Hammer & Dolly August 2015

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August 2015 Volume 9, No. 8 $5.95 www.wmaba.com

An AdWords Beginner's Guide Proper Wheel Installation Only the Lean Survive www.grecopublishing.com

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CONTENTS August 2015

COVER STORY 44

PRE-ACCIDENT CONDITION? HOW DIMINISHED VALUE AND POST-REPAIR INSPECTIONS ARE CHANGING THE GAME

BY JOEL GAUSTEN

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FEAR NOT! DIMINISHED VALUE, FRIEND TO YOUR CUSTOMER

BY JORDAN HENDLER

Diminished Value: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

LOCAL NEWS CONSUMER-FOCUSED VIDEO EXPLORES 20 Startling visuals of poor collision work hit the Web.

BY JOEL GAUSTEN

POST-REPAIR NIGHTMARE

NATIONAL NEWS PARTSTRADER GROWS NON-STATE 24 The parts procurement provider moves beyond Select Service. BY JOEL GAUSTEN

FARM BUSINESS

LEGAL PERSPECTIVE GET TO KNOW YOUR STATE LEGISLATORS 30 Taking advantage of the interim to meet your legislators. BY TYLER BENNETT

TECHNICAL FEATURE PROPER WHEEL INSTALLATION 32 Hard facts on a “simple” procedure.

DEPARTMENTS 6 10

Editor’s Message JOEL GAUSTEN

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WMABA Golf Outing Notice

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BY LARRY MONTANEZ III, CDA & JEFF LANGE, PE 28

GUEST FEATURE 36 THE FUTURE OF COLLISION REPAIR:

Why it’s time to take a serious look at your shop.

ONLY THE LEAN PERFORMERS WILL EXIST

BY STEVEN FELTOVICH, MANAGER OF COLLISION BUSINESS CONSULTING, SHERWIN-WILLIAMS AUTOMOTIVE FINISHES

MARKETING FEATURE AN ADWORDS BEGINNER’S GUIDE 40 Inside Google’s “pay-per-click” search advertising platform. BY LEE EMMONS

Calendar of Events

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WMABA Sponsorship Page

What’s WMABA Up To WMABA Membership Application

Technician of the Month: Jimmy Cowger JACQUELYN BAUMAN

President’s Message DON BEAVER

Meet the Board: Phil Rice JACQUELYN BAUMAN

Advertisers’ Index

Images © www.istockphoto.com

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Industry training opportunities and don't-miss events.

CALENDAR OF

EVENTS

September 16, 2015 2015 WMABA golf outing the timbers at troy golf Course 6100 Marshalee drive elkridge, Md 21075 for more info, visit www.w maba.com

CLASS LISTINGS

August 4, 2015

plAStIC & CoMpoSIte RepAIR Harrison Body Works, Richmond, VA AlteRNAtIve fuel vehICle dAMAge ANAlySIS & SAfety Coxton’s Gold Team Collision Center, Yorktown, VA CoRRoSIoN pRoteCtIoN Coxton’s Gold Team Collision Center, Yorktown, VA SteeRINg & SuSpeNSIoN dAMAge ANAlySIS Southern Collision Center, Chesapeake, VA vehICle teChNology & tReNdS 2015 Coxton’s Gold Team Collision Center, Yorktown, VA

August 6, 2015

2015 foRd f-150 StRuCtuRAl RepAIR tRAININg CouRSe Coxton’s Gold Team Collision Center, Yorktown, VA StRuCtuRAl StRAIghteNINg Steel Coxton’s Gold Team Collision Center, Yorktown, VA AlteRNAtIve fuel vehICle dAMAge ANAlySIS & SAfety Southern Collision Center, Chesapeake, VA

August 11, 2015

SuSpeNSIoN SySteMS Southern Collision Center, Chesapeake, VA oveRvIeW of CyCle tIMe IMpRoveMeNtS foR the CollISIoN RepAIR pRoCeSS Coxton’s Gold Team Collision Center, Yorktown, VA plAStIC & CoMpoSIte RepAIR Manheim (Harrisonburg) Auto Auction, Harrisonburg, VA ColoR theoRy, MIxINg toNeRS & tINtINg Harrison Body Works, Richmond, VA

August 13, 2015

RACk & pINIoN & pARAllelogRAM SteeRINg SySteMS Southern Collision Center, Chesapeake, VA

August 18, 2015

hAzARdouS MAteRIAlS, peRSoNAl SAfety & RefINISh SAfety Southern Collision Center, Chesapeake, VA ReplACeMeNt of Steel uNItIzed StRuCtuReS Harrison Body Works, Richmond, VA

August 20, 2015

oveRvIeW of CyCle tIMe IMpRoveMeNtS foR the CollISIoN RepAIR pRoCeSS Southern Collision Center, Chesapeake, VA

August 25, 2015

vehICle teChNology & tReNdS 2015 Manheim (Harrisonburg) Auto Auction, Harrisonburg, VA vehICle teChNology & tReNdS 2015 Coxton’s Gold Team Collision Center, Yorktown, VA ReplACeMeNt of Steel uNItIzed StRuCtuReS Southern Collision Center, Chesapeake, VA 2015 foRd f-150 StRuCtuRAl RepAIR tRAININg CouRSe Harrison Body Works, Richmond, VA AlteRNAtIve fuel vehICle dAMAge ANAlySIS & SAfety Virginia Farm Bureau, Richmond, VA

August 27, 2015

MeASuRINg Southern Collision Center, Chesapeake, VA

September 1, 2015

AdheSIve BoNdINg Southern Collision Center, Chesapeake, VA

September 8, 2015

AluMINuM exteRIoR pANel RepAIR & ReplACeMeNt Southern Collision Center, Chesapeake, VA SeCtIoNINg of Steel uNItIzed StRuCtuReS Harrison Body Works, Richmond, VA Wheel AlIgNMeNt & dIAgNoStIC ANgleS State Farm Silver Spring, Silver Spring, MD

September 10, 2015

AdvANCed SteeRINg & SuSpeNSIoN SySteMS dAMAge ANAlySIS Southern Collision Center, Chesapeake, VA WAteRBoRNe pRoduCtS, SySteMS & ApplICAtIoN Frederick Co. Career & Tech, Frederick, MD Wheel AlIgNMeNt & dIAgNoStIC ANgleS Automotive Collision Technologies, Randallstown, MD

September 15, 2015

Wheel AlIgNMeNt & dIAgNoStIC ANgleS Harrison Body Works, Richmond, VA AdheSIve BoNdINg Canby Motors Collision Repair, Aberdeen, MD

September 17, 2015

AdheSIve BoNdINg Frederick Co. Career & Tech, Frederick, MD hAzARdouS MAteRIAlS, peRSoNAl SAfety & RefINISh SAfety Uni-Select USA, Baltimore, MD

September 22, 2015

full-fRAMe pARtIAl ReplACeMeNt Southern Collision Center, Chesapeake, VA Squeeze-type ReSIStANCe Spot WeldINg Harrison Body Works, Richmond, VA full-fRAMe pARtIAl ReplACeMeNt Keystone Linthicum, Linthicum, MD

September 24, 2015

plAStIC & CoMpoSIte RepAIR Southern Collision Center, Chesapeake, VA AdheSIve BoNdINg King Volkswagen, Gaithersburg, MD

September 26, 2015

BluepRINtINg pRoCeSS & dAMAge dISCoveRy O’Donnell Honda Service Center, Catonsville, MD

September 29, 2015

vehICle teChNology & tReNdS 2015 Harrison Body Works, Richmond, VA ColoR theoRy, MIxINg toNeRS & tINtINg Southern Collision Center, Chesapeake, VA

Come to a “working lunch” held by Maryland State I-CAR Chairperson Jaime Shewbridge for information on the benefits of joining a local I-CAR Committee! New industry trends from the 2015 Nashville Conference and how to support our local vo-tech schools will be discussed.

Please RVSP to jlshewbridge@gmail.com for one of the events below to ensure adequate spacing and food for each meeting.

August 4 11am-1pm

SoutheRN MARylANd CoMMIttee Toyota of Waldorf Collision Center 2600 Crain Hwy, Waldorf, MD

August 5 11am-1pm

BAltIMoRe CoMMIttee LKQ/Keystone 815A Central Ave, Linthicum, MD

August 19 11am-1pm

ANNApolIS/eASteRN ShoRe CoMMIttee MeetINg Criswell Collision Center 181 Defense Hwy, Annapolis, MD

August 26 11am-1pm Frederick Committee

Givens Collision Center 1529 Tilco Dr, Frederick, MD

www.i-car.com or (800) 422-7872 for info 6

August 2015

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Joel gausten

EDITOR’S

(973) 600-9288 tgpjoel@verizon.net

MESSAGE NO BLUES IN SUMMERTIME Hasn’t this summer been wonderful so far?

After such a brutally challenging winter, it’s been nice to actually have some sunlight coming through the windows here in the office every day. (Don’t you dare say anything negative about the heat!) While summer is always the season for long-overdue vacations and simple rest and relaxation, people seem especially happy to put their feet up this year – and who can blame them?

While I’m glad to hear about so many of you enjoying some time away from your businesses right now, it’s important not to lose sight of how valuable the summer months can be to improving your experience in the collision repair industry. Now is the perfect time to get your shop – both inside and outside – in better shape for the fall and winter ahead. Have you checked up on your equipment to make sure everything is working the way it should? Are there I-CAR classes and other training happening in your area that would be good for your techs to check out? Are there issues you’re experiencing with insurers that you can better track so you can report them to WMABA? Have you taken the

WMABA offICeRS pReSIdeNt

vICe pReSIdeNt tReASuReR SeCRetARy

IMMedIAte pASt pReSIdeNt

don Beaver Dbeaver@antwerpenauto.com 443-539-4200 ext. 17061 torchy Chandler torchy.chandler@gmail.com 410-309-2242 Mark Schaech Jr. mark@marksbodyshop.com 410-358-5155 John krauss jkrauss@craftsmanautobody.com 703-534-1818 Barry dorn bdorn@dornsbodyandpaint.com 804-746-3928

BoARd of dIReCtoRS

Rodney Bolton (rbolton@aacps.org) 410-969-3100 ext. 250 Mark Boudreau (crashdaddy@aol.com) 703-671-2402 Kevin Burt (kevinburt@walkermillcollision.com) 301-336-1140

RT Plate (rt@pcirepair.com) 703-929-8050 Phil Rice (phil@ricewoods.com) 540-846-6617

AdMINIStRAtIoN

exeCutIve dIReCtoR Jordan Hendler (jordanhendler@wmaba.com) 804-789-9649 WMABA CoRpoRAte offICe P.O. Box 3157 • Mechanicsville, VA 23116

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time to look into who your area legislators are, and how they might be able to assist the industry in the future? These are just some of the crucial things you can do if things get quiet in your bays this summer.

As always, please reach out to us here at Hammer & Dolly if you have news you’d like to share with the auto body community, an issue or concern you’d like us to investigate or any feedback on anything you see in this publication. We look forward to hearing from you – even if it’s just to tell us how great it’s been to finally have the time to hit the beach.

H&D

August 2015

StAff

puBlISheR dIReCtoR of SAleS edItoR MANAgINg edItoR ARt dIReCtoR offICe MANAgeR

thomas greco thomas@grecopublishing.com

Alicia figurelli alicia@grecopublishing.com

Joel gausten tgpjoel@verizon.net

Jacquelyn Bauman jacquelyn@grecopublishing.com

lea velocci lea@grecopublishing.com

donna greco donna@grecopublishing.com

PUBLISHED BY TGP, Inc. 244 Chestnut St., Suite 202 Nutley, NJ 07110 973-667-6922 FAX 973-235-1963 Reproduction of any portions of this publication is specifically prohibited without written permission from the publisher. The opinions and ideas appearing in this magazine are not necessarily representations of TGP Inc. or of the Washington Metropolitan Auto Body Association (WMABA). Copyright © 2015 Thomas Greco Publishing, Inc.

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2015 GOLF OUTING SEPTEMBER 16, 2015 Shotgun Start at 12pm The Timbers at Troy Golf Course

6100 Marshalee Drive, Elkridge, MD

SIGN UP TODAY AT www.wmaba.com/golf-outing

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THANKS

YOU WMABA thanks their Generous Supporters of the new Corporate Sponsor Program for 2015! We encourage YOUR SUPPORT of those who SUPPORT US! LEVEL 1

LEVEL 2 3M Automotive Aftermarket Certified Aftermarket Parts Association FinishMaster

Mid-Atlantic Paint & Supply National Coatings and Supplies

For more information about the sponsorship program, please contact Executive Director Jordan Hendler at 804-789-9649 or email jordanhendler@wmaba.com

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www.wmaba.com

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Find more association updates at www.wmaba.com.

WHAT’S UP TO? WMABA MEMBERSHIP: GET YOUR QUARTER BACK

It’s always a good time to get involved with WMABA. If you’re reading this, your first benefit is already being realized: staying up on the news in our area and beyond.

Get Your Team Jersey

Supporting WMABA is an investment in the future of your business, and your industry. By becoming a member, you are represented in all the places the Board or Executive Director goes. Whether at a tradeshow like SEMA or locally at the state capital testifying at a hearing, your interests are at the forefront. Though repairers often feel competitive, the association is a place for camaraderie and community. Here, we’re all on the same team.

The Playbook

The association is your resource for all things. Whether you have a question about current Labor Rate data, operations, customer

interaction, insurer relationships, vendor products or national news; your association is the place to ask first. Through our relationships nationally, we can even take issues to the forefront of places such as the Society of Collision Repair Specialists, Collision Industry Conference or national contacts for insurers and vendors.

Locally, we research the governmental regulations and oversight to make sure the repair industry is protected from any negative legislation. Represented in both Virginia and Maryland, WMABA proposes and opposes recommended bills that come into the legislature during open session. Also, we work with consumer-related entities, government agencies and other related industry organizations to ensure that the voice of the repairer and their customer are heard.

Call the Game

As a member, you decide your personal level of participation. Do you have interest in committees to address particular issues you feel passionately about? Would you want to be a Board member and assist in guiding the direction of the association? How about sitting on the sidelines so you can focus on your own business? All answers can be correct! While WMABA would like to encourage your spirit of volunteerism, it is solely up to you at what level you get involved.

The minimum is getting your membership. 2015 can WIN with your commitment to the betterment of your business, and your industry. Sign up today! H&D

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Repair inspection video shocks the industry and consumers.

LOCAL

By Joel gAuSteN

NEWS CONSUMERFOCUSED VIDEO EXPLORES POST-REPAIR NIGHTMARE Last month’s cover story (“Good Car, Bad Shop,” H&D, July 2015) brought you the harrowing tale of Tim and Mary, a Marylandbased couple who fell victim to one of the worst repair jobs ever uncovered. Now, Mark Schaech Jr. of Mark’s Body Shop in Baltimore – the industry professional responsible for providing the post-repair inspection on the couple’s Honda Accord – is showing the world just how badly that vehicle was actually treated.

On June 30, Schaech posted a fiveminute video, “Uncovering Unsafe Collision Repairs,” on both YouTube (tinyurl.com/ q7wvxgh) and his shop’s website (tinyurl.com/pkeapap). In it, Schaech walks Tim and Mary through the many problems evident in the initial repair performed by one of their insurer’s Direct Repair shops. As discussed in last month’s issue, the car’s issues included a stress buckle in the inner frame rail, which meant that the rail could no longer properly absorb and redirect the energy in a crash the way it is designed to do. Some of the other damage was clearly noticed by the other shop because it had been covered up with seam sealer, while there was evidence that the work performed could drastically impact proper air bag timing. Perhaps strangest of all, someone at the first shop had left an empty water bottle in the frame rail. The surprise and anger in the customers’ faces throughout the video is impossible to ignore. (“It’s just really

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terrifying,” offers a tearful Mary at the video’s 2:56 mark. “Anyone who could’ve been in my car the next time [an accident occured] would be dead.”)

Already viewed over 17,000 times (with nearly 200 shares) on Facebook only a week after being posted, “Uncovering Unsafe Collision Repairs” is the latest in a series of consumer-focused videos created for Mark’s Body Shop’s popular YouTube channel (tinyurl.com/qzeffjm). Working with videographer Lee Emmons (Absolute Perfection Media), Schaech has developed a series of clips that aim to educate consumers on steering, post-repair inspections, the potential risks involved in using insurers’ preferred shops and the benefits of utilizing an OEM-certified facility. Not surprisingly, these high-quality, professionally produced videos have made a major impact on the motoring public in the Baltimore area.

“They’re just shocked,” says Schaech of consumers’ reaction to his post-repair inspection videos. “They just would assume that their insurance company would have their best interest in mind at all times. I’m not saying that some carriers don’t, but consumers can’t believe that the [DRP] relationship is cost-driven and that there are significant concessions for a facility to become a ‘preferred’ body shop. For example, aftermarket parts need to be used in a lot of cases. We try to say to consumers that when they use the Direct Repair shop,

they just have to be aware that there is a relationship between the insurance company and that shop, and that [relationship] is usually looking out for the financial interest of the insurance company as opposed to the consumer.”

With incidents like the one affecting Tim and Mary gaining more attention in the mainstream – and the Maryland Attorney General’s Office taking notice of shops that perform poor and unsafe work – Schaech is imploring his fellow body shop owners to do the right thing. ”My message to all shops is that we have a duty to protect our customers,” he says. “Our customers choose our shops – or are steered to some shops – because they are trusting that when we make repairs to their car, they’re going to be able to put their family back in that vehicle and be safe. Is it worth saving an insurance company a lot of money and putting your own business at risk so that you can get a high volume of lowprofit work? I need to be able to sleep at night, which is why I do what I do.” H&D

Executive Director’s Thoughts Uncovering poor-quality repairs is unsettling for all involved, and I hope that repairers can read these types of stories and make sure they’re doing their due diligence to not be the offending shop. - Jordan Hendler

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A program price increase creates controversy.

NATIONAL

By Joel gAuSteN

NEWS PartsTrader Grows Non-State Farm Businesses

By the time this issue of Hammer & Dolly is in your hands, the industry will be facing a new PartsTrader pricing structure that could have a major impact on both body shops and participating dealerships.

On August 1, the parts procurement provider began charging suppliers 3.5 percent on each non-State Farm sale through the program, as well as 1.75 percent for dealerships to sell parts to their own body shop facilities. The new charges have led some dealers to express concern that the added costs will be passed along to their wholesale parts customers.

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Although PartsTrader is widely used in the US collision repair industry based on a mandate by the State Farm Select Service program, the company has spent the last several months attempting to build a customer base of non-State Farm shops.

Earlier this year, PartsTrader announced the launch of a special Rewards program that would allow repairers to earn points for using the platform for all of their collision parts purchases. According to company promotional material, shops “earn 10,000 points for every $10,000 in orders [based on Accumulated Usage as defined in the Terms and Conditions for PartsTrader Rewards].”

A shop’s total dollar amount spent on orders is accumulated over time, meaning that if they have $50,000 in orders, they will earn 50,000 points. Currently, these points can be redeemed for products offered by participating vendors 6-Hands LLC, Shoot Suit Inc. and Goliath Carts LLC, with PartsTrader promising to add more product providers to the program in the near future.

“PartsTrader is introducing this program for repairers who find value in our platform,” offered Dale Sailer, PartsTrader’s vice president of business development, in a prepared statement. “Rewarding repairers with innovative products that drive additional

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efficiency in areas of their business outside of parts procurement allows PartsTrader to demonstrate value that extends beyond the platform. We’re thrilled to partner with these companies and appreciate their participation in the PartsTrader Rewards program.”

According to reports Hammer & Dolly has received from area shops, PartsTrader doubled the value of its Rewards points in July and plans to triple them in August to further incentivize repair facilities to use the program for all orders. Other shops have reported that they are using PartsTrader for all of their parts needs in an effort to make better use of a system that is already mandated to be in their shop.

Regardless of the reasons why non-Select Service shops would use PartsTrader, the practice appears to be growing. One east coast-based parts manager tells us that his PartsTrader orders from non-State Farm shops grew from four percent in the last quarter of 2014 to eight percent in the first quarter of 2015.

Despite PartsTrader’s efforts to appeal to shops beyond the State Farm customer base, Annapolis-based body shop parts manager Joey Izzo (Criswell Collision Center) is one PartsTrader user who currently has no plans to either utilize the Rewards incentives or use the system for anything other than its original mandated purpose. As a result, he is able to shield himself from the possibility of having the new 3.5-percent charge being passed on to his facility from a dealer.

“That issue has already been brought up by a vendor,” he says. “They basically said if we use PartsTrader outside of State Farm repairs, there would be an additional fee and we wouldn’t have our normal discount...That being said, because we don’t use it outside of State Farm, it doesn’t concern me too much.”

After working with PartsTrader for several months, Izzo has seen advantages and obstacles to using the system. Although he is encouraged to see more vendors now using online methods to deal with orders instead of just relying on faxes and phone calls, he says that wait times and ease of use remain key issues with PartsTrader at his business.

“I think there are still some [in the shop] who struggle with using it,” he says. “There’s an added time just to process the orders.”

While the ultimate impact of PartsTrader’s new pricing has yet to be felt, there is no question that the company has just ensured that the controversy surrounding its presence in the American market will continue to escalate. H&D August 2015

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TECHNICIAN OF

THE MONTH JIMMY COWGER

Not one, not two but three generations in the automotive repair industry.

This is the legacy of Jimmy Cowger, current body technician for Southern Auto Body in Fredericksburg, VA. Cowger got his own start in the business by working summers as a helper under his father’s guidance when he was 12 years old. In November of 1995, he got a position as a body technician at Southern Auto Body and has been an influential part of the shop atmosphere ever since. Also working at the shop is his youngest son, Zachary, who is starting in the industry as a helper, much like his father once did. (Plus, he has another son, James, who is involved in body repair, but at a different shop.)

Having been in the industry for so long, Cowger is able to provide a unique perspective on where the field has been and where it might be going in the future.

“Some of the biggest challenges in the industry come down to getting used to new technology,” he explains. “It’s certainly different from when I started. Back then, we didn’t have electronic measuring or computers. Now, that’s what it’s all about – technology. As for where the industry is headed, I see a lot more replacement over repairs.”

With ever-increasing obstacles in the automotive repair field, Cowger is always around to try to help others in the business, citing

Hammer & Dolly chats with the WMABA community’s best and brightest.

By JACquelyN BAuMAN

If you would like to nominate someone as Technician of the Month, please contact Hammer & Dolly Managing Editor Jacquelyn Bauman at jacquelyn@grecopublishing.com

his willingness to aid other technicians in the shop as the reason he believes he was nominated for Technician of the Month by Southern Auto Body owner, Olaf Herrick.

Yet, his desire to help doesn’t stop with his coworkers. Both in and out of the shop, Cowger is active in building the future of the industry where it matters most – new technicians. For SkillsUSA, a national competition that allows students in a variety of fields to go head to head to showcase their talents, Cowger acts as an overseer and judge for the welding aspect of automotive service.

When he’s not in the shop or helping out behind the scenes, Cowger likes to spend time at home with his wife, kids and grandchild, and he enjoys doing tasks that involve working with his hands, such as wood and metal work.

“I can do anything except work with a computer,” Cowger jokes.

With his talent and dedication to the craft, Cowger is the quintessential body technician. For others who are looking to find the same level of professional success as Cowger, he has a couple pieces of advice.

“First, leave your job at your job and leave your home at home,” he states. “Second, don’t get frustrated and just walk away. Keep trying. Lastly, give 100 percent. Your 100 percent might not be the same as someone else’s 100 percent, but if you keep giving it your all, eventually you’ll get there.”

Cowger would like to thank Olaf Herrick for nominating him for Technician of the Month and is looking forward to spending the next “20 or so years” working for Southern Auto Body. H&D Jimmy Cowger is an integral part of the Southern Auto Body facility.

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Conquest your Mitsubishi parts needs!

Mitsubishi now offers Genuine OEM parts through our new “Opt-OE” parts program at discounted prices. See Mitsubishi’s Ultra-Conquest parts and prices in the Optional OEM Suppliers category of popular collision estimating systems.

Ultra-Conquest Collision Parts Program Highlights: • Discounted prices on quality new and unblemished OEM parts • Automated price and part selection in collision estimating systems • High parts availability • Delivery to most major U.S. cities within 24 hours • Available through all participating Northeastern area Mitsubishi dealers • Includes the majority of key collision components for select popular models • We can meet or beat aftermarket prices!

To find out more about Ultra-Conquest pricing contact your local Mitsubishi dealer.

For Genuine Mitsubishi parts, contact these authorized Mitsubishi Dealers.

Jerry’s Mitsubishi

Fitzgerald Mitsubishi

Younger Mitsubishi

Malloy Mitsubishi

1906 East Joppa Road

1930 West Street

1945 Dual Highway

14655 Jefferson Davis Hwy

Baltimore, MD 21234

Annapolis, MD 21401

Hagerstown, MD 21740

Woodbridge, VA 22191

Toll Free: 800-255-0691

Direct: 410-224-4636

Direct: 800-296-1190

Direct: 703-490-8263

Direct: 410-668-2119

Fax: 410-224-4264

Fax: 301-733-5465

Toll Free: 888-533-3400

Fax: 410-513-0236

E-mail: adamsf@fitzmall.com

www.youngermitsubishi.com

Fax: 703-490-3864

www.jerrysmitsubishi.com

hmkparts@aol.com

Buy Genuine Mitsubishi Parts and get the perfect fit at the perfect price.

10% off on all parts orders when you mention this ad.

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What’s happening at the State House, in your industry and everywhere in between.

LEGAL

PERSPECTIVE

By tyleR BeNNett,

Government Relations Consultant, The Law Offices of Alexander & Cleaver

GETTING TO KNOW YOUR STATE LEGISLATORS

The summer months are a perfect time to get to know your state legislators. In both Maryland and Virginia, the State Legislature is part time. The Maryland General Assembly meets for 90 days from January to April, and the Virginia General Assembly meets for 60 days in even numbered years, or 30 days in odd numbered years. Typically, legislators use their time while they are not in session, known as the “interim,” to engage with their constituents and the businesses located in their districts.

How do I get to know my legislator?

The first step is identifying who your local leaders are. If you are in Virginia, visit whosmy.virginiageneralassembly.gov.

You can enter your home or business address, and the site will tell you who your representatives are. The results contain links to their individual pages, where you can find their contact information, the committees on which they serve and legislation they’ve sponsored or co-sponsored. The Maryland website features a very similar service. Visit mgaleg.maryland.gov and click “Voice My Opinion” at the bottom of the page.

Once you’ve identified your representatives, contact their offices and invite them to visit your shop. Legislators are always interested in learning about the businesses that operate in their districts, as well as the concerns of those local businesses. Developing this relationship with your representatives can be very helpful should you run into any regulatory problems. They will do their best to help you work through these issues. Also, don’t be afraid to share your ideas for pieces of legislation. Much of the legislation introduced at the state level is born from a constituent bringing a problem to the attention of their elected officials.

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How do I learn about pending legislation?

Both websites have very immersive tools to research legislation that is currently being considered, or legislation from past sessions (virginiageneralassembly.gov and mgaleg.maryland.gov). For Virginia, use the “Search” box at the bottom of the homepage; for Maryland, click on the “Legislation by Session” tab on the homepage. On these sites, you are able to browse legislation by sponsor, committee, year and (most importantly) subject. Browse through these subjects to discover legislation related to taxation, employment, insurance, etc.

There is a very broad range of subjects. On each bill’s individual information page, you can find voting lists, bill summaries and scheduled hearings.

Additionally, contact your representative if you have any questions about specific legislation or if you can’t quite find what you’re looking for. Their staff will do their best to assist you or point you in the right direction. H&D

Mr. Bennett has been a government relations consultant with the Law Offices of Alexander & Cleaver for the past two years.

Previously, he worked as a legislative aide to MD Senate President Mike Miller, where he handled budget and taxation issues. To contact our office, please call (410) 974-9000.

Executive Director’s Thoughts

Our legislators are there to give our voice a platform. If you take the time to show your business to your representatives and to tell them the issues you have with it, then they have an opportunity to help. If you never reach out, I can tell you there are lots of other interests who do. Give them the opportunity to work for you! - Jordan Hendler

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TECHNICAL

FEATURE PROPER WHEEL INSTALLATION

We have all seen a technician in a shop or a tire technician in a tire service facility use a pneumatic impact wrench (gun) to tighten every lug nut until they hear a clicking poof poof sound of the gun as it tightens all the way. However, not too many people know or even understand that all that is happening is the over-tightening of the lug nut. This is NOT something you should ever do. Tight is good, but over-tight is NOT. Over-tightening the lug will stretch the stud and cause failure around the rotor hub. Every OEM has a lug nut torque specification for each vehicle they produce. The proper way to tighten the wheel lugs is to use a torque wrench to torque every lug nut to its recommended torque specification when the car is on the floor.

Some cars even require a more complex procedure, which is hand tight first, then torque to a specific lower torque while the car is up in the air, then torque to its final torque specification when the car is on the floor. After that, most OEMs require a one-mile drive and re-torque of the lug nuts.

There are a few different types of torque wrenches in the market. The most common type is the “Click Type” torque wrench. Using this wrench is a simple process; just turn the torque wrench handle until it reaches the torque mark you are looking for, then start tightening the nuts slowly. As soon as the set torque is reached, you will feel a click around the head of the torque wrench. Generally, it is recommended that you turn the wrench one more time to ensure the nut is set properly. Do not turn it more, but barely apply the force one more time just to verify there was a click. There is also the “Dial Type” torque wrench, which has a little meter on the handle. You can see the torque getting higher and higher while you are applying force; you stop when you reach the desired torque. Some Dial Torque Wrenches come with an electronic meter on the handle, which allows you to read the exact torque. You may also find a Torque Adapter, which is a little

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electronic device that goes in between a regular wrench or a breaker bar and the socket.

It will act like a torque meter, and these are more affordable than the actual torque wrenches (which are very handy for home use, but generally not recommended for collision and/or mechanical repairs).

The general rule for steel wheel lug nut torque is usually around 80ft/lb, and around 100ft/lb for an aluminum wheel. But you must check with the OEM for the exact torque for every particular model before you start working on the vehicle.

As always, we want you to do everything properly, so let’s look at the steps to torque the lug nuts. the following steps are required to tighten the wheel lug nut:

1. Wipe every stud with a rag and air blow the inside of each lug nut to clean them.

2. hand-tighten each lug nut onto the studs.

3. If you have an impact wrench, you may use it to barely snug up each lug nut, if you first set the pressure to a lower setting when you hear a couple of clicks.

4. Set the vehicle under its own weight; the car is on the floor.

5. Set the manufacturer recommended torque on the torque wrench and tighten each nut according to it.

the right order to tighten the lug nuts is not clockwise or counterclockwise; it is as follows:

1. If it is a four-stud wheel (rare setup to see on late-model vehicles), you should tighten them in a cross

order, which means first tighten the top one, second the bottom one, third the left one, last the right one and so forth.

2. If it is a five-stud wheel, then you should follow an order of drawing a StAR.

3. If it is a six-lug wheel, then the first to tighten would be the top one (12 o’clock position), next the 6 o’clock position, 1 o’clock, 7 o’clock, 5 o’clock and finally the 11 o’clock.

4. If it is an eight-lug wheel, then the first to tighten would be the top one (12 o’clock position), next the 6 o’clock position, 9 o’clock, 3 o’clock, 7 o’clock, 1 o’clock, 5 o’clock and finally the 11 o’clock.

We, along with Hunter and tirerack. com, recommend that you do not use impact guns or torque sticks when installing wheels.

Impact guns deliver torque as torsional impacts, made by internal hammers. Delivering torque as torsional impacts can damage hardware, result in rotor warpage caused by over tightening and damage the wheel finish.

Some vehicles, such as Porsche and Mercedes-Benz, require the use of special sockets to tighten the hardware without damaging their anodized coating.

Torque sticks are designed to limit applied torque by absorbing input torque through torsion deflection, or twist. They come in multiple colors to represent different torque values. However, many variables can affect the torsional deflection (absorbed torque) and the applied (delivered) torque.

These can lead to inaccurately applied torque or variations in applied torque.

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Nuts and bolts, tips and tricks from our resident industry experts.

Some of the variables that can cause inaccurate torque are as follows:

Type of impact used (air, electric, cordless) (Some identical ones are stronger than others.)

Power (air pressure, air volume, length of hose pipe, length of hose, size of the fittings, battery power, battery age, electric cord length, power to the facility) Impacts per second

Size of internal hammers

Possible use of additional adapters, such as extensions Socket size, weight, length Operator grip strength Weight of the impact

Applied angle during use

Attempting to fully tighten hardware with impact guns/torque sticks also prevents using a click-type torque wrench to confirm the specified amount of torque is present. This is the reason a click-type torque wrench should be used, as it can identify when the selected torque has been reached. (It cannot diagnose excessive torque.)

Once you have the right tools, use the appropriate crisscross sequence (mentioned on the previous page) for the number of the vehicle’s wheel-attaching hardware positions until all have reached their specified torque value.

Once all the original wheels that were removed are tightened, it is now time for a test drive. Most OEMs say the vehicle should be test driven for one to five miles. Any collisiondamaged vehicle requires a safety test drive, but you may also need to test drive the vehicle to relearn computer controlled components and navigation position. Another reason to test drive is to make sure clamping loads have changed following the metal compression/ elongation or thermal stresses. Once the test drive is complete, go and re-torque the wheels once they have cooled off.

When installing new OEM wheels, they should be re-torqued after the first 50 to 100

miles of driving. This is due to the fact that after the initial installation, the metal compression/elongation or thermal stresses affecting the wheels are different than those affecting the original wheels as the new wheels are breaking in. Additionally, re-torque of the wheels will verify the accuracy of the original installation.

When rechecking torque value, wait for the wheels to cool to ambient temperature (never torque a hot wheel). Loosen and retighten to value, in sequence using the torque procedures listed.

Remember that it is your liability, and checking the torque of the wheels on your customers’ vehicles can save lives. We cannot tell you how many cases we have been involved in where there was wheel separation. Eighty-five percent of the time, the cause was fractured studs, generally from overtightening. Too loose or too tight is never good; the tightness must be as per the values set by the OEM. We hope this article has explained the proper way to torque wheels. Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions. H&D

By lARRy MoNtANez III, CdA & Jeff lANge, pe

Larry Montanez III, CDA is co-owner of P&L Consultants with Peter Pratti, Jr. P&L Consultants works with collision repair shops on estimating, production and proper repair procedures. P&L conducts repair workshops on MIG & resistance welding, measuring for estimating and advanced estimating skills. P&L also conducts investigations for insurers and repair shops for improper repairs, collision repairability and estimating issues. P&L can be reached by contacting Larry at (718) 891-4018 (office), (917) 860–3588 (cell), (718) 646–2733 (fax) or via email at larrygoju@aol.com. The P&L website is www.PnLEstimology.com.

Jeff Lange, PE is president of Lange Technical Services, Ltd. of Deer Park, NY (www.LangeTech. net).

Jeff is a Licensed New York State Professional Engineer who specializes in investigating vehicle and component failures. Lange Technical Services, Ltd. is an investigative engineering firm performing forensic vehicle examinations and analysis for accident reconstruction, products liability and insurance issues. Jeff can be reached at (631) 667-6128 or by email at Jeff.Lange@LangeTech.net.

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GUEST FEATURE THE FUTURE OF COLLISION REPAIR: Only the Lean Performers Will Exist

What is lean?

Lean production is a manufacturing methodology originally developed by Toyota in the 1950s for the manufacturing of automobiles.

Engineer Taiichi Ohno is credited with developing the Toyota Production System and, ultimately, lean production. He discovered that through enhancing quality, production automatically improved and the waste of materials and resources was reduced, hence creating a lean enterprise.

There were two other gentlemen who also helped shape the Toyota Production System. They were Shigeo Shingo, a quality consultant hired

by Toyota who assisted in the implementation of quality initiatives, and W. Edwards Deming, who brought Statistical Process Control to Japan.

Today, there are many global automotive companies who have adopted “lean” principles in order to compete with Toyota and other Japanese automobile manufacturers. “The use of the term ‘lean’ in a business or manufacturing environment describes a philosophy that incorporates a collection of tools and techniques into business processes to optimize time, human resources, assets and productivity while improving the quality level of products and services to their customers.”1 Lean production is all about managing and improving a workshop or business process so that you can deliver what the customer needs – profitably.

“In their landmark book The Machine That Changed the World, James Womack and Daniel Jones, two of the top industrial analysts in the world, explained how companies can dramatically improve their performance through the ‘lean production’ approach pioneered by Toyota.”2 Lean production principles will work anywhere and in any type of business – they are universal. “Lean principles have proven not only to be universal, but to be universally successful at improving results.”3 One of the major building blocks of the Toyota Production System is the continuous improvement process (kaizen). It is through implementation and integration of continuous improvement processes that your collision repair business is able to benefit by reducing costs, improving quality and increasing productivity. It is important for you to realize upfront that making your operational processes “lean” is a major learning experience and requires a total commitment from your management team and staff. ten rules of lean production in summary are as follows: Eliminate all unnecessary waste Minimize excess inventory Maximize production flow Prioritize production from customer order requests Meet customer requirements

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Guest insight from Sherwin-Williams.

By SteveN feltovICh, MANAgeR of CollISIoN BuSINeSS CoNSultINg, SheRWIN-WIllIAMS AutoMotIve fINISheS

Always do it right the first time Empower workers to find problems Design for rapid changeover Partner with suppliers Create a system of continuous improvement

How can these lean production principles yield extraordinary benefits to the collision repair industry? Can we really improve our quality, raise the production flow and drive down our operating costs as a result of implementing the lean principles?

“The reason for the broad industry acceptance of Lean Thinking is that the principles are well thought out, proven and can lead to dramatic results.”4 The main principles are teamwork, communication, efficient use of resources and elimination of waste and continuous improvement.

All of these are key business drivers that can help any business become more efficient and effective at what they do, whether it is a service provider or a manufacturing company.

The first step in applying this revolutionary approach to business processes is learning to identify waste. If you become extremely aware of waste, you will be able to recognize it and eliminate its root cause immediately. The collision repair industry provides us with many opportunities to eliminate excess waste. A few of the most common are waste in inventory, waste in time and material, waste in extra steps/ procedures and waste in excessive facility capacity and equipment. In order to begin to eliminate waste, it will be necessary to empower your technicians to systematically trace every error or mistake back to its root cause and then to devise a solution so that it never occurs again. This does not imply that you should punish your staff for waste; conversely, you must challenge them to identify waste when they see or experience it. You will need to enlist their help in driving out waste in all of its forms; therefore, it is absolutely essential to get their open and honest feedback, which requires a fear-free environment.

Consider this: What amount of time and money are spent when we are inspecting the vehicle’s repair quality at the end of the line?

How much does it cost to rectify problems and defects at this point? In many situations, the customer has taken on the role of the quality control inspector in order to ensure that their expectations have been met. This scenario creates a dissatisfied customer, and it always costs the collision repair shop more than the direct costs of correcting the quality-related issues. Indirect costs stemming from this practice are enormous and often overlooked (e.g., lost opportunities, insurance company relationships, employee morale and the company’s image in the marketplace).

Quality has to be built into the product during the entire repair process – quality cannot be inspected into the finished product. If quality inspectors are evaluating vehicles that are completely done, it’s too late and too costly to make the right quality adjustments at that stage. To achieve the goal of “lean production,” you must eliminate all of the production process defects and errors. Then – and only then – will you have a higher quality product, which actually costs your organization less money to produce. The final result of “lean” is a higher-quality product (adding nothing but value), produced faster and at a lower cost than your competitor. This demonstrates the power of a lean production process.

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After reading the book The Machine That Changed the World, I went to work on designing and developing a flow chart model to illustrate the lean production process as it applies to the collision repair environment. I recall how excited I was to share it with someone in the collision repair industry; although this was some years ago, it still seems like yesterday to me. I sought out a good friend of mine who owns a collision shop, and I was anticipating him to be ecstatic when I opened my briefcase and out popped my laminated “Lean Production” flow chart. He studied it for a few minutes with this morose look all over his face, and I began badgering him to tell me what he thought, expecting nothing but the highest praise and accolades. He finally looked right into my eyes and said, “This will never work, and it just won’t work in a body shop environment.” Well, many years have gone by since then, and things certainly do change. I will tell you, that same person has become a major proponent of “lean.” He has been at work for the last seven years building a lean culture and work environment at his shop, which has proven to deliver phenomenal results in terms of customer satisfaction and profitability.

The Sherwin-Williams’ Collision Services Group has the consultants, experience and knowledge base to provide your organization with the tools, training, ongoing support and necessary resources to get your organization thinking and implementing “lean.” Call us today to discuss all of our Lean Production Consulting options and how they will apply to your collision repair environment. Either get “LEAN” or get “left” behind! H&D

footnotes: 1. Daniel A. Wren and Ronald G. Greenwood, The People and Ideas That Have Shaped Modern Business [book online]. (New York: Oxford University Press, 1998), www.sae.org, accessed 16 March 2004.

2. “Lean Thinking.” 2004. www.superfactory.com/Community/Books/86.aspx (accessed 16 March 2004).

3. Poppendieck, Mary, “Principles of Lean Thinking.” 2004. www.poppendieck.com/talks/onward.pdf (accessed 18 March 2004).

4. Jon Strande, “A Guide to Streamlined Procurement.” Oct. 2003. www.darwinmag.com/read/100103/purchase.html (accessed 16 March 2004).

for more information, contact Steven feltovich, Manager of Collision Business Consulting, Sherwin-Williams Automotive finishes Corporation / phone (412) 916-9235 / email steven.j. feltovich@sherwin.com

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MARKETING FEATURE

An AdWords Beginner’s Guide Every shop owner should know the importance of having a “strong online presence.” That means having a mobilefriendly website, posting to social media and creating videos to engage potential customers.

Once you get some momentum (and you can if you’re doing all of these things), what’s the first question to ask yourself when evaluating the success of your online approach?

How many leads is my website generating? How many phone calls and Web form submissions come through my website on a monthly basis? Is it a number I’m happy with?

As a body shop owner, you know there’s a lot of competition out there. You may find that there are very competitive keywords for which your website fails to appear on the first page.

Building new content and links to overtake your competitors can take time, and relying solely on unpaid, natural search can be frustrating.

Fortunately, there’s a very powerful form of search engine marketing that can relieve that frustration. It’s one of the most highly measurable and precise forms of advertising out there. AdWords, Google’s “pay-per-click” search advertising platform, can (when used correctly) guarantee your online presence, in your service area, for all of the most important keywords relevant to your shop.

Google AdWords results are the paid ads that show up at the very top of the Search Engine Results Page, along the right side and at

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the bottom. You’ll see that those ads have a yellow box next to the result that says “Ad.” With their position at the very top of the page, Google gives these ads prime real estate.

By participating in the bidding process for these paid results, you can immediately compete for top rankings for any keyword. This gives you an advantage over the slow process of optimizing your website for unpaid results.

Some shop owners balk at the idea of paying for clicks, and are intimidated by the idea of participating in paid search. “Won’t it be too expensive?” “How do I know if I’m getting anything out of it?” “What if my competitors find out that I’m using AdWords and click on my ads until my budget runs out?” I’ll answer all of those questions and more, but first, let’s go over some of the basics.

HOW DOES IT WORK?

Campaigns and Ad Groups – Campaigns separate sets of ads by geographic location and budget. Within each campaign, you’ll have ad groups, made up of sets of keywords with corresponding ads. This makes sure that people who are searching for a specific service, such as paint repair, are getting ads built specifically for your paint services and are sent to landing pages relevant to those specific services.

This hierarchy of campaigns and ad groups is crucial to allocating budget, targeting

specific areas (down to the neighborhood) and demographics and keeping your ads and keywords organized.

Geographic Location – Where are your customers traveling from? You should have a good understanding of how far your clients are willing to travel before selecting your target location. For an auto body shop, I’ve found that a radius targeting up to 35 miles around your business works well.

If you have very “high end” certifications, such as Porsche, Audi or Tesla, you may want to broaden your geographical targeting. If you’re the only Tesla-certified shop in the state, for example, you may want to target ads relevant to that manufacturer to an area closer to 50 miles. You can also specifically select major markets, such as nearby cities, and focus your advertising spending there.

One distinct advantage to AdWords is the ability to target large markets that may be outside of the area Google normally associates with your shop in its unpaid results. If you’ve had some time to work on your natural or “organic” SEO, you’ve probably found that it’s very difficult to show up on page one for a large market that may be an hour away from your address. That’s because Google knows your shop’s location, and considers other shops located directly in that market to be more relevant to that market’s search results.

With AdWords, you can compete in those

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Maximizing your search results through pay-per-click advertising.

By lee eMMoNS

markets immediately, simply by setting that location target on the campaign level. And keep in mind, in this introductory article, we’re only scratching the surface of the targeting capabilities of Google AdWords. With search network (text-based) and display (imagebased) ads, it’s possible to use very complex demographic and interest-based targeting.

WON’T PAID SEARCH BE TOO EXPENSIVE?

Daily Budget – How much are you comfortable spending? Having worked with many body shops, I understand that overall margins – and therefore advertising budgets – can be limited.

Fortunately, with AdWords, you choose your daily maximum budget and can adjust that budget at any time.

Once you’ve tested your budget for a month or so and have seen which campaigns and ad groups are performing best, you can adjust your budget accordingly. You’ll begin to see an average “cost per conversion,” which is the amount of money spent in AdWords per phone call or Web form inquiry. You can use this data to calculate how much more you’ll have to spend in AdWords to generate more leads. For example, if you’re spending $50 per conversion, you’ll know that if you increase your budget by $100 per month, it will result in two more leads per month.

Keywords – Put yourself in your customers’ shoes. What are they searching for when they need your services? Once you get a good list of keywords, get more specific. You can target a wide group of people with a broad search for something like “collision repair” or “auto body shop,” but if your shop is certified by a manufacturer, take advantage of it with a phrase or exact match ad group targeting keywords such as “Audi-certified body shop” or “Porsche-certified collision repair.”

Ads – Once you’ve built a list of keywords for each of your ad groups, you’ll need to create the ads that will show up for those keywords.

Ads should be as relevant as possible to the keywords they’re connected to. Whenever

possible, the keywords themselves should be a part of the ads themselves. Remember, it’s all about relevance, and this applies to the page your ad sends the visitor to as well.

Landing Pages and Quality Score – Another crucial component of successful, cost-efficient AdWords campaigns is the landing page.

Landing pages are the page the visitor ends up on when they click on your ad. The more relevant your landing page is to your ad, the better your ad will perform.

For example, if someone clicks on an ad for “Paint Repair” and the landing page is a user-friendly, easy-to-navigate page about your paint repair services, it’s relevant. The more relevant and easy-to-use your landing page is, the higher the “Quality Score” you receive from Google.

Now we come to an important factor when it comes to the bidding and ranking process in AdWords. “Ad Rank,” or the position Google gives your ad in its results, isn’t based solely on the amount of money you assign to each ad or keyword. The value of your ad is calculated by an equation that takes both the Quality Score and Bid into consideration.

What does that mean? It means that if you have a very high Quality Score, you can rank higher than a competitor who has bid more, but has a lower Quality Score than you do. So it’s crucial that when you’re setting up your AdWords campaigns, you create highly relevant, user-friendly landing pages every time you create new ad groups.

HOW DO I KNOW IF I’M GETTING ANYTHING OUT OF IT?

One of the biggest advantages of AdWords is that it’s very highly measurable. Not only can you target and analyze traffic based on very specific demographic, location and interest-based metrics, you can also set up conversion tracking to find out what campaigns, ads and keywords are resulting in the most leads.

Google provides tracking code that can be installed on the website to record any time

someone submits a Web form to request an estimate. I also recommend using call tracking for a complete picture of the number of leads your AdWords campaigns are generating, as many people will come to your website using their smart phone and will call instead of submitting a Web form. Google provides free forwarding numbers for its ads to track phone calls, and there are additional cost-effective call tracking programs that can be integrated with AdWords and Google Analytics.

An important word of advice – if you’re going to spend money on AdWords, make sure you use conversion tracking. If you don’t know which of your ads or keywords are resulting in leads, you can’t make informed decisions about what’s performing well and what isn’t.

WHAT IF MY COMPETITORS ARE CLICKING ON MY ADS?

One question that’s often asked of me is, “Are my competitors clicking on my ads and costing me money?” From a business owner’s standpoint, this is a completely valid concern, but AdWords has an answer and it’s called “invalid clicks,” also referred to as “click fraud.”

“Click Fraud” AdWords filters out and refunds advertisers for invalid or malicious clicks. Clicks of this nature include the following:

Accidental clicks that provide no value, such as a double-click Manual clicks intended to increase someone’s advertising costs Manual clicks intended to increase profits for website owners hosting the ads Clicks and impressions by automated tools, robots or other deceptive software

AdWords shows advertisers the invalid clicks they aren’t paying for in a panel next to their ads. There is also the option to report a case you think may have been missed by the software, but this is a rare occurrence.

(For more information about Invalid Click Prevention, go to tinyurl.com/Google-ClickProtection.)

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A POWERFUL MARKETING TOOL

When used correctly, Google AdWords can bring a significant increase in leads to your shop. It’s a marketing channel that requires work, as you hone in on the best approach for the highest return. Unfortunately, it’s not something that can just be set up and left on autopilot. However, when the right kind of effort is put into targeting your market, creating relevant ads and building user-friendly landing pages, AdWords can help keep a steady stream of work coming into your shop. H&D

Executive Director’s Thoughts

A powerful online presence is the catalyst to independence for growing your customer base, using your visibility, value and connectivity. Those shops who – regardless of DRP relationships – have a focus on using AdWords, social media and an informative website are capturing their geographical market. If you’re not certified for any maker, use your location and other value propositions you offer to grow that same presence. There are so many options; the possibility is only limited by the amount of time, effort and dollars you have to devote to it. - Jordan Hendler

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Lee Emmons is vice president in charge of AP Media based in Sykesville, MD. His public relations and marketing efforts on behalf of collision repair shops throughout the Mid-Atlantic have gained industry press coverage for those shops in trade publications and local media. He and his agency are certified Google Partners, with certifications in AdWords and in Google’s Video Advertising Advanced Certification. Marketing for auto body shops has become his passion and personal area of expertise. You can visit his company’s website at AbsolutePerfectionMedia.com.

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COVER STORY

how diminished value and post-Repair Inspections can either hinder or benefit your customer.

PRE-ACCIDENT CONDITION? How Diminished Value and Post-Repair Inspections Are Changing the Game By Joel gAuSteN

Post-Repair Inspections (PRI) and Diminished Value (DV) claims are on the rise in a big way. Rather than hiding from them or praying it never happens to you, WMABA encourages you figure out how to use it to benefit your shop. A PRI can be a way for you to find any holes in production and quality control. DV claims are a way to educate your customer on recovery options. Look for the positive impacts and use the processes to your advantage. No matter your view, the frequency in which you could encounter them is going to go up. What is being uncovered is what you should be checking for on every vehicle before it leaves.

When a customer leaves a body shop, he or she hits the road with the assumption that the vehicle has been repaired in a professional and trustworthy fashion. Unfortunately, not every collision repair customer is able to enjoy such a positive outlook. In the growing field of post-repair inspections, auto body professionals are uncovering some startling realities about how some cars are being fixed in today’s industry.

Randy Williams of Collision Consulting (collisionconsulting.com) investigates up to five dozen vehicles a month as a post-repair inspector serving Maryland, Virginia, South Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware. The most common repair-related issues he sees in vehicles that have already left the shop include sloppy welds, unrepaired structural damage and corrosion protection that wasn’t properly replaced. In many cases, Williams’ clients claim they requested OEM parts – only to have the exact opposite actually placed in their vehicles.

“When I do the post-repair inspection, it comes as a great shock to [consumers] to realize that there are CAPA parts, imitation parts, recycled parts, reconditioned [parts], etcetera,” he says. “They thought their vehicle was getting complete OEM part replacement.”

While vehicle owners involved in motor vehicle accidents already have plenty on their plates when dealing with the repair process, they also need to focus on something that has been growing in prominence in recent years: Diminished Value. In simple terms, DV is the economic loss of a property’s value after it has been damaged. Yes, that includes the economic loss of a vehicle that has been successfully and professionally repaired at a legitimate body shop. Repaired with all proper processes and procedures (and even OEM parts), the vehicle still has lost intrinsic or consumer value based solely on the fact that continued on page 46

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“Probably 80 percent of my customers say, ‘The insurance company told me I wasn’t entitled to Diminished Value,’” Walkowiak shares. “It’s just a straight-out lie.”

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FEAR NOT! Diminished Value, Friend to Your Customer

By JoRdAN heNdleR

he concept of Diminished Value has been around for decades. Most shops won’t tell their customers about it because of the perception that they have done something wrong, but that is simply false. You’ve repaired the vehicle to the best of your knowledge, but there is still something lost: consumer perception. This customer’s car will not sell for 100 percent of its former value. It’s your ability to help them that will keep them as a customer for life.

What’s the best way to put it in layman’s terms? If you have two cars that are the same in every way, but one has had an accident, then that car is worth less in the marketplace. ‘How much?’ is the question left to folks like Mr. Williams and Mr. Walkowiak, who can make an assessment based on the market of how much value has likely been lost. The key for your customer is to have options and to act on them, if desired.

So who should you give information to about Diminished Value? All customers. They should be aware that when they sell or trade their vehicle, the purchaser may make an offer with that condition. Also, concealing this information from a purchaser could cause them to wind up with a bad car deal or (worse) in court. If they were to know of it upfront, then they may not take action, but they would at least be aware.

If your customer finds out later that the car was worth less because you fixed it, then they may blame you. You may have had this happen before. A customer comes back with a story that they lost $2,000, $3,000 or even $5,000 on the car’s price. Telling them about this upfront would give them the information they needed to either negotiate or file a Diminished Value claim against the insurer.

Diminished Value is also a potential argument to get proper repair procedures and parts paid for on the front end.

T

FIRST PARTY, THIRD PARTY...IT’S ALL A PARTY Currently, the contract or policy does not allow for Diminished Value in first-party claims. In conversations I’ve had with insurers, vehicle inspectors and repairers, the concept of a first-party claim for Diminished Value seems just as relevant as if in the third-party case – ESPECIALLY if the insurance company mandated alternative parts or procedures. If the insurer reduces the price of the claim based on the lowest parts price, then they continue to hurt the resale value of the vehicle.

Not paying for proper OEM repair procedures, correct refinish allowances or appropriate replacement of corrosion protections are all reasons the vehicle in no way could have been repaired to pre-accident condition.

The less the insurer is willing to pay to repair the vehicle properly, the more there is a case for Diminished Value.

Again, it’s all about consumer perceptions. Does the vehicle purchaser want to buy a car with a wreck? And what would they think of alternative or aftermarket parts? If they don’t just walk away, the typical consumer would say “not unless I’m getting that car at a much better price.” And there is the Diminished Value.

MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCE WITH DIMINISHED VALUE I had been involved in an accident (not my fault) about two years ago. In an effort to keep your attention, I’m going to summarize the ordeal to get to the end.

Their insurance company messed with us from the get-go all the way to the bitter end. In the very beginning, it was about having to come to the shop to do the initial inspection, which they adamantly opposed, claiming that I should have to take the car to their shop. Two days and several phone calls later, they agreed to have the adjuster come to my shop.

Then, it went to the repair sheet. Haggle, haggle, haggle to the nth degree. They refused to settle it for a difference of about $200. After going through the process of repair, having our vehicle inspected post-repair by Mr. Williams and having him write up a Diminished Value report, we went to court.

Court day arrived, and while attempts on our behalf were made to reach an agreement before trial, they wanted to go on ahead. So we did. Our attorney and Mr. Williams went up against their attorney, a regional supervisor and a local supervisor. They also dragged the poor girl who hit me into court because they didn’t want to settle. I’m sure taking a day off work was free for her, too.

Our attorney gave a synopsis of the case, along with the expert testimony given by Mr. Williams, and how they had arrived at the amount proposed to the court. Randy did a fantastic job of explaining the reasons and methods of how he came to the number, as well as outlining for the judge why any structural repair is relative to a person having a spinal cord injury. The judge in this case, like most, is a reasonable fellow and asked a few questions, including one about aftermarket parts.

Their defense was in support of using the values of vehicles currently for sale, in similar condition and having a collision. Problem is, as they found out, those vehicles haven’t sold, and it’s not an actual sell price that would be usable. You can ask whatever you want for something, but what someone is willing to actually pay is another matter.

We won! The judge found in our favor, giving a little off the requested amount for what we call “splitting the baby.” After paying attorney and witness costs we’re not much ahead, but the matter was resolved to our satisfaction.

What is the moral of the story, you ask? Had I not known what I know because of my job, I would have allowed the insurer to run over me, push me to another repairer, have my vehicle repaired improperly and lost thousands of dollars in Diminished Value that I wouldn’t even know about yet because I still have the car. (I remind you, this accident was not my fault.)

If your customers are informed of the obstacles they face, both in the current repair process and their future issues that may arise, they will have the capacity to make good choices for themselves. Your job, as the repair professional, is to protect them and their vehicle.

I would implore you to adopt a simple statement that you can give to those in a third-party claim situation informing them of their rights when it comes to Diminished Value. If it’s easier, look up a local attorney who deals with these matters, and give them a referral. Alexander & Cleaver, LLP, who we work with on legislative matters, is a great example. H&D

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COVER STORY

it had been in an accident. According to Williams, common variables in determining DV include the year/make of the vehicle, the damage severity, the condition of the car, the vehicle’s mileage and class and even its geographic location.

“Diminished Value is a little bit like a moving target; it’s like trying to predict a stock price,” he says.

The Diminished Value concept is slowly growing in acknowledgment and acceptance as CarFax, AutoCheck and other technologies open the door for people to do their own history reports with (in some cases) as little as a VIN. In Virginia and Maryland, the first-party claim is governed by the policy – which likely specifically excludes Diminished Value claims. The third-party claims for Diminished Value have a three-year statute of limitations. If there is bodily injury related to the accident, it is more cost effective to file a congruent DV claim. The cost to hire the inspector and perform the valuation, in addition to having them appear as an expert witness in the court case, can be costly when added to the cost of the attorney. Usually, claims are settled before ever going to court, but insurers will sometimes take their chances on going to trial. That’s where it may – if it is found in favor of the claimant – just break even.

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“Up until we had that information at our fingertips, people just didn’t give thought [to Diminished Value],” Williams explains. “Typically, when people were exposed to Diminished Value, it was usually when they went to trade the car in. Then, suddenly it hit them like a punch in the gut when the dealer would tell them, ‘Wait a minute. This vehicle has been in an accident.’ As an example, they would say, ‘We would be able to give you $20,000, but because we can see signs of structural damage repair, we can only give you $15,000.’ Then people realize, ‘Hold it. This wasn’t my fault.’ That puts the ball in their court to figure out how to recover from this loss that they didn’t even consider.”

Naturally, the road to recovery leads back to insurance companies, who, as Williams puts it, “don’t want the burden of paying the additional expenses.” Additionally, he observes that there are some carriers who remain unfamiliar with DV as a viable concept. This hit home recently during WMABA Executive Director Jordan Hendler’s case against an insurer, which saw Williams appear as an expert witness on her behalf.

“Public awareness [of DV] has definitely become more prominent in the last five or six years, but it’s still kind of spotty,” he says. “There are

certain areas where it’s very well known and insurance companies are sort of conditioned to know about who’s doing it, and they’re used to paying it...In [Hendler’s] case in Virginia, my impression of [the insurer’s] defense was that they were not all that aware of it, or maybe it doesn’t have a big foothold at this point down in that area...My feelings are that [they] were probably unfamiliar with it in that region and took a position of, ‘We’re going to fight this thing.’”

Of course, one way insurers can fight Diminished Value is to use consumer ignorance to their advantage. Despite the growth of auto-focused social media and other consumer platforms, Williams believes that more has to be done to better inform vehicle owners of the importance of DV in the collision repair process.

“Even with eight years under my belt of doing very aggressive, expensive media advertising, I want to still say that 90-plus percent of consumers are still completely unaware of the concept,” he says.

Down in North Carolina, veteran post-repair inspector and DV expert Billy Walkowiak of Collision Safety Consultants (collisionsafetyconsul tants.com) is experiencing some of the same roadblocks in convincing customers of what’s right.

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“Probably 80 percent of my customers say, ‘The insurance company told me I wasn’t entitled to Diminished Value,’” he shares. “It’s just a straight-out lie.”

Unfortunately, Walkowiak has also seen an alarming amount of poor work during post-repair inspections. He says that at least 75 percent of the post-repair inspections he performs uncover some kind of structural or safety-related issue.

This can range from improper sectioning to insufficient corrosion protection to a lack of OEM procedures. This sad reality raises a very important question: Who should be responsible for poor repairs leaving the shop?

“I think it’s the fault of the shop manager,” replies Walkowiak “I don’t think it’s so much the technicians themselves, because [the shop] should have a QC system. The person who should be held accountable is the owner of the shop; if it’s an MSO, it should be the manager.”

Lawmakers apparently agree. At a recent meeting between WMABA and representatives for Maryland Attorney General Brian E. Frosh, the AG’s office made it clear that they would have a much easier case to go after body shops – not insurers – if they receive notices from consumers regarding improper and unsafe repairs. If a body shop is repairing cars per an insurer’s demands without regard for the actual outcome of that repair, they should be prepared to answer for – and deal with the consequences of – whatever they are producing on the shop floor.

“I’m taken aback by some of our recent discussions with both Virginia and Maryland agencies such as the AG or the Departments of Insurance,” commented Hendler. “They want to protect the consumer, but it’s difficult to get them to see where we are many times the one standing in between the customer being harmed by their own carrier. Our association is working with those offices to try and get more rounded education available to consumers on how to spot a good body shop. It is an ongoing battle to protect the image and professional freedoms of our industry.”

Although critics of the DRP system often point to improper repairs as a clear sign of insurer meddling for the sake of cost containment, Walkowiak warns that poor work is just as evident in many of the independent shops he’s encountered in his travels.

“I see more bad repairs at DRPs because there are more DRP shops,” he reveals. “I’ve seen an equal amount of bad repairs at independent shops as I do at DRP shops. If a DRP shop did 50 cars a week and an independent shop did 50 cars a week, I would say they would be equal. There’s greed in everybody, and that’s the bottom line for poor repairs.”

While no repair facility ever wants to find itself the subject of a negative post-repair inspection, a shop’s willingness to explore the other hot topic in this story and discuss the idea of Diminished Value with customers could lead to a positive outcome for both parties.

As Williams says, “How much more of an ‘attaboy’ could a shop get from a satisfied

customer who found out about something they didn’t have a clue about from their repair facility, and they were then able to recover the lost value of the vehicle they’re possibly going to incur or face in the future? You can’t buy that kind of adoration from a happy customer.” H&D

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don Beaver

(443) 539-4200 ext. 17061 Dbeaver@antwerpenauto.com

PRESIDENT’S

MESSAGE WHO’S TO BLAME?

In recent months, we have seen article after article on shops performing unsafe and incomplete repairs. This poor work is found time and time again by post-repair inspections. Who is at fault for these findings? First and foremost, it is the shop that repaired it. You can make all the excuses you want, but at the end of the day, the only one responsible is the one making the repairs.

In today’s market, insurance companies try to steer wrecked vehicles toward their Direct Repair partners in order to control costs. However, insurance companies don’t repair vehicles – they insure them. With that said, controlling costs and repairing vehicles is a direct contradiction in many cases. I am neither pro nor anti-insurance and/or DRP, but what I most certainly am is pro proper and safe repairs. Today’s vehicles require many

specialized tools, equipment and training. There are countless do’s and don’ts for proper repairs; if you’re not following OE repair guidelines, you’re going to find yourself featured in an article somewhere or – even worse – find yourself in court or buying back a vehicle you repaired. People are plenty aware of post-repair inspectors and Diminished Value agents. Make sure the repairs you perform will hold up to these inspections. If they don’t, you might want to ask yourself why you’re repairing vehicles in the first place. H&D

WE NEED YOUR LEGISLATIVE CONTRIBUTION! I appreciate WMABA working on my behalf at the state capitol(s)!

Here is my contribution to the legislative efforts.

P.O. Box 3157 • Mechanicsville, VA 23116

Name: ______________________________________Company: __________________________________ Address: __________________________________________________________________________________ City:____________________________________________State: ______________________Zip: ________ Phone:

______________________________Email:

Donation Amount: Check Enclosed

$50

$100

____________________________________________ $500

Other ________________

Credit Card (Visa, Amex, MC)# __________________________________________________________ Exp: ________

Name on Card: ______________________________Signature: __________________________________ 48

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Getting to know the industry pros who work on your behalf.

MEET THE

BOARD

By JACquelyN BAuMAN

PHIL RICE

“Eventually, you reach a point where you have to stop complaining about how things are done and you need to be part of the solution, not the problem.”

Although WMABA Board Member Phil Rice is no longer a shop owner, he is still very involved in the automotive repair industry. Rice currently divides his time between serving as state chairman for I-CAR (for which he has been an instructor since 1992) and business development manager for Refinish Solutions, a local distributor of PPG products.

Until May of this year, Rice had been running R&R Auto Body since 2000, inheriting the over 30-year-old business from his father. It was at this shop that Rice got his start; however, it didn’t happen in the most traditional sense of the industry.

“Let’s just say I was not a great kid,” Rice jokes. “Often, my punishment would be to pick up the cigarette butts outside of the shop. Luckily, this was how I ended up forging relationships with the technicians. Because of that, I became a helper at the shop.”

When Rice got out of college, his father pushed him towards the technological side of automotive repair.

“My father knew that technology would one day exceed his generation,” Rice explains.

In 1985, he began working as a full-time employee in the shop. He remembers the shop being a member of WMABA ever since that time, a legacy that continued through his tenure as shop owner 15 years later.

Earlier this year, Rice was elected as a WMABA Board member. His decision to join the Board stems from his desire to contribute to the automotive repair community as a whole.

“Eventually, you reach a point where you have to stop complaining about how things are done and you need to be part of the solution, not the problem,” Rice explains. “I joined the Board because I wanted to give back to the industry that has been so good to my family and me. My goal in this role is to bring value to the industry. I have to always have my eyes and ears open, and not judge too quickly.”

He urges other shop owners to get more actively involved in the changes occurring in the automotive repair industry.

“You have to be aware of what is happening around you,” he says. “If you don’t know what is going on, the industry becomes very stagnant.

WMABA is a tremendous source of information.

They’re very involved and their actions benefit the industry. A lot of people don’t realize the complexity of what the association does because they represent the entire industry, not just its members. People ask for more from us, but don’t understand what is already being put out there by the association.

“The medical industry has lobbyists who are paid millions a year to lobby in DC, and they only accomplish incremental changes,” he continues.

“WMABA has had a greater impact fighting in the area through the relationships they have built and the politics they have enacted.”

Aside from the legislative aspect of WMABA’s efforts, Rice is energized by the association’s desire to improve education within the field.

“I recently took on the state chairman’s position for I-CAR, and I have found that it has been a great relationship. WMABA can use I-CAR’s involvement,” Rice states. “Education is one of the biggest challenges in our field. That’s why I love being an instructor. It doesn’t make me better at anything than anyone else, but it gives me a platform to bring the information to those who come to the classes and to create a learning experience. If I can educate them and they take that knowledge back to their facility to educate their coworkers, we all grow.”

Rice’s expectations for the future of the field are neither positive nor negative, but simply realistic.

“I think consolidation will continue to grow as shop owners choose not to embrace the number of changes they have to make in their facilities for either technology or training,” he predicts.

“However, I also see the well-educated independents keeping a stronghold on their individual markets. They won’t be run out of business, but they must remain educated in order to maintain. Independents who invest in their people and their business will continue to be successful.”

Overall, he looks forward to his own future in the collision repair field.

“The automotive repair industry has been very good to my family and me, and I know it will continue to be good to us. I look forward to whatever my next role in this industry is.” H&D

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ADVERTISERS’ INDEX Air-Tech Products ................................31 Alexander & Cleaver............................31 Alexandria Toyota ................................38 All Foreign Used Auto..........................25 AP Media ............................................42 Audi Group ..........................................7

Audi Silver Spring ................................IBC

Axalta Coating Systems ......................OBC

BMW Group ........................................26-27 BMW of Silver Spring ..........................IBC BMW of Fairfax....................................3

CAPA ..................................................18

Chesapeake Automotive Equipment ..25

Empire Auto Parts................................38 Ford Group ..........................................23 Future Cure ........................................47

GM Parts Group ..................................19 Hendrick Honda ..................................24 Honda Group ......................................11

Hyundai Group ....................................43

Koons Ford ..........................................46 Malloy Auto Group ..............................4

Mazda Group ......................................9

MINI Group ..........................................13 Mitsubishi Group..................................29 Mopar Group ........................................22

Nissan Group ......................................39 NUCAR................................................15

O’Donnell Honda ................................50

P&L Consultants ..................................33 Packer Norris Parts ............................8

Porsche Group ....................................35

Porsche of Silver Spring ......................IBC PPG ....................................................IFC Safety Regulations ..............................50 Sherwin-Williams ................................37

Subaru Group ......................................34

Toyota Group ......................................21 VW Group............................................14

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