the case that it is their “stated intention” to question Karmeier under oath about the allegations in a deposition.

– As reported in CRASH Network (www.CrashNetwork.com), August 19, 2013. The trial in the RICO case involving State Farm’s alleged role in Karmeier’s election is slated to begin in early September.

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CARCO Adds Windshield Damage Inspections To Fight Fraud in FL

by Emmariah Holcomb, glassBYTEs.com

CARCO is adding windshield damage inspection to its Florida Site Network. The goal is to identify and prevent fraudulent windshield damage claims from being filed with insurance companies.

The new addition aims to help both insured Floridians and insurance companies by authenticating filed claims.

“This should help ensure the safety of the insureds while stopping fraud,” said Will Pagan, senior vice president and general manager of CARCO’s Fraud Prevention Services and Technology Platforms division. By using its existing site network, leveraging mobile technology can help keep

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“The program helps insurance carriers as it validates windshield damage and tracks the fraud prevention process through a mobileenabled network, saving time and money,” CARCO said in a press release.

The group said its number of completed inspection transactions in Florida and other states is in the millions, according to the release.

“We are confident that our 40 years of experience fighting fraud with innovative technology solutions will help alleviate the flood of lawsuits that have crept up to over 20,000 in the past year alone,” Pagan said.

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25

Robaina Direct Addresses Considerations for ‘Small and Medium Damage Repairs’

by Stacey Phillips

During a recent Guild 21 podcast sponsored by VeriFacts, Bryan Robaina asked attendees if it’s best to replace parts with new ones during a repair to maintain the vehicle’s OEM / Certified Pre-Owned (CPO) status.

Half of those listening to the presentation replied “yes”; the remainder answered “no” or were unsure.

Robaina, founder of Eco Repair Systems of North America, the first company approved by BMW for its panel repair tools and equipment, and Robaina Direct LLC, said that in an ideal (repairable) situation, it may be advantageous to repair parts rather than replace them. Doing so can also help reduce severity when conditions permit. In fact, he said, many vehicle manufacturer programs will confirm that the best thing to do to maintain CPO status is to not replace a part.

“Every OEM has its own constraints about what allows repairers to go the route of replacement and some with regards to repair,” said Robaina. “This is something that you need to confirm with the OEM documentation work instructions and then make a judgment call.”

When looking at repairs in general, according to Robaina, the main question is: “Does the part need to be replaced or repaired?” In most cases, Robaina said it is not recommended that technicians replace a structural panel that is rivet bonded or welded to the vehicle if the damage by OEM standard does not require replacement.

Robaina’s presentation on small /medium dent repairs on outer sheet metal and aluminum panels was part of Guild 21’s three-part series on repair versus replace. The earlier segments included Kurt Lammon, president of Polyvance, and Scott McKernan, president of #1 Vinyl & Leather Repair, discussing plastic repair and interior parts, and Ryan Hampton, Bill Park and Tony Frasher, owners of The 300 Advantage, sharing opportunities for Paintless Dent Repair (PDR) in collision repair.

Robaina Direct specializes in creating, supplying and co-develop26

ing solutions for small- and mediumdamage repairs for OEM collision repair programs and MSOs. The company’s mission is to drive down the severity of repairs based on OEM-approved and well-balanced

Bryan Robaina, founder of Eco Repair Systems of North America

DRP-approved repair processes that result in better cycle times, more touch time hours and better gross profit (GP).

In his presentation, Robaina spoke about important considerations when deciding whether to repair or replace on larger repairs. This included paying close attention to OEM repair requirements.

“In this OEM DRP world, everyone has a long list of requests that you have to do to be on one program or another,” he said. “We need to make sure that in every single repair that is done that there is some reference to documentation.”

If necessary, he recommended contacting the OEM to confirm the information.

Other important considerations he mentioned included being familiar with insurance DRP program guidelines, looking at how the decision will affect cycle time, overall profitability and what is best for the vehicle.

“A lot of that relates to CPO status and what translates to resell value,” said Robaina.

Robaina reminded listeners to consider disclosures, diminished value and the fact that Carfax reports certain things about a vehicle, especially with intrusive repairs.

When making a decision about

AUGUST 2018 AUTOBODY NEWS / autobodynews.com

whether to repair or replace the part, Robaina recommended that technicians first look over the vehicle carefully. In many cases, the only way to determine if the damage is repairable is through a physical inspection.

“Today, we’re steering away a lot of technicians from ‘checking’ with their hands to determine if the repair is good enough based on touch,” he said. “Instead, we want them to look at a panel and use their eyesight with contrast lighting as their primary sense to accomplish this. After all, when a customer picks up a vehicle, they see the repair, not feel for correctness.”

After assessing the damage, he advised listeners to read through the vehicle manufacturer’s work instructions. He said it’s critical to take into account the value of the part, its availability and the amount of time it will take to do the repair, as well as what may be hidden behind the skin of the exterior body panel.

“The last thing you want to do is start de-trimming a vehicle that you’re not entirely familiar with,” he said. “You don’t want to be married

to a job that you just started and then find out it’s getting complicated (beyond your level of knowledge or ability to access OEM information).”

After a decision has been made to go down the route of repair, Robaina said there are specific tools that can be used. He walked podcast attendees through the steps of PDR when repairing steel parts. Some of the tooling he mentioned included EcoRepairSystem.com’s PDR rods, very precise tooling that requires backside access, as well as small and large glue tabs. When a technician is undecided about whether to repair or replace during a certain job, Robaina said attempting to repair with the company’s proprietary glue pull system can be very telling of whether or not the repair is possible. He also talked about the fine point welding electrode squeeze type lifter, which is attached to EcoRepairSystem.com’s dent repair system, and the steel key welding / pulling system.

After discussing repairs related to steel, Robaina addressed aluminum See Damage Repairs, Page 39

autobodynews.com / AUGUST 2018 AUTOBODY NEWS

27

Please contact these dealers for your Honda or Acura Genuine parts needs.

HONDA ALABAMA

FLORIDA

FLORIDA

GEORGIA

N

Holman Honda of Ft. Lauderdale

Gwinnett Place Honda

Ft. Lauderdale

800-277-8836 678-957-5151

Freeway Honda

Classic Honda

Birmingham

Orlando

800-987-0819 205-949-5460

888-893-4984 407-521-1115

Dept. Hours: M-F 7:30-5 greg_thomas@freewayhondaal.com

Dept. Hours: M-F 7-7; Sat 8-4 parts@classichonda.com

Jerry Damson Honda

Coggin Deland Honda

Huntsville

Deland

Rick Case Honda

800-264-1739 256-382-3759

800-758-0007 386-626-1811

Davie

678-318-3155

877-544-2249

Dept. Hours: M-F 7-5:30; Sat 8-4 Rkeel@damson.com

Dept. Hours: M-F 7:30-6; Sat 8-5 gbennett@cogginauto.com

Dept. Hours: M-F 7-7; Sat 7:30-4 robbutton@rickcase.com

Dept. Hours: M-F 7-7; Sat 7-5 cdunlap@penskeautomotive.com

Ed Morse Honda

South Motors Honda

Gainesville

R i viera Beach

Miami

800-232-1098 561-844-8089

888-418-3513 305-256-2240

770-534-0086 678-989-5473

888-205-2564 727-530-1173

Dept. Hours: M-F 7:30-6; Sat 7:30-5 tonyrocha@edmorse.com

Dept. Hours: M-F 8-7 mfranceschi@southhonda.com

Dept. Hours: M-F 7-7; Sat 8-5; Sun 10-3 santosr1@autonation.com

Headquarter Honda Cler mont

Carey Paul Honda

AutoNation Honda Hollywood

800-497-2294 407-395-7374

770-985-1444

Dept. Hours: M-F 8-7; Sat 8-5 pepe.guevara@headquarterhonda.com

Dept. Hours: M-F 7-7; Sat 7-6 gperkins@careypaul.com

Hendrick Honda Bradenton

Ed Voyles Honda

Bradenton

Marietta

877-706-2021 941-752-2123

800-334-3719 770-933-5870 Direct

Dept. Hours: M-F 7:30-7; Sat 8-4 Kris.kitzman@hendrickauto.com

Dept. Hours: M-F 7-7; Sat 7-6 hondaparts@edvoyles.com

Hendrick Honda Pompano Beach

Gerald Jones Honda

888-792-7189 954-763-7157 Dept. Hours: M-F 8-5:30 rguido@holmanauto.com

Duluth

Dept. Hours: M-F 7:30-6; Sat 8-5 gphwholesaleparts@hendrickauto.com

Honda Mall of Georgia

C

Buford/Gwinnett

Milton Martin Honda FLORIDA

AutoNation Honda Clearwater C l e a r wa t e r

H o l l y wo o d

800-542-8121 954-964-8300 Dept. Hours: M-F 7-7; Sat 7-5; Sun 9-5 hernandeze@autonation.com

Braman Honda of Palm Beach G re e n a c re s

888-479-0695 561-966-5185 Dept. Hours: M-F 7:30-6; Sat 8-4:30 parts@bramanhondapb.com

Dept. Hours: M-F 7:30-6 robertthomas@mmhonda.com

Nalley Honda

GEORGIA

Union City

Snellville

866-362-8034 770-306-4646 Dept. Hours: M-F 7:30-7; Sat 8-5 hondawp@nalleycars.com

Southern Motors Honda Savannah

888-785-8387 912-925-1444

M

Dept. Hours: M-F 8-6; Sat 8-5 angela@southern-motors.com MISSISSIPPI

P o mpano Beach

954-425-8244 Dept. Hours: M-Fri 7-6; Sat 7-5; gerardbruno@hendrickauto.com

Augusta

800-733-2210 706-228-7040 Dept. Hours: M-F 7:30-6; Sat 8-5 tdunn@geraldjoneshonda.com

Patty Peck Honda Ridgeland

800-748-8676 601-957-3400 Dept. Hours: M-F 7:30-6; Sat 8-5 pmartin@pattypeckhonda.com

D

ACURA ALABAMA

GEORGIA

GEORGIA

N

Jerry Damson Acura

Duval Acura

Jackson Acura

Huntsville

J acksonville

Roswell

Savannah

800-264-1739 256-533-1345

800-352-2872 904-725-1149

877-622-2871 678-259-9500

800-347-0596 912-232-3222

Dept. Hours: M-F 7-5:30; Sat 8-4 Rkeel@damson.com

Dept. Hours: M-F 7-7; Sat 8-5 Cecil.adams@duvalacura.com

Dept. Hours: M-F 7-6; Sat 7:30-6 kmcmillan@jacksonacura.com

Dept. Hours: M-F 7:30-6; Sat 8-5 travis.morrison@southernmotors.com

Rick Case Acura

Nalley Acura

FLORIDA

Acura of Orange Park J a ck s o n v i l l e

888-941-7278 904-777-1008 Dept. Hours: M-F 7-8; Sat 7-5; Sun 9-3 msweeney@acuraoforangepark.com 28

FLORIDA

F o rt Lauderdale

Marietta

800-876-1150 954-377-7688

800-899-7278 770-422-3138

Dept. Hours: M-F 7:30-6; Sat 8-5 rubenramos@rickcase.com

Dept. Hours: M-F 7-7; Sat 7-5 byoung@nalleycars.com

AUGUST 2018 AUTOBODY NEWS / autobodynews.com

Southern Motors Acura

NO. CAROLINA

Flow Acura Winston-Salem

800-489-3534 336-761-3682 Dept. Hours: M-F 7:30-6; Sat 8-1 www.flowacura.com

.

m

a

a

m

NO. CAROLINA

NO. CAROLINA

TENNESSEE

VIR G I N I A

Apple Tree Honda

Vann York Automall

Bill Gatton Honda

Asheville

H i g h Point

Bristol

Staunton

800-476-9411 828-684-4400

336-841-6200

800-868-4118 423-652-9545

800-277-0598 540-213-9016

Dept. Hours: M-F 7:30-5:30; Sat 8-1 hondaparts@billgattonhonda.com

Dept. Hours: M-F 7:30-5:30; Sat 9-5 bwimer@myvalleyhonda.com

Wolfchase Honda

West Broad Honda

Dept. Hours: M-F 8-5; Sat 8-4 appletreeparts@hotmail.com

Crown Honda Southpoint Durham

855-893-8866 919-425-4711 Dept. Hours: M-Thu 7-11; Fri 7-6 Sat 7-5; Sun 11-5 www.southpointhonda.com

Hendrick Honda Charlotte

800-277-7271 704-552-1149 Dept. Hours: M-F 7-7; Sat 8-5 rob.thomas@hendrickauto.com

Leith Honda Raleigh

800-868-6970 919-790-8228 Dept. Hours: M-F 7-7; Sat 7:30-5 parts@leithhonda.com

McKenney-Salinas Honda Gastonia

888-703-7109 704-824-8844 x 624 Dept. Hours: M-F 7:30-5:30 parts@mshonda.com

Metro Honda I n d i a n Tra i l

866-882-9542 704-220-1522 Dept. Hours: M-F 6:30-6:30; Sat 7-4 www.copytk.com

NO. CAROLINA

Dept. Hours: M-F 7:30-6; Sat 8-3 SO. CAROLINA

Breakaway Honda G re e n ville

800-849-5056 864-234-6481 Dept. Hours: M-F 8-6; Sat 8-5 fmarshall@breakawayhonda.com

Midlands Honda C o l u mbia

877-273-4442 803-691-8585

Bartlett

Richmond

800-982-7290 901-255-3780

800-446-0160 804-672-8811

Dept. Hours: M-F 7-7 ekerr@wolfchasehonda.com

Dept. Hours: M-Fri 7:30-6:30; Sat 8-5 wbhonda@aol.com

VIRGINIA

Checkered Flag Honda Norfolk

Dept. Hours: M-F 7-7; Sat 7-4 www.copytk.com

800-277-2122 757-687-3453

Piedmont Honda

Dept. Hours: M-Sat 7:30-6 honda.checkeredflag.com

A n d e rson

800-849-5057 864-375-2082 Dept. Hours: M-F 7:30-6; Sat 8-5 swhite@piedmontcars.com TENNESSEE

Airport Honda A l c oa

800-264-4721 865-970-7792 Dept. Hours: M-F 7:30-6:30; Sat 7:30-5 parts@airporthonda.com

AutoNation Honda West Knoxville

Colonial Honda Chester

800-564-9836 804-414-1960 Dept. Hours: M-F 8-7; Sat 8-4 rreese@i95honda.com

Hall Honda Virginia Beach

800-482-9606 757-431-4329 Dept. Hours: M-F 8-7; Sat 8-5 fox@hallauto.com

K n o x ville

Hendrick Honda Woodbridge

800-824-1301 865-218-5461

703-690-7777

Dept. Hours: M-F 7:30-6 rossd1@autonation.com TENNESSEE

Woodbridge Dept. Hours: M-Fri 7-6 Sat 8-5; Sun 10-4

VIRGINIA

Hendrick Acura

Gary Force Acura

Charlotte

B re n t wood

Falls Church

800-768-6824 704-566-2288

800-653-6723 615-377-0500

800-550-5035 703-824-5785

Dept. Hours: M-F 7:30-6; Sat 8-5 justin.taylor@hendrickauto.com

Dept. Hours: M-F 7:30-6; Sat 8-2 jtrail@garyforceacura.com

Dept. Hours: M-F 7:30-6; Sat 8-6; Sun 10-5 jimgraf@radleyauto.com

Leith Acura Cary

800-868-0082 919-657-0460 Dept. Hours: M-F 8-6; Sat 8-4:30 parts@leithacura.com

Valley Honda

Radley Acura

VIRGINIA

Karen Radley Acura Wo o d b ridge

800-355-2818 703-550-0205 Dept. Hours: M-F 7:30-5:30; Sat 8-3 coreythompson@radleyautogroup.com autobodynews.com / AUGUST 2018 AUTOBODY NEWS

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National Associations with Chasidy Rae Sisk

Chasidy Rae Sisk is a freelance technical writer from Wilmington, Delaware, who writes on a variety of fields and subjects, and grew up in a family of NASCAR fans. She can be contacted at crsisk@chasidyraesisk.com.

ASA Hosts Road to Great Technicians Webinar With CARQUEST’s Chris Chesney On June 20, the Automotive Service Association (ASA) hosted a webinar called “The Road to Great Technicians” with Chris Chesney, senior director of customer training for the CARQUEST Technical Institute.

Attendees qualified for one credit from the Automotive Management Institute.

After ASA Vice President Tony Molla introduced the webinar’s presenter, Chesney recounted his collaboration with the National Automotive Service Task Force (NASTF) to identify the Road to Great Technicians.

They began in March 2016 when NASTF’s Spring General Meeting focused on the topic of building a road to great technicians. Chesney was asked to explain the current state of the aftermarket training industry. He defined the current state of aftermarket training as a lack of industry standards and a structured career path, unorganized training offerings, and disjointed efforts by industry organizations. However, he also identified many good building elements.

Current problems in the industry include the inability to find new talent, graduates not performing to industry standards, an inability to afford techs and the amount of time is takes to replace a technician or advisor who leaves a company because companies do not build bench strength.

Chesney stressed, “You have to invest in those new technicians, but many shops cannot find someone who can perform out of the gate, so we need to focus on growing our own and building our bench strength to overcome this problem. We have a need now for the next several years.

Reports indicate that we need 80,000 technicians each year, but only 25,000 are being produced.”

Chesney identified the aging workforce, oncoming tidal wave of technology and lack of a structured career path as reasons for the significant needs for technicians. Focusing on the influx of technology, he explored the unseemly amount of data that is transferred within modern vehicles.

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Diag.net’s Scott Brown, WTI’s Mark Warren, NASTF’s Donny Seyfer, ASE’s Trish Serratore, S/P2’s Kyle Holt, DrewTech’s Bob Augustine and Cengage’s Erin Brennan.

Exploring possible solutions to the industry’s problem, this group defined 13 solution elements, starting with new and enhanced communication with parents and influencers of peripheral students, early The Road to Great Technicians team’s vision for the future engagement with tactile of automotive education culminates in the idea of the students in middle and high Automotive Institute of Science and Technology school, support of STEM the Technician Life Cycle, which in- and development of a well-articucluded the following seven steps: sec- lated career path with clear opportuondary shadowing, post-secondary nities for advancement and growth intern, entry-level apprentice, techni- that students and parents can see. cian, senior technician, master techniThe industry also needs to get cian and specialist; however, he noted involved with vocational education that this does not include possible “off content to ensure these programs ramps” on the Road to Great Technicians. Occurring after an industry professional becomes an entry-level technician, these “off ramps” include in-service continuing education and higher education, which can offer technicians a variety of paths to pursue in their careers, ranging from master technician to shop foreman to shop owner or even becoming an engineer for an OEM. In a January 2018 meeting, the education team at NASTF identified a subcommittee of industry experts tasked with creating a framework of education around the life cycle of a technician and other job roles within the industry. This framework is intended for curriculum providers to use in order to offer a career pathway that means something to the industry and is transferrable throughout the industry. The group began with the vision that they would prescribe degrees of competencies at every skill level, focused on the safety and reliability of the ground vehicle fleet.

This Road to Great Technicians team consists of NASTF Chair Mark Saxonberg, Toyota’s Jill Saunders, WTI’s Rob Morrell, CTI’s Chris Chesney, NACAT’s Bill Haas, of “It’s not the problem of education,” he said. “It’s our problem, and we’re going to look into that.”

Chesney presented a picture of

AUGUST 2018 AUTOBODY NEWS / autobodynews.com

provide the right skills to students.

Chesney explained, “They’re producing the wrong technicians because we aren’t involved. We have to be involved. We need to design a curriculum for schools and employers to

ensure that, regardless of where technicians work, they are uniformly trained for the skill level. We have to provide people with the opportunity to grow throughout their careers.”

The team also believes that the industry needs to provide internship experience, develop programs to help in-service technicians become mentors, and ensure that testing and certification programs are uniform and tiered to provide milestones for

achievement. Employers also must find ways to provide wages and benefits that are competitive with other industries attracting the same individuals.

“As technicians progress through their career, it is imperative to communicate career options to ensure they don’t leave the industry,” Chesney elaborated. “Vehicle technology has accelerated to unprecedented levels, necessitating faster and more thorough technician skill development to ensure public safety. To add further credibility and value to the process, NASTF is encouraging practical examinations similar to other safety-related skills as a means to verify requisite skill level attainment.

Currently, this is not regulated and we cannot keep up with the advancing rates of technology, but we need a way to prove our skills and be prepared for what’s coming, not merely what is on the road right now.”

The current state of industry education is outcome-based and not sufficient to serve today’s technology.

The future of education must be competency-based with a focus on mastery of skill and validation of a

technician’s mastery and development of skills that are recognized and transferable. A competency-based education offers a variable class structure and the ability to test out of the subject matter at different levels, enabling students to finish as they are able.

ist technician.

According to Chesney, “Each step would require a variety of requirements as far as training and experience. They would also require mastery of competencies using curriculum provided by the industry, to include mentoring, demonstrated

The Road to Great Technicians team identified a roadmap that includes off ramps instead of a straight path in hopes of identifying a tangible career path for those entering the automotive industry

The Road to Great Technicians team defined a new NASTF Technician Life Cycle that includes seven steps: apprentice technician, maintenance technician, service technician, repair technician, diagnostic technician, master technician, and special-

skills and self-paced curriculum. Finally, technicians seeking to advance would prove their skills through oral and hands-on exams.”

Continuing the work they have started, the team plans to provide the industry with a white paper by the

end of the year, but they encourage the industry to comment and opine.

While the team will be limited in size in order to maximize effectiveness, they encourage industry professionals to join NASTF and the NASTF Education Team.

The group’s vision for the future of automotive education culminates in the idea of the Automotive Institute of Science and Technology, which would include a pathway education in a project-based environment. In ninth and 10th grades, students would sample each pathway through projects designed to highlight the different aspects and career fields before choosing a specific pathway in 11th grade to focus on in their final two years of high school.

Their choices would be automotive technology as a trade, business, or engineering. While obtaining their associates degree, students would enter the discipline of their choice, working in shops to gain practical experience while simultaneously acting as mentors to younger students. Chesney concluded the webinar with a question and answer session.

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Stacey Phillips is a freelance writer and editor for the automotive industry.

She has 20 years of experience writing for a variety of publications, and is co-author of “The Secrets of America’s Greatest Body Shops.”

She can be reached at sphillips.autobodynews@gmail.com.

Tips for Busy Body Shops with Stacey Phillips

How To Increase CSI, Encourage Repeat Business and Differentiate Your Shop During a recent webinar, Nick Schoolcraft explored the three most common causes behind unfavorable customer interactions at collision repair facilities. He also shared tactics and tools to help attendees overcome these obstacles to enhance their businesses.

With more than 15 years of customer experience and marketing consulting, Schoolcraft, president of Phoenix Solutions Group, said that by having a deeper understanding of your shops customer’s needs, above what is constituted as standard industry CSI, a shop can begin to develop a better overall experience for its customer. He said detailed research and a customer-first mindset should be the first thing a shop does when looking to improve satisfaction, increase sales and differentiate itself from the competition.

“Shops that focus on the customer and exhibit empathy see an increase in repeat rates up to 30 percent,” said Schoolcraft during Dave Luehr’s Elite Body Shop Solutions webinar held in May, titled “What is Driving Poor Collision Experiences.” “Seventy percent of repeat customers choose a shop based on how they feel they were treated in the past; however, what’s more interesting is that nearly 65 percent of collision customers are lost because of indifference from the repair facility.”

Eight years ago, Schoolcraft was hired by Accenture, a global consulting company, where he worked with major automotive brands, insurance companies and multinational brands to help them develop better customer and employee experiences.

In 2017, he joined his father’s company, Phoenix Solutions Group, a marketing firm dedicated exclusively to the collision repair industry.

Founded in 1988 by Steve Schoolcraft, the company focuses on developing data-driven marketing and customer experience strategies that help auto body shops grow collision sales while increasing their customer and employee satisfaction.

The insights he shared during the webinar were based on research

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gathered from 30 years of PSG research as well as his work at Accenture.

“Most in the industry would agree that customer expectations are changing at a rapid pace,” he said.

“Customer expectations have become less ‘siloed’ in that they no longer differentiate between you and the retail store down the street.”

He said this is why it’s imperative that collision facilities focus on enhancing their overall experience, from accident to post-repair.

Q: A:

Why do body shops have these issues?

It’s important to understand that customers are stressed out when they are involved in an accident. When people are in stressful situations, they tend to glom on to experiences that are very comfortable and familiar to them while seeking out people they trust for advice.

This is incredibly important because we’re facing an era where you aren’t just measured against your competition anymore; instead, you’re stacked up against brands that might not even be seen as a competitor. It has been shown that 87 percent of consumers measure all brands based on the interactions they have with companies like Amazon, Netflix and Starbucks. Therefore, it’s important to pay close attention to how these brands interact with their customers and make sure that every interaction you have mirrors those of these customer experience leaders, which are typically simple, effective and satisfying.

A great example of how this is starting to impact our industry is with manufacturers looking to take control of the entire vehicle experience by introducing things like subscription leasing. Cadillac, Porsche, Mercedes and even Lincoln are using this subscription model to provide customers with flexibility in the type of vehicles they drive, simplified interactions by providing complete insurance coverage and other benefits

AUGUST 2018 AUTOBODY NEWS / autobodynews.com

growth.

In a survey conducted by Phoenix Solutions Group, it showed that 67 percent of customers mention average experiences as a reason for not returning to a shop; however, only one out of 26 customers complain about the experience, which inflates everyone’s CSI. This is why our research methods take a much more direct approach at answering the question: What does exceptional look like, and how do certain elements throughout the repair impact the overall perception?

Having a really strong understanding of how everyone in your organization is interacting with customers, as well as where the experience falls short, will deliver better overall value for your shop—all of which are left out of today’s standard industry CSI. Our voice of customer research provides shops with a 360-degree

like concierge services. Most importantly, they provide a personalized experience through a deep understanding of their customers’ needs.

That is why it’s more critical today than ever before to truly understand your customers’ needs. The concern for a lot of people is how the collision industry measures customer interactions and satisfaction, which today is incomplete. Standard industry benchmarks don’t reveal how well you deliver on the customer’s expectations of the entire repair experience, which are more driven by emotion than simply your shop’s ability to meet the delivery date. Most shops are missing out on vital insights like how well the shop sets expectations, what would have improved the experience or why the customer chose them in the first place. Not having these details limits your shop’s ability to differentiate itself, resulting in stagnant sales

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view of how their customer feels about the overall experience and why they chose the shop, ultimately enabling us to align sales strategies that fit the customer needs better— resulting in greater customer retention and increased sales.

Q: A:

How can a collision repair business really grow?

It starts with understanding if your shop is exceptional or average. Do you know what is needed over and above the general expectations of the repair experience? It should start with understanding why people choose your shop, then developing your sales tactics and marketing to match that need. Align your shop’s value proposition with what the customer wants and accept that it isn’t just quality or a DRP that sells.

Shops should recognize that marketing your shop should begin the moment a customer picks up their repaired vehicle. Sadly, the industry’s answer to this is to elicit online reviews followed by generic emails two or three months after the repair.

It needs to be much more than that,

and it should be centered around delivering a personalized message that is unique.

Consumers live in an incredibly loud and fragmented world full of advertising messages. They receive thousands of messages every day from advertisers, mostly through digital platforms. Only about 2 percent of consumers view or take action on those. Think about how much smaller that percentage is for a niche product like collision repair. However, it’s not all doom and gloom.

The messages that tend to rise to the top are the ones that are personalized, unique and relevant to the customer. The reason for this is because consumers are seeking out companies that connect with them on a deeper level than just trying to get them to buy something. The returns and benefits of personalized marketing tactics (letters, relevant social media posts, community events, etc.) typically outweigh the benefits of standard marketing (email, SEO, text messages, etc.) 10 to 1. This is because personalized marketing allows you to address what is often called the “emotional motivators” of the

purchase decision. These motivators are typically questions like: How simple will this shop make it for me?

Will I be satisfied working with this shop versus the shop next door? Do they seem to care?

Your customer wants to find somebody they can trust and who they believe has their best interests at heart.

Again, this is an emotional event and not something they do often. Finding comfort is a critical part of their purchase decision. This is further validated by our research, which shows that when you align with your customers’ emotional motivators, you can remove the weight the customer puts on questions like ‘What happens if you are not on my insurance’s preferred list?’ or ‘Why is your estimate higher than the estimate from the other shop?’ The reason why connecting the emotional motivators is so critical is because everybody wants to buy from people they like. Understanding these motivators requires a shop to take a different approach than relying on standard industry CSI. Unfortunately, shops focus solely on things like online reviews to help solve this problem. What should be

considered with this strategy is that online reviews become obsolete when everyone in the market has four stars or higher. While online reviews do play a part in the collision purchase journey, our research shows that less than 1 percent of collision customers use online reviews solely as the reason to choose a shop. Generally, we have found that people will consult a trusted resource first, then do research online and use Facebook or online reviews as a validating factor for their decision.

This purchase behavior is why understanding what customers desire from the experience is so critical.

These insights allow you to apply logic across your initiatives to make sure you are differentiating your shop and not wasting precious marketing dollars on perceived silver bullets.

What are the top customer issues in regard to the repair experience?

Q:

From our research, there are three: customers feel their interactions are transactional, the delivery experience is rushed or

A:

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transaction-focused and overall poor customer service driven by poorly engaged employees.

How to break the “transactional” mindset:

Customers feel processed. Think about what a customer goes through after an accident; they talk to a police officer, then the insurance company and finally end up at a shop to get an estimate—all of which have their own processes. Body shops can be the biggest offenders of the process mindset, mostly because shop processes are typically defined by an insurance partner, not by the shop itself. These requirements become increasingly apparent with the lack of continuity shops exhibit with customers, followed by their overall poor communication scores.

This alone puts shops in a tough situation of developing a deeper bond with the customer.

The goal should always be to find a way to develop a seamless interaction throughout all four parts of the collision experience: collision, estimate, repair, and post-repair. When you do so, you can drive incremental gains for your business and be seen more as a trusted partner rather than a service vendor.

Some tactics that we offer our customers to overcome process are:

1) Make it easy for customers: Connect as frequently as possible to keep customers updated; help them understand the expectations up front and provide service options, such as better hours. Consider implementing technology to help triage their situation before they arrive at your shop.

2) Give customers control: Educate customers about what is about to occur throughout the process and validate their preferred method of communication. We often suggest incorporating visuals to help customers fully digest the repair experience.

3) Personalize the experience whenever possible: Ensure team members know what is going on with the repair; simulate other personal experiences the customer might have such as the check36

in/check-out process at a hotel and understand their needs and incorporate them into every conversation you have with them.

4) Never automate support: Technology should complement human interaction, NOT replace it. It has been shown that 83 percent of consumers in the U.S. prefer dealing with a human when going through an emotional event. Automated support requires a deeper understanding of the customer to be effective.

5) Communicate with care: Be customer-first and communicate issues quickly; focus on the outcome, not the problem; be consistent and show compassion. Customers will be more emphatic toward the approach than the resolution if you communicate throughout the entire experience.

How to improve the delivery experience The second issue we often see is a poor delivery experience, which in PSG’s philosophy is the most critical part after the sale of the job because it is the last chance you have to make an impression on the customer. The delivery of the repaired vehicle is the shop’s last chance to solidify a relationship with them and/or to redeem yourself for any issues that happened during the experience.

Unfortunately, most shops believe they have this locked down.

What we have found is that the opposite is true. In a recent study of customers who had a repair six months prior, only 20 percent could remember the shop’s name. While that stat is scary, it further validates that most shops fall into the ‘average’ category and haven’t done anything to really differentiate themselves. This research is why we believe the delivery process is one of the most critical parts of the repair experience. Typically, a customer is greeted, the shop reviews the paperwork, asks for the deductible and after all of that they ask the customer if they want to see the repaired vehicle. The missing piece is shops don’t put the customer into a familiar experience that allows them to feel more at ease. Think about how you purchase most items; do you typically pay before you see the goods? Would you pay for a meal

AUGUST 2018 AUTOBODY NEWS / autobodynews.com

before it was served? Your customer mindset is no different. Ignoring this is what can lead to low engagement and poor repeat and referral business. What PSG suggests is to resell the vehicle first and then finalize the transaction.

Phoenix Solutions Groups’ tips for a better delivery experience:

1) Prepare: Be ready for the customer. Always quality-check the car to ensure it is clean, ensure staff is available and familiarize yourself with the customer file.

2) Greet and review job: Don’t make customers wait for more than five minutes. The first thing should always be to walk them out to their vehicle and resell the job with enthusiasm while pointing out your craftsmanship!

3) Review paperwork and transact: Go over the warranty coverage and any additional paperwork before collecting the funds; ask if they have questions; thank them for their business and explain how the survey in-

formation will help your shop become better.

4) Stay in touch: Rather than relying on online reviews and digital communication, the more personalized the interaction is, the more connected the customers feel.

With 42 percent of customers returning to a shop based on the impact left on them, a better delivery process will not only help a customer remember your shop—it will also help with repeat and referral business.

This should always be the focus of any shop because it is incredibly expensive to acquire new customers— five to 12 times more than it does to retain existing customers.

How to enhance your customer service through better employee engagement: Money is a critical component to employment. Everyone works to get paid, but it’s not what drives great employee engagement. A recent study showed that appreciation for the work people do and good rela-

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tionships with their colleagues are critical elements to delivering great employee engagement.

What this means is that it comes down to the shops’ culture. Culture is a defining factor of great organizations that deliver great customer experiences. According to John Hopkins University in 2015, 95 percent of employees value culture over salary.

What’s important to note is there’s not just one thing that creates culture—it’s many things working together. You want to have people working with you who understand the industry, but also have a clear view of how their job affects the business as a whole.

We’ve found that shops that centralize the employee with the customer will see higher productivity, higher profitability, an increase in collision sales and higher referral rates. We’ve also seen better employee engagement leading to better business metrics— like 17 percent higher productivity.

Phoenix Solutions Groups’ tips to enhance your employee experience: 1) Empower your people: Ensure employees feel essential to what they

are doing every day and inspire them; employees need to feel trusted so they can come to you with questions and feedback. We work with shops to redefine their mission statements to incorporate the employee’s voice, as well as utilize customer comments and research to help empower the employee base.

2) Teach the “why,” not the how: Provide your team tools and solutions to help solve the issues they face by understanding what is occurring in your shop; invest in consistent coaching and training and lead rather than mandating actions to achieve a better outcome. Using an employee engagement survey like the one we use with our customers helps determine the needs of your employees, which is critical in developing a better strategy and training curriculum.

3) Reward and recognize regularity: Acknowledge employee contributions and utilize customer feedback to appreciate good work; ensure your team is unified to help them thrive; provide opportunities

different segments are looking at your business. Once that is done, you can then better address training challenges that are critically important to your shop, which will help you drive a seamless experience. Once you find a way to incorporate that into your daily operations, there is tremendous business value to be unlocked. You’ll drive greater retention, increase advocacy and most importantly you’ll enrich the lives of your employees because they are indeed the foundation of any successful business. The more you can improve their lives, the better your overall metrics will be— top line and bottom line.

for fun during and after work; and support staff with tools and resources. Remember, recognition and rewards do not always have to be money—people like to be treated fairly and recognized by their peers.

4) Create a transparent world where you foster growth, collaboration and trust: Keep staff informed about the business and inspire collaboration; ensure they are aware of how their role aligns with goals of a body shop; and encourage them to be transparent to customers during the repair process. The more the customers are informed and the employees are aware of what’s happening, the more encouraged they are going to feel in their interactions with customers. This strategy can be easily implemented through the development of a more robust surveying and research solution.

To watch a replay of this webinar, visit https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/ register/7978064457470349825.

For more information about Elite Body Shop Solutions and to sign up for the next monthly webinar, email info@elitebodyshopsolutions.com.

How shops can make this repeatable and part of their organizations

Q: A:

For more information about Phoenix Solutions Group, contact Schoolcraft at 847-764-8079 or visit www.phoenix solutionsgroup.net/grow-sales.php

It starts with understanding your customers and how your

14 Charged in Auto Insurance Fraud Scheme in Miami-Dade County, Prosecutors Say

by Carlos Suarez, WPLG Local10.com

A group of people are facing serious charges after authorities said they filed 45 separate insurance claims over the course of seven months for accidents that never took place and for repairs to cars that were never made.

One of the alleged ringleaders went before a Miami-Dade County, FL, judge July 10 on accusations that he led a scheme to defraud GEICO Insurance out of more than $500,000.

Prosecutors said Sepp Tevini was leading the operation alongside Estevenson Dorval.

In all, 14 people were charged in connection with the fraud, including two GEICO insurance adjusters whom prosecutors said were in on the act.

‘It was really because of these four that over $530,000 was stolen in approximately five or six months,’ said Miami-Dade County State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle.

Investigators released photos 38

of the same car that was used to file dozens of claims over the course of 2016 into early 2017. In each case, prosecutors said the participants used their policies to defraud or pose as accident victims.

‘They worked for the company,’ Rundle said. ‘They did have a license—each of them. With that license came GEICO’s checkbook, and with that checkbook is how they issued all that fraudulent money out to be paid.’

Authorities said the insurance company eventually caught on, and an investigation into the claims came back to auto body repair shops that did not exist.

‘This is an empty lot and neither one of these are body shops, and you can tell it’s just a phony business location,’ Rundle said.

All 14 people are facing a number of charges, including grand theft, insurance fraud and racketeering. Only one of them has yet to be arrested.

We thank WPLG Local10.com for reprint permission.

AUGUST 2018 AUTOBODY NEWS / autobodynews.com

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Continued from Page 15

Continued from Page 26

has been repaired properly.

“When it becomes standard in your company to view every item on the estimate before it leaves, and you’re accountable and tracked for each pass or fail you make, there’s an inherent increased sense of accountability that takes place,” David said.

“It’s extremely important to understand that every vehicle that leaves your facility must be viewed as having a family of five sitting in that car, going 70 mph, and you have your name on it.”

For more information, visit myQCiQ.com.

repair opportunities. He asked attendees if it is faster to repair dents on aluminum because there’s less “spring back” in the material. Less than 10 percent answered yes and more than 60 percent said no; the remainder were unsure.

“It’s not faster to repair dents on aluminum in general because it doesn’t have that spring back,” explained Robaina. “The spring back and memory that we are used to finding in steel makes steel repair faster and easier.”

Using an example of a quarter panel, Robaina said the process of aluminum panel repair requires a technician to weld MWMtools.com’s aluminum studs, which requires a different process than steel and usually takes additional time. Although some of the tooling is the same as with steel, a separate aluminum stud welding / pull system may be required as well as an aluminum clean room to avoid contamination per OEM requirements.

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Robaina also addressed how a vehicle’s corrosion protection is best maintained during a repair.

“Whenever you remove a factory part, you are disturbing that factory seam,” explained Robaina. “It’s very difficult to replicate it in its entirety because of the inability to access backside points where the panels are joined. By repairing a panel, for example, you are not disturbing the factory seams; therefore, the original corrosion protection will be maintained.”

He then asked attendees what method of collision repair they believe provides the fastest cycle time opportunity overall; nearly 70 percent responded that doing the repair is by far the fastest. Robaina concurred and said that in most cases, repairing a part is the fastest cycle time opportunity.

“We all know that it’s much easier to get an authorization from an insurance carrier for repair rather than it is for replace,” said Robaina.

If a shop takes into account the additional effort required to obtain approval to order a part and receive it, especially if it’s on back order,

the decision to repair (while meeting OEM requirements to do so) can increase a shop’s gross profit.

This is primarily due to the fewer number of days a vehicle sits on the premises waiting for a new part to arrive. On the other hand, by doing the repair, Robaina said it not only improves cycle time, but CPO status is maintained according to the manufacturer’s program. There is also a lower length of rental time and CSI (Customer Satisfaction Index) is improved.

For more information about Robaina Direct, visit the website at www.CollisionRepairTools.com, contact Bryan Robaina at bryan@ robainadirect.com or call 949-9452163.

For training information, email sales @robainadirect.com.

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Oldest Body Shops In America: Bistagne Bros Body Shop looked promising. And then it all came to an abrupt end when Uncle From November 2017 to February Sam “requested” their services.

Eventually WWII ended. Tom 2018, Autobody News ran an ad looking for the oldest, continuously oper- emerged a captain and George as a ated body shops in America. The first lieutenant. They tried to pick up oldest was George V. Arth and Son in where they had left off in the cusOakland, CA founded in 1877—and tomizing business. But after several still going strong. However, we re- years of war, rationing and just plain ceived information from a number of doing without a lot of things, the marother long-running businesses sev- ket just wasn’t there anymore. Busieral of which will be featured in this ness was “spotty” and not enough to column over the next few months. earn a living. So they decided to drop If any body shop in America can what was not profitable and “specialbe called the quintessential post-war ize.”

Heavy engine work was dropped, body shop, it’s Bistagne Bros Body as was customizing. Maybe they were Shop in Glendale, CA. Just out of school, and before that visionaries and saw the future of indevastating December morning in creased post-war car sales and inHawaii, Tom and George Bistagne creased miles traveled now that were already getting their feet wet in gasoline was no longer rationed. Or, the automotive industry. In the back- maybe it was just instinctive to the yard of their Glendale home, the two brothers. But they decided to concenbrothers began customizing cars, trate on body repair and automotive working on the engines and chassis. painting.

They were what one might call a pair In 1946, the Bistagne Brothers of “pioneers” in the California car Body Shop was founded in a rented, craze later made famous in movies and 400-square-foot shop on the northeast corner of Chevy Chase and Verdugo in Glendale, CA. The two brothers and a single hired helper now had a clear vision of where they were going and how they were going to get there.

In 1948, the business expanded and a plot of their own real estate, on the southeast corner of the same intersection, was purchased. A Tom Bistagne (in truck) and George Bistagne circa 1950 purpose-built garage buildmusic by such artists as The Beach ing was erected on the site into which Boys and Jan and Dean. the brothers moved in 1949. As of An article about the brothers in January 2018, they were at the same the August 1955 edition of the West- site. ern Automotive Journal reported that A 1955 magazine article notes, the brothers, “…had a free hand in “All operations on the 5,000-squareoperations, but not too much finan- foot lot are under direct Bistagne cial resources. They turned out some control except two which are sublet. pretty smart rebuilt Fords of which Vic’s Top Shop is conducted by Victhey justly were proud.” tor Roehner, an old Pierce-Arrow Friends saw their work, liked it craftsman from Buffalo where qualand wanted the brothers to work their ity workmanship was a creed. The charm on their own cars. Before they other sub-tenant is Russell Thomas, knew it, they had a small business who runs a frame and alignment opgoing, customizing cars for friends, eration in a 40 X 30 foot shop. He has neighbors—anyone who saw or ap- a $5,000 investment in the latest Bear preciated their work. They worked equipment for frame and front end days … they worked nights … they work on which he specializes. worked on weekends just to keep up.

“Mobile equipment of the A career in automotive customizing Bistagne plant consists of two pickby Gary Ledoux

40

AUGUST 2018 AUTOBODY NEWS / autobodynews.com

up trucks and a tow car for bringing in wrecks. The firm maintains a fleet of 10 loan cars for the convenience of customers whose vehicles are tied

financially. In the days before CCC, Mitchell and Audatex, they had no idea what to charge for a repair to ensure that their costs were covered and a fair profit was realized. But eventually they figured it out, and “diplomatically declined” those jobs that were not profitable.

In June of 1955, the shop performed the following work: 148 customerpay jobs for which they collected a cash payment, 114 insurance jobs and 48 miscellaneous jobs. During this period, the shop was The Bistagne Bros shop in 1949. It looks very similar today part of one of the earliest up for service. There is no charge to forerunners of the DRP concept: the Available Garage Plan, which gave customers for use of a loan car.”

By 1955, Tom and George em- them “preferred listings” with inployed “eight metal men, four painters surance companies bringing them for spot and complete jobs, one glaze “prestige and business from the carand polish man, one frame specialist riers.”

Only a few years after its foundand one tow truck operator.”

By their own admission, some ing, Bistagne Bros. began to get recof their early days in the collision ognized for its superior repair work See Chattanooga, Page 42 repair business were rough-going

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41

Day Job/Night Job

Ed Attanasio is an automotive journalist based in San Francisco, California. He can be reached at era39@aol.com.

with Ed Attanasio

Career Estimator Works for SF Giants in Security When George Melendez isn’t writing estimates at Regal Collision in Vallejo, CA, he is working as a security specialist for the San Francisco Giants at AT&T Park.

When he works at the shop, he is estimating the costs of repairing a damaged vehicle. When he performs his role for the Major League SF Giants, he is using similar skills, he said.

“When I do an estimate, I’m thinking about potential issues with the car that may not be easy to find and make sure I look for everything,” Melendez said. “When I am working for the Giants, I am also looking for issues that might occur in different parts of the stadium. In both positions, I have to be thorough and detail-oriented, so my career in the collision repair industry has helped me be a better security specialist for the team.”

A lifer in the collision repair in-

dustry, Melendez has been the head estimator at Regal for the past five years, but has more than 35 years of experience in the industry. He is the

Continued from Page 40

Bistagne’s sons) enter into the office and become part of the family business: Bob Bistagne in 1975 and Chuck Bistagne in 1977.

Over the years, the automotive repair business flourished under the family ownership and management, and expansion was sought yet again.

In 1999, an adjacent gas station was purchased and construction was started on expanding the business to encompass the entire southeast corner of the intersection. The new office headquarters opened in 2000.

Over the years, the Bistagne family has been involved in various industry initiatives, including the California Autobody Association, and local civic groups like Rotary.

In 2003, Bistagne Brothers saw its third generation, Robert Bistagne (Bob’s son), enter into shop management. In 1946, one or both Bistagne brothers welcomed each and every customer that stepped on the lot.

Today, almost 75 years and three generations later, a member of the Bistagne family continues that same tradition.

Oldest Body Shops

and custom paint jobs. At that time, it used Acme refinish paint exclusively. As was the tradition in the mid-1950s, paint companies put out their own “newsletters” to promote their products and highlight those shops that used their product. In the mid-‘50s, Acme paint dedicated an entire issue to the Bistagne brothers’ work and their use of Acme paint.

The cover of the periodical featured the brothers and a freshly painted bright red Jaguar, with the lovely Miss Glendale at the wheel.

The Bistagnes’ head painter at that time was Dean Avery, a man with 16 years’ experience who used the “Acme Color Eye,” resulting in “excellent color matches.” Avery liked the ability of the shop to create and tint its own paint instead of ordering the “factory-packaged paint” from the local jobbers.

The 1970s saw the second generation of Bistagne brothers (Tom 42

the Giants do,” Melendez said. “I get a lot of help from everyone here, and that’s why we succeed. Regal Collision is a top shop, and the Giants are a top team with three World Series titles within the last eight years, so I guess I surround myself with champions.”

Melendez’s biggest champion is his father, who introduced him to the body shop business in 1983 even though his plans were not headed in that direction initially.

“I was fresh out of the George Melendez is the head estimator at Regal Collision service and wanted to be a in Vallejo, CA, and also works for the San Francisco Giants San Francisco cop, but while as a security specialist I was waiting to enter the only estimator at this busy shop, but academy, my dad asked me to come works closely with Bill Hasma, the work with him at his body shop, G company’s blueprinter. and M Auto Restoration,” he said. “I “We work well as a team, like started liking it and decided that I

AUGUST 2018 AUTOBODY NEWS / autobodynews.com

wanted to be an estimator, so I went to V-Tech, a school in Fresno, CA, to learn the trade. I noticed that most of the other students that were there were training to be insurance adjustors, so I learned about estimating and how their business worked as well. I learned how to estimate from the front bumper to the back bumper and everything in between, and the education I got there was invaluable.”

After just one year on the job, Melendez was already running the shop, a position he held for the next 12 years.

“I want to thank my father for giving me a career in this industry,” he said. “I have met so many great people over the years and I would not change it for the world.”

A lifelong fan of the San Francisco Giants, Melendez started attending games at the team’s original

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stadium, Candlestick Park, as a youngster.

“Foremost Milk used to give away tickets to the game on the sides of their milk cartons,” he said. “We

sign that said the team was hiring people for different positions.

“It had always been a dream of mine to somehow work for the team, so I applied and after a few interviews, I got hired. For my first four years, I was assigned to doing security in the bleachers, dealing with the drunks and rowdy fans.”

By keeping his cool and using logic while placating obnoxious and often drunk fans rooting for both teams, Melendez has been able to keep the peace in most cases, he said.

Melendez poses with two of the three championship trophies “Let’s say a Dodgers fan that the Giants have won since he took the security job with is causing trouble,” he said. the team in 2005 “I will talk to him and say, would drink all of the milk fast so ‘Look, you spent a lot of money to that we could use the tickets. At that buy a ticket and come up here from time, I lived only 1.5 miles from Can- LA. Why don’t you just play nice so dlestick Park, so we attended a lot of that I don’t have to kick you out?’ games in the 1970s and saw Hall of Usually they will listen, but if they Fame players like Willie McCovey, continue, I’m not afraid to get SFPD Juan Marichal and Gaylord Perry, to escort them out of the stadium. I for example.” also tell them that if they try to come In 2005, Melendez attended a back, they’ll be arrested.”

Fanfest event at the Giants’ current For the past decade, Melendez stadium, AT&T Park, where he saw a has worked in the team’s camera

room, where he watches everything that goes on in the stadium and contacts security in the stands when needed.

“We have 260 cameras, and we save all of our footage because at almost every game there will be at least one civil suit filed for some reason,” he said. “We can see every seat all the time and monitor each fan at the game, so it’s a valuable tool for anticipating what could possibly happen next.”

The Giants and Dodgers fans are well-known for not liking each other, but one American League team has the most confrontational fans in the major leagues, Melendez said.

“We don’t play the Red Sox every year, but when we do, we really have to be on our toes,” he said.

“The Boston fans are loud and they show up in force and they think they own the stadium. So we sometimes have to remind them that this is our home and if you come here, you better act right.”

Over the years, the team has had to step up its security, which is how AT&T Park provides a safe environment for its fans, he said.

“When I started, we had roughly 60 guards covering 40,000 fans, and now we have more than approximately 120 guards doing the job. I used to work probably 70 events every year, but now I watch the stadium when it’s empty and cover maybe 25 games annually. I watch the stadium when it’s empty, and you would be surprised by how many people try to sneak in there or climb the fences to just walk on the field or steal things.”

With definite retirement plans ahead for Melendez, he wants to work at Regal Collision until he’s 67 and work for the Giants until he’s 75.

“God willing, I want to do both of these jobs for a while and hopefully see a few more World Series games during that time,” he said.

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43

In Reverse with Gary Ledoux

Gary Ledoux is an industry veteran with 48 years’ experience in the automotive and OEM collision parts industry. His column appears exclusively in Autobody News.

He can be reached at YesterWreck@yahoo.com

The 1940s – Part 2 – New Products, Higher Speeds By 1943, WWII was in full swing.

There were no new cars; tires and gasoline were rationed, and the American public wasn’t driving very far ... or bothering to renew their auto insurance. Many drivers felt there was no point if you couldn’t drive. Sales of auto insurance policies were down 11 percent compared to the prior year for all mutual insurance companies, except State Farm—which was up considerably.

In early 1939, State Farm Founder and President George Mecherle launched a sales campaign called A Million or More In ’44, an all-out initiative to have a million or more auto insurance policies in force by the first quarter of 1944. At the outset of the program, State Farm had 476,638 policies in force; it had taken the company 16 years to get there.

Now, only five years after the start of the program, and despite a raging world war, State Farm had added another 524,001 polices for a total of 1,000,639. State Farm was now the single largest insurer of automobiles in the U.S. George Mecherle noted that people had come to appreciate the value of auto insurance. Driven by Mecherle, State Farm agents were very aggressive.

Some early collision industryrelated companies were born during this time. Mill Supply Company of Cleveland, OH, provider of replacement body panels, was founded in 1942, and the Schofield Manufacturing Company was founded in 1943.

Both manufactured steel replacement panels for popular model cars.

These were designed primarily as rust replacements, but no doubt were used in some collision work. The Marson Company, best known for body fillers, was founded in 1948.

Steck Manufacturing, known for its specialty body repair tools, was founded in 1949.

New products were introduced as well. In 1946, DuPont introduced Duco Metalli-Chrome paint, a luminescent lacquer that seemed to

44

change color depending how light reflected off of it. They were only available in darker colors, however, such as dark gunmetal gray or dark brown. In 1948, Reynolds Aluminum introduced a metallic flake for use in automotive finishes. By the early 1950s, Reynolds, Alcoa and others had developed improved metallic flakes for automotive paint.

This, together with improved paint resins, started the industry on a road to a vast array of colors and color effect.

True body shops began to emerge after the war. Some shops began specializing in low-priced to medium-priced paint jobs and started attracting a lot of business—so much so that in some shops, two painters worked on the same car at the same time to increase the shop’s volume.

A mid-priced paint job in the mid1940s was $49.95. Materials cost $8, and two painters working together could prep, paint and finish eight cars per day, or one each working hour.

In 1947, the Equipment and Tool Institute (ETI) was founded as a nonprofit automotive industry trade group to help promote the proper use and upgrade of tools used in the automotive repair trade. The first PBE-only jobbers began to appear to service the burgeoning collision repair business. Prior to this time, the collision repair trade had been served by jobbers who typically served the mechanical repair market as a primary customer.

During the war, American citizens had to observe 35 MPH as the “Victory Speed” to save gasoline for the war effort. After the war, the “Victory Speed” was no longer in force, and people “drove with wild abandon” across America. It became a free-for-all on America’s highways, and nobody knew this better than Mecherle. In 1944, during the height of the war, State Farm processed 293,045 loss claims for auto insurance. In 1946, State Farm processed 648,609 claims! State Farm had to immediately hire more help and

AUGUST 2018 AUTOBODY NEWS / autobodynews.com

more office space. But it wasn’t easy.

The war effort had called 951 State Farm employees to service, many of them key managers and trainers. It took until the end of 1948 to “right the ship” and bring things back to normal—but it would be a new “normal.” In the prior two years, State Farm had seen some of the worst losses ever, draining 40 percent of the reserve funds used to pay claims.

For a few months in 1946, State Farm was hemorrhaging money at the rate of $1 million per month!

Moving forward, the cost of claims had to be mitigated—but how?

Soon, a plan developed. State Farm would no longer insure a car more than 8 years old. They would no longer insure anyone under 21 (unless the family already had a SF policy), nor would they insure anyone over 70 years of age. State Farm also took a different tact in their advertising. To educate consumers about the huge cost of claim losses, starting in 1946, State Farm’s message was to drive carefully, reduce speed and avoid accidents. They said that State Farm auto insurance was one of the best bargains available, but it would only stay that way if the accident rate stopped rising. The company began cooperating with the National Safety Council and International Association of Police Chiefs in running safety campaigns.

Then in 1949, after 27 years in operation and becoming the largest insurer of automobiles in the nation, State Farm Insurance decided it was time to have its own network of fulltime agents at the local level that would handle policy sales as well as claims. Up to this point, everyone had been part-time or handled State Farm policies as a side job, not as a

full-time profession. It was decided, “The ideal agent was to be a man with at least a high school education, but preferably a college man. He was to be a man of integrity and standing in his community. Once he joined State Farm, he was to be educated in the techniques of insurance as well as trained in the skills of selling it, so he would be thoroughly aware of the nature of the product he was offering the public. He was to know the intricacies of life insurance, a field where policies are far more complex than auto insurance. And he was to know about fire insurance.”

Finally, a story about the formation of the collision repair industry in the 1940s would not be complete without mention of Glenn Mitchell—a parts counterman at a San Diego Chrysler-Plymouth-DeSoto dealer who founded Mitchell Manuals in his garage in 1946 by creating an easily used parts catalog for collision repair estimating. Mitchell had the idea of arranging collision parts by the quadrant of the car rather than by component groups, as in manufacturer catalogs. Eventually, aided by Duke Norman in 1958, he added labor and paint times, which enabled a body shop or insurance company to do a repair estimate and generate a bill of materials and work orders. Prior to this time, a body man would “guesstimate” labor by dollar amounts—as in $25 to hang the fender and $20 to paint it. They would then call the vehicle dealer for the parts prices. It was a laborious process, and the shop never really knew if they were making any money on the repair or not. But Mitchell’s idea, born in his garage in 1946, changed an entire industry.

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45

Auto Body Attorney with Bruce Roistacher

Ask the Auto Body Attorney: August 2018 I am excited to initiate this monthly column that will keep shop owners up-to-date regarding important legal cases, rules and regulations, and new operating procedures that affect our industry.

I seek to do this in plain English and answer any questions that shop owners around the country may have regarding the above.

Obviously, I cannot give any legal advice and this column will consist of my own opinions regarding legal issues.

The State Farm Case That Never Seems To End The State Farm non-OEM crash parts lawsuit has taken many winding turns. A trial on an important issue is scheduled to begin on Sept. 4, 2018.

During the last court appearance, the Illinois Supreme Court indicated that it will be notifying consumers who were insured by State Farm and had non-OEM crash parts installed in their vehicles between July 28, 1987 and Feb. 24, 1998 that a class- action lawsuit may affect their rights.

You may recall that there was a $1.05 billion damage award in favor of approximately 4.7 million State Farm policyholders regarding those non-OEM crash parts. The class-action lawsuit involves everyone who prevailed in the Avery, et al v. State Farm $1.05 billion lawsuit, which was subsequently overturned by the Illinois Supreme Court following the election of Chief Judge Lloyd Karmeier. According to the plaintiffs, Karmeier should have recused himself because (and get this) State Farm contributed more than $4.8 million to Karmeier’s election. Of course, both State Farm and the good Judge deny any wrongdoing.

However, the lawsuit is seeking new damages of $7.6 billion for the entire class.

I will keep you informed as to the status of this case, which is sounding more like a television series on Netflix.

Litigation Across The Country Is On 46

The Rise Suing Insurance Companies For: •

Short Payments

•

Steering

• • •

Capping Of Labor Rates Totaling

Unfair Negotiations

In New York, Nick Orso’s Body Shop of Syracuse is suing for nearly $3 million from State Farm, Allstate and Adirondack Insurance Companies.

The suit alleges capping and short payments from the use of PaintEx and other labor itemization methods. The lawsuit is similar to Leifs Auto Collision Centers of Oregon wherein Leif Hansen alleges that insurance companies are practicing “triple D” tactics, i.e., deny, delay and defend.

The issue is usually about labor rates and insurance companies attempting any tactics that they can get away with to save money.

In many of these cases, the issue of assignment from the insured to the body shop becomes a legal issue.

Therefore, it is good practice to make certain that your assignment will pass legal requirements. I will keep you abreast of the outcome of those cases and include a sample assignment that I would use in New York. (Please consult an attorney in your state.)

In Missouri, a shop, i.e., collision company, filed a lawsuit under an assignment of proceeds for his customer seeking monies from an alleged short payment by GEICO. The case involved a 2006 Chevrolet Cobalt rear-ending a 2016 Ford C-Max on Oct. 21, 2017.

GEICO wrote an estimate for their policyholder of $3,850.22. Unfortunately for the shop, which disassembled the car and determined the damage was $13,409.66, the initial estimate was a “joke” according to the shop’s owner.

AUGUST 2018 AUTOBODY NEWS / autobodynews.com

Bruce Roistacher has tried in excess of 100 jury trials in federal and state courts.

He is a former NYC prosecutor and has previously represented insurance companies, which can be a great advantage to his automotive clients. Bruce can be reached at Bruce@AutobodyAttorney.com or by phone at 866-Law-MANN.

GEICO upped the estimate to $6,338.36, which still was short and led to the lawsuit that demanded $10,415.49, i.e., the difference from GEICO. This case reflects the issue of body shops doing total disassembly in order to accurately determine the amount of damage. Insurance companies are generally opposed to that process and apparently would rather “guess” the amount of damage.

In addition, GEICO and other insurance companies routinely question the hourly labor rate charge of the body shop.

I will keep you posted on that lawsuit and others that are noteworthy around the country.

Big Brother May Be Knocking At Your Door OSHA recently beefed up its outreach and made a list of the fol-

lowing problem areas for shops to watch:

• Respiratory protection is the most common area of OSHA’s issuance of penalties and fines. By the way, the average fine for OSHA violations is more than $4,500 per shop.

• Hazard communication was also an area of concern. Therefore, it is a good idea for your shop to have a written program advising employees on harmful substances with which they may come in contact and, of course, supplying adequate protection—for example, a sign requiring safety glasses where your employee might perform a potentially dangerous procedure that would affect his eyes. Also, be cognizant of chemicals that are used in See Auto Body Attorney, Page 59

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Deadline Approaching for CREF, 3M Hire Our Heroes Fundraiser

There is still time to support veterans and their families preparing for a career in the collision industry.

The 3M Automotive Aftermarket Division, along with the Collision Repair Education Foundation, launched its 2018 fundraiser in May with two ways to participate:

the NASCAR Racing Experience in Las Vegas in the 3M Hire Our Heroes 500. Twenty-four drivers will compete against their peers for the fastest lap at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. As an additional bonus, the first 10 donors who donate $8,000 or more will drive a car wrapped in their own company branding. Donations to the 3M Hire Our Heroes 500 campaign can be made through August 12, 2018.

Donations help support programs to attract and support military veterans seeking a career in the collision repair industry. Since 2013, the 3M Hire Our Heroes program has generated more than $1,065,500 that was used toward scholarships and tool grants for military veterans and their family members pursuing a career in the collision repair industry.

Show Your Support Campaign All donations of $200 or more made to the Collision Repair Education Foundation, earmarked for the “3M Hire Our Heroes fund” made before August 30, 2018 will receive a full-size 3M Hire Our Heroes flag designed by Chip Foose and be entered into a drawing for the following prizes:

• 3M Hire our Heroes 500, extended through Sunday, August 12, and • Show Your Support Campaign, running through August 31.

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WD-40 Company and TechForce Foundation have teamed up to support TechForce Foundation’s FutureTech Success™ initiative, an industry-wide effort to help solve the technician shortage in America, champion the vehicle technician profession, and help young people with natural tactile intelligence become aware of, exposed to, and trained for a successful career path.

The FutureTech Success campaign is a three-pronged approach to closing the skills gap and connecting young people to a technical career in the transportation industry, and includes awareness building, hands-on youth programs and directs the industry’s collective resources to enhance future techs’ workforce readiness.

The initiative will provide hands-on opportunities for young men and women to experience the rewards of working and creating with their hands.

More information about the programs, including a link to donate online, is available at: www.collisioneducationfoundation. org/hire-our-heroes/

Industry members interested in joining the Collision Repair Education Foundation’s roster of supporters to assist high school and post-secondary collision school programs and students should contact Director of Development Brandon Eckenrode: 847-463-5245 or Brandon.

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47

Shop Management

Ed Attanasio is an automotive journalist based in San Francisco, California. He can be reached at era39@aol.com.

with Ed Attanasio

Reward, Motivate Your Employees Without Breaking the Bank I interviewed a body shop manager a few years ago who told me that he motivated his people through fear.

Everyone who worked there was scared of the guy and as a result, productivity was high, but most of his crew eventually left after 1–2 years.

I asked him why he managed his people this way, and he said that he tried be a mentor and a friend to his employees for a long time, but most of them took advantage of the situation and his business suffered. He realized that when people fear for their jobs, they will work harder with better results. He admitted it created a lousy environment, but at least he was getting his money’s worth out of everyone, he reasoned.

Dr. Nancy Friedman works with huge automotive corporations to help them with their morale and often focuses on incentive programs that are designed to motivate and retain top employees. She has seen every form of employee management out there, so she knows what works and what does not.

“Motivating through fear is normally from the old, old school and it seldom works,” she said. “It also creates a very unpleasant atmosphere and turnover. There are much better ways to get folks to do what you need done.”

With a shortage of qualified people in this industry, managers can’t act like Attila the Hun anymore. A good tech or estimator is worth its weight in gold, so keeping your best people is more important than ever. Rewarding your employees for their outstanding performance is one way to keep your crew happy and engaged, but many managers think it will cost too much or require too much time.

But in reality, you can reward your employees for their good work without it costing you an arm and a leg.

So, here are some ways to motivate your employees that will cost you very little while creating a positive and productive working environment. Based on experience, happy employees don’t send out resumes and are less likely to get poached by

48

your competitors.

Make Work Fun Again!

Why does everyone have to be so serious all the time? It’s easier to introduce some fun into your crew’s daily activities and lighten up the mood.

Some shops encourage their employees to come into work early by offering them special treats and reward zero absenteeism, while others include games at lunch or during breaks to alleviate fatigue and encourage interaction within the crew.

Dr. Friedman believes that this approach can work, but in moderation.

“There’s an old saying: ‘Find a job you love, and you’ll never work a day in your life,’” Dr. Friedman said. “So no amount of games, activities, etc. can replace loving what you do, because if you do what you love, that’s the real fun. I have seen these incentives work at some shops, but in the end, the motivation needs to come from your employees themselves.”

Keep Everything Positive Some shop managers call their employees out on the carpet whenever they do something wrong, but that won’t build morale. Everyone wants to do a good job, so when they fail, they don’t want to be embarrassed in front of their fellow employees. So always follow the classic management rule of ‘praise in public and criticize in private’. Conversely, if someone goes the extra mile to do an outstanding job, praise them in front of the crew and give them the kudos they deserve.

“Even a good technician or estimator will make a mistake now and then, so don’t be too critical and overbearing when it happens,” Dr. Friedman said. “Stay positive, but don’t coddle them and communicate what you want to say behind closed doors if at all possible.”

Talk to Your People Some bosses only communicate with their employees when they’re talking

AUGUST 2018 AUTOBODY NEWS / autobodynews.com

shop or assigning tasks. Getting to know your people is a key way to connect with them and retain them for the long run. Casual conversation and learning about your employees will foster stronger bonds and enable them to feel like they are members of your team. If you keep it impersonal, even your top employees can start to feel isolated and eventually look elsewhere for work.

“Some shop managers think they don’t have enough time to talk to their employees, but it’s an important part of creating a positive climate, so finding the time is essential,” Dr. Friedman said. “Being nice to your people isn’t difficult, but you also have to know when to be direct, and that way you’ll gain their respect and keep them onboard.”

Create a Wall of Fame I have been to a few shops where they have photos of their employees on the wall in the reception area honoring them for their best work and other achievements, such as passing a training program. People appreciate being appreciated, and it’s something easy to do. Your customers can also then see that you value their work, which creates a sense of security in the consumers’ eyes.

“This is a great idea because everyone wants credit for doing a good job,” Dr. Friedman said. “It might also be nice to let employees put up notes, emails and other things they get from happy customers. They are the ‘real’ fans. It makes employees feel good as well, seeing the accolades they created.”

Special Days Off It may not sound like much, but allowing your employees to leave early on birthdays and anniversaries is a sure way to win hearts and thereby increase productivity. Also, many shop managers give their people “mental health” days off and will accommodate things such as doctor’s appointments, visits to the DMV and other tasks that require time off. Another

solution that works at many shops is offering flexible hours, as long as it does not negatively impact their production. Some employees will take advantage of this system, so managers need to monitor this approach carefully.

“Some shops have reported that closing an hour early is as important as a day off,” Dr. Friedman said.

“That’s an easy one and your employees will appreciate it, especially if they have a long commute.”

Keep Your Office Door Open Give your employees the confidence to walk up to you whenever they have a concern, and be as transparent as you can in this regard. Encourage them to come up with new ideas and solutions, and let the younger employees pitch to the crew without getting negative feedback from your veteran employees. Some shops schedule semi-regular brainstorming sessions where your people can throw around ideas anonymously so that no one gets judged or marginalized for their enthusiasm.

“This does not mean that you have to literally keep your office door open,” Dr. Friedman said. “But letting employees know that you will always have time for them is important. Not rushing them when they stop to talk is also key. In many cases, the best ideas will come from your employees during these open- door conversations.”

You don’t always have to increase salaries or pass out hefty bonuses every time your crew is in the need for some motivation to work hard. Communicate with them, understand their cause for worry, add in some fun, make the work environment light and healthy, and you will retain your employees longer while improving their productivity.

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49

Center for Auto Safety Renews Call for Ford Recall According to a press release from The Center for Auto Safety, on July 2, the second anniversary of NHTSA’s opening an investigation into occupant exposure to exhaust and carbon monoxide in 1.3 million Ford Explorers, NHTSA failed to complete its investigation and Ford failed to fix the problem.

Based on the extraordinary danger posed by prolonged exposure to exhaust fumes and the repeated complaints from consumers who, despite receiving the repair, are still being exposed, the Center for Auto Safety sent a letter to Ford Motor Company CEO Jim Hackett asking for a recall before tragedy strikes.

In the nine months since Ford’s Customer Satisfaction Program (CSP17N03) was released stating that the vehicles were “safe,” Ford has continued to refuse to acknowledge that there is any danger relating to exhaust fumes being regularly inhaled in the interior of these vehicles, stating that carbon monoxide levels do not “exceed what people are exposed to every day.” Yet for “peace of mind,” Ford offered a no-cost service reducing the potential for exposure for MY 2011-2017 Explorers. However, it appears many Ford owners are far from “satisfied.” Ford owners continue to file complaints with NHTSA about exposure to exhaust and carbon monoxide in their Explorers. Scores of consumers, even after receiving their “peace of mind” fix, continue to report experiencing the same symptoms as before their visit to the Ford dealership.

“With all due respect to the efforts undertaken by Ford, and NHTSA, over these last two years, the continued complaints and corresponding reports of incidents and injuries demonstrate that the problem of carbon monoxide exposure inside Ford Explorers has not been resolved,” said Jason Levine, executive director of the Center for Auto Safety. “Based on the number of new complaints NHTSA has received, the problem seems to continue in MY 2018 Explorers, suggesting that the issue apparently has not been designed out of the vehicle. We urge NHTSA and Ford, on behalf of Ford’s customers, and everyone with whom they share the road, to act before

50

tragedy strikes.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control, excess exposure to CO is responsible for more than 400 deaths annually in the U.S. Carbon monoxide poisoning is often referred to as a “silent killer” because, unless mixed with other gases, it is odorless. What makes the exposure so dangerous is that the symptoms (loss of consciousness, nausea, headaches or light-headedness) mimic flu-like symptoms and therefore delay accurate diagnosis of the root cause of the injury—elevated levels of CO in the victim’s blood. Further, as the victim is often unaware of the immediate cause of their injury, CO exposure can be an unsuspected culprit when no expected source is recognizable, leading to underreporting of incidents. It is easy to imagine a roadside crash caused by CO exposure resulting in a serious injury or fatality being written off as “drowsy driving.”

Appropriately, the Ford Explorer owner’s manual contains the following warning: “Do not drive your vehicle if you smell exhaust fumes.

Carbon monoxide is present in exhaust fumes. Take precautions to avoid its dangerous effects.” Yet, in response to reports of exactly this circumstance since at least 2012, Ford refuses to properly protect its customers.

In July 2017, NHTSA indicated that the most likely culprit for the exposure of Ford consumers to potentially lethal amounts of carbon monoxide was cracked exhaust manifolds. Nonetheless, Ford issued a customer service program (CSP17N03) focused on less expensive and potentially less effective repairs such as reapplying weather sealant and reprogramming the climate control in order to give customers “peace of mind,” but stated the “vehicles are safe.” The CSP did not vary dramatically from previous technical bulletins Ford has quietly been issuing since 2012 to address the same issue. (See: TSB 14-0130, and TSB 16-016.)

In the intervening months, the Center for Auto Safety has continued to be contacted by Ford customers experiencing symptoms related to CO exposure in their Explorers.

Some had brought their Explorers in to dealerships to receive repairs prior

AUGUST 2018 AUTOBODY NEWS / autobodynews.com

to the issuance of CSP-17N03. Others brought their Explorers in afterwards. In some instances, consumers report they are being charged for repairs related to this hazard. Recall repairs must be free under federal law.

Below are samples of five complaints from consumers after they received the Ford “fix” for this problem. In total, NHTSA has received more than 1,500 complaints regarding exhaust fumes leaking into 2011–2018 Explorers:

• Ford customer in Jenison, MI, owns a 2012 Explorer. After experiencing an odor and feeling nauseous and dizzy, the consumer brought the vehicle to the dealer “on three separate occasions to have the voluntary Ford exhaust campaign completed.” The consumer is still experiencing the exhaust odors and medical symptoms associated with elevated CO exposure.

• Ford customer in Las Cruces, NM, owns a 2013 Explorer. The vehicle has been serviced for CO entering the cabin under Ford’s CSP-17N03 on two separate occasions. Still, the consumer smells exhaust in the cabin and his/her personal CO monitor is picking up unsafe levels of CO in the vehicle. Additionally, the consumer will not place his/her 1-year-old child in the car for fear of CO exposure.

• Ford customer in Windsor, MD, owns a 2015 Explorer. Two months after having the vehicle serviced at a Ford dealership for CO, the customer again began experiencing strong CO odors in the cabin and suffering headaches. When the customer called the dealership to schedule another repair, the dealership informed the customer that they would charge $138 for a diagnostic evaluation.

• Ford customer in Porter, TX, owns a 2014 Explorer. After receiving a letter from Ford concerning CO in the cabin, the consumer brought the vehicle to a Ford dealership to repair the issue. The consumer states that the issue is now worse, and that the two CO detectors in the vehicle indicate unsafe levels of CO within minutes of driving. Additionally, when the consumer and his/her family ride in the vehicle, they suffer headaches.

• Ford customer in Westminster, MD, owns a 2016 Explorer. Two months after having the vehicle serviced under the CSP-17N03, symptoms of CO exposure persisted.

Upon bringing the vehicle back to the service center, two additional leaks were found. Ford initially refused to cover the cost of the repair, and only after five days of hassle did Ford agree to pay 80 percent.

Mazda Recalls 270,000 Vehicles With Airbag Explosion Risk

by Bailey Gallion, Springfield News-Sun

Mazda is recalling airbags in several models that have the potential to explode, causing serious injury to drivers and passengers.

Materials in the airbags degrade with exposure to humidity and heat and can explode with metal shrapnel in the event of a crash. The recall affects nearly 270,000 vehicles, including certain

2003–2008 Mazda6, 2006–2007 Mazdaspeed6 and 2004 MPV vehicles nationwide and 2005–2006 MPV models in certain states, according to the Associated Press.

Affected customers will be notified by mail. Customers can also check for recalls on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration website using their vehicle identification number.

Twenty-three deaths and more than 300 injuries worldwide are linked to Takata airbags, according to the National Highway Safety Administration. About 37 million vehicles are equipped with the defective airbags.

We thank Springfield News-Sun for reprint permission.

Auto Care Association Establishes Al Gaspar Memorial Fund

tomotive Parts and Accessories Association (APAA) for five years prior to joining AAIA. He also held a variety of roles at aftermarket companies, including: executive vice president at McKay Chemical Company (a division of Blue Coral); vice president, consumer sales for Wynn Oil Company; and vice president, sales and marketing worldwide operations for Bardahl Manufacturing. Gaspar received numerous honors throughout his career and served on a number of boards and committees.

“Al Gaspar was committed to industry education as evidenced by his time at AAIA, so it is fitting that donations made in his name will help ed-

ucate the next generation of aftermarket leaders,” said Bob Egan, MAAP, chairman, University of the Aftermarket Foundation. “We thank the Auto Care Association for launching this fund and encourage others to follow their lead by making a donation in memory of Al Gaspar.”

To make a donation to the University of the Aftermarket Foundation in memory of Al Gaspar, visit www.UofAFoundation.com to donate online or send a check made payable to the University of the Aftermarket Foundation to 7101 Wisconsin Ave., Suite 1300, Bethesda, MD 20814 and indicate that the donation is in Gaspar’s memory.

ABRA Auto Body Repair Expands With 8 Centers

plus employees to our Abra family to continue that reputation.”

Abra has a long history in Utah, starting with the opening of the Murray, UT, location in 1998. These newly acquired centers expand Abra’s operations into southern and northern Utah and complement nine existing centers in the greater Salt Lake City

area. In Indiana, Abra completed the acquisition of all six Church Brothers Collision Repair locations on June 29.

Details of the acquisition were previously announced.

Altogether, Abra has added 16 locations in 2018 and now has 354 repair centers in 27 states across the nation.

In recognition of its former president and CEO, Al Gaspar, the Auto Care Association has established a memorial fund in his honor.

Donations made to the University of the Aftermarket Foundation in Gaspar’s memory will be used to fund scholarships and industry educational initiatives.

“We couldn’t imagine a better way to honor the legacy of a leader who meant so much not only to the history of our association, but also our industry,” said Bill Hanvey, president and CEO, Auto Care Association.

“Al’s vision has progressed our industry in countless ways and we have all benefited from his passion and fore-

Abra Auto Body Repair of America is continuing its national growth with the addition of eight centers in June.

In Utah, Abra acquired Centric Collision, located at 1545 State St. in Provo, UT. The 16-employee, 32,000square-foot shop opened on June 4. In a separate transaction, Abra Logan, located at 1240 South Hwy 89 in Logan,

sight of what our association and industry can be.”

Gaspar, who passed away in November at the age of 79, served as president and CEO of the Automotive Aftermarket Industry Association (AAIA), the precursor to the Auto Care Association, from 2000 until 2004. Two of his biggest accomplishments during his tenure at AAIA included overseeing a fundraising effort to build the Aftermarket Education Center at Northwood University and directing the effort to raise funds for the research that led to the creation of the Car Care Council. Gaspar spent more than 40 years in the auto care industry, serving as president of the Au-

UT, opened on June 25. The 21,000square-foot shop has seven employees. Each shop is the first Abra location in these communities.

“We’ve already got a great team, and we’re proud of the reputation for quality we’ve built in Utah,” said Jim Kessler, Abra chief operating officer.

“We’re excited to welcome these 20-

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51

AutoInc. Seeks Submissions for Top 10 Websites Contest

The Automotive Service Association (ASA) and its official publication, AutoInc. magazine, are inviting all current ASA members to enter the

magazine’s annual Top 10 Websites Contest.

Member shops can show off their hard-working sites to peers, letting them see how online marketing prowess can attract more consumers and boost profitability.

The competition always has been tough, so winning will give ASA shops and employees the recognition they deserve. ASA will publish reviews of the Top 10 sites in the November/December issue of AutoInc., and we’ll send the winners extra copies of the magazine to place strategically around their waiting rooms so customers can see the outstanding sites.

Now more than ever, a shop’s website is its best business tool to

attract and retain customers—aside, of course, from the consistent quality of its service.

“ASA member shops have always been ahead of the pack in ensuring that their websites help motorists make the most educated decision possible in choosing their shops over others.

They understand the importance of a sophisticated website in a mobile age and want to be recognized for their efforts,” said Leona Dalavai Scott, marketing and communications director.

To access the entry form and contest guidelines, ASA member shops can visit https://www.autoinc .org/top-10-websites/.

Our carefully selected panel of judges has lengthy experience in showcasing and promoting content on the web. They’ll provide a uniform evaluation of each site’s specific features, including: • •

Mobile-friendly and mobileready

properly

•

Clear call-to-action

•

Good first impression/visual design

•

Conveys shop’s credibility

• •

Clearly communicated objective/purpose

•

Consumer friendliness

Members, along with the rest of the industry, have always looked to ASA’s winning websites as a benchmark for how to successfully promote automotive service and collision repair facilities to current and potential customers. They also help educate the motoring public about the importance of car care.

The deadline for this year’s contest is August 1, 2018.

www.autobodynews.com

Technical details all working

Apple’s long-rumored “Project Titan,” also known as the Apple Car initiative, has gone through several changes over the years.

While the Cupertino, CA-based tech giant initially appeared to be focused on manufacturing its own vehicle, the company has since opted

to focus on developing self-driving technologies instead. Apple CEO Tim Cook, for one, stated back in June 2017 that Apple was “very focused on autonomous systems.”

Since then, the iPhone-maker has gone all-in on the self-driving race.

Today, the company commands the largest fleet of autonomous vehicles on California’s roads, even surpass52

ing the number of veterans in the field, such as Waymo.

The growth of Apple’s self-driving fleet in California has been nothing less than astounding. According to a MacRumors report, information obtained from the California Department of Motor Vehicles has revealed that Apple started with a fleet of 27 autonomous vehicles in January. By March, there were 45 self-driving vehicles operated by the tech giant.

By mid-May, the company had 55 vehicles and 83 drivers in its fleet.

Just two weeks after that, Apple’s fleet of self-driving cars grew to 62 vehicles and 87 drivers. In comparison, Waymo has 51 autonomous vehicles testing on CA roads.

Apple’s self-driving cars are characterized by their rather hefty roofs, which include an array of cameras and advanced LiDAR equipment. The vehicles are running Apple’s in-development autonomous driving software. Just like some of Google’s fleet, Apple has selected Lexus to be its car manufacturer of choice, with the company using Lexus RX450h SUVs as its test vehicles. Each of Apple’s self-driving cars is deployed with a safety driver,

AUGUST 2018 AUTOBODY NEWS / autobodynews.com

In support of its ongoing exclusive partnership with the CARSTAR St. Louis Business Group, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, through its Enterprise Holdings Foundation, donated

Social media presence

Apple Car Project Evolves With Larger Test Fleet, New Hire

by Simon Alvarez, Teslarati

CARSTAR SL, Enterprise Rent-A-Car Fight Cause

as the company’s permit currently does not allow fully driverless operations yet.

Apart from growing its fleet, Apple is also growing its talent pool for its self-driving initiatives. Just recently, the company hired senior selfdriving car engineer Jaime Waydo, who has previous experience as an engineer from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. What is particularly notable from Waydo’s work experience, however, is that she worked for Waymo before joining Apple’s selfdriving car project. The former NASA engineer oversaw systems engineering at Waymo while also aiding the self-driving car Google subsidiary in making pivotal decisions about the driverless operations of its test fleet in Arizona.

Apple’s self-driving car project

$2,500 to CARSTAR’s charitable efforts to fund research, treatment and advocacy for cystic fibrosis.

Enterprise presented the donation to the CARSTAR St. Louis Business Group and the Driven Brands Charitable Foundation.

Cystic fibrosis is a chronic, progressive and frequently fatal genetic disease primarily affecting the lungs and digestive systems in children and young adults. The average life expectancy of someone living with CF is 40 years. There is no cure. With the help from the Enterprise Holdings Foundation, CARSTAR will continue its efforts to help support the mission to cure cystic fibrosis.

is among the company’s largest, most ambitious initiatives to date, with Cook dubbing it as the “mother of all AI projects.” In a way, Cook’s statement rings true, considering that Apple has made its name and established its reputation in consumer technology, not in automotive engineering.

While the company does have experience with artificial intelligence and machine learning thanks to products like the iPhone and voice-activated assistants like Siri, a self-driving car system is an entirely different challenge. It is, after all, one that Google is still trying to master despite being in the industry since 2009, and one that Tesla is still seeking to learn despite having more than 150,000 vehicles on its fleet gathering data every day.

We thank Teslarati for reprint permission.

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53

TechForce Report Reveals Severity of Vehicle Tech Supply Shortage TechForce Foundation recently released “Transportation Technician Supply Report,” a new report that reveals the growing severity of the vehicle technician supply shortage.

Based on an analysis of National Center for Education Statistics’ (NCES) 2011–2016 data, TechForce found that the supply of postsecondary new entrant vehicle technicians has not kept up with the spike in demand. Although the shortage has been ongoing, it became more severe in 2013, and the gap between supply and demand has continued to increase through the present. New entrant technicians are those needed to fill the growth in new positions in the occupation as well as replace those who leave the occupation. They are distinguished from experienced technicians who may move between employers, but don’t add to the overall trained workforce in the occupation.

The report reveals that auto tech postsecondary completions have been declining since 2013. The supply of postsecondary auto graduates decreased by 1,829 completions in 2016 from 2012. There were an estimated 38,829 graduates for 2016 in contrast to the projected Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) new entrant demand of 75,900. Private sector institutions have experienced the greatest decline while public two-year institutions (primarily community colleges) have increased substantially.

The supply of collision technicians has been steadily declining over the past six years. Conversely, total postsecondary completions for diesel programs have increased over

the same period. The projected BLS new entrant demand for diesel technicians is 28,300 annually against a supply of 11,966 in 2016. For the collision market, the projected BLS

annual new entrant demand is 17,200 technicians compared to supply of 5,791 completions in 2016.

As to what can be done to alleviate the supply shortage, Jennifer Maher, CEO/executive director of TechForce said, “Our country and education system have divested in high school auto shops and stigmatized trade school education, which is killing the trades. A big part of the problem is the outdated image of the ‘grease monkey’ mechanic that students and their parents, teachers and counselors may have. Today’s techs are well-paid, highly skilled, handson problem solvers who are not burdened by massive school debt like their four-year school counterparts.

As we change this image, we can get more students interested in becoming technicians.”

Doug Young, co-author of the report and managing director of Wilcap L.L.C, said, “Changing perceptions will require building a pipeline into the industry—before parents and students have committed to ‘college for all,’ before students have decided that they aren’t interested in STEM subjects in high school and before the old percep-

tions eliminate any interest among parents and career counselors in learning more about the opportunities in the transportation technician occupations.”

Greg Settle, the other co-author of the report and TechForce’s director of national initiatives, said, “With only a small percentage of students interested in going into a skilled trade versus seeking a college degree, the competition among all the skilled trades for those students is fierce. If you look at auto technicians, they can make a very solid, middle-class income. However, starting wages for auto technicians are among the lowest across the skilled trades, and that is often what young and men and women will focus on when making a career decision. Add to that the fact that entry-level technicians are expected to arrive at their first job with their own tools and it does not make the career very attractive, compared with other choices.”

According to Maher, “Without some form of focused, collective action, the transportation industry will

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Axalta Releases Spies Hecker Permacron Line

Axalta is excited to launch Spies Hecker® Permacron 257 Single Stage line, a new refinish high gloss top coat that is formulated for excellent resistance to weathering and chemicals. Permacron eliminates steps in the painting process for ease of application and to increase bodyshop productivity with reduced energy and materials demands. It can be mixed with either Permacron MS hardeners or Permasolid HS hardeners.

“At Axalta we’re continuously 54

working to create innovative products that help our customers boost productivity and their bottom line. Our Permacron line is designed to deliver savings in time and materials, while also offering the functional benefits of the Spies Hecker premium refinish system,” said Luis Espericueta, Refinish Director for Axalta Mexico and Central America.

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AUGUST 2018 AUTOBODY NEWS / autobodynews.com

continue to suffer from inadequately financed, fragmented efforts to solve these problems. A solution requires pooling resources and consistent public messaging to change perceptions and build a talent pipeline. TechForce Foundation is dedicated to providing the collective source of action to solve the root causes of the problem.”

This report, along with last year’s demand report, are examples of how TechForce works to create awareness of the problem, provide credible data to support the industry’s claims and, with even greater industry participation, improve the range and quality of these services.

Funding for the report was provided by TechForce donors, including Advance Auto Parts, Autoshop Solutions, AutoZone, Babcox Media, Bridgestone Retail Operations, Cengage, General Motors, George Arrants Enterprises, Interstate Batteries, Nissan North America, Manheim, Shell Lubricants, Snap-on, S/P2, Sunstate Equipment, Toyota Foundation, Universal Technical Institute, Valvoline, WD-40 and 10 Missions Media.

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100,000+ Industry Jobs at Risk With Tariffs on Imported Auto Parts, Study Finds

On June 29, the Auto Care Association urged the Trump administration to consider the severity of unintended consequences that may ensue by imposing tariffs on imported autos and auto parts, including the negative impact it would have on not only both the U.S. automotive industry and the jobs created by these imports, but also the U.S. economy at large.

In comments submitted to the U.S. Department of Commerce regarding the Section 232 National Security Investigation of Imports of Automobiles, Including Cars, SUVs, Vans and Light Trucks, and Automotive Parts, the association explained that the auto care industry’s “ability to source parts and components globally supports U.S. auto exports, provides U.S. consumers with a wider selection of vehicles and parts, and keeps vehicle repair and maintenance costs affordable for working families.”

The association’s comments further explained that “the availability of affordable high-quality parts from foreign sources creates thousands of jobs that might be threatened should the Trump administration move for-

ward with a tariff on vehicles and vehicle parts.”

Included in the comments was a recent economic study completed for the Auto Care Association by John Dunham and Associates, which found that a 25 percent tariff on imported auto parts could cause a reduction of 17,800 jobs in the auto parts manufacturing sector, resulting in $1.4 billion in lost wages. The study further predicts that 6,800 jobs would be lost by vehicle repair shops and an additional 85,200 jobs in the auto care wholesale and retail segment due to lower demand. These are mostly small family-owned businesses that would suffer severe economic harm should a 25 percent tariff be levied on autos and auto parts.

Because the auto industry operates on a global platform, the reality is that goods are rarely designed, manufactured and consumed in one country. Technological efficiencies, lower trade costs and improved logistics have allowed companies to tighten and optimize supply chains.

Imports help companies lower costs and improve product quality, allowing them to remain competitive do-

mestically and export globally.

The study also found that imposing additional tariffs on auto parts and components would increase their price substantially, making it more difficult for working Americans to afford a new car or the cost of repairing the vehicle they currently own.

The study estimates that the cost of car ownership will increase by more than $700 per year per household should the tariffs be imposed.

The Auto Care Association concluded its comments to the Department of Commerce by recommending that the Trump administration “refrain from trade restrictions that would undermine the auto industry, and instead seek solutions that protect U.S. investments, facilitate trade and create competitive value chains that benefit the global growth of our industry.”

For more information about the Auto Care Association’s government affairs initiatives, please contact Aaron Lowe at aaron.lowe@ autocare.org.

www.autobodynews.com

PPG Posts Q3 Collision Refinish Training

PPG has released its schedule of collision refinish training classes for July, August and September.

Classes cover key collision refinish subjects and are designed to ensure that paint technicians are up to date with PPG products, processes and technological advances. All classes are led by expert instructors, take one to two days and are held at PPG Business Development Centers and various field locations throughout the U.S. and Canada. PPG training is the most extensive in the refinish industry, offering a broad range of topics from product selection, equipment and color tools to surface preparation and paint application best practices. All PPG classes allow opportunities for informal discussions and Q&A sessions with the trainers. Participants receive classroom instruction and, when appropriate, hands-on experience in the spray booth.

SCRS Welcomes Nissan as Newest Corporate Member

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The Society of Collision Repair Specialists (SCRS) proudly welcomes Nissan North America as the newest automobile manufacturer to join as a supportive member of the association.

“Nissan has been a noticeable advocate of information to help collision repair businesses excel,” shared SCRS Treasurer Amber Alley. “Our business has really benefited from the relationship through the rebates and promotional and social media advertising resources that we get as a certified facility. Having their support of industry initiatives through involvement in SCRS just affirms that we are aligned with an automaker who understands the importance of supporting entities that help make repair businesses more successful.”

“Nissan is honored to join SCRS,” shared Mark Zoba, Nissan Certified Collision growth manager. “We’ve shared a close relationship for years, and the membership is an extension of our recognition of the good work the association does to help develop resources and disseminate information that lifts the industry up.

OEMs have received a great deal of support from SCRS on initiatives that focus on increasing awareness of safe and proper repairs, and it’s important to us to be an active supporter of those types of forward-thinking organizations.”

“The SCRS mission to educate, inform and represent is really parallel to so many things that Nissan is working on right now,” added SCRS Chairman Kye Yeung. “The privilege is all ours, to be able to have the meaningful interactions that we do with companies like theirs and to collaborate on ways that we can uplift an industry that plays such a critical role for the consumer. We are thrilled to have Nissan’s support, and more importantly, their active engagement in conversations and resource development for the collision repair industry.”

For more information about SCRS or to join as a member, please visit www.scrs.com, call toll free 1-877-841-0660 or email info@scrs.com.

To become Nissan Certified, visit getnissancertified.com.

autobodynews.com / AUGUST 2018 AUTOBODY NEWS

55

Car Prices Would Soar Under Trump’s Latest Tariff Plan

by Rick Newman, Yahoo! Finance

President Trump thinks a new tax on imported cars will boost American auto production and bring back thousands of jobs.

He’s about the only one. As the Trump administration readies a report on imported cars that could be the pretext for new tariffs, economists and industry officials warn of soaring costs for car buyers, a drop in overall sales and a net loss of jobs.

Trump said recently that if trading partners don’t agree to his demands, “I’m going to tax their cars coming into America, and that’s the big one.”

Big blunder might be more likely.

Trump’s idea is to impose a 20 percent tariff on imported cars to encourage more domestic auto production. Imports would become more expensive, so consumers, in theory, would buy more domestic models, and more automakers would build cars in America to escape the tariffs.

In reality, the most certain outcome is that prices would shoot up as soon as the tariffs went into effect.

Americans buy about 8 million imported cars each year, and a 20 percent tariff would add $5,000 to the cost of a $25,000 car. Manufacturers might not pass all of that onto consumers, but the cost of an import would still rise by more than $4,000, on average, according to the National Taxpayers Union.

Many popular models would

suddenly be more expensive.

Here are a few examples, with the current starting price followed by the higher price including the entire 20 percent tariff: Cars made in America would suddenly have a big price advantage.

But those prices would probably rise as well because the competition would now be more expensive. The

National Taxpayers Union estimates the price of an American-made car would swell by $1,262. With prices higher across the board, Americans would buy fewer cars.

Taxing Car Parts This is a very simple analysis based solely on where a car is assembled.

But Trump could go further and tax cars based on the amount of American-made content in the vehicle. This more complicated formula would impose some degree of tariff on virtually every vehicle sold in America, because just about every car includes some foreign components.

The Ford (F) F-150 pickup, for

Kroger, Nuro Partner to Pilot Autonomous Delivery

The Kroger Co. and Nuro recently announced a new partnership to redefine the grocery customer experience for Americans by piloting an on-road, fully autonomous delivery experience.

Together, Kroger, America’s largest supermarket retailer, and Nuro, maker of the world’s first fully unmanned road vehicle, are working to make the convenience of grocery delivery accessible and affordable for customers everywhere.

Through this innovative partnership, customers can place same-day delivery orders through Kroger’s ClickList ordering system and Nuro’s app.

During the test, orders will be 56

delivered by Nuro’s fleet of autonomous vehicles. This is the first application and deployment of Nuro’s hardware and software. The

pilot market will be announced soon and is expected to begin this fall.

Krogerwill change the status quo of grocery delivery through

AUGUST 2018 AUTOBODY NEWS / autobodynews.com

instance, is one of the most “American” cars on the market—but its U.S./Canadian parts content is just 65 percent. (Manufacturers are required to disclose U.S. and Canadian content combined, but not to break out each country.) So Trump could put a 20 percent import tariff on 35 percent of the value of an F-150. On an entry-level F-150 costing $27,705, that would be an added tax of $1,939. In the country-of-origin disclosures automakers are required to file with the government, a few models consist of more than 70 percent U.S./Canadian content.

None is above 80 percent.

Trump’s whole plan, of course, is to boost U.S. manufacturing employment. But a variety of studies show tariffs on auto imports would do the opposite.

Why? Because higher prices would reduce overall car sales and automakers would have to downsize.

The Peterson Institute for International Economics estimates that auto tariffs would kill 195,000 auto industry jobs. That would rise to 624,000 lost jobs if other countries retaliate with similar tariffs, which is likely. (The PIIE analysis is based on a 25 percent tariff on imported autos and parts, whereas Trump has said he’s considering a slightly lower 20 percent tariff.)

General Motors (GM), the biggest

convenience at a low price. This allows customers to get what they need, when they need it, wherever they are.

“As part of Restock Kroger, we have already started to redefine the grocery customer experience and expand the coverage area for our anything, anytime and anywhere offering. Partnering with Nuro, a leading technology company, will create customer value by providing Americans access to fast and convenient delivery at a fair price,” said Yael Cosset, Kroger’s chief digital officer.

domestic automaker, said in a recent regulatory filing that tariffs on imports would hurt, not help, the company and the broader industry.

“The penalties we could incur from tariffs and increased costs could lead to negative consequences for our company and U.S. economic security,” the automaker said. GM added that “some of the vehicles that will be hardest hit by tariff-driven price increases—in the thousands of dollars—are often purchased by customers who can least afford to absorb a higher vehicle price point.”

Used vehicle prices would rise as well, since the overall supply of cars in the used market would decline, pushing prices up. On their own, tariffs on auto imports probably wouldn’t cause a recession. But they’d weaken a key industry and sap disposable income, leaving the economy more vulnerable to a downturn.

Is Trump serious? Would he really damage the auto industry in order to save it? Nobody knows, but Trump wasn’t bluffing about the tariffs he imposed on steel and aluminum imports earlier this year or those going into effect now on $50 billion worth of imports from China.

A saggy stock market, depressed by investors worried about trade wars, hasn’t changed his mind either. If you’re thinking of buying a new car, now may be the moment.

We thank Yahoo! Finance for reprint permission.

“Unmanned delivery will be a game-changer for local commerce, and together with Kroger, we’re thrilled to test this new delivery experience to bring grocery customers new levels of convenience and value,” said Dave Ferguson, cofounder, Nuro. “Our safe, reliable and affordable service, combined with Kroger’s ubiquitous brand, is a powerful first step in our mission to accelerate the benefits of robotics for everyday life.”

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57

Volkswagen Adds Another 2,564 Vehicles to Takata Recall List

by Marc Stern, Torque News

Though it seems as if the Takata airbag recall has disappeared from the headlines, it certainly hasn’t gone too far away. For instance, Volkswagen just added another 2,564 vehicles with potential exploding airbag housings.

Airbags, while having proven to be beneficial in preventing road deaths, have also been a thorn in the side of the industry and regulators.

The devices have been prone to blowing up during a standard deployment.

As they explode, the airbag inflator housing shatters, flinging shrapnel throughout the passenger compartment. Let’s look at some background on this.

The year 2015 was a big one for the auto industry. No, it wasn’t big as in “hooray, hooray,” as the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) had once again found its authoritative ruling voice. It was a time when the NHTSA came down hard on General Motors as it tried to hide a key snafu on its compacts.

The agency also didn’t pull any punches as it fined Honda and Fiat Chrysler Autos for their slow reporting. And, it was the year when the agency told Takata to recall four of its major airbag lines because they tended to blow up on deployment.

Devices Do Their Jobs And Then Some You would have expected them to explode when they deployed because that was what they were designed to do. The devices were designed to sense accidents of more than five mph. If they did, they were to deploy. All of this took place in milliseconds, and the bags deflated by the time you knew what had happened. But, there was a problem with Takata airbags. On deployment, a number of them fired with too much pressure—the result of airbag propellant becoming contaminated with moisture. Over time, the amount of

deployment force grew a whole lot (researchers would call this almost exponentially).

In all of this, though, there was a problem. A climate of good old boy cronyism and super-company protectionism had grown up, as well. In-

deed, many middle management types and senior engineers knew they had a problem with at least four of their lines of airbags. And they knew that the fuel they used was also problem-filled. Finally, there was a climate of secrecy—they would tell no one of the problems, even though people were being injured or killed.

Ultimately, they were found out and the scion of the founder—a grandson—was forced out of the company. The company couldn’t take the strain of the constant recall, and they went bankrupt, only to be bought up by another firm.

An Issue That Is Proving Troublesome To say that this issue is troublesome is putting it mildly. Beginning in 2008, Takata faced the first of many recalls. Indeed, a second recall that year was needed because the first recall was no good. And recalls continued into 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014 and so on. Each time, the body of cars grew by millions of vehicles. It is estimated, in fact, that by the time this recall has ended, some recalls will touch some 55 million cars. The number of airbag propellant containers and devices will likely be in the 70 to 90 million range.

Some models, in fact, have had to be recalled two and three times before the replacements have had the desired effect.

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More important is the fact that there have been 20 deaths linked to exploding airbags to date. More than 185 drivers and occupants were seriously injured. There have been some mysterious clusters of the airbags as well with five people who died in Malaysia, as well as a bunch of early Honda Civics and Accords that had failure rates in the 55 percent range.

No Manufacturer Is Immune No manufacturer has been immune.

At the start, the recall involved only 11 automakers; however, by the time nearly two decades had passed with no resolution—now—it was up to 22 manufacturers. Manufacturers have increased the number of cars as well.

For example, Volkswagen has added 2,564 2003 vehicles to its recall list.

They include the: •

2003 Passat Sedan

•

2003 Golf

•

2003 Jetta and Jetta Wagon

•

2003 EuroVan

•

2003 EuroVan chassis

•

2003 EuroVan Caper Van

When the front driver’s airbag deploys, it is possible that the force of the deployment will cause the entire airbag enclosure to turn into shards.

In turn, the shards scythe through the interior of the vehicle, harming the front seat passenger and the driver.

The fix, according to the NHTSA, is replacing the airbag inflator unit. The repair will be free of charge. It is expected to begin August 12. For more information, owners can contact VW Customer Service at 800-893-5298. The VW internal number for this recall is 69X3. Or, owners can contact the NHTSA Vehicle Safety Hotline at 888-327-4236 or the agency.

Source: NHTSA, self-research

We thank Torque News for reprint permission.

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ASA President Dan Risley Resigns to Pursue Opportunity in Home State

The Automotive Service Association ural leadership talents, his financial (ASA) announced that ASA President prowess and inexhaustible energy led him to govern ASA with and Executive Director Dan success and achievement. I Risley will be resigning efknow the entire board joins fective July 13. me in thanking him for his Risley has accepted a service and commitment to position with CCC InforASA.” mation Services Inc. in his As president, Risley navhome state of Illinois. For igated ASA through an era the past five years, Risley of great change and transiwas working remotely beDan Risley tion. Among his accomplishtween his Chicago-area home and the North Texas area where ments include: ASA is based.

Implementing sound financial To ensure a smooth transition • for the association, he will stay on in practices and processes after the asa consultant capacity until a new as- sociation endured employee fraud sociation leader is named.

Adding three new affiliates to ASA Chairman of the Board • Roy Schnepper, AAM, recently an- the association nounced Risley’s resignation to the Expanding and growing the popboard. During the transition, Risley • has named Beth Risch, its current ular MSO Symposium CPA, as interim chief operating offiFounding the Advanced Technolcer. Risch will oversee day-to-day • operations and report directly to the ogy Diagnostic Repair Forum, now reASA Board of Directors beginning branded the Technology & Telematics Forum July 2.

“I want to sincerely thank Dan Implementing a Corporate Sponfor his strong leadership during a • crucial time in the history of the as- sorship Program, which is a strong sociation,” Schnepper said. “His nat- revenue stream

• Partnering with Messe Frankfurt to combine Automechanika with NACE for NACE Automechanika

“ASA has served the industry for more than 60 years, and I’m proud to say I was part of its rich history and success,” Risley said. “I look forward to staying engaged in ASA and contributing to its mission of serving its members. My family has always been my top priority, so it will be nice to be back in my home base of Chicago for the long term.”

Over the next few months, ASA will be conducting a search to find a new executive director, seeking an individual with association management experience.

“During this period of transition, it is our priority to find the best individual to lead while still maintaining a stable and effective organization,” Schnepper said. “Associations are undergoing enormous challenges due to generational shifts, social changes and technology. It’s crucial that we find the right leader who can address some of those challenges and give us a clear vision for our future.”

The association will be sharing a job announcement soon.

Continued from Page 46

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• WHAT DID YOU SAY? Believe it or not, OSHA is concerned about noise levels, i.e., repeated uses of air hammers or grinders. Therefore, you might test the decibel level and offer annual audiograms to employees.

• Don’t get excited, but paint strippers are another area where OSHA is looking. These chemicals may have substances that could put your employees’ health at risk.

• Watch out for unsafe stairs or storage areas that present a danger.

• Finally, lifts can be fatal if they are not inspected on a regular basis, so make absolutely sure that your lifts are safe for your employees.

In the coming months, I will discuss the issues of shops around the coun-

Spanesi Americas Expands Training Team

Spanesi Americas is proud to announce the addition of Dan Dziuban in the role of technical trainer. Dziuban joins the Spanesi training team, which is tasked with creating curriculum and delivering all educational activities for Spanesi Americas’ customers, distributors and internal staff members across the United States and Canada.

“I’m excited to join the team of Spanesi Americas,” Dziuban stated.

“I’ve Dan Dziuban been looking forward to joining the team since I first used the Spanesi motorcycle lift in my repair facility. Spanesi builds excellent products and I’m looking forward to providing training for Spanesi’s customers and distributors.” Mr. Dziuban has over 20 years of experience in the automotive and industrial coatings industry. Recently, he owned and operated his own automotive repair facility.

try becoming a victim of insurance company steering (their use of shops that may have cut “sweetheart deals”), the issue of totaling, capping (the insurance company’s policy of capping of labor rates), insurance companies’ unfair appraisal or refusal to negotiate an appraisal, and the issue of what the law calls tortious interference with your business. My goal is to alert shop owners of the issues presented in everyday business in dealing with the insurance companies, and if indeed you feel victimized, what recourse you may have.

Feel free to send any questions, comments, or concerns to The Auto Body Attorney c/o Autobody News.

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59

Auto Care Association Named Red Hot Association

AAAS Hosts YANG Meet-Up With Annual Conference & Trade Show

by Chasidy Rae Sisk

On June 6, the Automotive Aftermarket Association of the Southeast (AAAS) hosted a Regional Meet-Up for the Young Auto Care Network Group (YANG) in conjunction with the 2018 AAAS Conference and Trade Show held at the Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort in Miramar Beach, FL. YANG members who attended the Meet-Up received an invitation to attend the rest of the conference at no charge.

Matt Ward, director of government relations, shared, “By combining the YANG Meet-Up with the annual conference, YANG members were able to connect with other YANG members as well as industry leaders that were in attendance. Just like every other YANG Meet-Up, attendees enjoyed their time spent connecting with peers in the industry and meeting new people. The relationships built and maintained at these events are extremely beneficial both for the individual and the in-

The Auto Care Association was recognized as a “Red Hot Association” by DCA Live at the first an-

dustry as a whole.”

Ward is also a member of YANG, which includes young industry professionals under the age of 40.

He noted, “The aftermarket is a people-driven industry, and YANG has given me a great avenue to network with and meet other industry peers, many of which I consider to already be leaders in the aftermarket. It is fun to be in a room full of YANG members that are excited about what they do and the industry they work for. You cannot attend a YANG event and not be optimistic about the future of the automotive aftermarket.

“All Meet-Ups are different and can range from networking receptions to educational seminars, with previous events being held at many different types of venues.

The focus always remains the same, which is good old-fashioned networking. Make sure to be on the lookout for a YANG event in your area. You do not want to miss it!”

60

AUGUST 2018 AUTOBODY NEWS / autobodynews.com

● ● ●

nual DCA Live 2018 Red Hot Not Profits and Associations event in Arlington, VA. The event honored Washington, D.C.-based organizations that demonstrated performance as a high-growth or innovative nonprofit or association.

The list of 2018 Red Hot Associations included: ● ● ● ● ● ●

Stacey Phillips Joins CIECA as Communications Specialist

The Collision Industry Electronic “It is used for the exchange of colliCommerce Association (CIECA) sion industry messages and data across multiple organizarecently announced that tions and networks and alStacey Phillips will be lows organizations to joining the national organtransmit only the data reization as the marketing quired for the application and communications cowithout transmitting ‘unordinator, effective immeneeded data.’ On behalf of diately.

CIECA’s Board, we wel“In her new role, come Stacey and look forStacey will be instrumental Stacey Phillips ward to having her help as CIECA continues to promote the adoption of BMS (Busi- engage the industry with information ness Message Suite) standards,” said and educational opportunities.”

Phillips has more than 20 years Fred Iantorno, executive director of CIECA. “Her expertise in market- of experience helping companies ing and communication strategies will help CIECA communicate its mission to develop and promote electronic communication standards that allow the collision industry to be more efficient.”

The BMS (Business Message Suite) is CIECA’s comprehensive set of electronic communication standards for the collision industry.

“BMS provides the industry with a greater ability to protect the customers’ personally identifiable communicate their vision. She has information,” said Clint Marlow, worked for a wide range of busiCIECA’s chairman of the board and nesses and fields, including techniclaim innovation director at Allstate. cal industries such as automotive,

●

Auto Care Association Conference of State Bank Supervisors Infectious Diseases Society of America Association of Corporate Counsel Association for Career and Technical Education American Society for Engineering Education

engineering and oil and gas, as well as consumer-focused magazines, newspapers and websites. She is the prior assistant editor at Autobody News magazine and continues to write articles for the collision repair industry.

The award-winning writer is a graduate of the University of Southern California with a double major in journalism and political science and earned an honors thesis in environmental politics. She has co-authored two books, including “The Secrets of America’s Greatest Body Shops,” which was released in 2017.

“As e-commerce has become a bigger part of our daily lives, the flow of data among trading partners has expanded as part of the repair process,” said Phillips.

“The next few years will present an amazing opportunity to help unite the industry in a common cause—the adoption of standards. I’m excited to be part of this challenge and help build a solid foundation to achieve great results for this industry.

● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●

American Psychiatric Association National Federation of Independent Business International Sign Association Military Officers Association of America American Association of Airport Executives American Medical Writers Association National Association of School Nurses Architectural Woodwork Institute Association of Governing Boards National Grocers Association National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers Future Business Leaders of America

“We’re honored to be recognized alongside these outstanding associations making a positive impact on our community here in our nation’s capital and throughout the United States,” said Bill Hanvey, president and CEO, Auto Care Association.

SCRS Welcomes Nissan as Corporate Member

The Society of Collision Repair Specialists (SCRS) proudly welcomes Nissan North America as the newest automobile manufacturer to join as a supportive member of the association. “Nissan has been a noticeable advocate of information to help collision repair businesses excel,” shared SCRS Treasurer Amber Alley. “Our business has really benefited from the relationship through the rebates and promotional and social media advertising resources that we get as a certified facility. Having their support of industry initiatives through involvement in SCRS just affirms that we are aligned with an automaker who understands the importance of supporting entities that help make repair businesses more successful.” For more information about SCRS or to join as a member, please visit www.scrs.com, call toll free 1-877-841-0660 or email info@scrs.com.

www.autobodynews.com

‘Who Pays for What?’ Finds Half of Shops Have Not Billed for Seat Belt Inspections

“Some even go so far as to state The quarterly “Who Pays for What?” survey conducted this past spring seat belts must be replaced if they found that just over 30 percent of were in use during a collision,” he shops that seek to be paid for inspec- said. “Some OEMs also state that the tion of seat belts when it is necessary inspection process includes using a scan tool.” as part of the repair process Anderson said the resaid they are paid “always” sponse to the survey quesor “most of the time” for it. tion “is very concerning in Fifty percent of shops have that it indicates to me that not asked for payment for too few shops are researchthis important process. ing OEM repair procedures “Of the nearly 100 and are thus not aware” of procedures and items we ask about over the course Mike Anderson of what the automakers call for. of four surveys each year, Collision Advice “As an industry, we this is the one that most keeps me awake at night,” said must accept responsibility for reMike Anderson of Collision Ad- searching and following the requirevice, who conducts the surveys with ments for this on every vehicle,” Anderson said.

CRASH Network.

The survey, to which more than He said the latest of the four 2018 “Who Pays for What?” sur- 1,000 shops responded, did offer veys, which focuses on not-included some indication that the industry is frame and mechanical labor opera- becoming more aware of the need for tions, is open now through the end of inspection of seat belts during colliJuly at https://www.surveymonkey sion repair. The same survey two years earlier found that fewer than .com/r/TN8RY72.

The findings related to seat belt one in four shops (24 percent) said inspection are troubling, Anderson they were paid regularly for the prosaid, because every automaker has cedure. That had climbed to 31 pera very specific procedure for the cent this year. The percentage of shops that said they’d never sought to process.

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ing about two dozen not-included body labor operations, the April survey asked about shops’ scanning practices, estimating and electronic parts systems usage, and body labor and storage rates.

The current survey focuses on frame and mechanical labor procedures and includes some all-new questions to offer the industry even more helpful information; shops can

take the survey before the end of July by visiting: https://www.survey monkey.com/r/TN8RY72 Survey participants receive a report with complete survey findings at no charge, broken down by region, insurer and DRP vs. non-DRP. The report also includes analysis and resources to help shops better understand and use the information presented.

Anderson said the survey, which will take about 15–30 minutes, should be completed by the shop owner, manager or estimator who is most familiar with the shop’s billing practices and the payment practices of the largest national insurers. Each shop’s individual responses are held in the strictest confidence; only aggregated data is released.

The results of previous surveys are also available online (https://www .crashnetwork.com/collisionadvice).

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U.S. Aftermarket To Grow at Annual Rate (CAGR) of 3.4% Through 2021

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be paid for the procedure had fallen somewhat from about 62 percent in 2016 to about 59 percent this year.

In addition to asking shops about their billing practices—and insurers’ payment practices—regard-

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The U.S. automotive aftermarket is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 3.4 percent through 2021, according to the “2018 Joint Channel Forecast Model” produced jointly by the Automotive Aftermarket Suppliers Association (AASA) and the Auto Care Association. The 2018 Joint Channel Forecast Model also predicts that the total aftermarket sales will grow from $286 billion in 2017 to $327 billion in 2021, an increase of nearly $41 billion over the four-year period. “The Joint Channel Forecast shows the continued strength of key aftermarket drivers and the impact of the confident consumers, buoyed by a strong job market and lower personal tax rates and shows influences driving evolution in the aftermarket: new and emerging technologies, changes in the distribution model and changes in consumers’ expectations for mobility.

We are an industry facing a lot of change, but we believe we have the people in the independent aftermarket with the leadership, vision and entrepreneurial spirit to enable us to

grow and thrive in our pending era of change and opportunity,” said Bill Long, president and chief operating officer, AASA. “The sustained growth projected in the forecast is not only a result of key economic upswings, but also technology that is creating opportunities for new products, services and solutions across our market,” said Bill Hanvey, president and chief executive officer, Auto Care Association. “These new technologies continue to widen the reach and scope of our industry as well as enable opportunities to add to the 4.6 million job powerhouse that we are.” The market sizing and forecast is conducted on behalf of AASA and the Auto Care Association by IHS Markit, the world-renowned economic and market information firm. The forecast is based on the U.S. Census Bureau’s Economic Census, IMR and Polk data, and proprietary IHS Markit’s economic analysis and forecasting models.

Visit www.aftermarketsuppliers.org and www.autocare.org.

autobodynews.com / AUGUST 2018 AUTOBODY NEWS

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