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California, Arizona, and Hawaiian Shops and Companies Brighten Marines’ Kids Xmas Led and organized by Toby and Sheila Chess, a merry band representing about 90 body shops and collision-related companies brought a brighter
Christmas to Marine families, and especially their kids, stationed at Camp Pendleton, California, on Dec. 20. On
hand to meet them were marines who unloaded about a hundred bikes ready for assembly, and stockpiled the over $21,000 worth of toys. Colonel Frazier, USMC, acknowledged the generous contribution and noted that it comes at a time when the need is great and shops and companies themselves are still in a slump. This is the third year that the toy drive has been in effect, starting in 2006, and was the biggest and most successful yet. Colonel Frazier said the toys would be distributed to families of those who had a parent deployed overseas first. See back page for more
2010 Year in Review—Words Spoken Signal Issues the Industry will Address in 2011 by John Yoswick
Looking for a preview of what lies ahead for the collision repair industry? Look no further than some key statements made in 2010 that likely will continue to reverberate in 2011.
With these changes, it will become quickly and increasingly more apparent which business are prepared through training to address the increasing complexity of repair…and (which) businesses have failed and continue to fail to prepare themselves for the future. By not selecting a Gold Class business, the consumer is unknowingly accepting the
risk of having repairs completed by under-trained workers. —John Edelen
Now-retired ICAR CEO John Edelen last summer unveiled ICAR’s new “Professional Development Program” and revised John Edelen requirements for its “Platinum Individual” and “Gold Class” recognition programs, promising to make the training more relevant See 2010: Year in Review, Page 20
VOL. 29 ISSUE 1 JANUARY 2011
GREG COCCARO ‘NOT GUILTY’ AGAIN of Fraud Charges Filed by Progressive
A six-person New York jury found Greg Coccaro, owner of North State Custom in Westchester, N.Y., not guilty of civil insurance fraud—for the second time—on Dec. 15. The case was originally brought by Progressive Insurance in 2005 in a dispute over the repair of a badly damaged Mercedes which was fixed at Coccaro’s Mercedes-certified shop. Progressive alleged that the shop inflated the charges to make the car a total loss, and that both the shop and the insured received payment for the vehicle’s repairs.
In 2005, the customer, a handicapped professor from Columbia University, asked Coccaro to repair her 6-month-old 2004 Mercedes E320 that she had rolled down an embankment and crashed into a pile of rocks. Progressive Insurance wrote an on-site initial estimate of $7,142. Once the car was taken to Coccaro’s shop—which was not a Progressive DRP (Coccaro has no DRPs)—he found far more damage in addition to mistakes on the original estimate. According to Coccaro, Progressive eventually wrote another estimate for $26,804, then a third one for $18,000, and then another. All told there were some 10 estimates done. Coccaro’s final, carefully documented, invoice for the full repair came in at $34,091. That’s when it really got interesting... continued on page 22
Also in this issue... Toyota Recommends OEM . . .p. 8
ABPA Disputes Ford’s Findings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .p. 53 DuPont Opens New Research Facility . . . . . . . . . . . . . .p. 44 Hyundai, Kia, VW Top Safety Picks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .p. 28 Sterling Names Lou DiLisio VP of Operations . . . . . . .p. 4 Airbag Fraud Becoming More Prevalent . . . . . . . . . . . .p. 19 SCRS Affiliate Groups Help Members . . . . . . . . . . . . . .p. 46
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