The Significance Of
The Essential
Who Is
Misconceptions
Education And Certification
Training
OEM Certifications
Succession Plans
TECH AND TOOLS
Budgeting
ADAS Calibrations
Scan Tools
Going Digital
Other Technology Trends
Online Marketing Trends
The survey and report were compiled by FenderBender magazine, a publication of Endeavor Business Media. The purpose of this research project was to provide readers with unique and in-depth information about how businesses in the collision repair industry operate.
Specific inquiry areas included:
• Background information including respondent title, shop location, size, annual revenue, employees, business type (MSO, franchise, independent or dealer-owned)
• How the shop performs according to a selected group of KPIs
• What technology and tool investments are being made and how shops are budgeting for those investments
• What kind of training and certifications are made a priority
• How shop owners work, and their leadership styles
• What shop leaders expect and the challenges they see facing the industry
FenderBender collected the survey sample using named records in FenderBender’s email file. The file represents auto repair shop owners and/ or managers of independent, franchise or dealership shops that are active subscribers to FenderBender.
Data was collected from February 19 to April 7, 2025, with 180 individual respondents, including single-shop owners and MSOs.
The goal was to take a snapshot of a cross section of today’s collision repair industry and collect survey data from facilities in all segments of the industry from across the United States.
NUMBER OF RESPONSES RECEIVED IN THIS YEAR’S SURVEY
The FenderBender Industry Survey provides a rare glimpse inside collision repair shops to see how they’re performing, what their challenges are and how they’re looking toward the future. And it’s all thanks to the FenderBender readership for participating in such great numbers. As the survey’s life spans a transformative era in the collision repair industry, some trends have emerged that offer a picture of a changing world. This year’s set of data is no different, with a few trends sticking out above all others.
• A marked change from the past three years’ surveys is that finding qualified workers is no longer the #1 challenge. That was cut in half, trailed closely by the rising cost of business as #3. The biggest concern now keeping shop owners and operators up at night is insurers’ influence on the repair process.
• During a time of slowing sales, DRPs appear to be making a comeback. More shop operators report having DRP relationships and plans to pursue enrolling in them.
• The investment in technology and tools is less for aluminum repair and more for in-house ADAS calibrations, which jumped more than 10%.
In this report you’ll find this data and more in greater detail, providing a look at the state of collision repair in 2025.
Collision repair remains a growth industry, albeit with slightly more cautious figures this year. Sixty-three percent of survey respondents reported sales growth in the past five years, and about the same number expect that trend to continue.
+31%
EV repairable claims reached a record 3.12% in the U.S., an increase of approximately 31% in the U.S. over Q1 2024.
243.3 MILLION
A projected 243.3 million drivers were on the road in 2023 after an all-time high of 232.7 million in 2021.
22%
For calendar year 2024, total losses were 22.9% of non-comprehensive losses and 22.3% for all loss categories.
>20%
More than one in five shops successfully bill insurers for the labor time required to set up and use a spectrophotometer, or color-match camera.
+51.4% since 2019
As of Q4 2024, the consumer price index for motor vehicle insurance is +14% YoY compared to 2023. Source: Collision Advice and the Federal Highway Administration; 2023 is the most
Source: CCC Crash Course Report
16.7 DAYS
In Q1 2025, the overall length of rental was down to 16.7 days, a drop of about one day from Q1 2024.
Source: CCC Crash Course Report
Source: Enterprise Mobility
Almost 200 collision repair professionals responded to this year’s FenderBender Industry Survey, and, while they were evenly dispersed across all U.S. markets, the majority of respondents followed a demographic pattern that largely aligns with the magazine’s overall readership.
According to data from Mitchell in its Plugged-In: EV Collision Insights report, the average severity decreased slightly as of the first quarter of 2025. Battery electric vehicles have the highest claims severity when compared to other automobile types. In the U.S., average repairable severity was $5,927 for BEVs, a decrease of $678 , while ICE-powered vehicles was $4,857, a
of $406 .
Shop owner, partner, president, vice president, or other company official
manager, director, administrator, superintendent
foreman or supervisor
IA, IL, IN, KS, KY, MI, MN, MO, ND, NE, OH, SD, WI
Northeast
CT, DE, MA, MD, ME, NH, NJ, NY, PA, RI, VA, VT, WV
South
AL, AR, FL, GA, LA, MS, NC, OK, SC, TN, TX
West AK, AZ, CA, CO, HI, ID, MT, NV, NM, OR, UT, WA, WY
In recent years, there has been a mostly steady trend of shops moving away from DRPs, but that trend may be reversing.
In 2018, 30% reported no revenue from DRPs, which over the next four years took two steps forward and one step back in percentages before spiking at 44% in 2023. It reversed course last year to 39%, and this year it dropped even more.
This year, 32% report no revenue from DRPs. Put another way, at its peak, 56% of shops surveyed in 2023 reported no DRP revenue, while this year, 68% have at least some DRP revenue.
KPI-tracking rates have been at an all-time high over the last few years of the FenderBender Industry Survey, rising from 75% in 2021 to 83% in 2025. FenderBender asked shop leaders to weigh in on why they were or weren’t tracking KPIs.
Some answers have been lightly edited for clarity.
A sampling of answers to the question, “What is the significance of KPI measurement in today’s collision repair industry, and what impact has it had on your business?”
“It’s dangerous to live in a bubble. By comparing your KPIs to industry benchmarks, you have a method to track success.”
“It determines how we run our business. If we aren’t measuring what we are doing, we have no idea and no way to plan for what needs to be done next.”
“KPI measurement has become absolutely essential in today’s collision repair industry—both for shop performance and for maintaining strong relationships with insurers, OEMs, and customers.”
“You can’t grow if you don’t track them.”
Not every respondent tracked KPIs in exactly the same way. Here’s a look at how the respondents did.
For shops that don’t track key performance indicators, while some shops expressed skepticism about the worth of KPIs, others reported their obstacles to tracking KPIs and other reasons for not doing so:
OF THE SHOPS THAT TRACK KPI s REPORTED THAT THEY TRACK THEIR AVERAGE REPAIR ORDER DOLLAR AMOUNT
“We do look at quarterly P&L but do not run our business by the numbers. We charge for what we do and bill the customer the difference so we know we are profitable.”
“We spend our time fixing cars the right way the first time. Key performance indicators will fall into place without having to track them.”
“I do not have the time to track anything.”
“I don’t believe tracking them would change a thing.”
“Why track indicators? When you write an estimate, it’s either profitable or not.” “We will start.”
“Only a two-man shop.”
When looking at individual performance, there is a marked difference between shops that do and not routinely track KPIs. Here’s a side-by-side look at the numbers a majority of shops reported across several categories:
$2.83M
(mean) Annual Revenue
44% Average (mean) Gross Profit Margin
Shop owners and operators today report mostly annual sales growth and positive projections. But as vehicles and their repairs continue to become more complicated, shop staff look to their leaders to chart the right path forward.
“That people have insurance that will cover the true cost to repair a vehicle properly.”
“That all shops are created equal.”
“That the small percentage of shops accurately blueprinting vehicles, doing 100% disassembly, reading and following repair procedures and OEM guidelines are overcharging. The issue in this industry is largely caused by shops repairing vehicles improperly, not following repair procedures, and allowing the bill payer to dictate repairs instead of advocating for customers and repairing vehicles safely and properly.”
“That DRPs are profitable, when all they are is a race to the bottom with a shortage of technicians and pay. If the insurance is allowed to steer to DRPs and behind the scenes regulate payout, this industry will continue to collapse to the point of the government stepping in for total regulation as they are trying to do with healthcare.”
Attended high school but did not complete
Attended college but did not complete Completed high school Earned bachelor’s degree
Attended technical/ vocational school but did not complete Earned master’s degree Completed technical/ vocational school Earned doctorate 4%
How often do you personally attend industry-specific management training?
Do you work with a consultant or business coach?
Responding shops said others shop team members attended industry-specific management training with similar frequency.
Are you a member of a 20 Group or other peer networking group?
Are you involved in a state, regional or national industry association?
What percentage of your business’s total sales do you allot for training investments?
What types of employee training/education does your business pay for? (select all that apply to your shop)
Do you personally attend industry-specific technical training?
RESPONDENTS HAVE THEIR TEAMS ATTEND I-CAR TRAINING ANNUALLY
The importance, if not necessity, of having OEM certifications is a hotly-debated topic in modern collision repair. From 2021 through last year, about 45 percent of shops reported having at least one OEM certification. But this year jumped to over 66% of survey respondents having at least one certification.
If your shop holds OEM certifications, are you satisfied with the ROI?
Responses edited slightly for clarity
“Very pleased with certification ROI. One of the best decisions I ever made!”
“Not sure any certification will provide a significant return. It’s more of a marketing expense.”
“Not enough recognition from insurers.”
“Some yes, others no. Many OEMs do not have accountability measures for their certified shops. Not having parts restrictions with many OEMs allows shop that shouldn’t be fixing structural damage to fix them.”
“On some the ROI has been good. On others such as Honda, Subaru, and another, without restricted parts it is difficult to get reimbursed for required procedures as ‘Anyone can do the repair,’ per insurance companies.”
More participants this year reported they do not plan to retire in the near future—57%, a jump from 50% in recent years.
HAVE NO PLANS OF RETIRING IN THE NEAR FUTURE
What is your business succession plan?
Sell it to a consolidator 25% Leave it to family or a business partner 17% Sell it to a private buyer
Transfer ownership to staff
I don’t have one
As vehicles become more advanced, tech and tool considerations become more important than ever. Whether it is bespoke tools required from OEMs or equipment necessitated to perform ADAS calibrations, survey respondents were asked to evaluate how they plan and budget for technology and tools.
Asked what percentage of their annual revenue is reserved for technology, tool, and equipment purchases, a majority said they created a budget:
The 2025 FenderBender Industry Survey recorded a sharp jump in this area from 2021 to 2022, as 8% more shop owners said their shops were set up to perform ADAS calibrations. That number rose slightly through 2024 but jumped 11 points this year as more shops are tasked with restoring these safety-critical systems.
Is your shop equipped to perform ADAS calibrations?
The number of respondents owning at least one OEM scan tool has increased. About half of this year’s respondents report owning one or two.
How many OEM scan tools does your business own?
A look at how operators are using certain software to aid employees at the front of the shop.
Businesses That Utilize Certain Software
(Respondents were asked to check all that applied.) Electronic management system Customer relationship management (CRM) software
Accounting software such as QuickBooks Electronic estimating system Key performance indicator (KPI) tracking software Customer satisfaction (CSI) software
There was a big shift this year in shops using waterborne paint. This year, 75% use either waterborne exclusively or as one of their systems. Last year, only 59% used only waterborne or both waterborne and solvent-based paint.
Does your business have the capability and equipment to repair aluminum components?
What
Does your business have the capability and equipment to repair advanced structural composites or carbon fiber components?
Does your business use an OEM-approved refinishing system?
much does your shop charge for diagnostic scans?
How often does your business perform pre- and post-repair diagnostic scans?
Does your business have challenges being reimbursed for diagnostic scans?
Does your business utilize a third-party service for scanning services?
Customers do a great deal of their business online these days, Shop owners and operators are not only more actively posting natively to social media; they are advertising more and increasingly using marketing firms to help their message effectively reach their target audience.
often does your shop promote itself through social media?