Exhibitor Registration Now Open for AASP/NJ’s NORTHEAST 2023 Automotive Services Show

zero emissions and a similar 2045 deadline for larger-sized commercial vehicles. It also comes a month after California issued its regulations to transition to zero-emission new vehicles by 2035.

New York’s governor said the transition would not be a sudden stop on gas-powered vehicle sales. The state has a plan to have 35% of new cars be electric vehicles by 2026 and 68% by 2030.

“We’re really putting our foot down on the accelerator and revving up our efforts to make sure we have this transition,” she said.

Hochul announced the state has added $10 million to its “Drive Clean Rebate” initiative to aid in that transition. It gives people who buy or lease a new electric vehicle a $2,000 rebate on top of the $7,500 federal rebate. In the five years since the program started, the state has issued more than $92 million in rebates to New Yorkers.

“As we bring more renewable energy to our electric grid and build out EV charging infrastructure, we continue to invest in market supports that bring us closer each day to zeroemission passenger vehicles by 2035,” said Doreen Harris, the president and CEO of the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority.

The state is also making nearly $5.8 million available to local governments to help them add zero-emission vehicles to their fleet or install public charging centers or hydrogen fueling stations. The deadline to apply for that funding was Sept. 30.

The U.S. Department of Transportation announced it approved New York’s plan to install the additional charging stations needed to handle the expected increase in electric-powered vehicles. That plan includes $175 million in federal funds to create a network of charging stations to help EV drivers handle long-distance trips.

Hochul said the federal funds, coupled with the $1 billion the state has invested in new charging stations, should raise EV sales. She added this year’s sales are already 30% higher than last year.

The state also plans for school districts to buy only zero-emission buses starting in 2027 and to have any gas- or diesel-powered school bus off the road by 2035.

“New York is a national climate leader and an economic powerhouse, and we’re using our strength to help spur innovation and implementation of zero-emission vehicles on a grand scale,” Hochul said.

The Alliance of Automotive Service Providers of New Jersey (AASP/NJ) is thrilled to announce that exhibitor registration is open for their flagship event, the NORTHEAST® 2023 Automotive Services Show at the Meadowlands. Now in its 46th year, NORTHEAST 2023, the largest and fastestgrowing event of its kind, is scheduled for March 17-19 at the Meadowlands Exposition Center of Secaucus, NJ.

“We are beyond excited to welcome everyone back to Secaucus, NJ for NORTHEAST 2023,” shares AASP/NJ Past President and Trade Show Committee Chairman Jeff McDowell. “After the uncertainty we’ve all experienced over the past few years, I can’t wait to be back among industry professionals to experience what we’ve all come to expect from NORTHEAST: Three days of exclusive training, networking and the best exhibitors around. We began planning for next year very shortly after NORTHEAST 2022 ended, and I’m confident this upcoming show will be our best to date.”

Badge registration for NORTHEAST 2023 will open on December 1. To reserve booth space for NORTHEAST 2023, please visit the official website of NORTHEAST, aaspnjnortheast.com, and click on Exhibitor Info to get started. For news and announcements regarding NORTHEAST, please visit aaspnjnortheast.com. To learn more about AASP/NJ, visit aaspnj.org.

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more vehicles. They give us volume and we give them a break; it happens in all types of industries. If the prevailing rate is $62, for example, and I say I can do it for $58—that is a business decision.

Why does that mean I cannot pay a technician, estimator or GM a really good income? Why does that mean I cannot repair a car correctly? Explain it to me. I am at a loss.

If I say I can eat sandpaper and some products as the cost of doing business, and then bill for the products that are not, I feel it is a win. If a DRP says there is a paint cap, but I can prove that there was a significant difference and the cost was more via an invoice, how is that a loss? All the carriers want is a level playing field, with full transparency, and I say give it to them.

Example: I need sales at $400,000 monthly to sustain the company— meaning equipment upgrades, quality materials, etc.—and pay everybody well and above industry. So, if that costs $350,000 to do and the location profits $50,000, how is that bad?

I have seen greed in some owners that is the destroyer of their business. To sustain your business for the long haul you must pay well, upgrade with the times and offer great benefits, recognition programs and good bonus programs.

Do they truly believe that carriers do not want to indemnify their insured? I completely disagree. I think most of all the carriers out there want to retain their customers and want to pay what is the right amount for the vehicle. Nothing more and nothing less.

I often hear all around the industry that the DRPs want you to repair the car using a series of shortcuts, not do it correctly, cutting corners and so on. In my 40 years in this industry, I have never had a carrier ask me to do anything like that. Not one!

I have had quite a few of the carriers ask me why we need to do something, and we always explain everything in full detail with all of the supporting documentation. We are a VeriFacts company as well, so we definitely repair everything correctly.

Have we had a carrier ever ask us for a discounted labor rate? Yes. Have we ever had carriers ask to reduce a labor time? Yes. However, we have never been asked to short a repair, nor have we ever been asked to repair something that is not repairable. Not once. If we did, we would absolutely say no, of course.

We would certainly always be the first to whistle blow if we were ever asked this. So, it is my belief that as a business owner, it is up to me to guarantee that we do the right things and ensure quality OE repairs on each and every job.

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Q: Do you ever have to wrestle with an insurance company about the cost of parts, labor rates, etc., and if so, how do you deal with it?

A: The carriers I work with, both DRP and non-DRP, have been great. Do they ask us for concessions from time to time? Yes. Do we give it all the time? No. It depends on what it is.

All my DRP rates are in stone so the only time I am asked for labor rate concession is form the adjusted work we do. If our door is $62 and they ask for $60, we will give that to them in most cases. If they try and chop repair time, we argue, as we feel we are the experts.

We are not asked for labor time cuts often. But when we have been, we look at it and say, well what we wrote is fair, right and reasonable. We will not concede. We rarely get pushback.

Parts are interesting; we will not install a used quarter panel, period. We will not use substandard used or aftermarket parts either. If we are asked to do this, we immediately explain why this should not be done. aately I have seen more understanding and giving us what we need than not. Everybody knows the impact of a substandard repair.

Q: Are DRPs attracted to working with you because you have a reputation for making it work to where both parties are satisfied?

A: I would say they want to work with us because we perform, we repair cars correctly, we communicate and we are not confrontational. We are kind in our business practices. We bring our partners in for training and allow then to use our locations as training facilities for their teams.

We have seen a large interest in this. We recently conducted scanning and calibration classes for a large carrier. We brought in the vendor we work with and did an on-site scan and calibration, had a wonderful PowerPoint presentation. Everyone left feeling empowered.

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