New Jersey Automotive May 2024

You’ve got the right tools, staff, technology and procedures to give your customers the best repair possible. The missing piece of the puzzle? Genuine Volkswagen Collision Parts. Contact an authorized dealer today and find your perfect fit.

Ciocca Parts Warehouse

8 Minneakoning Road

Flemington, NJ 08822

Toll Free: 800-221-1256

Fax: 908.782.1795

rmuir@cioccadealerships.com www.cioccaparts.com

Paul Miller Volkswagen 118 Morristown Road

Bernardsville, NJ 07924

TOLL FREE: 877-318-6557

LOCAL: 908-766-1600

FAX: 908-766-6171

Email: aaitchison@paulmiller.com www.paulmillervw.com

“Volkswagen“ and the Volkswagen logo are

Douglas Motors

491 MORRIS AVE. SUMMIT, NJ 07901

PHONE: 908-277-1100

FAX: 908-273-6196

TOLL FREE: 800-672-1172

www.douglasvw.com email: douglasparts@douglasautonet.com

Trend Motors 221 Route 46 West Rockaway, NJ 07866

888-267-2821

fax: 973-625-4985 www.trendmotors.com email: dreinacher@trendmotors.com

Crestmont Volkswagen 730 ROUTE 23 NORTH

POMPTON PLAINS, NJ 07444

TOLL FREE: 800-839-6444

fax: 973-839-8146

www.crestmontvw.com email: vwparts@crestmont23.com

P.O. Box 734 Neptune, NJ 07753

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Charles Bryant 732-922-8909 / setlit4u@msn.com

2023-2025 OFFICERS

PRESIDENT Ken Miller, 821 Collision, LLC (973) 949-3733 / kmiller@821collision.com

COLLISION CHAIRMAN/

PAST PRESIDENT ATTENDING

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

Dennis Cataldo, Jr., D&M Auto Body 732-251-4313 / jr@dnmautobody.com

Brad Crawford, Livingston Collision, Inc. 973-992-5274 / livingston.collision@gmail.com

Gary Gardella, Jr., County Line Auto Body 732-363-5904 / countylineautobody@gmail.com

Dave Laganella, Peters Body and Fender 201-337-1200 / petersbandf@gmail.com

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

Danielle Molina, 821 Collision (973) 949-3733 / dmolina@821collision.com

Ted Rainer, Ocean Bay Auto Body 732-899-7900 / ted@oceanbayautobody.com

Anthony Trama 973-818-9739 / anthonytrama@aol.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

LOCAL NEWS

14 Young Technicians Demonstrate Excellence at NJ SkillsUSA State Competitions by Alana Quartuccio

NATIONAL FEATURE

16 Profile “Flexibility” But No Guidance Change: Mitchell Responds to SCRS Blend Study by Chasidy Rae Sisk

LOCAL FEATURE

20 Dancing in the Sky: Remembering Longtime AASP/NJ Board Member Sam Mikhail by Chasidy Rae Sisk

NATIONAL FEATURE

24 An Icon Retires: Tim Morgan Reflects on Industry Education, Equipment and Evolution by Alana Quartuccio

COVER STORY

28 Tips to Winning the Employee-Retention War by Joel Gausten

NATIONAL NEWS

PRESIDENT/PUBLISHER

Thomas Greco / thomas@grecopublishing.com

VICE PRESIDENT/SALES DIRECTOR

Alicia Figurelli / alicia@grecopublishing.com

EDITORIAL/CREATIVE COORDINATOR

Alana Quartuccio / alana@grecopublishing.com

MANAGING EDITOR

Chasidy Rae Sisk / chasidy@grecopublishing.com

OFFICE MANAGER

Donna Greco / donna@grecopublishing.com

PRODUCTION COORDINATOR Joe Greco / joe@grecopublishing.com

CONTRIBUTING

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 @grecopublishing

32 Reap the Rewards of Using OEM Parts Through Nissan’s Rebate Program by Chasidy Rae Sisk

IN MEMORIAM

32 Town Auto Body’s Joseph Pastore, Sr.

AUTOMOTIVE RECYCLERS ASSOCIATION OF NEW JERSEY

38 Wharton Insurance Briefs by Mario DeFilippis

Joe Amato, Sr.

Charles Bryant

Don Chard

Guy

Ed

Dave Demarest

Phil Dolcemascolo

Tom Elder

Bob Everett

Alicia Figurelli

Thomas Greco

Dan Hawtin

Rich Johnson

Mike Kaufmann

Wes Kearney

Nick Kostakis

Jim Kowalak

Keith Krehel

Joe Lubrano

Michael Lovullo

Jeff McDowell

Sam Mikhail

Ron Mucklow

George Petrask

Russ Robson

Jerry Russomano

George Threlfall

Anthony Trama

Cynthia Tursi

Lee Vetland

Paul Vigilant

Rich Weber

Brian Vesley

Glenn Villacari

Stan Wilson

Our flagship dealerships are pleased to offer a wide selection of authentic genuine parts so you can repair your customer’s luxury car to the highest quality.

AUDI QUEENS

30-35 College Point Blvd. Flushing, NY 11354

Wholesale Direct: 929.297.0788

parts@audiqueens.com audiqueens.com

MERCEDES-BENZ OF BROOKLYN 1800 Shore Pkwy. Brooklyn, NY 11214

Wholesale Direct: 718.258.7055

parts@mbofbrooklyn.com mbofbrooklyn.com

MERCEDES-BENZ OF CALDWELL

1220 Bloomfield Ave. Caldwell, NJ 07006

Wholesale Direct: 973.808.0204

JAGUAR BROOKLYN 809 Neptune Ave. Brooklyn, NY 11224

Wholesale Direct: 929.583.6492

parts@jlrbrooklyn.com jaguarbrooklyn.com

LAND ROVER BROOKLYN 809 Neptune Ave. Brooklyn, NY 11224

Wholesale Direct: 929.583.6492

parts@jlrbrooklyn.com landroverbrooklyn.com

We not only sell WHOLESALE GENUINE PARTS across the tri-state area, but we also offer a knowledgeable team of parts specialists who will find the component you need for a seamless vehicle repair. WE WILL GO THE EXTRA

Parts@mbofcaldwell.com mbofcaldwell.com

LEXUS OF BRIDGEWATER 1550 US-22 Bridgewater, NJ 08807

Wholesale Direct: 866.679.7054

parts@lexusbridgewater.com lexusofbridgewater.com

LEXUS OF EDISON 711 US Highway 1 Edison, NJ 08817

Wholesale Direct: 732.593.6860

parts@lexusedison.com lexusofedison.com

• Our expert parts staff is ready to serve you with over $500,000 in inventory and a fleet of trucks to help ensure same-day delivery on most orders

• We respect your time, and offer a quick and accurate order process to help meet your needs

• Proudly serving the Tri-State area with Audi Genuine Parts since 1970

• Same-day delivery on stocked items, next-day availability on most non-stocked items

Town Audi

400 South Dean Street Englewood, NJ 07631

Parts Direct: 888.779.6792

F ax: 201.541.0314 E mail: audiparts@townmotors.com

Hours: Monday-Friday 7am-7pm Saturday: 8am-5pm Superior customer service starts with Town Audi and Audi

Genuine Parts.

The Scholarship

This month will mark the sixth year since my sister Diane passed away. In some ways, it feels like so long ago, but in others, it feels like yesterday. Neither feels any good. And it never will.

After Diane passed, I wanted to keep her memory alive somehow. I wanted to come up with something that would live on for a long time, way beyond just our family. So later that year, I created the Diane Greco Sajle Scholarship for our hometown Nutley High School students. The challenges were going to be deciding who would get it, how much would it be and how would be awarded.

Part of the first challenge was determining the criteria. Now, my sister was an excellent student, but there were dozens of academic scholarships available. I didn’t want it to get lost in the shuffle. Diane was NEVER an athlete, but she was a big fan of all of the family members who were. But again, there were almost as many athletic scholarships as academic, so I didn’t want it to apply to that, either.

So I thought about my sister and how I would describe her. That was pretty easy. She was compassionate, dedicated and selfless. There it was. The idea would be to find a student with these qualities. But I was still stuck because it didn’t stand out. Okay, so we are giving out a scholarship to someone who is compassionate, dedicated and selfless. Big deal. For me, that just wasn’t memorable enough.

I took some time to think it out, and I realized that, although Diane barely participated in sports, our family did have quite a legacy in the Nutley football program that went all the way back to the 1950s. In fact, from the late 1950s through 2015, there was always at least one Greco either coaching or playing football in Nutley, whether it was midget, junior, high school or flag. That led me to the idea of tying two things together. I wanted to award the scholarship not to the best or most talented football player, but to the “Most Valuable Teammate,” the one who best exemplified Diane’s compassion, dedication and selflessness towards family, friends and community.

The next step was to contact Nutley High School head football coach Steve DiGregorio. I had known Coach D since we played midget league football together a lifetime ago. We met up at my office, and I ran the idea by him. I told him that since I would never be able to get to see the games – come on, they played them at 1pm on Saturday afternoons; I’m in my deepest REM sleep at that time! – I would rely on the coaching staff to pick the scholarship winner. Coach D loved the idea. He was on board.

(In an unfathomable string of ironies, not only did Coach D share those very traits my sister had, but he passed away just a few years later from the same

by THOMAS GRECO, PUBLISHER

pancreatic cancer that took Diane…two beautiful souls.)

The next step was to figure out how much. Now, trust me when I tell you that Diane was beloved by everyone she met. If I had put the word out that we were giving out a scholarship in her name, I am certain I could have raised a substantial amount in hours. But I didn’t want to do that. I didn’t want those she loved and who loved her to feel an obligation to give. So I set the amount at $1,000; however, when I told my niece Kate (Diane’s daughter) and my buddy Glenn Villacari (formerly of Parkway Auto Body) about it, they insisted on contributing. With their help, the scholarship’s initial amount was $2,000.

The last challenge was deciding when and where to give it out. Like most schools, Nutley holds awards banquets (many of which I had sat through) where they give out scholarships. I didn’t want to be a part of that. I didn’t want to get dressed up and wait through three hours of other awards and scholarships. Again, Diane’s had to be special. So after the football season, Coach D, our family and the winner’s family met up in the high school lobby where all the trophy cases were and awarded Tyler Genitempo the very first Diane Greco Sajle Scholarship. I had accomplished my goal.

Five years later, we just had the ceremony for the sixth and latest winner of the Diane Greco Sajle Scholarship, a nice kid named Aidan O’Halloran. (I never said the winner had to be Italian! LOL). And believe it or not, without asking anyone, over the years, many family members insisted on contributing to the scholarship, raising it currently to $5,000 and making it the second largest scholarship given annually to a Nutley High School student.

It’s funny though. Once you open it up to others, all of a sudden everyone wants to have a say. One family member keeps asking, “Why can’t we open it up to girls?” Umm, it’s a football scholarship. Another asks, “Why can’t we add another family member’s name to it?” Umm, did that person die and I didn’t hear about it? Yet another wonders “What about other sports?” Umm, we have a football legacy in town. I’m sorry that no Grecos played or coached soccer.

When all is said and done, all that matters is we are keeping Diane’s memory alive. And everything that it took to get here six years on is an incredible tribute to the person she was.

Yet…in some ways, it feels like so long ago, but in others, it feels like yesterday. Neither feels any good. And it never will.

Taking Back Control of Your Business: Rethinking the Estimating Process

Estimating – old habits die hard. Have you ever really pondered the process of estimating? Or should we more appropriately call it “guess-timating?” Writing estimates has been ingrained in the collision repair business for as long as anyone can remember; many simply say, “We do it because it’s always been that way.”

However, I would argue that the likelihood of accurately estimating the damage on a modern vehicle that is still assembled is close to zero percent. Today’s vehicles are far too complex to conduct a proper damage analysis without dismantling, researching repair procedures and validating options, equipment and various safety systems.

So, why would you write an estimate for someone off the street? What’s the goal? Is it to be the lowest bidder to secure the job, risking the client feeling misled when the final invoice is much higher than estimated? Or perhaps the goal is to aim for the middle ground, omitting certain details and hoping to make up the difference later with supplements. Or is the objective to conduct the most thorough assessment upfront to minimize surprises and supplements later on?

Let’s consider a different approach. Instead of spending (or wasting) time on a meaningless “street sheet,” invest that time in building rapport, discussing the repair and asking questions. Understand what matters most to the prospective client and see if it aligns with your business values. If someone is seeking a cheap, quick repair just to get back on the road, but your business model emphasizes high-quality repairs following OE

by KEN MILLER

procedures, wouldn’t it be beneficial to know this from the start?

Take the time to sell yourself, your service and the job. Once the job is secured, gain proper authorization from the customer to dismantle and uncover all necessary parts and procedures, along with accurate labor times required for a correct repair. Efficiency in spirit may actually be costing you time and money in addition to exposing you to unnecessary liabilities later on.

Negotiating for proper compensation after completing the job and delivering the vehicle is no longer an acceptable practice – it puts the shop in a position of begging for proper compensation post-repair.

Imagine if shops adopted repair planning, conducting comprehensive damage analyses upfront. Negotiations would occur at the beginning of the repair process, minimizing wasted efforts and expenses. Additionally, if there were reimbursement shortages, the customer could be alerted early on, providing guidance on how to proceed with the repair.

In conclusion, let’s move beyond traditional estimating and the practice of starting repairs without an agreed price with the customer and embrace a more strategic, customer-focused approach that prioritizes quality, transparency and upfront planning. By doing so, we can regain control of our businesses, deliver superior service and build lasting relationships with our clients based on trust and professionalism.

This shift isn’t just about changing processes; it’s about elevating industry standards and empowering collision repair professionals to operate with integrity and efficiency. Together, let’s redefine the way we estimate and conduct repairs, ensuring that every customer interaction is characterized by transparency, professionalism and a commitment to excellence. By rethinking our approach to estimating, we can chart a course toward sustainable success and a brighter future for our businesses and the industry as a whole.

Offer your employees quality health insurance at an affordable price. The Alliance of Automotive Service Providers has partnered with World Insurance Associates to bring you the AASP Health Plan for members only. Now you can offer your employees quality health insurance at exclusive rates. And it’s fast and easy to enroll!

FEATURES:

• Any size business is eligible

• National network of doctors

• Multiple plan designs

• Members-only health plan

• Potentially great premium savings

CONTACT: Joe Amato, Jr. Principal World Insurance Associates 4900 Route 33, Suite 103 Neptune, NJ 07753

O: 732-530-6740 x412

joeamatojr@worldinsurance.com

Terence

terencegorman@worldinsurance.com Call or email us

x162 | M: 646-438-4959

by ALANA

Young Technicians Demonstrate Excellence at NJ SkillsUSA State Championships

Young people entering the collision repair field need all the encouragement and support they can possibly get their hands on. Opportunities that allow them to show off their skills can help them grow as future technicians. Thankfully every spring, the SkillsUSA New Jersey state championships provide that very opportunity for students of various vocational and magnet schools throughout the Garden State to shine.

On April 13, Somerset County Vocational & Technical School once again hosted the annual event. Congratulations to first place winner Nicholas Nastawa (Somerset County Vocational & Technical School). Coming in second place was Jaedon Leon (Elizabeth High School), and Austin Kolczynski (Mercer County Technical Schools

First place: Nicholas Nastawa Somerset County Vocational & Technical School

Sypek Center) came in third place.

Event organizer Charity Ritter (Bridgewater Collision Repair) expressed her thanks to those who took the time to spend the day judging and to those who donated items to the competitors. Judges included Al Bartocci, Danny Camacho, Robert Camacho, David Guiterrez, Abigail Heim, Peter Ritter, Alex Morales, Susie Norz and Tyler Tallamy. Every contestant received a small tool kit, while the winners each received larger sets of tools and Snapon gift certificates. Tools and gift certificates were all generously donated by Bridgewater Collision and Dave’s Auto Body of Flemington.

Second place: Jaedon Leon Elizabeth High School

Third place: Austin Kolczynski Mercer County Technical Schools Sypek Center

On Thursday, April 11, NJ SkillsUSA's Automotive Service Technology State Competitions were held at the Mercedes-Benz Learning and Performance Center in Robbinsville, NJ. More than 35 schools were represented at this year's competition! Special thanks to Mercedes-Benz for hosting this year's competition, providing judges for the event as well as lunch and a career fair for attendees! Stay tuned for a list of winners coming soon.

NJA

• All Makes and Models

• 24-48 hour Turnaround

• Proven Color Match Database

• On-site Cosmetic Repairs

• Large Inventory of O.E. Replacements

Profile “Flexibility” But No Guidance Change: Mitchell Responds to SCRS Blend Study

Since the Society of Collision Repair Specialists (SCRS) released the results of their blend study in late 2022, collision repairers have been waiting for updates from the three major information providers (IPs), but while CCC/MOTOR and Audatex both addressed the concerns raised by making changes to their systems last year, Mitchell remained reticent…until earlier this year when Jack Rozint, repair sales senior vice president, casually announced an imminent enhancement to Mitchell Cloud Estimating during open mic at the Collision Industry Conference, held in Palm Springs in January.

“There have been a lot of questions, apparently, about what Mitchell is doing in the area of refinish calculations,” Rozint acknowledged, explaining that an upcoming release to Mitchell Cloud Estimating would offer “the opportunity for users to set up, at the profile level, seven different areas of refinish calculations,” allowing users to “set up their own default settings for clear coat, threestage and two-tone blend refinishing adjustments as well as different

blends for each insurer, giving a ton of flexibility to our customers.”

In response to Rozint’s announcement, SCRS Executive Director Aaron Schulenburg asked, “Will the guidance in the Mitchell Guide also change relative to any of the formulas, or is it just the flexibility in the actual profile setup?” to which Rozint responded, “Our defaults will not change at this time.” So, Mitchell’s guide still indicates blends as 50 percent of the full refinish time, unlike the other two IPs that updated their solutions to provide profile flexibility and updated their guidance to recognize the variables associated with blending and changes in modern automotive refinish products. The updated guidance in CCC and Audatex addresses the difficulty of blending by recommending deference to the judgment of an estimator or appraiser following an on-the-spot evaluation of the specific vehicle and refinish requirements in question.

While Mitchell communicated these changes as an improvement, their insistence on adhering to the 50 percent formula that has been utilized

in their Collision Estimating Guide for more than three decades is likely to continue to make it challenging for shops to take advantage of the system’s newfound “flexibility.”

Although Rozint claimed that the enhancements are designed to provide users with greater flexibility and control over labor time calculations and will enable repair planners to adjust all seven common refinish calculations in the estimate profile (clear coat, refinish, blend, three stage, two tone, finish sand and buff and de-nib and finesse), Mitchell’s insistence on maintaining its previous guidance seems to indicate a refusal to actually accept the facts that have been repeatedly presented.

“Offering flexibility without adjusting the default rate is more of a side-step than a genuine acknowledgment of the issue,” suggests AASP/NJ President Ken Miller. “Despite their efforts, their initial attempt has failed to yield any meaningful results. I believe that, with time, they will align with other IPs, acknowledge the study and eliminate the preset defaults.”

“Ignorance is bliss!” AASP/NJ Collision Chairman Jerry McNee contributes. “This is a perfect example of our industry’s biggest problem: Ignore it as if it doesn’t exist and hope it just goes away! Thanks to SCRS and all five paint companies, we have this information, so I’m not sure what else Mitchell could want. I personally had a conversation with some of Mitchell’s team at SEMA 2023; they sounded like insurance company representatives denying or ignoring repair procedures to return a client’s vehicle to pre-loss condition. They told me that shops make enough money, and anyone who knows me can imagine how that went over…I

managed to keep my head from spinning all the way around like in The Exorcist, but I had to walk away from that lost cause of a conversation. Ignoring problems won’t make them go away, and our industry needs to recognize that we are in the 21st century instead of living 30 to 40 years in the past!”

The SCRS blend study, conducted in collaboration with AkzoNobel, Axalta, BASF, PPG and Sherwin-Williams, evaluated blending in comparison to full refinish values when considering solid, metallic and tri-stage refinish options across all the paint manufacturers and concluded that blend times are 31.59 percent greater than full refinished value on average, a significant difference than the 50 percent formula utilized by the IPs at the time.

After conducting its own observational studies of the blend process, MOTOR/CCC released guidance in April 2023, changing its Estimated Worktime Development Methodology related to color blend of adjacent panels to account for variations in modern vehicle paint refinishing. Since their October system enhancement, users are able to click a blend button in CCC ONE which automatically calculates a two-stage blend at 50 percent of the refinish time and a three-stage blend at 70 percent of the full refinish time. An on-the-spot evaluation allows users to either input a default value for two-stage and three-stage blends or opt to have the system prompt them for the blend time specific to that repair.

CCC also updated its Guide to Estimating to remove the prior formula and add verbiage clarifying that “estimated refinish times for color blending should defer to the judgment of an estimator or appraiser following an on-the-spot evaluation of the specific vehicle and refinish requirements in question.”

MOTOR specifically identifies judgment time as “the outcome reached when an estimator or appraiser considers the specifics of the vehicle and repair or refinish operation being evaluated to determine the estimated work time,” according to their response to an inquiry submitted by the Database Enhancement Gateway (DEG).

DEG’s inquiry questioning MOTOR’s removal of blend formulas elicited the following clarification: “MOTOR removed the previously published color blend formulas after determining they may not reflect the many variations encountered with modern vehicle finishes and designs. Citing these variations, MOTOR does not intend to publish a list of included or excluded items specific to color blend.”

Audatex followed suit with a July update, ultimately providing users with the ability to adjust refinish labor time to specify a value between 50 and 150 percent in October, and by the end of 2023, the IP had updated its Database Reference Manual to remove its previous 50 percent blend formula guidance which was replaced with the following:

“Audatex refinish labor is based on the use of new and undamaged panels. Audatex Estimating does not provide a standard labor allowance for blended panels as this

requires the estimate preparer’s judgment, expertise and consideration of the unique requirements for each repair. Determination and assessment of labor and materials necessary in the blending process is best provided by the estimate preparer during the estimate preparation process. To assist the user, profile settings allow for customization to enter a specified blend percentage, as necessary.”

“They didn’t just update their system based on our research; they conducted their own research and based their system updates on their findings,” Schulenburg notes an important factor related to the IPs’ updates. “These changes are based on their decisions and are NOT the result of the SCRS blend study; that study was merely the catalyst that prompted them to re-evaluate their own information.

“This is an important fact for shops to understand and use as a talking point because an insurance company doesn’t need to believe what SCRS found during our blend study…those well-documented findings were persuasive enough that the IP re-evaluated its own studies and came to its own conclusion.”

Acknowledging that some shops have reported challenges in conversations with bill payers around blend times, Schulenburg suggested that repairers might find it valuable to present insurance carriers with documentation related to the IPs’ responses, including trade press articles on the topic, as a means of furthering the conversation. “When we have representatives from the estimating providers who share that they are aware and have been aware of this being an issue long before the SCRS blend study ever occurred, that’s probably useful in your dialogue.”

In fact, Solera Product Management Senior Director David Davoodi told industry news outlet Repairer Driven News in November 2023 that Solera was already aware of the concerns SCRS and other repairers had for months – if not years! – prior to the release of the results of the association’s blend study results.

Schulenburg encouraged repairers to be conscientious that they spend time understanding the variables within their own process at their facility and use that to present data in a meaningful way.

“It’s easy to state that you’re doing something because of what the blend study says, but it fails to really express how the research relates to what is happening in your repair process and tasks that your technicians are already performing in your repair facility. Some carriers may push back because they don’t recognize SCRS as an entity that does time studies, and that’s fine; we’re not. But the IPs didn’t make those changes just because SCRS did the blend study. The study opened a conversation that led them to do their own research and come to their own conclusions, and noting that could lead to a very different conversation.”

Dancing in the Sky: Remembering Longtime AASP/NJ Board Member Sam Mikhail

Fearless and outspoken. Dedicated and loyal. Passionate and relentless.

Auto body professionals and friends used these words over and over as they reflected on the legacy and impact left on the industry and their own lives by Sam Mikhail, longtime AASP/NJ Board member, who passed away on March 12 at the age of 80.

“Sam was determined to make the industry better and willing to do whatever was necessary to make that happen,” AASP/NJ Executive Director Charles Bryant shared. “He was dedicated, relentless, direct and to the point, and he was willing to put in whatever effort necessary to accomplish his goals.”

Mikhail immigrated to America from Egypt in 1969 when he was in his mid-20s. He worked as an accountant and auditor for 15 years, obtaining his MBA (Master of Business Administration degree) in accounting and economics before leaving that field to open Prestige Auto Body in Garwood in 1978. He operated his shop for over 40 years until retiring to Florida several years ago.

Bryant “first met Sam so many years ago that I can’t remember exactly when it was! Sam had heard that I could assist him in resolving an issue he was having with a customer he had repaired a vehicle for. My review of the issue revealed that Sam was correct in his position on the dispute; however, it turned out that Sam had a technicality in his paperwork that could cause him to lose, had the issue been presented in a court of law. As such, Sam reluctantly surrendered his position on the repair issue, but then immediately went to work on getting everything to do with his paperwork absolutely correct. Sam was truly grateful for that and has supported me in my efforts ever since.”

AASP/NJ Secretary Thomas Greco (Thomas Greco Publishing) also met Mikhail decades ago, and he remembered being “very intimidated at first, but Sam turned out to be one of those people who was a lion on the

outside but a teddy bear on the inside. He was dedicated and loyal and always stood for what he believed in.”

“Sam was fearless and outspoken; he took a stand for his clients and always wanted to do right by them,”

echoed AASP/NJ Collision Director and Past President Jerry McNee (Ultimate Collision Center; Edison), who initially met Mikhail in the 1990s through AASP/NJ. “We met briefly then, but we didn’t really get acquainted until the early 2000s when he called me on a diminished value claim for a repair on a client’s vehicle. That led to a full conversation on our industry’s problems where we learned that we shared many of the same beliefs when it comes to dealing with the challenges faced in the shop.”

“Sam was loaded for bear from the start,” noted AASP/NJ Treasurer Tom Elder (Compact Kars; Clarksburg), who has known Mikhail since 1984 when they met at an association meeting. “He was well-educated and held a master’s degree in accounting, so he subscribed to job costing. The ideas Sam had 40 years ago are still valid today.”

AASP/NJ Past President Jeff McDowell (Leslie’s Auto Body; Fords) met Mikhail around the same time period, and he indicated that Mikhail was a fighter. “Sam was always controversial and had an opinion about

almost everything. He was always willing to fight for what was right; Sam was anti-DRP and stood up against insurance abuse. He won many battles over unfair claims handling.”

One of Mikhail’s battles is still raging, in fact, as Prestige Auto Body was one of the plaintiffs in the ongoing putative class action lawsuit against New Jersey Manufacturers Insurance (NJM), which was filed in June 2019 based on allegations that NJM violated the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, the Consumer Fraud Act (CFA) and the New Jersey Antitrust Act (NJAA) in addition to engaging in tortious interference with the shops involved in the class action. (An update on this case was provided in the March edition of New Jersey Automotive, available online at bit.ly/NJM0324e.)

“Sam was always and forever probody shop,” Greco added. “He fought the insurance companies every day, stood his ground and succeeded. He was a very brave man committed to the industry and to AASP/NJ.”

Mikhail was also committed to Sue, his wife of half a century, who offered a touching tribute to her husband via Facebook. “My beloved husband, Sam Mikhail; may you touch the stars, dance with the angels and feel God’s love. You have been a wonderful husband for 50

Charles Bryant, Jeff McDowell and Sam Mikhail accepting his AASP/NJ Hall of Fame plaque

years, best friend, my dance partner forever, loving father to our son, Roland Mikhail, brother, brother in law, uncle and friend to many. Your life was a blessing and your memories are a treasure. You’ll be missed beyond measure.”

Mikhail’s passion for life extended beyond the auto body industry to many hobbies, including ballroom dancing, scuba diving, swimming, traveling and kayaking. He served as treasurer of the Jersey Shore Sea Kayaking Association for over a decade, and he was also a member of Business Network International where he imparted his wisdom to others.

The most valuable thing McNee learned from Mikhail was “integrity, honesty and doing the right thing. Sam taught me that coming to the front line will put a target on your back, and you will be out in front by yourself.” McNee fondly recalled, “During association meetings, Sam would stand up and speak his mind, no matter who was in the room…classic Sam!”

“Sam would rarely make a quick decision,” Bryant weighed in. “He was known to think carefully about any decision he was challenged with, but when Sam made up his mind and took a position on something, Houdini could not convince him to change his position. I always respected Sam for having the strength to never waver from a position he had taken, no matter how hard someone tried to get him to change his mind and reverse his position. He was a strongwilled man.”

Bryant also shared a memory that reinforced his description of Mikhail: “A representative from the county where Prestige Auto Body was located once tried to get Sam to pay a fee for a county permit. Sam explained that he had already paid a fee to the state for the same type of permit and that he was not going to pay twice for the same type of permit; however, the guy from the county was persistent and kept insisting that Sam had no choice. Sam explained over and over, but the guy kept insisting that he had to pay for the county permit, even if he had already paid for the same type of permit from the state.

“You could see that Sam was getting angry and kept saying over and over, ‘I am not going to pay twice for the same thing,’” Bryant continued. “Realizing that the guy from the county just wasn’t getting it, Sam finally said, ‘Let me explain this to you in a manner that you will understand…get

the hell off my property now!’ The guy left, Sam never paid the fee, and no one ever challenged his decision after that. I will never forget the look on the guy’s face when Sam made that statement.”

Mikhail’s commitment to doing the right thing ensured that Prestige Auto Body earned a reputation for delivering high-quality repairs that clients could rely on. “His shop did excellent work,” according to Elder. “In fact, Sam was one of the first to reinspect repairs done by other shops to check for safety, quality of repair and compliance with OEM procedures.”

Those reinspections led to one of Elder’s favorite memories of his friend. “A customer hired Sam to reinspect a hard-hit Mercedes that we fixed. I awaited his call patiently. The call came, and I was eager to hear his results. He found a continued on pg. 34

Sam Mikhail (sitting middle) with the AASP/NJ Board of Directors

www.raeservice.com

For over 30 years, Reliable Automotive Equipment has been the premier OEM Collision Repair equipment supplier. Continue reading for details on our range of OEM certified welders, tailored for diverse automotive needs. Discover the ideal choice for your workshop today!

WHICH INVERTAPULS WELDER

Extremely simple to use entry-level welding machine for steel welding Constructed with durable materials and produces great results on panels as thin as .023 inches. Perfect for standard shop use.

FIND YOUR SPARK.

IP7-2 THREE PHASE

VAS VERSION AVAILABLE

New generation of the IP6-2! Incredibly self-explanatory and dual torch welding machine capable of performing the same welding processes listed under IP6-2. 10-280 AMP’s of welding power professional shop use!

IP4-3 SINGLE PHASE

Cutting-edge triple torch machine capable of steel, brazing, aluminum, pulse and double pulse welding. Has memory of 90 welding parameters. The allrounder for body shop professionals.

*All of the above welders utilize inverter technology to provide better control over the welding arc, increase energy e ciency, and improve welding performance

An Icon Retires: Tim Morgan Reflects on Industry Education, Equipment and Evolution

Tim Morgan has worn more hats in the collision repair space than most. Body technician. Shop owner. Educator. Equipment distributor. Leader. Industry expert. His work has taken him all over the globe, and he’s certainly racked up a number of successes over his many decades… not to mention airline miles!

This spring, he announced his most recent move – the decision to retire as Chief Operating Officer for Spanesi Americas, a company he took from $0 to $60 million in sales in

the US over a span of 12 years.

“I think I shocked people when I said ‘retirement,’” he confesses. “I turned 62 the day after the NORTHEAST® Automotive Services Show. I am now legally old enough, and I’m looking to see how the next chapter in my life is going to play out.”

Morgan humbly stressed that he is not seeking out any big celebration in honor of the occasion. Although he’s not certain about what his next steps may look like, he is certain that he wants to relax. He’s started the first leg of his retirement taking the time to regroup and enjoy conversations with people - something he has not been able to do in quite some time.

“I spent the past 12 years working seven days a week. I missed a lot of personal things that I could have been doing with my family that I’m going to catch up on. I have some hot rods and motorcycles in the garage to play with, so I’ve got projects. I’d like to travel a little bit more and spend some time working with the dogs.” (One of Morgan’s many projects is the establishment of 2nd Chance Ranch, a non-profit pet rescue organization.)

Morgan knew he wanted to pursue a career in automotive at the young age of 14, an interest launched by working on old cars in a neighbor’s garage. But when it came time to talk career moves with his high school guidance counselor, he actually was met with resistance. “I told him I wanted to be in the auto body program, and he said ‘No, you’re too smart for that. You need to go to college.’ So my parents actually had to go to the school board and go against the direction of the school to get me in the auto body program. It amazes me because I have run into that same guidance counselor at events as I grew up through the industry, and I’ve joked with him about what he did, and we laugh.

“You just never know what someone’s potential could be,” he added. “He’s told me ‘Ever since you, I’ve really had to sit down with people and think a little bit more of what’s in someone’s heart instead of what’s between their ears all the time.’”

Morgan’s own experiences as the frustrated owner of a small body/mechanical shop and towing company have really helped serve others as his career evolved. “I was really getting beat up by the insurance companies on how they wanted the cars repaired,” he recalled what led him to sell off his collision repair facility.

“I truly understand how the shop owner struggles being managed by an insurance carrier or by a third-party vendor. They shouldn’t be getting managed, because they don’t know what that person’s bottom line is. They don’t know what the guy had for breakfast, but they’re going to try and tell him how to run their business? So that’s why, all along, I’ve always tried to look out for the technician, shop manager and owner to make sure

they understand a way to be more profitable. And to make sure that they are getting the practice or tools and equipment to do the job.”

After leaving his shop, he went into education. “I was working as the director at Ohio Technical College where I bumped into Ron Kuehn of I-CAR. Not long after that, I got a call from a headhunter asking if I wanted to go to work for Car-O-Liner. I started out there as their technical and training manager for North America, due to the introduction through Ron, so I owe him for getting me into the corporate side of the equipment business. I was at Car-O-Liner for 14 years.”

During that time, Morgan served as Car-O-Liner’s global technician training manager “overseeing the global operations. I spent a number of years traveling the world for them. For a couple of years, I was based between the US and China. I traveled to Thailand and India. I actually spoke to the Chinese government and the Indian government about collision repair, so I got sort of a worldwide education.

“In 2009, I got the opportunity to go work for what I would call a consolidated group in the collision equipment business called Equinox that was based in Switzerland,” he continued. “I helped manage both Celette, while it was in its bankruptcy stages, and Elektron. Celette was a French company, and Elektron was

German. Everyone is familiar with Celette, not so much Elektron, which was welders and spot welders and other equipment. I worked with both groups to get them out of bankruptcy, up and running and sold off.”

Morgan then got the call for his next opportunity. “I was sitting there one day, and my Skype app went off, and there were a couple of people who wanted to talk to me about coming to work for Spanesi. Their first question was whether I thought there was room for another player for collision repair equipment in the US. Six months later, after we had spent some time going back and forth and trying to put together a business plan, they asked me to come in, put it together and run it. I think in about 12 years total, from consulting to managing, it was able to go from zero in the US and Canada to make a pretty decent name for the company. In January, we just celebrated that we had sold over $60 million in collision repair equipment in that short period of time.”

His career has allowed him to experience various things, especially by traveling the world. “I really enjoyed the time overseas, to be able to learn other cultures and work with other people like in Sweden, France, Germany and Italy. Every culture is different. The food is amazing.

“My time in China, I learned a lot about communication. I would be there for 10 days at a time, and then I would return home for five and back to China for another stint. I did a lot of work with some of the OEM manufacturers trying to get some of their programs off the ground, do shop inspections and try to add in training. When you try to explain to a technician who has five children, his parents and his grandparents at home that he needs to wear a welding helmet because he’s gonna go blind if he doesn’t and then he won’t have a job, it can get lost in translation. But when I went back to that shop a second time, the guy had his helmet

on his head, so it obviously didn’t.”

Not only has Morgan experienced different cultures, he’s also witnessed the differences in collision repair in other parts of the world. “If you look at the collision repair business in Europe compared to the US, there is no dictation by the insurance company telling you how to repair the vehicle. They follow the OEM procedures, and that’s it – case closed. This is the way they are going to repair the vehicle, this is the cost, and it’s repaired or replaced.

“I would have to say I’m really proud of the effort that we’ve put forward and what we’ve been able to grow while I was at Spanesi Americas,” he reflected. “To go from zero in a short period of time to the amount of dollars that we were able to succeed at. I remember the first booth I did at the NORTHEAST show was a 10 by 10, and I think this past time we were 50 by 30. That’s pretty exciting stuff for me.”

Morgan admits he’s found himself wanting to slow down a bit, noting he wasn’t moving around as fast as he used to. He racked up over two million airline miles over the course of his career. He may have indicated retirement was on the horizon when he “got a little crazy back in 2023 and started the John Madden theory that

BMW of Springfield

391-399 Route 22 E. Springfield, NJ 07081

Toll Free: 800-648-0053

Fax: 973-467-2185

bmwofspringfieldnj.com

BMW of Bridgewater

655 Route 202/206

Bridgewater, NJ 08807

PH: 908-287-1800

FAX:908-722-1729

bridgewaterbmw.com

©️2024

Circle BMW

500 Route 36

Eatontown, NJ 07724

Parts Direct: 732-440-1235

Fax: 732-440-1239

wholesale@circlebmw.com circlebmw.com

Park Ave BMW

530 Huyler Street

South Hackensack, NJ 07606

PH: 201-843-8112

FAX:201-291-2376

parkavebmw.com

Paul Miller BMW 1515 Route 23 South Wayne, NJ 07470

PH: 973-696-6060

Fax: 973-696-8274

paulmillerbmw.com

BMW of Bloomfield 425 Bloomfield Avenue Bloomfield, NJ 07003

Parts Direct: 973-748-8373

psantos@dchusa.com

Audi dealers strive to make you an Audi Genuine Parts fan

• Audi Parts Professionals are your subject matter experts on collision parts, replacement components and mechanical items.

• Many Audi dealers offer technical service support hotline access that can reduce your repair times and help you meet an on-time promised delivery.

• Installing Audi Genuine Parts contributes towards improved cycle time that makes both your customer and their insurance company happier.

Helping you do business is our business. Order Audi Genuine Parts from these select dealers.

Ciocca Parts Warehouse

8 Minneakoning Road

Flemington, NJ 08822

Toll Free: 800-221-1256

Fax: 908.782.1795 rmuir@cioccadealerships.com www.cioccaparts.com

DCH Millburn Audi

2211 Millburn Ave

Maplewood, NJ 07040

Toll Free: 800.553.9250

Direct: 973.762.0262

Fax: 973.762.2381 www.dchmillburnaudi.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

Bell Audi

782 Route 1 Edison, NJ 08817

732.396.9360

Fax: 732.396.9090 www.bellaudi.com

Town Motors Audi

400 South Dean Street

Englewood, NJ 07631

201.227.6506/6536

Fax: 201.541.0314 www.townmotors.com

Jack Daniels Audi of Upper Saddle River

243 Route 17

Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

201.252.1500

Fax: 201.254.1552

tbabcock@jackdanielsmotors.com www.jackdanielsmotors.com

Audi Bridgewater 701 Route 202-206 N Bridgewater, NJ 08807

929.600.9156

Fax: 908.595.0237

parts@audibridgewater.com www.audibridgewater.com

Tips to Winning the EmployeeRetention War

Many of you reading this may remember me as the old editor of this magazine, so let me quickly fill you in on what I’ve been doing since late 2021. Before landing my current role as an editor for an international nonprofit organization, I spent 14 months as a job coach in New Hampshire. In that role, I helped people in their twenties and thirties focus on their career goals, better organize their résumés and determine the right employers they should pursue based on their skills and ambitions. When I decided to move on from that position to pursue work closer to my skills and ambitions, I found myself slugging it out in the job marketplace alongside millions of other folks. The lessons I learned from these two experiences could fill 10 books, but since I’m limited to around 1,200 words here, I’ll stick to presenting what I believe are some of the reasons why the collision repair industry is having such a hard time attracting and retaining younger employees – and what it can do to turn things around.

Younger Employees Are Afraid to Stay with You

The next time you have a few minutes, go through LinkedIn and check out a few profiles for professionals in their early twenties through early thirties who work in other industries. It’s likely you’ll see people staying at a position for 12 to 18 months before moving on to something new. Years ago, this may have been a red flag for an employer who’d see a résumé like that and immediately question that potential hire’s commitment level. I don’t disagree with that concern, but one surprising thing I discovered while working in the job coaching field is that longevity at a previous position is now a potential barrier to future employment. A more “old-school” employer may still look at a potential hire’s 10-year stint at a past company as an indicator of that person’s loyalty and ability to hold down a steady job, but there’s a much greater likelihood that the majority of today’s hiring managers will view this candidate as someone who’s been applying their talents in just one direction for far too long – possibly leading to a stale skill set or (even worse) a decade’s worth of bad habits.

I’m the first person to scratch his head over Corporate America’s willingness to embrace a revolving-door workforce. Frankly, this mindset is utterly insane. After all, if an employer is looking to hire someone who’s acquired a variety of skills by jumping around, shouldn’t they expect their new hire to bounce after a year or so? That’s not how you build stability in your operation and work culture.

The good news is that the collision repair field is one of the very last industries in this country that values employee longevity. The bad news is that you need to work damn hard to push against a culture that has made job-jumping

by JOEL GAUSTEN

the norm. In the November 2023 issue of Hammer & Dolly (available at grecopublishing.com/hd1123askmike), Mike Anderson of Collision Advice shared how one of his shop clients uses retention bonuses to encourage employees to stick around. The owner of this shop gives his employees a $500 retention bonus for the first year, $1,000 for the second year, $1,500 for the third year and so on. That’s not a bad idea at all.

Do you have a solid training plan in place for employees to sharpen their skills consistently? Are you an innovative, tech-savvy owner who provides your employees with the most current equipment and processes available? Do you communicate to a potential employee what they could make if they stay with you for five or more years? What are some other ways you’re incentivizing them to stay with you for the long haul?

Start thinking in these directions immediately, as securing long-term employees through the allure of a steady paycheck alone just doesn’t cut it anymore – even in this economy. If you want to grow a dependable longterm employee base, it’s your responsibility to present them with a clear career path and reward them for not leaving. You need them more than they need you.

You Don’t Clean Up – or Shut Up

I say this with the utmost respect for my friends in the industry: More than a few of you run absolute dumps. Sure, your customer waiting area may be spotless and impressive, but what about that hellhole in the back? Is garbage everywhere on the floor? How many political signs and posters of women in bikinis are on the walls? In 2024? (You know who you are.) To be blunt, you can’t afford to show a potential hire — and, in some cases, their parents, guidance counselors, etc.— that they’d be working in tacky squalor.

In addition to simply cleaning up the mess in your shops, you need to tidy up the social culture within your four walls as well. Today’s society is more politically and socially varied than ever. Whether you agree with concepts like “social justice,” “cultural sensitivity” and “gender fluidity” doesn’t matter – the fact is that younger members of today’s workforce do care about these things. A lot. I raised my stepson in rural New Hampshire, and even his high school had a transgender student support group.

Do I personally align with “woke” culture? Not always, but that doesn’t matter—and it doesn’t matter if you do, either. Why alienate a potential hire because your current staff wants a picture of a half-naked woman on the wall

or you want to display campaign posters for your favorite political candidate? Are you ready to call your employees by their preferred pronouns? Your competitors in other fields sure are. Your job is to fill your business with employees with the skills to keep your customers and partners happy – not to make your business a reflection of your sociopolitical beliefs. Save that stuff for your dinner table, and keep it out of your bay.

Why the Industry Can – and Will – Win

Simply put, cubicle farms suck. There are few things more impersonal than having to run a simple question or a time-off request through a 10-person Human Resources email chain and then wait for a reply. I had clients at my previous job who hated those environments. Why? Because they just loved working with their hands and didn’t want to waste their time writing an email to someone they’ve never met to ask if they could leave early to take their kid to a dentist appointment. One of the greatest things about most body shops is that employees see the owners every day. You’d be stunned by how rare that kind of interaction is these days, especially when some companies competing for your hires have 300 employees.

There’s an intimacy and family spirit in the collision repair industry that is virtually non-existent in almost every other profession out there. Use that rare gift to your highest advantage. Host regular parties or other social events for your team. Don’t just throw a few pizzas on a table once a month; invite your employees to a family-friendly place on a Saturday afternoon – on your dime – and encourage them to bring their kids and/or significant others. Laugh with them. Make them feel like they’re part of your family – because they’ll be spending a lot more time with you than their actual one. Market these things to your potential hires. It’s simple stuff, sure, but believe me – this is an art that’s dying in today’s workplace. Be the industry to keep it going. Your employees will love you for it – and stay with you for more than 18 months.

I’ll always have a deep love and appreciation for the collision repair industry, and I hope these few words have helped shed some new light on an old problem. I wish you well in your search for new employees. You have an extraordinary opportunity to offer them.

Reap the Rewards of Using OEM Parts Through Nissan’s Rebate Program

Fit, quality, performance, safety, cycle time, fewer returns, enhanced customer satisfaction…There are many reasons for collision repair facilities to use OEM parts. The opportunity to save money has been added to that list, thanks to Nissan’s parts rebate program, which seeks to reward repairers for using more OEM parts!

When a shop uses more OEM parts, they’re eligible for a larger rebate – up to 22 percent! – as the rebate multiplies based on the percentage of Nissan or Infiniti OEM parts ordered through OPSTrax, a parts procurement platform. All parts are eligible for the rebate, as long as they are ordered as part of a complete repair estimate.

Orders that include 65 to 75 percent OEM parts receive a five percent rebate on those parts, with the rebate doubling to 10 percent for those parts on orders consisting of 75 to 85 percent OEM parts…and then doubling again to a 20 percent rebate if the order is comprised of more than 85 percent OEM parts.

Although Nissan/Infiniti certification is not necessary to be eligible to participate in the rebate program, certified shops do receive an additional one percent rebate, as long as their total share of OEM parts reaches at least 50 percent. An extra one percent rebate is available by subscribing to RepairLogic and using it to create two or more Nissan/Infiniti repair plans each month.

IN MEMORIAM

Town Auto Body’s

For example, on a $3,000 estimate utilizing 80 percent OEM parts, a non-certified shop would be eligible for a rebate of $30. By increasing OEM parts usage to 100 percent, that shop’s rebate climbs to approximately $135; a certified shop using RepairLogic would be around $165. The entire estimate must be submitted through OPSTrax using TraxMatch to qualify.

The main goal behind the program is to ensure Nissan/ Infiniti customers receive the safest possible repairs, utilizing OEM parts by well-trained technicians, but it also offers value to repair facilities. “Nissan knows it gives the shop operator an opportunity to take another step toward ensuring they install the parts they feel more confident in,” according to Daniel Dent (Nissan). “We want to partner with businesses and individuals who care about the customer experience and provide the absolute safest repair possible. Nissan understands that our customers’ safety comes first, and we know the safest repair is one with 100 percent OEM parts with trained technicians and the right tools.”

Rebates are paid via ACH to the shop’s chosen business account, and there is no cost to access OPSTrax, although shops will be charged five percent of the total rebate as a monthly administrative fee.

Sign up now at bit.ly/NissanPartRebate to start reaping the rewards of OEM parts usage!

Joseph Pastore, Sr.

The AASP/NJ community mourns the loss of one of its longtime members, Joseph Pastore, Sr., founder of Town Auto Body (Montclair), who passed away March 24 at the age of 89.

Pastore was born and raised in Montclair, prior to settling in Cedar Grove. He founded Town Auto Body in 1956 out of a small garage on a side road off Grove Street in Montclair. In 1981, he moved the business to the Grove Street location where it remains today.

Pastore grew the Town Auto Body business into the successful operation it still is today nearly 70 years later, owned and operated by the second and third generations of the Pastore family. Three of his four children followed him into the business devoting their lives to his legacy. His son Joseph Pastore, Jr. and daughter Tina have spent their careers at the Montclair business (with Joseph Jr.’s son Kenny now taking over the reins), while his son Thomas went on to open Town 2 Auto Body in Hamburg in 1989.

Pastore is survived by his wife Germana (Ricciardelli); his children: Julie Cosmillo, Tina Pastore Kupferman, Joseph Pastore, Jr. and Thomas Pastore and nine grandchildren.

AASP/NJ and New Jersey Automotive send their deepest condolences to the Pastore family.

Kemperle Delivers!

Kemperle represents hundreds of the industry’s top manufacturers and stocks thousands of their superior products. With more than 50,000 products available to our customers, Kemperle’s locations are uniquely equipped to find the products you need.

KEMPERLE PERFORMANCE DRIVEN PRODUCTS

Abrasives | Adhesives | Body Fillers & Polyester Putty | Clearcoats Detailing Products | Hardware | Masking Products | Prep Solvents/Cleaners Primers/Sealers | Reducers | Spray Suits | ...and more

PINNACLE EQUIPMENT

U.S. Importer for Car Bench International

NJ TRAINING CENTER

• Hands-on technical training

• Classroom seminars

ON-SITE MOBILE DEMONSTRATIONS & TRAINING

626 E. Elizabeth Ave

Linden, NJ 07036

P: (908) 925-6133

F: (908) 925-4344

414-416 Madison Ave Paterson, NJ 07524

P: (973) 279-8300

F: (973) 279-9030

100 Melrich Rd Cranbury, NJ 08512

P: (609) 860-2800

F: (609) 860-2801

631 Clifton Ave Toms River, NJ 08753

P: (732) 797-3942

Linkedin.com/company/albertkemperleinc

P: (862) 244-4818

F: (862) 244-4822

F: (732) 797-0774 4 Emery Ave Randolph, NJ 07869

Redefining “Repair vs. Replace” with the new CBR Workstation

Like many collision repair procedures, dent repair has its advantages and shortcomings. While the promise of a repair that doesn’t require extensive bodywork is a benefit to shops, the time and effort sometimes required can make this service offering more trouble than it’s worth. But help is on the way. The Carbon CBR, available through Reliable Automotive Equipment, provides a complete solution for dent pulling that increases efficiency and repair accuracy, with considerably reduced effort.

The CBR is made from pure carbon and CFRP (carbon fiber reinforced plastic) components, resulting in tools and accessories that are incredibly strong and extremely lightweight to provide repairers with

LOCAL FEATURE

continued from pg. 21

ergonomic solutions to complete their repairs better, faster. Repairers can easily work alone to produce more accurate repairs with more flexibility in the repair process. Application of the pulling tools – especially when working overhead – is radically easier and absolutely fatigue-free compared to similar systems.

The CBR is an in-house development of CARBON GmbH, the leading expert in outer skin repairs. For nearly a decade, RAE and Carbon have formed a professional worldwide partnership.

Visit raeservice.com for more information on the CBR and to learn about available equipment, service, training and support.

fingerprint in the trunk jamb....and wiped it off!”

As a staunch consumer advocate dedicated to safe and quality repairs, Mikhail was honored with many community service awards over the years, but he was particularly gratified to be inducted into AASP/NJ’s Hall of Fame in 2011. “I am honored and thrilled to receive such a prestigious honor,” Mikhail indicated upon learning of the honor. “It really never crossed my mind. To be acknowledged by my peers this way is very, very gratifying.”

“Sammy has been an incredibly dedicated member to the association for what seems like forever,” McDowell, then president, had stated at the time. “Sam is the kind of guy who is there anytime you need him. I don’t think he’s missed a meeting in decades. Sam’s a fighter. You might not agree with everything he fights for, but you can’t deny that he has been and will always be an asset to our association and our industry. We’re proud to have him in the Hall of Fame. It’s overdue.”

Mikhail served on AASP/NJ’s Board of Directors for three decades, and although he was enjoying his retirement in Florida, he remained in touch with his New Jersey collision repair family and the association. Some of his final Facebook posts included promotions for the NORTHEAST® 2024 Automotive Services Show, and he was still thinking about AASP/NJ during his final weeks spent in the hospital.

“When Sam was in the hospital a few weeks before he

The CBR workstation combines innovation and ergonomics to provide complete solutions for quicker, more accurate repairs.

passed, he had his wife call Charlie and ask if there were any AASP/NJ documents he had to sign,” Greco shared. “Even in his final days, he was thinking of AASP/NJ. You don’t get more dedicated than that.”

“Sam was a good man,” McDowell added. “It was an honor to serve with him on the Board of the Central Jersey Auto Body Association and AASP/NJ.”

“His passion for this association and our industry were unfaltering,” Elder input. “He taught us all to stick with our programs and never give in! We will all miss him.”

“Sam took a stand for this industry, understood how a business runs and wanted the best for everyone,” McNee agreed. “He came to the front line to help gain back his business, and while others might view him as an outlier, he knew that you either do the right thing or you don’t. Sam had no filter and would call you out if you were doing the wrong thing, instead of hiding in the background. He will surely be missed.”

“Sam was a good man and a great friend,” Bryant chimed in. “Once Sam became your friend, he was a friend forever and would be there for you in a time of need. He will be dearly missed by many.”

NJA

THE FOUNDATION OF OUR BUSINESS SUCCESS IS YOUR LOYALTY.

OUR SUCCESS IN BUSINESS COMES FROM OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH LOYAL CUSTOMERS.

With years of service and commitment to the BMW brand, we reflect on our past and look to the future, 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: 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.

because

For over 30 years, Greco Publishing has partnered with the best of the industry to provide trade associations a voice, and to give advertisers a direct outlet to reach buyers.

Today’s shop is inundated with solicitations; advertising with Greco Publishing breaks through the noise to align your company as an association ally, and get you in front of your next customer.

ARANJ Board of Directors

David Yeager - EL & M Auto (800) 624-2266 / elandmauto@aol.com

Ed Silipena - American II Autos (609) 965-0987 / esilipena@yahoo.com

Norm Vachon - Port Murray Auto (908) 689-3152 / portmurrayauto@yahoo.com

Dillon Rinkens - East Brunswick Auto (732) 254-6501 / ebautonj@comcast.net

ARANJ Officers

President - Rodney Krawczyk Ace Auto Wreckers (732) 254-9816 / aceautonj@comcast.net

1st Vice President - Daryl Carman Lentini Auto Salvage (908) 782-4440 / darryl@las-parts.coms

2nd Vice President - Mike Ronayne Tilghmans Auto Parts (609) 723-7469 / tilghmans@snip.net

Past President - Bob Dirkes Dirkes Used Auto Parts (609) 625-1718 / dirkesauto@gmail.com

ARANJ

The Automotive Recyclers Association of New Jersey

Wharton Insurance Briefs

Personal auto insurance policies provide Personal Injury Protection (PIP) coverage. PIP is your medical coverage for injuries you sustain in an auto accident. PIP pays for you, or other persons covered under your personal auto policy, if you are injured in an auto accident. It is also referred to as “no fault” coverage because it pays your own medical expenses regardless of who was at fault.

PIP has two parts: 1) coverage for the cost of treatment you receive from hospitals, doctors and other medical providers and 2) reimbursement for certain other exposures you may have, such as lost wages and the need to have someone take care of your home. You can purchase both or medical treatment only.

Business auto insurance policy also provides PIP coverage; however, you need to add “additional” PIP coverage and list the individual name(s) on the endorsement. It is very important that you bring this information to the attention of your agent when discussing your business auto insurance coverage, especially if you are using dealer plates on your personal vehicles.

As always, if you have any questions, please call me.

800-221-0003 (ext. 1320) (908) 513-8588 (cell) mdefilippis@whartoninsurance.com

continued from pg. 25

I was going to go everywhere I could in my bus. That should have made people realize retirement was coming! To be honest, that actually helped me center myself to continue because I could go back to my own place. I didn’t have to go out to dinner. I could make my own and be in my own bed every night. In the past year, I think I put 30,000 miles on it. It was really nice to be able to go from show to show and be happy and ready every time I needed to go to an event.”

Morgan has undoubtedly seen many things over the years, so what does he foresee for the future of collision repair?

“I think you’re gonna see more consolidation. I think you’re gonna see fewer shops. And I think people are going to have to specialize a little bit. I would love to see the OEM repairs really be done the right way. I get sick to my stomach sometimes going on Facebook to some of these sites and seeing some of the repairs because a person is uneducated. It doesn’t mean that they want to do it wrong. They just might not know where to get the information from. I’m not blowing smoke when I say that the NORTHEAST show is probably one of, if not the best in the nation because of the education you find there. There is also education happening on the show floor because the vendors show new technology and what’s going to come in the future and give demonstrations. I think we need to move away from how the repair process is handled so it becomes less of a thirdparty dictation of how repairs are done; it should be more about the procedures on this particular vehicle that XYZ needs to be performed, and here’s how it’s going to be done.

“There is a big problem trying to get people into our industry,” he added on the growing tech shortage problem. “Like I said, it goes all the way back to when I was 14 years old, and I was told to go do something else. There needs to be a

re-education on the perception of our industry, a rebirth to show what really happens and that people can make money repairing cars the correct way.

“We need to work harder to get better at education, educating everyone from the consumer to the insurance person to everyone in the shop. Everyone in the shop has a process that needs to be in place for them to make sure that they’re doing

the right thing for the customer. And the other thing with the customers that you have to remember is that once you have them, it doesn’t mean you have them for life. People will change brands. People will change lots of different things if they don’t get the right customer experience. That’s part of why I’ve always worked the way I did is to try and bring the right customer experience.”

•

•

•