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Industry Responds to CNN Segment Exposing “Steering” & Use of “Sub-par” Parts by Stacey Phillips, Assistant Editor
The recent CNN news report about the collision repair industry gave viewers an inside look at the challenges body shops face in order to repair cars safely for consumers. It aired on the Anderson Cooper 360 show Feb. 11. The 11-minute segment, entitled “Auto Insurers Accused of Pushing Cheap and Sometimes Dangerous Repairs,” explained the widespread use of “salvaged” or aftermarket parts as well as the practice of insurance companies “steering” work away from
certain shops that aren’t part of their select service programs. In addition, the program discussed the lawsuits filed by more than 500 body shops in 36 states against the top insurance companies in the country to address their concerns. “This was just another validation of, as CNN put it the ‘scheme’ that’s going on within the insurance industry and anyone associated with them. It also validates what shops all around the country have been seeing and dealing with for years,” said Ron Perretta, owner of Professionals Auto
2015 Ford F-150 Long-Term Road Test
The following article was written by Travis Langness, Associate Editor at Edmunds.com. It was published on Jan. 26 and has generated a lot of commentary online. Since many readers heard only about the reaction to the story we reprint the article here with permission of Edmunds.com.
VOL. 6 ISSUE 1 MARCH 2015
Aluminum Body Repairs Part 1 I hit our brand-new long-term 2015 Ford F-150 4X4 SuperCrew with a sledgehammer. On purpose. Twice. We bought the $52,000 F-150 from Galpin Ford in Van Nuys, California. The day after the truck was delivered to our Edmunds office in Santa Monica, I went to work with the BFH, See 2015 Ford F-150, Page 22
See CNN Segment, Page 20
Large Portion of Antitrust Multidistrict Litigation in FL Dismissed, Refiled by Plaintiffs
See Multidistrict Litigation, Page 32
P.O. BOX 1516, CARLSBAD, CA 92018
Judge Gregory Presnell in Florida has dismissed a large portion of a lawsuit in multidistrict litigation court accusing State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. and 40 other insurers of conspiring to suppress reimbursement rates for vehicle damage repair costs. However, the plaintiffs have already refiled claims that were dismissed without prejudice. John Eaves of Eaves Law Firm in Mississippi, the lead lawyer for the plaintiffs, said this was not a surprise. “We anticipated [the dismissal],” said Eaves. “This is what was done the
first time we filed a complaint in Florida.” “My interpretation is that [Judge Presnell] wanted a lot more of the actual facts and details in the complaint… instead of something so general,” Eaves told Autobody News. However, the ruling may be a setback for hundreds of other auto repair shops alleging similar claims against insurers in the multidistrict litigation in the District Court. Shops across the country have provided Eaves with an abundance of information that he has now incorporate into the revised complaint. He said it is a longer document, much more de-
Change Service Requested
by Stacey Phillips, Assistant Editor
Travis Langness, Associate editor at edmunds.com, takes a sledgehammer to a brand new aluminum Ford F-150 to test the collision repair process. Photo credit: Edmunds.com
Attempt by Edmunds.com to Investigate Aluminum Repair Rates Runs into Controversy by Stacey Phillips, Assistant Editor
A recent video and transcript released by Edmunds.com has caused controversy in the industry. During the twominute video, Travis Langness, the Assistant Editor at Edmunds.com, hit a brand new 2015 Ford F-150 with a sledgehammer. Twice! Ouch, said several industry players, but it wasn’t just about the damage to the truck. His intent? To find out if it takes longer to repair the aluminum-bodied truck than a steel-bodied one and, perhaps, belatedly, to compare the costs involved. Langness drove the F-150 to the body shop at Santa Monica Ford in greater Los Angeles to put it to the test. After going through the re-
pair process, and admitting in his article that he had misrepresented the nature of the damage, he concluded that it took more time to fix the aluminum body panels and cost more money than repairing steel. The original version is reprinted with permission from Edmunds.com on the cover. Autobody News asked Edmunds.com for further comment. “As with any vehicle in Edmunds’ LongTerm testing fleet, our F-150 experiment was designed to simulate a service experience of any regular truck owner,” said Scott Oldham, Editor in Chief at Edmunds.com. “Like many of these owners, we took our vehicle to the nearest Ford dealership for the reSee Aluminum Repair Rates, Page 26
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