New Jersey Automotive February 2016

THE OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE ALLIANCE OF AUTOMOTIVE SERVICE PROVIDERS/NEW JERSEY (www.AASPNJ.org) AND THE AUTOMOTIVE RECYCLERS ASSOCIATION OF NEW JERSEY (www.ARANJ.org)

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RECALIBRATING THE COLLISION INDUSTRY: Why Yesterday’s Techniques AREN’T ENOUGH VARIABLE RATE SYSTEM (VRS) Offers Solution to DEPRESSED LABOR RATES www.grecopublishing.com

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New Jersey Automotive | February 2016 | 5

P.O. Box 734 Neptune, NJ 07753 EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Charles Bryant 732-922-8909 / setlit4u@msn.com 2015 - 2017 OFFICERS

PRESIDENT Jeff McDowell, Leslie’s Auto Body 732-738-1948 / chacki@aol.com

COLLISION CHAIRMAN Jerry McNee, Ultimate Collision Repair, Inc. 732-494-1900 / ultimatecollision@att.net MECHANICAL CHAIRMAN Keith Krehel, Krehel Automotive Repair, Inc. 973-546-2828 / krehelauto@aol.com TREASURER Tom Elder, Compact Kars, Inc. 609-259-6373 / compactkars@aol.com SECRETARY Thomas Greco, Thomas Greco Publishing, Inc. 973-667-6922 / thomas@grecopublishing.com BOARD Dave Laganella, Peters Body and Fender 201-337-1200 / petersbandf@gmail.com

Sam Mikhail, Prestige Auto Body 908-789-2020 / mikhail@goldcar.com

Ted Rainer, Ocean Bay Auto Body 732-899-7900 / trainer@verizon.net

Anthony Sauta, East Coast Auto Body 732-869-9999 / ecabofnj@aol.com

Randy Scoras, Holmdel Auto Body 732-946-8388 / randy@holmdelautobody.com

Anthony Trama, Bloomfield Auto Body 973-748-2608 / anthony@bloomfieldautobody.com BOARD ALLIED Joe Amato, The Amato Agency 732-530-6740 / joesr@amatoagency.com

Mike Kaufmann, Advantage Dealer Services 973-332-7014 / mkaufmann@advantageds.com PAST PRESIDENT ATTENDING Tom Elder, Compact Kars 609-259-6373 / compactkars@aol.com

PUBLISHER Thomas Greco (thomas@grecopublishing.com)

DIRECTOR OF SALES Alicia Figurelli (alicia@grecopublishing.com) EDITOR Joel Gausten (tgpjoel@verizon.net)

MANAGING EDITOR Jacquelyn Bauman (jacquelyn@grecopublishing.com) ART DIRECTOR Lea Velocci (lea@grecopublishing.com)

CONTENTS

VOLUME 46, NUMBER 1 | February 2016

10 OUT OF BODY (AND MECHANICAL) EXPERIENCES 12 PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE 16 EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S MESSAGE

22 COLLISION CHAIRMAN’S MESSAGE 24 I-CAR CALENDAR 62 NJA ADVERTISERS’ INDEX

LOCAL NEWS by Jacquelyn Bauman 26 New Emissions Inspection Program for the Garden State NATIONAL NEWS by Joel Gausten 28 NC Dealer to Pay Nearly $450K in Bad Repair Case INDUSTRY UPDATE 29 Axalta Announces PartsTrader Interface LEGAL PERSPECTIVE 34 Closed Corporations

by Mitchell Portnoi, Esq.

NATIONAL FEATURE by Joel Gausten 38 Recalibrating the Collision Industry: Why Yesterday’s Techniques Aren’t Enough

COVER STORY by Jacquelyn Bauman

42 A First Look: What Can be Found at NORTHEAST® 2016

GUEST FEATURE by Sam Valenzuela, President of National AutoBody Research 48 Variable Rate System (VRS) Offers Solution to Depressed Labor Rates AASP/NJ NEW MEMBER SHOP PROFILE by Joel Gausten 55 Keeping the Customer Smiling: Samuel Auto Body Strives for Success THE LIST 61 What’s Your Shower Song?

OFFICE MANAGER Donna Greco (donna@grecopublishing.com)

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS

Charles Bryant • Tom Greco • Jeff McDowell Mitch Portnoi • Dave Laganella • Ron Ananian

Published by: Thomas Greco Publishing, Inc. 244 Chestnut Street, Suite 202, Nutley, NJ 07110 Corporate: (973) 667-6922 / FAX: (973) 235-1963

www.grecopublishing.com NEW JERSEY AUTOMOTIVE is published monthly and is sent to AASP/NJ and ARANJ members free of charge. Subscriptions are $24 per year. NEW JERSEY AUTOMOTIVE is published by Thomas Greco Publishing Inc., 244 Chestnut St., Nutley, NJ 07110. The editorial contents of NEW JERSEY AUTOMOTIVE are copyright © 2016 by Thomas Greco Publishing Inc. and may not be reproduced in any manner, either in whole or in part, without written permission from the publisher and/or editor. Articles in this publication do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Thomas Greco Publishing Inc. Cover and Images courtesy of www.istockphoto.com.

Joe Amato, Sr. Ron Ananian Jim Bowers Charles Bryant Don Chard Guy Citro Pete Cook Ed Day Dave Demarest Tom Elder Bob Everett

Thomas Greco Dan Hawtin Rich Johnson Wes Kearney Nick Kostakis Jim Kowalak Joe Lubrano Michael Lovullo Sam Mikhail Ron Mucklow George Petrask

Russ Robson Jerry Russomano George Threlfall Cynthia Tursi Lee Vetland Paul Vigilant Rich Weber Brian Vesley Glenn Villacari Stan Wilson

New Jersey Automotive | February 2016 | 7

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OUT OF BODY (AND MECHANICAL) EXPERIENCES

Boardwalk of Nightmares

by THOMAS GRECO, PUBLISHER

Talk about irony.

Last April, I wrote a story praising and remembering the past glory days of Atlantic City right in this very space. I should have known better.

Back then, I wrote, “Still, it saddens me to see something that was once a benchmark for our state fade away into a memory while no one seems to care.” But you know what I say now?

F#$k Atlantic City.

That’s right. For all I care, the crime-infested corruption capital of our beautiful Jersey Shore can go ahead and fall into the ocean along with its rotting casinos and empty restaurants. I hope the proposed casinos in the Northern part of the state bury that town.

Let’s pretend this is a movie: Fade in…A family leaving their vacation spot in Wildwood. The subtitle would say, “Tuesday, June 31, 2015, 7pm.”

After enjoying our annual week in Wildwood as we did

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each year, we decided to spend a night eating at a nice restaurant before doing a little gambling in Atlantic City just 40 or so miles up the Parkway. There was a slight change in our normal program that night due to the fact that my daughter was called back home to go on a job interview the following day in New York City. So instead of traveling together, my wife, daughter, son and I went in my truck while my sister and her son followed us in his car.

We arrived in the hellhole around 8pm and had a pleasant dinner with lots of laughs and funny stories like we always do. One of these stories happened to be about my sister’s friend’s son, who was caught gambling at one of

the blackjack tables a few years back. Boy, did I laugh at how stupid he was. Luckily, he got off with a slap on the wrist.

After dinner, we headed out to the casino. My wife, daughter, sister and nephew headed straight for the slots, and I went to the table games to sit down to play blackjack.

My son, who is 18 and not allowed to gamble or BE ON THE CASINO FLOOR, stood behind me for good luck. I played for about two hours, losing my usual $100. We then moved over to the roulette wheel for a little while and did no better. As I sat and played, I often turned back to my son for advice or to see if he was paying attention. I also spoke several times to the dealers and pit bosses about how EMPTY the casino was. One pit boss asked my son if he played football.

Before going to look for the others, we tried to find the poker room, so WE stopped and asked one of about two dozen security guards for directions. Apparently, poker must not be as popular as it used to be, because they told US we’d have to walk into another casino to play it. So off WE went to find the girls.

I went one way and found my wife and sister. MY SON went another and found my daughter. They came running over with the $500 she won on the slots. She told us how this one chubby little Paul Blart-like guard actually stopped the BOTH of them and took the money out of her hand to show her how to hold it so it wouldn’t get stolen. Imagine that!

It was time to leave. Even though my daughter and I were headed back home, the others decided to stay a bit longer. My wife totally gets in a daze when she plays the slots; I mean, she literally zones out of everything. I said to her, “Come on, you’ve lost enough. Go back to Wildwood and we’ll see you tomorrow.”

“She’s with me; leave her alone,” my sister chimed in. It was late and I was in no mood to argue, so we said our goodbyes and left.

Dissolve to kitchen table in Wildwood…Subtitle: “Wednesday, July 1, 2015, 11pm.”

My daughter and I had just gotten back from Nutley and picked up some pizza (Mack’s, of course) and brought it back to the condo. Another dinner of more laughs and stories when all of a sudden, the dreaded words came out of my wife’s mouth.

“I have something to tell you.”

Flashback to Caesar’s dump of a casino floor, Atlantic City…Subtitle: “Wednesday, July 1, 12:35am.”

Apparently, after we left the casino, my brainiac sister decided to call my son over and ask him to give the slot machine a lucky spin…or 10. Within seconds, Paul Blart and his buddies showed up.

“How old are you, son?”

“Seventeen.” continued on page 19

New Jersey Automotive | February 2016 | 11

INFORMATION, EQUIPMENT AND TRAINING IN YOUR OWN BACKYARD PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

If you’ve been paying attention these last few months, you should already be aware that AASP/NJ’s NORTHEAST® 2016 Automotive

Services Show is coming up in just a few short weeks. If you haven’t already made plans to head out to the Meadowlands Exposition Center March

by JEFF MCDOWELL

18-20, I’d highly recommend you consider doing so, especially if you want to remain successful in this industry now and into the future.

For nearly 40 years, NORTHEAST has been a leading regional source of education, industry updates and the hottest products and technology on the market. NORTHEAST 2016 will showcase all of this and much more, from the tried-and-true staples like the NORTHEAST Resolution Forum and Leadership Meeting, I-CAR technical training and our annual Family Day, to new and exciting offerings including a multi-part discussion on advanced material repair, our first-ever Body Shop Certification Panel, the return of Mike Anderson to the Northeast region and much, much more.

Mike Anderson is a household name for many of us in the automotive repair field; in addition to being a tremendous motivational speaker, Mike is internationally known for his incredibly informative presentations on optimizing yourself as an industry professional and business owner. We are thrilled to bring Mike in to present not one but two separate courses to our attendees during NORTHEAST, in addition to the rest of our excellent presentations available this year.

NORTHEAST is the best local source for industry information, products, technology and equipment to help you operate your business successfully – and it’s right in your own backyard. Make sure to clear your calendar for the weekend of March 18-20, and come say hello to me at the AASP/NJ booth! I hope to see you there.

NJA

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YOU tell us what and when and WE worry about how to get you the right parts when you need them.

How do we do it?

• 80 wholesale professionals • $5.6 million on-site inventory • 24-hour work schedule • Regional / national parts locating • Same night manufacturer deliveries • 24-hour return / credit process • Automated order delivery and tracking

But really, it's not about us...

IT'S ALL ABOUT YOU!

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Left to right: Bill Grasso (Operations Mgr.), Bill DiRusso (Director), Dennis Davenport (GM), Bill Curren (NJ Sales Rep.) and Nick Halliday (Sales Mgr.)

New Jersey Automotive | February 2016 | 15

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S MESSAGE

The System is the Problem!

by CHARLES BRYANT

Auto insurance! Boy, talk about a stacked deck! I have to give credit where credit is due. The insurance industry should win an award for the system that they have created. It’s foolproof – or at least they think it is.

Let’s start with a few of the provisions found in the auto insurance policy. First, what an excellent idea the deductible is. Everyone who buys an auto policy these days expects to have a deductible, where they will be required to pay up to a certain amount for their damage themselves before insurance kicks in, and any claim for less than the deductible is not considered valid.

Brilliant! My question would be, how did they ever sell the idea in the first place? Anyone who knows how odds and numbers work can figure out that the deductible is a win-win for the insurance industry, not a bargain for the insured.

Next is the idea of betterment – another genius plan. Betterment is a deduction made from an auto claim when an insurer pays for a wearable part that gets damaged in an accident covered by the policy, such as a strut that often gets damaged in a front-end collision. The idea of betterment is explained as a deduction for the amount of a wearable part that is actually used up. In other words, if a strut has a life expectancy of 100,000 miles, and the vehicle has 10,000 miles on it, an insurer might deduct 10 percent of the cost of the strut for betterment.

The insured would then be required to pay for that 10 percent in order to get the vehicle repaired. However, all the new strut does is make the vehicle operational again, not make it better. Isn’t that what the insured paid for in the first place? Although betterment is now limited to the amount of the increase in the value of the vehicle by the replacement of the part through the regulations governing fair claim settlements, many insurers spent years deducting for betterment on items that do not

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increase the value of the vehicle.

Many still do. The problem is, very few people know that it is wrong; therefore, insurers get away with it most of the time.

Now, let’s talk about Labor Rates. At the present time, insurers are paying shops about half of what lawnmower repairers get paid. Considering the complicated automobiles on the roads today and the difference in cost between them and lawnmowers, which one would anyone naturally think would require a higher Labor Rate to repair? If you said an automobile, you are wrong…at least according to the insurance industry. The truth is, insurers have been able to artificially suppress the Labor Rates for so long that the range between where these rates are and where they need to be is enormous, and therefore extremely hard to address.

When someone suggests how much the rates need to be increased in order to catch up to where they actually should be for safe and proper repairs, the amount seems unreasonable because of the disparity. I have always said that we will need to double or triple the rates that insurers are paying today in order to catch up to where they should be in today’s market.

The fact is there is no way that insurers are just going to voluntarily increase the rates because it’s the right thing to do. Until the collision industry gets pushed far enough, nothing is going to happen to address this problem. I have often used the analogy of a little sweet puppy being abused and pushed into a corner. Eventually, that sweet little puppy will have no choice but to either fight back or die – and

New Jersey Automotive | February 2016 | 17

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S MESSAGE when that happens, look out. Well, it looks like many members of the collision industry are finally getting to that point. Lawsuits are being filed all over the country, including right here in New Jersey, and guess what? A little over a year ago, one of New Jersey’s top-ranked insurers announced it had adjusted the rate it will pay on certain cars for shops that have made the investment in equipment, training and certification to approximately triple for some vehicles and to approximately double on others. Right after this announcement, many other insurers began to move on their Labor Rates. Even more recently, another major insurer here in New Jersey announced that it was making a major change in how it determines its Labor Rates. In some areas, the change has resulted in rate increases by well over $10 to $15 per hour. This is historic

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because there has never been an increase like this before. Unfortunately, the change also resulted in the rates decreasing for some shops. Now, the issue is one shop that is equal to another in terms of equipment, training and certifications is being paid substantially less than similar shops, and this will need to be addressed.

However, the industry is finally on the way to tackling the Labor Rate problem.

All of these problems stem from a system that insurers had a major part in creating. The first and probably most important issue that really needs to be looked at is the regulations that are supposed to govern the conduct of carriers during the settlement of claims. They are a joke! First of all, a violation of these regulations is not considered valid until it is shown that an insurer has abused the regulations enough to

create a general business practice.

In other words, if you can actually prove that a company blatantly violated a provision in the regulations, it means nothing until you can also show that the insurer does it all the time.

On top of that, even when it can be shown that an insurer violates the regulations every day, there is no cause of action for a transgression that would allow an insured or claimant to file a lawsuit and have the courts address the issue. Under the regulations, the NJ Department of Banking and Insurance is the only one that can look at and deal with the infractions. If the Department determines that the insurer has actually infringed the regulations enough to create a general business practice, the Department can merely tell the insurer to stop doing what it’s doing, suggest a change to implement or

OUT OF BODY (AND MECHANICAL) EXPERIENCES continued from page 11 possibly fine the insurer up to a certain amount per violation. However, a victim of the abuse cannot file a lawsuit to resolve the issue. It is the system itself that is the problem. How many times can you run a red light before you get a ticket?

In reality, a one-time violation should be considered enough for the rules to actually be effective.

To add insult to injury, unlike legal matters such as personal injury cases, a winning party that sues an insurer and wins over property damage issues is not entitled to get back his or her court cost or attorney fees unless bad faith can be established, which is almost impossible due to the high standard of proof required. On top of that, because of the minimal amount being sued for when compared to personal injury suits, it often costs more in attorney fees and court costs than the amount the suit is worth. You may win the argument and have it cost you more than the amount you’re awarded.

Those who have repeatedly put in complaints to the NJ Department of Banking and Insurance about insurers shortchanging an auto property damage claim on issues like paint and material cost, steering or not paying for the proper procedures to repair a vehicle safely and properly already know that the system is the problem. I would urge anyone interested in the issues mentioned in this article to watch for the next issue of New Jersey Automotive, because we will be addressing this further and providing answers to help make changes to the systems that continue to cause difficulties for consumers and the collision industry.

NJA

“Is this your parent?” My sister bowed her her head as if she could hide.

“No.” “Who is responsible for you?”

“I am,” my wife cheerily replied, not knowing what the hell was going on since she was zonked at her slot machine two seats away.

“Please come with us.”

Now, my son is a great kid. I’m not just saying that. He is respectful, honest, friendly, a hard worker…never been in trouble a day in his life. Yet these assholes made a 6’2”, 250-pound teddy bear turn into a baby cub. He was scared to death. (I have the surveillance tape.) My wife marched alongside him as six big, tough guys (all college graduates, I’m sure) surrounded them and walked them to an interrogation room the size of a closet. They took their pictures and called the state police.

I am not making this up.

The police came and asked the typical questions, then they dropped the bomb. They weren’t going to let my son go unless he signed a form declaring he would never gamble in Atlantic City until the age of 21. That was a relief, because if they charged him with underage gambling, it would have gone on his permanent record. God knows how that would have affected his college applications and future job opportunities.

But underage gambling? He pressed a button a few f#$king times! He was not even supposed to be on the damn floor! Where were these idiots when he stood behind me for two hours? Did the pit boss think he was over 21 when he asked if he played football? Did Paul Blart ask his age when he grabbed the money out of my daughter’s hand??? Look, I know he was wrong and my sister was even more wrong. But seriously, where is common sense?

They ignored him for almost three hours. He pushes the button on a slot machine in an empty, dying casino, 10 feet from the exit, and the bully can’t just say, “Hey you can’t do that; you have to leave”? Come on! A block away, a guy was being shot to death that night. And here were the state police dealing with this???? What a f#@king joke.

But it gets better.

Of course, my son agreed to sign the form, but then they turned to my wife. They charged her with a “disorderly persons offense” and served her with a summons to appear in Atlantic City Municipal Court.

Dissolve to kitchen table back in Wildwood…Subtitle: “Thursday, July 2, 2015, 12am.”

Needless to say, the pizza didn’t taste very good after hearing all of that.

After cursing out my sister and my wife for staying after I told them not to, I immediately looked up the charge online to see what it meant. You can imagine my heart sinking when I read this: “A disorderly persons offense is a misdemeanor and the penalty is a fine between $500-$1,500. In addition to the fine, the court will suspend or postpone the person’s driver’s license for six months. It is also possible, depending on the circumstances, that the court will issue community service, probation or even six months jail time.”

I kid you not.

I called my attorney that night, and he recommended someone in Atlantic City. I called the next day and we went over the case. He said everything I read was true and that they have come down extremely hard on underage gambling in recent years, but he didn’t think she would see any jail time.

Didn’t think she would see any jail time????

I asked him about my son being on the floor all that time without anything happening. Of course, he said it didn’t matter. If my son broke the law, someone had to pay. Isn’t THAT what it’s all about?

I wrote the retainer check for $1,500 that night.

Intermission…Part Two next month. NJA New Jersey Automotive | February 2016 | 19

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New Jersey Automotive | February 2016 | 21

“No Answer” COLLISION CHAIRMAN’S MESSAGE

by JERRY MCNEE

When two independent Labor Rate surveys come up with figures that are sometimes almost $20 above what some insurers claim is the “prevailing market rate,” there’s something off.

Yet when these carriers come through the door, they give no explanation as to how they determined these numbers; they just expect you to accept that it is what it is.I ran into one insurer that increased its rate by one dollar per hour, and this carrier thought that was sufficient. It’s a bottom-of-the-barrel situation, but if you ask for an explanation, you get no answer. If you ask what method or system the company uses to come up with its numbers, you get no answer – just take it or leave it. Insurance companies and desk auditors just cut and cut and cut with no regard to what it actually takes to repair a vehicle.

With the cost of doing business today (training, equipment and everything else), they must expect us to pay our employees with crackers.

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There are so many ways that we can come together to improve our industry.

One step is by taking advantage of the tools available to you. As I stated in my message in the December 2015 issue, the Variable Rate Survey is free to fill out and has been an extremely useful negotiating tool for shops fighting back against unfair Labor Rates. To find out more information on the VRS Survey, turn to the guest feature by National AutoBody Research President Sam Valenzuela on page 48.

Another tool that repairers in New Jersey and its surrounding areas can utilize is AASP/NJ’s 39th Annual NORTHEAST® 2016 Automotive Services Show, held March 18-20 at the Meadowlands Exposition Center in Secaucus, NJ. With so many industry resources congregated

in one area, the show provides the information necessary to help you fight for what you deserve in your daily business. Whether you’re curious about proper job costing, OEM certification, advanced materials, photo estimating, dealing with online reviews, new equipment technologies, the ROI for training or anything else dealing with your shop, the easiest place to get answers is at NORTHEAST. We can win this fight, but only if we use the resources available to us. Nothing is going to change unless we work towards it. I urge you to be active in the New Jersey automotive repair community and seek out more information on how we can make our industry a better place to do business.

NJA

New Jersey Automotive | February 2016 | 23

CALENDAR

Vehicle Technology and Trends 2016 Somerset Vocational High School, Bridgewater Automotive Foams Virtual Classroom Structural Straightening Steel Reliable Automotive Equipment, Belford

FEBRUARY 16

Steering And Suspension Damage Analysis LKQ Corp., Lakewood 2015 Ford F-150 Structural Repair Training Course (FOR06-1) CollisionMax, Pennsauken 2015 Ford F-150 Structural Repair Training Course (FOR06-2) CollisionMax, Pennsauken Welded and Adhesively Bonded Panel Replacement Virtual Classroom

FEBRUARY 17

Hazardous Materials, Personal Safety and Refinish Safety Holiday Inn & Suites, Parsippany Adhesive Bonding MGM Auto Body Supply, Hawthorne Color Theory, Mixing Toners and Tinting Reliable Automotive Equipment, Belford Advanced Steering and Suspension Systems Damage Analysis Somerset Vocational High School, Bridgewater Automotive Foams Virtual Classroom Steel Unitized Structures Technologies and Repair Virtual Classroom

FEBRUARY 18

Automotive Foams Virtual Classroom

FEBRUARY 1

Squeeze-Type Resistance Spot Welding Reliable Automotive Equipment, Belford Rack and Pinion and Parallelogram Steering Systems Virtual Classroom

FEBRUARY 2

Overview of Cycle Time Improvements for the Collision Repair Process LKQ Corp., Lakewood Recycled Parts for Collision Repair CollisionMax, Pennsauken Collision Repair Overview for the Chevrolet Corvette Z06 Virtual Classroom

FEBRUARY 3

Corrosion Protection Reliable Automotive Equipment, Belford Measuring Somerset Vocational High School, Bridgewater Waterborne Products, Systems and Application Virtual Classroom

FEBRUARY 4

Understanding and Preventing Refinish Defects Reliable Automotive Equipment, Belford

FEBRUARY 6

Vehicle Technology and Trends 2016 Comfort Suites, Mahwah Replacement of Steel Unitized Structures Reliable Automotive Equipment, Belford

FEBRUARY 9

Vehicle Technology and Trends 2016 County Line Auto Body, Howell Structural Straightening Steel CollisionMax, Pennsauken

FEBRUARY 10

Alternative Fuel Vehicle Damage Analysis and Safety Reliable Automotive Equipment, Belford

FEBRUARY 11

Problem Solving for Workflow Changes Virtual Classroom

FEBRUARY 20

Developing the Team and the Business Virtual Classroom

FEBRUARY 22

Advanced Steering and Damage Analysis Comfort Suites, Mahwah

FEBRUARY 23

Corrosion Protection County Line Auto Body, Howell Corrosion Protection CollisionMax, Pennsauken

FEBRUARY 24

Replacement of Steel Unitized Structures Holiday Inn & Suites, Parsippany Suspension Systems Reliable Automotive Equipment, Belford

FEBRUARY 25

Matching the Repair to the Team Virtual Classroom

FEBRUARY 27

Aluminum Exterior Panel Repair and Replacement Keystone Automotive, Palmyra Understanding and Preventing Refinish Defects Keystone Automotive, Palmyra Steel Unitized Structures Technologies and Repair Virtual Classroom

FEBRUARY 29

For more information, visit www.i-car.com NJA

New Jersey Automotive | February 2016 | 25

LOCAL NEWS

by Jacquelyn Bauman

New Emission Inspection Program

for the Garden State In December of last year, a new inspection program for the Garden State was released that will make a few amendments to the way Private Inspection Facilities (PIFs) and Central Inspection Facilities (CIFs) conduct their inspections and reinspections this summer.

One of the major revisions introduced is the elimination of tailpipe emissions tests. While new equipment will be required for this updated program, the costs are still unknown. For the past few months, various contractors have been submitting bids to the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission (NJMVC), the last of which must be entered by February 22.

After petitioning for these changes

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for over six years, the New Jersey Gasoline – C-Store – Automotive Association (NJGCA) has mixed feelings about the resulting program. While there were some victories that the NJGCA predicts may add about 350,000 more vehicles to inspection facilities around the state this year, a number of changes that was fought for still failed to land with the NJMVC. One of the NJGCA’s goals were to close central inspection lanes in New Jersey. Money going to the state in this manner is taking away from money going to the private sector, meaning PIFs lose out on a significant amount of jobs because of CIFs.

While inspections can still occur at these state-sanctioned facilities, the new program will institute a policy stating that all re-inspections must be performed at a PIF and that commercial vehicles (which have to pass annual emissions and safety inspections) may not be inspected at a CIF. Although this will increase the number of vehicles on their way to private shops, closing the central lanes would have brought in two million cars to PIFs. Having prepared for these imminent changes to the inspection policy, NJGCA has organized the 2016 Auto Repair and Tire Shop Summit, which will be held February 10 from 8am to 3pm at the Crowne Plaza in Monroe Township (390 Forsgate Drive). Chief Administrator Ray Martinez, head of the Motor Vehicle Commission, will be the keynote luncheon speaker. The event is $39 for NJGCA members and $59 for non-members. This event is invaluable for any inspection facilities that want to receive the latest news and information on this new program. To register for the Summit, go to tinyurl. com/NJGCA-Summit.

NJA

New Jersey Automotive | February 2016 | 27

NATIONAL NEWS

by Joel Gausten

NC Dealer to Pay Nearly

$450K in Bad Repair Case

As a North Carolina dealership recently learned, releasing an improperly repaired vehicle can result in considerable legal trouble – and a gigantic bill.

Rick Hendrick City Chevrolet in Charlotte has been ordered to pay $438,263.66 in treble damages, attorney fees and interest for the improper repair of a Land Rover LR3 owned by Plaintiff Benjamin Ridley.

The jury in the case unanimously determined that Ridley was damaged by the dealership’s fraud. Additionally, the jury found that City Chevrolet represented to Ridley that the automobile was fixed when they knew or should have known that it was not repaired completely or properly.

The Land Rover ordeal is explored at length in a seven-minute video (available online at tinyurl.com/ zum9a4o) produced by K&M Collision (Hickory, NC), who performed post-repair inspections on the vehicle.

“One of the biggest concerns [Ridley] had is that if he held his steering wheel straight, the vehicle didn’t go down the road straight,” explains Michael Bradshaw, K&M Collision operations manager, at the start of the video. Ridley adds that he heard “obvious metal-on-metal” sounds whenever his repaired vehicle went over potholes or bumps in the road.

Once the Land Rover was at the shop, Bradshaw uncovered “major issues” with the previous facility’s work. The gap from the door to the fender on the driver’s side was much wider than factory tolerance,

28 | New Jersey Automotive | February 2016

while the same problem was discovered in the gap between the hood and the fender.

“The front structure of the vehicle had shifted pretty significantly to the right,” notes Bradshaw, who also serves on the Board of the Society of Collision Repair Specialists (SCRS). “When you’ve got a structure that is not aligned properly or bent, everything changes. The way it crushes in an accident changes, which sets off a chain reaction of events that ultimately affect how the airbags may or may not deploy.

You could have a situation where the airbags deploy too soon; you [could] have a situation where the airbags may deploy too late. The vehicle’s no longer within the manufacturer’s guidelines of what’s acceptable, so no one knows how it’s going to perform in an accident.”

Although Ridley says he was assured that his vehicle did not sustain frame damage in the collision, the video reveals tears and re-weld attempts. It doesn’t take much viewing of the YouTube clip to come to the realization that this vehicle was a total loss.

“The problems that I now know existed were obvious to anybody [who] would work in a body shop,” he offers. “They may not be obvious to me, but anybody [who’s] in this profession would know that they did

INDUSTRY UPDATE

Axalta Announces

PartsTrader Interface

These images from K&M Collision's video (available at tinyurl.com/zum9a4o) illustrate some of the issues involved in the suit.

poor work and were sending an unsafe vehicle back on the highway.”

Ultimately, the video stresses that vehicle owners should go into any repair with their eyes open.

“I think all consumers should have every vehicle post-repair inspected after any type of major repairs,” Bradshaw says.

This isn’t the only recent example of improper repairs/services resulting in legal woes.

As previously reported in New Jersey Automotive (“Who’s Liable? Paying the Price for Bad Repairs,” October 2015), Vermont auto mechanic and inspector Steven Jalbert was arrested for involuntary manslaughter and reckless endangerment after a vehicle he passed went out of control and crashed, resulting in the death of a passenger. A post-crash investigation uncovered extensive rust on the rocker panels and other issues that should have led Jalbert to fail the vehicle during the inspection process.

NJA

As Axalta Coating Systems moves forward in 2016, the company will be doing so with PartsTrader at its side.

The leading global manufacturer of liquid and powder coatings recently announced the completion of a certified interface with PartsTrader for electronic parts procurement. According to an Axalta press announcement, the new ProfitNet Collision Shop Management System (CSMS) interface with PartsTrader “helps eliminate redundant tasks between the two systems. Key information needed for parts procurement and order status can now seamlessly be transferred between parts vendors and collision shops using the ProfitNet Management System.”

The statement described ProfitNet CSMS as “a software program designed to measure and manage all aspects of the collision repair business. The program provides collision shop owners with detailed operational and financial information needed to make decisions regarding the productivity and profitability of their businesses.”

Tom McGarry, Axalta’s information technology services manager for North America, offered his perspectives on the new interface.

“Currently, PartsTrader software is widely used by Axalta customers via their estimating platforms,” he said. “Now, they can easily use much of the PartsTrader functionality from within the ProfitNet CSMS, thereby saving time and eliminating potential errors from double entries. Axalta is dedicated to enhancing the ProfitNet CSMS with the latest technology to help lower shops’ administrative costs by providing a management solution that is affordable, easy to use and communicates with all industry software partners including parts procurement software, Customer Satisfaction Index services, dealership management software, paint software, auto rental services and accounting software.”

A leading global company, Axalta boasts 150 years of experience in the coatings industry. The nearly 13,000 people who comprise the company serve more than 120,000 customers in more than 130 countries. For more information, visit axaltacoatingsystems.com or follow them @axalta on Twitter.

NJA

New Jersey Automotive | February 2016 | 29

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New Jersey Automotive | February 2016 | 31

Audi dealers strive to make you an A

• Audi dealers offer an expanded inventory of sheet metal, bumper covers and suspension items that will reduce your cycle time.

• Audi dealers can order non-stocked parts on Friday and have them available on Saturday to help speed your repairs.

• Audi Genuine Parts carry a limited 12-month warranty* to help ensure quality and reliability from your repairs.

Installing Audi Genuine Parts from an Audi dealer is priceless to your reputation and your cus Flemington Audi 213 Route 202/31 Flemington, NJ 08822 Toll Free: 800.216.5124 Fax: 908.782.9397 email: rmuir@flemington.com www.flemington.com

Classic Audi 655 North Macquesten Pky. Mount Vernon, NY 10552 914.663.2870 Fax: 914.663.2878 email: parts@westchesteraudi.com www.westchesteraudi.com

Audi Turnersville 3400 Route 42 Turnersville , NJ 08012 856.649.7560 Fax: 856.649.7565 www.turnersvilleautomall.com

Audi Eatontown 270 Highway 36 West Long Branch, NJ 07764 732.389.1743 Fax: 732.935.7585 www.eatontownaudi.com

DCH Millburn Audi 2211 Millburn Ave Maplewood, NJ 07040 Toll Free: 800.553.9250 Direct: 973.762.0262 Fax: 973.821.2040 www.millburnaudi.com

Paul Miller Audi 179 Route 46 East Parsippany, NJ 07054 Toll Free: 800.35.MILLER Parts Direct: 973.575.7793 Fax: 973.575.5911 www.paulmiller.com

Palisades Audi 127 Route 59 Nyack, NY 10960 Toll Free: 888-349-6075 Parts Line: 845-353-4870 Parts Fax: 845-358-5959 AudiParts@ThePremierCollection.com

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Audi Genuine Parts fan

Are insurance adjusters recommending lower cost substitutions when repairing your customer’s Audi?

customer’s peace of mind. Order Audi Genuine Parts from these select dealers.

Town Motors Audi 400 South Dean Street Englewood, NJ 07631 201.227.6506/6536 Fax: 201.541.0314 www.townmotors.com

Bell Audi 782 Route 1, Edison, NJ 08817 732.396.9360 Fax: 732.396.9090 www.bellaudi.com

Cherry Hill Audi 2261 Marlton Pike West Cherry Hill, NJ 08002 Wholesale: 856.665.5660 Fax: 856.665.4645 email: parts@cherryhillimports.com www.cherryhillaudi.com

Audi Bridgewater 701 Route 202-206 N Bridgewater, NJ 08807 Toll Free: 888.685.5712 Parts Direct: 908.800.9000 Fax: 908.595.0237 email: parts@bernardsvilleaudi.com www.audibridgewater.com

Audi Brooklyn 211 63rd Street Brooklyn, NY 11220 Phone: 718.492.6400 Fax: 718.492.8899 rmerchant@audibrooklyn.com www.audibrooklyn.com

Princeton Audi 902 Route 206 Princeton, NJ 08540 Toll free direct: 800.218.1546 Fax: 609.688.3186 email: ldoerr@princetonauto.com www.princetonaudi.com *Details available at your authorized Audi dealer.

New Jersey Automotive | February 2016 | 33

LEGAL PERSPECTIVE

by Mitchell Portnoi, Esq.

CLOSED

CORPORATIONS I was recently retained by a widow whose deceased husband was a minority shareholder in a closed corporation. She was required by a shareholders’ agreement to sell those shares back to the corporation. The agreement set forth a price for the shares that was established many years prior to her husband’s death. Additionally, there had been an amendment to the Certificate of Incorporation whereby the mechanism for determining the share price could no longer be followed because Class

34 | New Jersey Automotive | February 2016

“A” shares (which were the sole determiner of the price of shares) no longer existed. The question presented is whether the old price per share is the appropriate amount for the buyback, or whether the best price is the fair (or market) value of shares as of her husband’s death.

There are numerous additional facts that may play a role in this determination, and there are at least as many facts we still do not know in this particular case. However, the educational opportunity that this scenario provides is priceless.

In this case, it is clear that we are dealing with a family-owned corporation that has grown considerably in the last 10-plus years. The corporate structure has changed due to a number of family occurrences including death, divorce, aging senior officers and the hiring of outside valuable employees. Careful corporate planning (and amending of bylaws and certificates) is vital to maintaining the changing structure of the corporation and its viability in the case of rapid change due to illness or death. A corporation must be constantly vigilant in its filings and corporate structure or run the risk of being called out for its lack of care – in this case, the erroneous offer for the value of the husband’s shares.

Appropriate counsel and planning could well have predicted this scenario. If you are a principle in a closed corporation and have not reviewed your corporate filings and shareholders’ agreements, I implore you to do so expeditiously. If you have not made amendments in light of any significant changes in personnel, management or ownership, I would encourage you to speak to counsel immediately.

If assistance with anything mentioned in this article is necessary, please call me at (973) 228-9900. I would be happy to sit down and discuss what, if any, additional amendments are necessary to the articles of incorporation and bylaws.

NJA

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RECALIBRATING THE COLLISION INDUSTRY: Why Yesterday’s Techniques Aren’t

ENOUGH

by Joel Gausten

Those cars in your shop are smarter than you think.

With everything from driver assist/crash avoidance/safety systems (blind spot warning, adaptive cruise control, lane change assist, etc.) to some of the most advanced electronics ever seen in cars pulling up to your facilities these days, the future of collision repair promises to be an exciting – and sometimes frustrating – ride. Crash avoidance technologies are constantly being developed to reduce the number of accidents on roadways, while current vehicles in your shop could contain intricate systems that compile a staggering array of information about an automobile’s operational stability and the driving habits of the person behind the wheel. Naturally, this kind of thing is of interest to many in the AASP/NJ community.

“Some of the new information and technology I see coming out, where the cars start communicating with each other and the actual cars can start communicating with the road...I don’t think it’s that far-fetched,” offers AASP/NJ Board member Dave Laganella (Peters Body & Fender, Oakland). “I think it’s coming.”

Although Laganella doubts that the technological revolution evident in today’s cars will completely eradicate the auto body industry, he certainly believes these developments will alter the profession in dramatic ways.

“When you get a blowout or something and lose control of your car, you’re still going to crash into the next car whether the computer wants to help you or not,” he says. “It’s not going to eliminate the need for us, but is it going to affect us? Definitely. [Repairing a vehicle] is going to get more technical and harder to do. The $20-an-hour bondo guy’s days are going to be numbered. There are going to be higher-priced, much more educated technicians working on these cars.”

While the vast technologies in today’s vehicles can be overwhelming, they also present opportunities for shops to provide services that might have been foreign to them in the past. To be repaired in a suitable fashion, most vehicles hitting your bays these days require pre- and post-repair scans to identify any systems that might have been inadvertently affected. “[Scanning] is an arena that only a handful of collision shops have ever had to operate in; oftentimes, it’s a totally new thing for them,” offers Jake Rodenroth, director of client services for Collision Diagnostic Services, best known for the AsTech mobile diagnostic device (astech.com). “The OEMs are releasing

vehicles loaded with all kinds of technology.

Can dealerships support every vehicle preand post-scan while being mindful of cycle times and customer satisfaction?”

These days, something as seemingly innocuous as replacing a tire on an entry-level car like a 2016 Honda Civic requires a scan tool due to the need to recalibrate the TPMS sensor. In Rodenroth’s mind, the only way a technician can properly prepare for these complex inter-connected systems is to have access to OEM data, do plenty of research and perhaps have access to OEM scan tools.

“When you go to some dealerships, you’ll actually see computer terminals in each one of the technician’s stalls,” he observes. “They can look up labor operations and warranty codes, and they can research OEM data on how something comes apart or how a system works. In collision repair, we tend to be more reactive. When something doesn’t work or a customer complains, then we go back and do the research and figure out what we should have done, usually at our customer’s or insurance partner’s expense.”

Not surprisingly, the realities of scanning have impacted Laganella’s operation.

“Everything communicates with each other today,” he says. “If the computer doesn’t recognize that [newly installed] mirror, it needs to be told, ‘Hey, I’m a new guy in the game here. Recognize me.’”

As shop owners continue to face the necessity of post-repair scanning, it makes sense that many often seek out independent mobile diagnostic experts who can handle these procedures for them. Laganella has utilized one such “vendor on wheels” a couple of times a month for years now.

“He’s got all the electronics for 90 percent of the manufacturers out there, and he can come and take care of most of my electronic needs,” he explains. “I can’t remember the last car that he couldn’t help us with. We have our own scan tools, so we can do a lot of resets here, but some of [the vehicles] have to be re-programmed, and you have to buy the program. So we have him come in when that’s necessary.”

One independent mobile diagnostic expert we spoke to said that he currently services hundreds of shops in the Garden State.

“Every module that you install – whether it be a headlighted mirror or a side radar unit – needs to be either programmed or calibrated,” he explained. “They’re just not plug-and-play parts anymore. Passenger seat calibration is an extremely popular code after a collision. I New Jersey Automotive | February 2016 | 39

“The OEMs are releasing vehicles loaded with all kinds of technology. Can dealerships support every vehicle pre- and post-scan while being mindful of cycle times and customer satisfaction?"

Photo courtesy of www.astech.com

- Jake Rodenroth

also see a lot of TPMS issues. The code is a result of the replacement of a part on a tire pressure sensor, or the seat knows the car had a collision and it wants to be calibrated or checked.”

While it is clear that modern automobiles are collecting information all the time, the amount of data actually compiled is utterly mind-blowing. During the 2015 OEM Collision Repair Technology Summit in Las Vegas last November, SEMA Vice President of Vehicle Technology John Waraniak noted that cars like the Ford GT are known to generate as much 100 gigabytes of data every hour.

“A lot of people love to say that today’s cars and trucks are computers on wheels,” he said. “Well, that’s not true; they’re six computers.”

So where does all this stuff go? Who owns it? Who can access it? If vehicles are able to identify issues that require service, some auto professionals are concerned that a third-party recipient might have the ability to track this information and use it as a marketing tool.

“There’s a lot of talk in the industry about that because the independent service repair facilities don’t have any access to this stuff, so it’s a one-upper,” offers AASP/NJ Past President Tom Elder (Compact Kars, Clarksburg; Mercedes-Benz Collision Center, Freehold). “There are also insurers looking at the telematics in the car and having a plug-in scanner that sits in it and does data recordings.

Every time you go over the speed limit, hit the brakes too hard or accelerate too fast, it’s recording data in this thing that they’ve plugged into the OBD-II port. You pull that out and send [it] to an insurer, and that carrier writes you an insurance policy based upon what they read in there. Every time your car has an airbag deployment with certain manufacturers, that manufacturer’s roadside assistance immediately gets a call. That roadside assistance can dispatch a reference to certified collision centers.”

Of course, another area of concern is receiving appropriate payment for all the extra work needed to keep these cars safe and on the road. According to Elder, a hit to the front of one of these vehicles – where a considerable

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amount of these new technologies reside – could result in thousands of dollars in damages.

“Before you even get into a major collision, you’re talking about $10,000-$15,000 in bolted-on components in front of the car,” he warns. “On top of that, you have to fix the structure of the car. The expensive vehicles with high aluminum and technology content won’t be fixed in three or four years; they’re going to be totals.”

Additionally, scanning the vehicle comes with its own set of financial considerations. Let’s say you’re an independent shop not tied in with a dealer. Unless you utilize an independent diagnostic expert, you’ll have to transport the job to the dealership, leave it there for their techs to scan for codes and then pick it up and bring it back to the shop. Obviously, it costs you money to do that. Are you able to receive reimbursement from the insurer for these steps? If so, consider yourself lucky.

“The problem is that a lot of the insurance companies don’t want to pay that cost,” shares Elder. “That could be hundreds in towing bills to move the car.”

Even though Elder’s Mercedes-Benz-certified facility has the appropriate in-house scanning equipment and thus saves insurers on the costs associated with having to bring the car back and forth to the dealer, he still encounters resistance in getting his fees paid.

“The scan tool was $15,000 and it’s $600 a month to rent the program,” he says. “I need to get those funds back, plus labor and some money back that we’re saving the insurer on transportation. It all has value.”

To assist shops in confronting these issues, Collision Diagnostic Services is in the process of developing quarterly webinars to teach collision professionals how to procure the proper documentation to use in order to demonstrate to carriers that these scanning procedures are legitimate and necessary to properly repair the vehicle.

With automobiles evolving every day, serious collision repair professionals must embrace advanced repair training, equipment and techniques like never before. If you’re repairing vehicles today the same way you were a decade (or even a year) ago, it’s time to reconsider how you do things at your business.

NJA

New Jersey Automotive | February 2016 | 41

A FIRST LOOK: What Can Be Found at

There isn’t a technician or shop owner in the industry who’d say that the collision repair field is the same today as it was 10 years ago. Some might even say things aren’t the same as they were just five years ago.

Yet despite the general consensus that things have changed, a number of shop owners either aren’t evolving or aren’t doing it fast enough to accommodate market demands. Almost 40 years ago, the Alliance of Automotive Service Providers of New Jersey (AASP/NJ) saw how the field was progressing and created the NORTHEAST Automotive Services Show. The event brought industry professionals from across the state together to talk about their challenges, brainstorm solutions and look at some of the tools and equipment that affect their daily businesses.

From a small tabletop show nearly four decades ago to the largest regional trade show of its kind (hosting over 100 exhibitors and thousands of attendees from across the country), NORTHEAST has become the place to be to find out all about what’s happening in your profession.

WHAT’S HAPPENING AT NORTHEAST 2016:* • Accudraft National Sales Meeting (Thursday, Friday & Saturday, March 17-19) • NORTHEAST Resolution Forum & Leadership Meeting, Hosted by AASP/NJ & SCRS (Friday, March 18) • 2016 NORTHEAST Exhibitor Appreciation After-Party, Presented by AASP/NJ (Friday, March 18) • Custom Paint Demos by Artist Javier Soto @ Booth #612 • Live Broadcast by Ron Ananian, “The Car Doctor” (Saturday, March 19, 10am-2pm) • AASP/NJ Presents: Advanced Material Repair in 2016 & Beyond (Friday, March 18) • GM Structural Repair (Friday, March 18) • Maximize Your Estimate (Friday & Saturday, March 18-19) • Effective Training for Shops (Friday, March 18 & Sunday, March 20) • Positioning Yourself in the Collision Repair Indusry (Friday, March 18)

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• I-CAR: 2015 Ford F-150 Structural Repair Training Course (FOR06) (Saturday, March 19) • I-CAR: Vehicle Technology and Trends 2015 (NEW16) (Saturday, March 19) • Body Shop Certification and You: An OEM Panel Discussion - Sessions 1&2 (Saturday, March 19) • First Annual ProFirst Lunch and Learn (Saturday, March 19) • “Who Pays for What?” Survey Results (Saturday, March 19) • Estimating Following OEM Guidelines (Saturday, March 19) • The Customer Encounter (Saturday, March 19) • OEM Collision Repair Procedures vs. Industry Standards: A 2016 Update (Saturday, March 19) • 2015 F-150 Aluminum Repair Information (Saturday & Sunday, March 19-20)

AND MORE!

*Schedule subject to change

by Jacquelyn Bauman

his year, NORTHEAST has stepped up its game even more in all areas, especially with regard to educational seminars and presentations. With their fingers constantly on the pulse of what’s heating up the industry, NORTHEAST organizers have created classes and discussions that will tackle the hottest topics in automotive repair.

Right now, it’s nearly impossible to turn anywhere in the industry without the concept of “certification” coming up. What investments should be made? Which manufacturer’s program is best for your shop? How can you buy new equipment when your profits are down from steering? All of these questions are plaguing shop owners of all kinds. It is for this reason that the NORTHEAST team has gathered together representatives from some of the top vehicle manufacturers in the industry to discuss the ins and outs of OEM certification. Gary Ledoux, American Honda Motor Co.’s assistant national manager, and Audi of America’s Collision Programs and Workshop Equipment Specialist Mark Allen are two of many manufacturer representatives who will be present in a panel discussion led by Assured Performance’s Aaron Clark designed to address how certification can benefit your shop and the ways to approach finding your way onto one of these programs.

Even if certification isn’t one of your concerns, it’s very likely that advanced materials are on your mind these days. Although aluminum, ultra high-strength steels and carbon fiber are all hitting the industry, a shockingly small percentage of shops are actually prepared for them. NORTHEAST attendees can gain new insights into this issue with “AASP/NJ Presents: Advanced Material Repair in 2016 & Beyond.” This panel discussion will play host to industry mainstay Larry Montanez of P&L Consultants, Dave Gruskos of Reliable Automotive Equipment, Inc. and Doug Richman of Kaiser Aluminum. In this three-part exchange, these automotive repair experts will discuss the properties of advanced materials and how they are different than what we commonly see today, the proper OE-approved procedures and equipment needed for vehicles with these items and the safety considerations for the required repair processes.

What if you’re not as concerned with what might affect your shop in the future so much as you’re worried about

T

what you’re dealing with right now? NORTHEAST has you covered. If you’ve been faced with a vehicle in your shop with an estimate that failed to account for unseen damage because it was written through an insurer’s photo estimating services, then CollisionHub’s Kristen Felder has the discussion for you. Going over both the opportunities that photo estimating brings to shops as well as the problems it presents, Felder will examine how shops should confront this new insurance trend and to use it to their benefit.

If you’re looking to get back to basics, NORTHEAST will once again offer two of I-CAR’s most popular classes.

This year, the not-for-profit organization will bring its 2015 Ford F-150 Structural Repair Training Course (FOR06) and Vehicle Technology and Trends 2016 (NEW16) courses to the Secaucus event. Additionally, the Refinish Distributors Alliance will be bringing in Blue Collar Collision Training CEO Tony Nethery to present “Effective Training for Shops” and the highly anticipated “Estimating Following OEM Guidelines,” which will cover the differences that occur when writing an estimate that follows OEM repair methods.

Of course, two of the most eagerly awaited events at the show are the presentations by industry giant Mike Anderson, president of Collision Advice. For the first time in over five years, Anderson will bring two of his charismatic, informative and largely sought-after seminars to NORTHEAST. “Positioning Yourself in the Collision Repair Industry” will break down some of the most common challenges facing today’s shops and target solutions for tackling them.

He will examine (among other things) Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), important management tools and how to increase sales in a competitive market, attract and retain employees from valuable resources and maximize on training programs.

Premiering in this market at NORTHEAST, “‘Who Pays for What’ Survey Results” will take a look at the data collected from Collision Advice and the CRASH Network’s 2015 “Who Pays for What” Survey – a quarterly questionnaire that discovers the truth behind that all-too-common insurer catchphrase, “You’re the only one who charges for that.” The Survey divides the data about not-included operations by DRP, non-DRP and region to better enlighten you as to insurer behavior for shops like your own. Not only will attendees of this program be informed on the raw data about reimbursement for not-included operations, but they will also be taught the way to use the information to negotiate with insurers.

With so many beneficial seminars available at NORTHEAST, it’s a wonder how any shop owner within a few hours’ drive of Secaucus can fathom an excuse not to attend. Free registration for the show and its seminars is now open at tinyurl.com/NE16reg. To find out more about the show, please visit aaspnjnortheast.com.

NJA

New Jersey Automotive | February 2016 | 43

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OVER 8,000 PARTS THAT ALL MEET ORIGINAL MINI SPECS...THE BUILDING BLOCKS OF MOTORING MATTER. At your local MINI dealer, we believe that using Original MINI collision replacement parts will speed your repairs and increase your profitability. Original MINI parts assure an absolute perfect fit and function.

For Original MINI parts, contact any of these authorized MINI dealers.

Princeton MINI

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3466 US Highway 1 Princeton, NJ 08540 609-452-9400 fax: 609-945-1010 PRINCETONMINI.COM

1311 Rt. 73 Mt. Laurel, NJ 08054 856-778-3000 Fax: 856-813-4622 MINIOFMTLAUREL.COM FACEBOOK.COM/MINIOFMTLAUREL

Š 2016 MINI, a division of BMW of North America, LLC. The MINI name, model names and logo are registered trademarks.

New Jersey Automotive | February 2016 | 45

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New Jersey Automotive | February 2016 | 47

VARIABLE RATE SYSTEM

Offers Solution to

DEPRESSED LABOR RATES

At National AutoBody Research, we believe that people should be paid what they’re worth for the work they do.

For collision repairers, getting paid what you deserve means receiving a fair and sufficiently profitable Labor Rate and the appropriate compensation for the necessary procedures and operations you perform to properly repair a vehicle.

If you share this belief, you need to know about the Variable Rate System (VRS) and how you can take five minutes to change your industry.

The VRS Labor Rate Survey is the collision repair industry’s only independent, third-party survey and data source for nationwide, market-based Labor Rates, based on retail rates reported by the shops themselves.

It’s a statistically valid survey with no funny business. Nobody changes the rates you provide, nobody calls you to tell you your rates are too high and nobody removes your rates from the Survey just because they don’t like them.

It’s the one Labor Rate Survey you can trust to report the true rate in your market, and you use it 24/7 – not just once a quarter, once a year or once every few years.

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by Sam Valenzuela

Current Labor Rates in New Jersey, based on 178 shops who have completed the VRS Survey.

The innovative VRS technology has solved four key issues for the collision repair industry:

1 An independent company to conduct Labor

Rate surveys.

NABR is not owned by insurers or body shops and has no special interest in what the Survey results are. Our only interest is to do the survey right so that the results can be trusted. Our research and surveys have shown that the so-called “prevailing rate” paid by insurers is well below the true market rate.

2 Continuous measurement and reporting.

Taking a Labor Rate survey once a quarter, once a year or once every few years does not adequately reflect labor prices in a market; it’s only a snapshot of prices at that one point in time.

Markets are dynamic, and prices can change any time. Because the VRS Survey is always on and shops can use it as often as they want in order to report changes in their prices, the results always reflect the most current prices in the market, not the outdated prices from last year.

For example, if your ongoing training and personnel costs increase, you may find that you need to increase your Labor Rate to maintain profitability. Raise your price, then report your new rate to the VRS through the online Survey. When you do that, you instantly impact the market price of labor in your area. You can do this as many times as you want and as often as you want, whenever you change your prices for any reason.

3 Differentiation among shops.

Not all shops are the same, so it makes sense that they can have different prices and get paid different rates - even though insurers would like to pay all shops the same amount. The VRS Survey considers not only your Labor Rate, but also your investment in training, tools, equipment and certifications, so that you can find other shops like yours through apples-to-apples comparisons that more adequately reflect a proper comparable price.

4 Easy-to-use pricing tools.

The Survey is only one small part of the Variable Rate System. The VRS also includes a set of online tools to help you find the right price for your individual shop - a price that gives you sustainable profits so you can afford the people, training and equipment to repair cars right and keep consumers safe.

If you could charge your rate without the influence of insurers, what price would you ask for? This is not a trivial decision. There are many variables to consider when setting your Labor Rate, such as your cost of doing business, profit goals, market competition, inflation, cost of living, comparisons to similar shops or even other business types (such as mechanical shops). The VRS online pricing tools can help.

In New Jersey, the VRS Labor Rate Survey is sponsored by AASP/NJ, giving every New Jersey shop the free opportunity to report its retail rates to an independent third party. So far, 178 New Jersey collision repairers have taken it. Shops can be part of the solution to depressed Labor Rates, but only if they act!

So now what? The first step is to take five minutes and fill out the free online VRS Survey, available at NationalAutoBodyResearch.com.

When you do, you help define what the market rate really is in your area for shops like yours.

Next, subscribe to the Variable Rate System so you have 24/7 online access to the entire database of national Labor Rates and a full suite of online tools to help you price your labor properly. By actively using the VRS in your day-today business, you can change your market and finally get paid what you’re worth.

NJA

Sam Valenzuela is the president of National AutoBody Research, an independent, third-party research, technology and consulting company serving the automotive collision repair industry.

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WE KNOW WHAT YOU’RE THINKING. YOU WANT TO KNOW IF THE PART’S IN STOCK, HOW MUCH IT COSTS, AND WHEN IT’S GONNA GET THERE. We get it.

You want the best part for a Toyota, but you’ve got to know when and how much.

Well, now you can. In addition to tools that can help you find and order the right VIN-based parts, now you can see if it’s in stock, schedule the delivery, even see your shop’s net price from your participating Toyota Dealer.* Now you’re thinking: “Cool!”

ToyotaPartsAndService.com

©2014 Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc.

For Toyota Genuine Parts please call one of these authorized local Toyota Dealers: Toyota of Hackensack 278 River Street, Hackensack, NJ 07601 Toll Free: 888-PARTS-28 Direct: 201-488-5756 Fax: 201-487-2618 paulc@toyotaofhackensack.com www.toyotaofhackensack.com

54 | New Jersey Automotive | February 2016

Glen Toyota 23-07 Maple Ave, Fair Lawn, NJ 07410 Toll Free: 800-444-1959 Direct: 201-791-1133 Fax: 201-703-5652 parts@glentoyota.com www.glentoyota.com

Toyota of Morristown 169 Ridgedale Ave, Morristown, NJ 08960 Toll Free: 800-541-1127 Fax: 973-292-0872 www.toyotaofmorristown.com

KEEPING THE CUSTOMER SMILING: Samuel Auto Body Strives for Success As scores of happy customers already know, Samuel Auto Body in Neptune is one of the region’s most dependable automotive repair facilities.

An area staple for 16 years, the shop moved to its current location on Memorial Drive in 2009. For the last two years, the shop’s daily work has been overseen by Operations Manager Rob Wellington, who joined the team after a fiveyear stint in the army. His father (and shop founder/ namesake), Samuel, is still a major part of the business despite being semi-retired.

It’s not uncommon to see the industry veteran supervising the repair of a BMW

or another high-end vehicle in the shop’s 30-car bay.

Working with a fiveperson staff, Wellington succeeds in making each job a rewarding experience for the customer.

“We push out a lot of great work,” he says. “We do a lot of high-end cars here, and our social media fanbase is definitely growing on a day-to-day basis.

We also have a lot of repeat customers. We really don’t do any advertising. We’re basically word-of-mouth, and we treat our customers with care and kindness.

Everybody loves my father, and everybody’s starting to love me. Everybody has kind words to say about us,

Left to right: Rob Wellington, Samuel Wellington, Carlos Alarcon (painter) and Shane Fisher (parts manager)

AASP/NJ NEW MEMBER SHOP PROFILE

by Joel Gausten

so we will never do a poor repair or lowball a job. We take quality to the extreme.”

Like many other forward-thinking shops, Samuel Auto Body maintains an active online presence through its popular Instagram and Facebook accounts.

“I do before-and-after pictures of the repairs that we do to these cars,” Wellington explains. “A lot of people are shocked; they really like how they turn out.

They could never imagine that a car that mashed-up would look that good again.

We get a lot of ‘likes’ and comments, and people come here and say, ‘I saw your pictures on Facebook!’

I have to laugh when they say that, because my dad didn’t really think [a Facebook page] would be beneficial.”

Currently studying Criminal Justice at Brookdale Community College, Wellington works to make his shop a comforting and supportive place for students who are feeling

stressed out by the collision repair process.

“Not a lot of high schoolers and college kids can really afford to completely pay for all of the damages, so we cut them a big break,” he reveals. “I’m a college student as well, so I feel for them.”

Recently, Wellington decided to add Samuel Auto Body to the growing list of repair facilities joining AASP/NJ. “My father has a lot of friends in the association who help us out,” he says. “[Executive Director] Charlie Bryant helps us out with paperwork or other things that require assistance.”

Now that he’s part of the association, Wellington hopes to work with the group in addressing some of the industry’s most common issues.

“A lot of times, we get low-balled by the insurance companies, and we’re stuck for repairs that nobody wants to pay for,” he comments.

“That’s a big thing that Charlie has been helping us out with. So far, he’s been a terrific help in that aspect.”

Although life in the collision repair business has its fair share of hardships and challenges, Wellington is proud of what his family has accomplished and looks forward to a bright future.

“Honestly, seeing the smiles on my customers’ faces is what keeps me going every day,” he shares.

“I call us ‘the neighborhood shop’ because a lot of people come here, and we help them out. The satisfaction I receive from that is plentiful.”

NJA

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Original BMW Parts

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The Ultimate Driving Machine®

WE AT BMW OF SPRINGFIELD, FORMERLY JMK BMW, LOOK FORWARD TO SERVING YOU Our Success in Business comes from our Relationships with Loyal Customers

After years of service and commitment to the BMW brand as JMK BMW, we are proud to continue our growth as BMW of Springfield. As we reflect on our past and look to the future, we are thankful for your loyalty and dedication by allowing us to serve you. We also want to extend our services to new and existing businesses who are looking for something more than just a parts supplier. · · · · ·

We are part of the BMW NA delivery program that delivers to us three additional times per day We have a highly-trained and experienced team of BMW parts advisors Our team of advisors can be counted on to be knowledgeable when you need technical support We update our inventory daily to ensure we stock the most current items to meet your demands All original BMW parts carry a 2-year limited warranty

BMW of Springfield Wholesale Parts Hotline: 800-648-0053 Wholesale Direct: 973-671-9321 Wholesale Fax: 973-467-2185 391 Route 22 East, Springfield, NJ 07081 Orders accepted by phone, fax, and email to speed your delivery and your repairs. Ask about our next-day UPS delivery.

Email: wholesaleparts@bmwofspringfieldnj.com or visit us on the web: www.bmwofspringfieldnj.com

Join our growing list of satisfied customers.

Save time, improve profits and keep your customers loyal. * If your order is placed by 10:30am, we will confirm availability and provide you with and ETA for delivery.

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See us at NORTHEAST® Booth # 212

©2016 Porsche Cars North America, Inc. Porsche recommends seat belt usage and observance of all traffic laws at all times.

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THE LIST

We reached out to some of our readers to find out what tunes they belt out while washing up.

What’s Your SHOWER

SONG?

“I just sing whatever songs I know all the words to. Usually, it’s AC/DC. I like to think that I sound like Bon Scott in his prime, although I think my wife would disagree.”

“Unfortunately, my shower song recently has been that song by Taylor Swift that’s literally always on when you turn on the radio. Even worse, when I come home, my daughter is usually listening to her album. It’s like I can’t get away from it.”

“Anything from the 1960s. I love Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, but I can’t always hit those notes. Same thing goes for the Bee Gees. I’ve got to find songs that are lower to sing.”

“I have to go with Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin songs. They just don’t make singers like they used to. I feel bad for this generation – their ‘My Way’ is going to be like a Kanye West song or something.”

“What do you mean what is my shower song? I don’t sing in the shower. I’m in there to get clean, get out and get back to whatever it is I need to do. It’s not recreation time; it’s just another task on my list of things to do.”

“Presley.

Always.”

“I don’t sing in the shower. I don’t do anything in there. By the time I get home and get in the shower, I’m exhausted from the day’s work. With three kids, it’s my only alone time, and even that’s not always the case. I have to remind my toddler that showering isn’t a team activity.”

“I really sing anything. My wife and kids make fun of me because I almost never get the words right and they can all hear me. For the longest time, I basically made up all of the words to Bruce Springsteen’s ‘Blinded by the Light.’ Then again, does anyone know all the words to that song?”

“I honestly don’t know. I would guess Stevie Wonder because he’s my favorite musician, but I couldn’t be sure. I kind of zone out when I get into the shower. I go in dirty and come out clean. That’s all I know.”

New Jersey Automotive | February 2016 | 61

ADVERTISERS’ INDEX Acme Nissan ........................................13,53 Amato Agency ......................................17 American Honda Motor Company ..........4 AP Media ..............................................11 Audi Group............................................32-33 Axalta Coating Systems ........................6 BMW Group ..........................................20-21 BMW of Springfield................................57 Bridgewater Acura ................................56 Cadillac of Mahwah ..............................27 Classic Audi ..........................................12 Dover Dodge Chrysler Jeep....................IBC Empire Auto Parts..................................35 Flemington Audi ....................................5 Flemington Group..................................23 Fred Beans Parts ..................................37 Grand Prix Subaru ................................31 Glen Toyota ..........................................OBC Hyundai Group ......................................36 IkotecUSA ............................................26 JMK Saab/JMK Fiat ..............................10 Klean Frame..........................................62 Levittown Ford ......................................31 Maxon Mazda........................................44 Maxon Hyundai......................................58 Mazda Group ........................................46 Mercedes-Benz of Freehold ..................22 MINI Group............................................45 Mitsubishi Group ..................................60 Mopar Group ........................................47 NUCAR..................................................14-15 Paul Miller Audi ....................................41 Porsche Group ......................................25 PPG ......................................................3 PPGMS ................................................34 Princeton BMW ....................................51 Princeton MINI ......................................18 Subaru Group........................................50 Town Motors ........................................59 Toyota Group ........................................54 Toyota of Hackensack ............................IFC Tri-State Luxury Collection ....................8-9 Valtek....................................................62 VIP Honda ............................................56 VW Group ............................................52 Westbury Jeep Chrysler Dodge Ram SRT...30 Wheel Collision Center ..........................35

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