Published in New England Automotive Report – Thomas Greco Publishing Protecting your shop’s assets requires forethought and preparation, and these days, data is often considered more valuable than gold. Headlines over the summer featured a cyberattack against CDK Global – used by 15,000 dealerships – which led the software to be shut down for weeks, causing parts supply disruptions across the country. Although CDK’s situation has been resolved, the data breach raises concerns about what level of risk cybercriminals pose to automotive businesses. A 2023 report conducted by CDK (bit.ly/CDKreport2023) indicated that 17 percent of dealers experienced a cyberattack in the previous year. And cyberattacks prove increasingly costly. Citing research…

Published in AASP-MN News – Thomas Greco Publishing Collision industry leaders consistently emphasize the importance of performing a “complete and proper repair” in accordance with OEM recommendations in order to restore a vehicle to its pre-accident condition, but – for a variety of reasons – shops may not be performing every single task. Are all those repairs necessary? If the vehicle is still “driveable” without addressing those issues, is it “good enough”…or should shops be refusing these partial repairs? Last month, AASP-MN News explored this subject with experts on the mechanical side of the industry (available at grecopublishing.com/aasp0824coverstory). Now, the conversation continues with two leading collision consultants: Mike Anderson (Collision Advice) and…

Published in Hammer & Dolly – Thomas Greco Publishing It’s the dream for many – open your own auto body shop to provide a nice life for your family. One day, when you retire, your children will take over to continue your legacy. Sounds lovely, but sometimes life has other plans. Although no father intends to burden his 22-year-old child and her new spouse with a floundering business, there’s no doubt that the late Roland O’Haran Sr. would be extremely proud of his daughter and son-in-law, Jenn and Kyle Goad, for turning a struggling shop into a success story by overcoming the odds after being unexpectedly thrown into ownership. O’Haran,…

Published in AASP-MN News – Thomas Greco Publishing “Complete and proper repair” – it’s the golden standard that gets emphasized and reiterated in industry documentation and training events, and in a perfect world, of course every shop always performs every single task associated with restoring a car to its factory or pre-accident condition. But in the real world, various factors may create scenarios where shops do NOT address every item on that extensive list. Sometimes, it’s accidental; the shop fails to properly diagnose all the necessary repair items. Maybe the aftermarket warranty company or insurer debates whether certain repairs are truly necessary, or perhaps the customer refuses to invest in something they…

Published in New England Automotive Report – Thomas Greco Publishing Navigating the rapidly advancing technology of the collision repair industry has created many challenges for shops as they struggle to keep pace with all the changes happening on what seems like a daily basis. These days, properly repairing vehicles requires investing in specific tools, equipment and training – all of which vary drastically depending on the vehicle make and model.  It can be difficult to see the forest for the trees, but technology truly presents some amazing opportunities for those who are willing to take a step back and embrace some different ways of proceeding. The path forward may look…

Published in New England Automotive Report – Thomas Greco Publishing Consolidation is nothing new in the collision repair industry; it first caught repairers’ attention in the late 1990s and early 2000s when Caliber, Gerber and Service King entered the market in California and Texas, purchasing independent shops and converting them to their brands. But since 2013, “big” has gotten even bigger, spreading all across the country, as increasing technology and the rising cost of doing business make the idea of selling the keys to the shop for a pretty penny more palatable to mom-and-pop operations pursued by the deep-pocketed consolidators and multi-shop operations (MSOs) interested in expanding their footprint.  Over…

Published in Hammer & Dolly – Thomas Greco Publishing After three years under the leadership of Past President Steve Krieps (Greg Cline Auto Body; Winfield, WV), who bid adieu to his role in last month’s Hammer & Dolly (available at bit.ly/HD-0324), WMABA has a new head honcho, current President Kris Burton (Rosslyn Auto Body; Alexandria, VA), a dedicated collision industry professional whose affiliation with the association spans more than two decades.  What can members expect as WMABA moves into this new era? Burton sat down with Hammer & Dolly to help readers get to know him a little better as he shares his thoughts on what he hopes to accomplish as he takes the reins.…

Published in New England Automotive Report – Thomas Greco Publishing When AASP/MA Past President Rick Starbard (Rick’s Auto Collision; Revere) was appointed to the Auto Damage Appraiser Licensing Board (ADALB) in June 2015 – alongside former Board member Lyle Pare (Plymouth Rock Assurance Corporation and current Board member Bill Johnson (Pleasant Street Auto; South Hadley/Belchertown) – many Commonwealth repairers viewed the big changes as signifying a new era for the ADALB. But that era came to an abrupt end last fall when Starbard was unceremoniously replaced by his predecessor, Carl Garcia (Carl’s Collision Center; Fall River). In fact, no mention was made of the new appointments when the Board gathered…

Published in New England Automotive Report – Thomas Greco Publishing Training new employees can be stressful – even if you hire an experienced estimator, painter or technician, it’s unlikely they’ve ever done things the way YOU want them done at YOUR facility…after all, they’ve never worked for YOU before, and everyone does things differently. There’s always a learning curve when a new employee joins your team! Someone who is competent (or even highly skilled) could struggle to assimilate into your shop culture simply because your processes are different than what they’re used to. But what if there was a way to help them get accustomed to your way of doing…

Published in New England Automotive Report – Thomas Greco Publishing Rising interest rates and inflated prices often cause shoppers to tighten their purse strings, an action that can create a lot of economic uncertainty for small business owners, but in a country that relies heavily on their personal vehicles, the auto body industry may be a bit more resistant to recession concerns than other industries, allowing shops to take advantage of different opportunities that simply don’t exist in other areas. As discussed in last month’s New England Automotive Report, inflation may actually be a positive thing for body shop owners…as long as they’re charging the right amount for their labor and following…

Published in New England Automotive Report – Thomas Greco Publishing For the past two years, Americans have seen some of the highest rates of inflation they’ve ever witnessed, creating a feeling of dread among small business owners from coast to coast. But for auto body shops, these fears may be in vain since the public’s need to hang onto their cars longer has actually resulted in more work for many facilities. Although no industry is fully recession-proof, collision repair may be more resistant to these economic dilemmas than other fields. By embracing the opportunities that exist – and collecting fair and adequate compensation for the difficult work you perform – your business…

Published in New England Automotive Report – Thomas Greco Publishing Between rear cameras, blind spot monitors, emergency braking, adaptive cruise control and many other systems, ADAS is everywhere, often lurking beneath the surface of today’s vehicles from bumper to bumper. But like so many things, it’s easy to fall into the pattern of “out of sight, out of mind,” yet ignoring the need to calibrate these important safety features can have catastrophic consequences for your customers…and your business. For at least the past several decades, collision industry leaders have preached the necessity of pre- and post-repair scans, and their efforts have finally paid off. According to the 2022 “Who Pays for…

Published in New England Automotive Report – Thomas Greco Publishing Should insurer referral and program contracts be canceled? Last month, several shop owners shared their opinions on this topic with New England Automotive Report (available at grecopublishing.com/near0922coverstory), and a common trend developed: Many shops have extracted themselves from programs due to the belief that these contracts allow insurers to usurp control over their businesses – and prevent them from doing the right thing for their customers. “You have to perform repairs correctly from a liability, quality and service standpoint, regardless of what the insurer says,” according to Jack Lamborghini (Total Care Accident Repair; Raynham). “Establishing a strong customer base begins with quality repairs,…

Published in New England Automotive Report – Thomas Greco Publishing Repairing modern vehicles becomes more complicated with each passing year, thanks to advancing technology, an ever-evolving legislative landscape and the complexity of third-party relationships that many shops feel they must maintain. Of course, as independent businesses, shops reserve the right to operate the way they see fit…until they enter an arrangement with an outside entity, such as by participating in insurers’ referral and program contracts, the Commonwealth’s version of direct repair programs (DRPs). The concept of a “referral” program sounds pretty great: Insurers refer claimants to a contracted shop in exchange for certain concessions, such as reduced labor rates or…

Published in New England Automotive Report – Thomas Greco Publishing Continued supply chain delays + ongoing workforce shortage = no relief from the backlog that has been plaguing Massachusetts body shops since late last year. If someone had predicted the influx of repair work that would inundate shops in 2022 just two years ago, most collision repairers would have laughed in their face. Yet, that far-fetched forecast has become a reality for many shops. Current inflation has driven gas prices sky-high, resulting in fewer vehicles on the road and fewer accidents, and the Massachusetts Department of Transportation website reports there have been 55,959 accidents so far this year, as of…