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Cover Story even the early 2000s. I got into this business in the early 2000s; OEM procedures weren’t something you looked up. Today, if you’re not looking them up and reading them, you’re not fixing the car the correct way.” Kiffe added that House Bill 1348 was created to ensure consumer safety – not to eliminate aftermarket parts from the Texas marketplace. “As a shop manager, I would have no problem using aftermarket parts if they were certified to meet the requirements of this bill. If they were certified and proven [to be] the same, and they met the same specifications as the OEM parts, body shops wouldn’t have a problem using them.” Greg Luther, chairman of the board for HABA and body shop manager of Helfman Motors, addressed the anti-steering portion of the bill, noting his negative experiences after dropping “more than 10” DRP partners at his operation. “After ending these agreements, the steering started almost immediately. Companies that once referred clients to us were now sending them to their other shops. ese other shops still work under a flawed business model that incentivizes bad behavior, such as fast, cheap repairs in order to cut corners for the insurance companies.” Luther noted that he still works with a few insurers under the DRP model “who work for the customer and work for us.” Eric McKenzie, who serves on the ABAT Board of Directors in addition to his role as collision director for Park Place Dealerships, cited a number of state, national and international organizations – including the Texas Auto Dealers Association, the North Texas New Car Dealers Association, the Alliance of Automotive Service (AASP), the Automotive Services Association (ASA), the Society of Collision Repair Specialists (SCRS) and the insurance industry-supported ICAR – that have publicly stated their support of OEM recommended/required procedures. Ware Wendell, executive director of the Texas-based consumer advocacy group Texas Watch, presented Committee members with a packet of letters from 1,100 Texans in support of House Bill 1348. Additional testimony in support of the effort came from Gerald Condon, president of the Southeast Texas Collision Group. e hearing took an emotional turn when Marcia Seebachan, known for the multimillion-dollar lawsuit she and her husband, Matthew, brought against John Eagle Collision in Dallas, appeared in front of the Committee to testify in support of the bill. In heartbreaking detail, she outlined some of the physical and emotional effects of the crash, including her spinal damage and Matthew’s boneexposing burns. Representative Travis Clardy
HABA President John Kopriva “It is exceptional that we’re alive today…e effects of the wreck on our health, marriage, family, careers and finances were devastating. is pain was exacerbated when we were told that [our] CARFAX report was completely inaccurate and the car had in fact been repaired poorly before we owned it. e insurance company and the body shop had decided that, for cost efficiency, they would replace the roof with a 3M adhesive instead of welding it in the 108 places that the OEM standards specified. is choice impacted the structural integrity of the car, and it is the reason that our injuries were as severe as they were.” (Read Texas Automotive’s exclusive interview with Seebachan on page 19.) Speaking in opposition of the bill, Kevin Fisk of LKQ Corp. cautioned Committee members that passage of this legislation could lead to a “de facto ban” on aftermarket parts. “While it’s been stated that this is not an anti-aftermarket bill, we’ve seen these and figured out that if you allow the OEM […] to write the procedures you have to follow, they have – and they will – write procedures that say, ‘You can only use OEM parts to properly repair the vehicle.’” Joe Woods, vice president of state government relations for the American Property Casualty Insurance Association, suggested that repair facilities could use House Bill 1348 for dishonest financial gain. “ere’s nowhere [in this legislation] that says there’s any regulation that’s going to confirm that these folks actually used the manufacturer’s manual. ey’re going to charge a $250 blueprint fee – which they do now – which is the time they spent looking at the manual to figure out how to do the repair…ere’s no guarantee anywhere that they actually will do that. “is is a highly unregulated business,” he added. “e insurance adjusters are really the only people who have any shot of regulating practices and quality.” Other groups that offered opposing testimony included the Auto Care Association, the Texas Automotive Recyclers Association, the Association of Fire and Casualty Companies of Texas, the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies and the Texas Coalition for Affordable Insurance Solutions. Despite the pushback given by these groups, ABAT Executive Director Jill Tuggle tells Texas Automotive that the association received nothing but encouragement in the days following the hearing. “We’ve received an overwhelming response from Board members who were not able to attend as well as other ABAT members. People in the national industry have also reached out to us. Everyone has had positive feedback on our testimony and how what we delivered was clear, concise and powerful.” Tuggle is confident that the industry’s testimony succeeded in
20 MAY 2019 Texas Automotive