Autobody News January 2011 Southwest Edition by Autobody News

Southwest Edition Texas Oklahoma Louisiana New Mexico

YEARS

Industry News You Might Have Missed in 2011 by John Yoswick

So much happens in the collision repair industry that it can be hard to keep up on everything. A few big stories get plenty of attention, but sometimes it’s the lesser-known stories that can have as big an impact on your business. As a new year kicks off, here’s a wrap up of some of the news stories from this past year that might have flown under your radar amid the dayto-day challenges of running your shop, but that could prove helpful for you to know about. ► 1 The Federal Trade Commission

last year issued a consumer bulletin related to the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act. It states that use of nonOEM parts in itself cannot void a vehicle warranty. “Still, if it turns out that the aftermarket part was itself defective or wasn’t installed correctly, and it causes damage to another part that is covered under the warranty, the manufacturer or dealer has the right to deny coverage for that part and charge you for any repairs,” the bulletin states. For a copy of the bulletin, visit: http://tinyurl.com/3zvas3w

► 2 The Society of Collision Repair See Might Have Missed, Page 36

Southwestern Collision Industry’s 2011 Redux

See Industry Wrap-Up, Page 39

P.O. BOX 1516, CARLSBAD, CA 92018

From standards to stand-offs, economic hardship to successful expansions, the Southwest collision industry has seen its fair share of challenges this year. We asked some repairers and other industry stakeholders to take a hard look at some of the issues they saw in 2011, and some they’d like to see less of in 2012. Gary Wano, Jr., owner of GW&SON AutoBody, Inc. in Oklahoma City, OK, talked with Autobody News about his views on the collision industry over the past year and where we may be headed in 2012.

One key issue this year was a very uncertain economy, which affected many consumers’ decision to repair their vehicles. “As for GW&SON, 2010 we performed 444 repairs at a repair average of $1201, this year, with no labor rate increases our ‘light repair’ average has raised to $1588, and we have only close 105 to date. I will admit this is a ‘at surface stat’ without digging any deeper it would appear our small ticket ‘customer pay’ repairs have dropped off by 73%, while the ‘customer pay’ severity has increased by 32.2%. Again, off the cuff I would say our client base is more willing to drive

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by Erica Schroeder, Assistant Editor

VOL. 30 ISSUE 1 JANUARY 2012

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2011 RECAP

Houston City Council Set to Vote on Auto Repair Ordinance, Draft Not Favorable to Shops The city of Houston is moving to enact an ordinance to regulate the automotive repair and service industry that would regulate every type of business that touches a car, whether it’s a body shop, an independent auto repair shop, a dealership or a big store like Wal-Mart. The mayor has set the vote for Wednesday, Dec. 21, the last City Council meeting of the year, and after this issue goes to press. “While this ordinance has good intentions, it paints the entire industry with one stroke. The proposed ordinance stems from an effort to eliminate a problem that comes from a small percentage of unscrupulous collision-repair shops, which is one segment of the automotive repair

trade. This attempt at a solution will wrap an already difficult business in more red tape,” says Kathryn van der Pol, Past PresiKathryn van der Pol dent of ASA, Houston Chapter, and co-owner of Adolf Hoepfl & Son Garage, which has been in business since 1946. Writing in the Houston Chronicle, Van der Pol says there are some good features for the consumer in this ordinance: “The ordinance will require all auto-repair facilities to post their liSee Houston Ordinance, Page 10

Texas DOI Investigating ANPAC Insurance for Possible Fraudulent Document in Shop Claim John Borek, General Manager of Autocraft Bodywerks in Austin, Texas, has filed a complaint with the Texas Department of Insurance against American National Property and Casualty Company (ANPAC) and a claims services company, American Claims Services, alleging that they “knowingly used a fraudulent document to justify their short-pay” of a claim. Borek said his shop submitted supplements on the claim to ANPAC through American Claims Service, which denied payment for color sand and buff, sending the shop a document it said was from Audatex showing that procedure as included in 2-stage refinish formula. Borek said he filed an inquiry with the Database Enhancement Gateway (DEG), and Audatex, after

searching the shop’s “Database Reference Manuals” back to 1993. Borek said he had never seen the supposed Audatex document before being presented with it from ANPAC. The DEG stated that the document is John Borek “most certainly not from ADP/Audatex.” (The actual Audatex manual shows color sand and buff as a not-included item.) “Color sand and buff has been a pet-peeve of mine since 1998, and I know it’s not included in any paint time,” Borek said. “But how many shops are being sent incorrect information about things like this and not knowing any better?” See Color Sand and Rebuff, Page 38

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