September 2012 Western Edition by Autobody News

Western Edition California Nevada Arizona

YEARS

www.autobodynews.com ww ww.autobodynews.com

Proposition 33’s Price Setting Controversy, Lawsuit to Rewrite Proposition 33 Fails, Joseph Spends $8.3M A proposition on the November ballot in California is getting a lot of attention from people on both sides of the insurance pricing issue. However, a lawsuit filed by supporters of Proposition 33 in late July over the official wording of the measure has been thrown out by a California Superior Court judge. Proposition 33 is an initiative aimed at maintaining discount auto insurance for people that switch car insurance companies but still keep continuous coverage. And it happens to

be backed by the chairman of Mercury General Corp to the tune of $8.3 million. Basically, for each year you are with your insurance company and are continuously insured, you get a loyalty discount, but if you switch companies, you don’t. So, say you are with Allstate and you switch to Nationwide; even if you have been continuously insured since you were 16, you will not get a discount for continuous coverage. This See Proposition 33, Page 54

SEMA-AAPEX is Oct. 30-Nov 2 in Las Vegas For SCRS’ Repairer Driven Education, see p. 46-48

California Autobody Association ‘Has Concerns’ over State Farm’s PartsTrader Parts Bidding Program

For CAA members that are not aware of this program, State Farm launched a parts bidding pilot program earlier this year with 158 of their Select Service direct repair shops. These shops are required to source parts from vendors through PartsTrader, using their web-based parts procurement program in which vendors bid for the order. State Farm has stated that their new program should improve parts availability, process efficiency, order accuracy, and create a better experience for the customers. Although it is still in a pilot test, all indicators show that this program See PartsTrader, Page 61

Change Service Requested

P.O. BOX 1516, CARLSBAD, CA 92018

The California Autobody Association released the following statement titled: CAA Has Concerns with State Farm’s Parts Bidding Program; Will Shops Only Choice be to Adapt & Survive? CAA’s Executive Board has been evaluating the State Farm Parts Bidding program over the last few months and has concerns with the anticipated roll-out of their parts bidding program in California. This program is currently in a pilot test in four small regions, Grand Rapids, MI; Tucson, AZ; Birmingham, AL; and Charlotte, NC (but not in California as of yet).

VOL. 30 ISSUE 8 SEPTEMBER 2012

CDI Holds Hearing on “Workmanlike Repairs” and Aftermarket Parts, Insurers Object to Shop Benefits

The California Department of Insurance (CDI) held a hearing Aug. 9 in Sacramento to review newly proposed regulations to clarify “workmanlike auto body repairs” and the use of aftermarket crash parts. The Department says the proposed regulations, under Article 6.5 of the Insurance Code, Unfair Practices, are meant to provide increased protection for the public from “financial and physical harms caused by inferior repairs or defective aftermarket parts and to maintain insurer accountability in the process.” The Department of Insurance expects that the proposed regulations will create only insignificant cost impacts on insurers, but insurers dispute this.

The proposed changes are meant to clarify what it means to prepare an estimate in an amount sufficient to have repairs completed in a “workmanlike manner.” The existing problem, according to the department, is that when a manufacturer or estimating provider outlines a procedure to complete a particular repair, “the insurer may refuse to include the time or parts necessary to complete the repair in a way that is compliant with the repair standard in the estimate. This causes the estimate prepared by the insurer to be insufficient to comply with the statutory requirement.” The regulations clarify that insurer-written estimates must be preSee CDI Hearing, Page 12

NACE-CARS (ASRW) is Oct. 10-13 in New Orleans Full Schedule of Courses, see p. 27-31

Insurance Lobby Says Proposed Regulations from CDI “Damage Ability to Control Costs” Industry trade groups went to the California capital to protest the state Department of Insurance’s (CDI) proposed regulations governing autobody repairs and the use of aftermarket replacement car parts. Officials issued a notice in June (see autobodynews.com) that it was seeking to change state standards of repair and use of aftermarket parts by clarifying insurers’ obligations during the repair process. Officials called it an effort to address “disputes regarding the true cost of repairs of damaged vehicles and the applicable repair standard” that “continue to negatively affect the claims-handling process.” The Property Casualty Insurers Association of America issued the following news release in response to CDI’s proposed regulations: “New regulations proposed by the California Department of Insurance could severely damage automo-

bile insurers’ ability to contain auto body repair costs by removing checks and balances from the system. Consumers will pay the price for these biased regulations that favor body shops and original equipment manufacturers through more expensive auto repair costs that could eventually increase premiums, said the Association of California Insurance Companies (ACIC). ACIC testified in opposition to the regulations REG-2011-00024 during a hearing at the California Department of Insurance in Sacramento. “These regulations essentially allow the auto body repair shops to “name their own price,” charging whatever they want for auto repairs and insurers will be required by these regulations to pay,” said Armand Feliciano, ACIC vice president. “Insurers pay for approximately 90 percent of the auto body repairs in the nation. See PCI Objects to CDI, Page 10

Presorted Standard US Postage PAID Oceanside, CA Permit #236

2 SEPTEMBER 2012 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

Contents

COLUMNS Attanasio - Customer Appreciation Events Build Customer Base . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 Evans - Some Cool Tips and Tricks to Save You Time and Money . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 Franklin - Conversations That Sell Jobs. . . . . 53 Insider - Sale of Estimate Data Isn’t New and Shops Don’t Own That Data . . . . . . . . 42 Yoswick - Information Providers Assure They Have Privacy Issues Handled . . . . . . . . . . 16 NATIONAL 13 Paint Companies Exhibiting at

As in Autobody News’ Other Regional Editions? Read them online at autobodynews.com SOUTHEAST, www.autobodynews.com/news/regionalnews/southeast-news.html

Body Shop Owner Wars with City of Boynton Beach Insurers Pay Ray Gunder’s New Labor Rate Revived Mississippi Collision Repair Assn Discusses PartsTrader

SOUTHWEST, www.autobodynews.com/news/regionalnews/southwestern-news.html PARTS ACT Heard in US House of Representatives NWLCRA Discusses PartsTrader at August Meeting Service King Acquired by Private Equity, Management, Employees

GREAT LAKES, www.autobodynews.com/news/regionalnews/great-lakes-news.html

AASP Illinois Officially Opposes PartsTrader Michigan’s Three Collision Repair Associations Indiana Auto Body Associations Parts Procurement/Insurer Survey

NORTHEAST, www.autobodynews.com/news/regionalnews/northeastern-news.html

AASP/NJ Director Charles Bryant Says “don't insult our intelligence” RI body shop owner charged in fraudulent used car scheme Update on NY Shop Owner Found Not Guilty of Insurance Fraud Publisher & Editor: Jeremy Hayhurst General Manager: Barbara Davies Assistant Editor: Melanie Anderson Contributing Writers: Tom Franklin, David Brown, John Yoswick, Lee Amaradio, Rich Evans, Janet Chaney, Toby Chess, Mike Causey, Tom McGee, Ed Attanasio, Chasidy Sisk Advertising Sales: Joe Momber, Sean Hartman, Jay Lukes (800) 699-8251 Sales Assistant: Kristy Navarro Art Director: Rodolfo Garcia

AAPEX Trade Show . . . . . . . . . . . . .17 Audi Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . .58 Automotive ID . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .48 BASF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 BMW Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . .45 Capitol Mazda . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .51 Chief Automotive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15 Classifieds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .62 Completes Plus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10 Downtown Motors of LA (Audi, VW, Porsche) . . . . . . . . . . .23 Drew Hyundai . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18 Elk Grove Toyota . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36 Enterprise Rent-A-Car . . . . . . . . . . .55 Equalizer Industries . . . . . . . . . . . . .40 Filtersforbooths.com . . . . . . . . . . . .14 Ford Wholesale Parts Dealers AZ, CA, & NV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .43 Galpin Motors . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31, 41 Garmat USA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6 Glenn E. Thomas Dodge-ChryslerJeep . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13 GM Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . . .60 Henderson Chevrolet . . . . . . . . . . . .22 Honda-Acura Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32-33 Hyundai Wholesale Parts Dealers . .54 Intertape Polymer Group . . . . . . . . . .2 Kearny Mesa Subaru-Hyundai . . . . .24 Kia Motors Wholesale Parts Dealers .49 Levan Group, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .54 LKQ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .63

Serving California, Nevada and Arizona, Autobody News is a monthly publication for the autobody industry. Permission to reproduce in any form the material published in Autobody News must be obtained in writing from the publisher. ©2012 Adamantine Media LLC. Autobody News P.O. Box 1516, Carlsbad, CA 92018 (800) 699-8251 (760) 721-0253 Fax www.autobodynews.com Email: news@autobodynews.com

Western

NACE-CARS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 2012 ASRW/NACE/CARS Schedule At-a-Glance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 ABRA Opens Another in NC . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 AkzoNobel Awards FIT Award . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 ALLDATA Revamps Website . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 ASA Announces its New 2012 Associate Members . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 Auto Industry Customer Satisfaction Hits 20-Year High . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 Automaker, OEM, and Recall News . . . . . . . . 34 Carlyle Group Closes Deal on Service King . . 22 Carlyle Makes Offer on DuPont Performance Coating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 CARSTAR Annual Event Set for Sept. 22 in San Antonio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Dick Cross to Keynote at NACE-CARS . . . . . 31 Florida Shop Increases Labor Rate 12.5%, Most Insurers Object, Then Pay . . . . . . . . 21 GAINSCO Selects Mitchell as New Claims Provider . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 Hyundai Settles Airbag Lawsuit for Crossovers . 60 I-CAR Announces Training Schedule at ASRW . 24 I-CAR Launches Tech School Training Program. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 Insurance Auto Auctions Donates $10,000 to CREF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 LKQ Sweepstakes Grand Prize Winner Gets a Car . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Looking Forward to SEMA at Foose Design. . 38 Man Accused in Connection with Counterfeit Auto Parts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 NAIC Releases WreckCheck App . . . . . . . . . 61 National Autobody Parts Warehouse Earns NSF Cert . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Nebraska Auto Body Association Opposes State Farm's Pilot Parts Procurement Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 New Website for Labor Rate Survey . . . . . . . 62 Prevost Introduces One-Push, Quick Release Coupler . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Proposition 33’s Price Setting Controversy, Lawsuit to Rewrite Proposition 33 Fails. . . . 1 Refinish Distributors Alliance: Collaborating to IMPACT Minds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 Registration Up for Repairer Driven Education at SEMA. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Research, Documentation is Ammunition in Battles with Insurers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Rich Evans Films Pilot Episode of World Wide Car Building in Canada . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58 SEMA Education Days Schedule. . . . . . . . . . 46 Texas Body Shop Owner Creates Sculptures Out of Car Parts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 Toyota to Sell Hybrid Avalon in the Fall . . . . . 17 VSG Invests in Manufacture Updates, Expansions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 WIN Awards Two Top Female SkillsUSA Winners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Indexof Advertisers

REGIONAL An Accident is No Laughing Matter When it Comes to Lost Keys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 Bay Area Men Charged with 90 Felonies in Insurance Fraud, Theft and Arson . . . . . . . 14 BHPH Legislation Up for Debate Again with CA Lawmakers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Caliber Raises Enough for 3600 Second Harvest Meals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 California Autobody Association ‘Has Concerns’ over State Farm’s PartsTrader Parts Bidding Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 CAWA Names 2013 Officers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 CDI Holds Hearing on “Workmanlike Repairs," Aftermarket Parts, Insurers Object . . . . . . . 1 Don’t Get LETF Behind for Not Knowing the Law . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 Driscoll Appointed to CAWA Advisory Council . 4 Electronic Proof of Insurance Raises Privacy Concerns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Inland Empire CAA Features Frank Terlep at Meeting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Insurance Lobby Says Proposed Regulations from CDI “Damage Ability to Control Costs” . 1 Maaco Auto Body & Paint Holds Summer Internships . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Mitchell Hosts CAA-San Diego at Open House . 14 Mullin Museum Debuts 1939 Bugatti Coachbuild. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 New Look Collision Wins Perfect Google Rating . 4 Nick Aquila, Former Body Shop Owner, Dies at 88 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Rare Ford GT Worth $250K Found Stripped in Vista. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Sacramento Teen Gets Make-A-Wish Transformation of his BMW . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Scott’s Body Shop Certified by ‘Monterey Bay Green’ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 SCRS Director Learns from Geese and Declares PartsTrader Fowl . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 Show Low, AZ, Approves New Body Shop Location. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Solera Holdings, Inc. Awards Cypress College with Grant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Sonoma Shop Owner Gives Wheels to Prosper By . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

ARE YOU GETTING ALL THE NEWS?

Maita Subaru . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22 Mazda Wholesale Parts Dealers . . .44 MINI Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . .35 Mitsubishi Wholesale Parts Dealers .59 MOPAR Wholesale Parts Dealers . .37 Moss Bros. Chrysler-Jeep-Dodge . . .7 Nick Alexander BMW . . . . . . . . . . . .11 Nick Alexander MINI . . . . . . . . . . . .64 Nissan/Infiniti Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .56 North County Kia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42 PCL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8 Rare Parts Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 RBL Products, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .50 Reliable Automotive Equipment . . .21 Replica Plastics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .51 Riverside Metro VW-Honda-HyundaiNissan-Mazda . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .57 Safety Regulation Strategies . . . . . .35 Shingle Springs Nissan-Subaru . . .52 Sierra Chevrolet-Honda-MazdaSubaru . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12 Solution Finish . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .58 Subaru Wholesale Parts Dealers . . .61 Summit Software Solutions, Inc. . . .19 Timmons VW-Subaru . . . . . . . . . . . .20 Total Automotive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9 Toyota Wholesale Parts Dealers . . .59 Volkswagen Wholesale Parts Dealers .48 Volvo Crash Wholesale Dealers . . .53 Weatherford BMW . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26 Wedge Clamp System . . . . . . . . . . .16

www.autobodynews.com | SEPTEMBER 2012 AUTOBODY NEWS 3

Caliber Raises Enough for 3600 Second Harvest Meals

All six Caliber Collision Centers in Orange County have raised hundreds of food items and cash donations for Irvine-based Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County after a twoweek food drive. The food drive will help Second Harvest provide about 3,612 meals to local families throughout the county. In addition to locations in Fountain Valley and Irvine, Caliber Collision Centers also has a location in Irvine.

CAWA Names 2013 Officers

The California/Nevada/Arizona Automotive Wholesalers’ Association will install its 2013 officers at its annual meeting during Industry Week in Las Vegas on October 28. CAWA will install the following individuals to serve as officers of the board for the 2013 year: Chair of the Board Ed Jimenez, Riebe’s Auto Parts; Vice Chair of the Board Ron Aparicio, Walker Products; Treasurer Ward Myers, Worldpac; Secretary Greg Livingston, CARQUEST; Immediate Past Chair of the Board Steve Sharp, Worldpac.

New Look Collision Wins Perfect Google Rating

New Look Collision Center in the Henderson and Las Vegas valley area is excited to announce that they received a perfect score, 30/30, on Google Plus Local. Google Plus Local asks customers to rate and review businesses based on their experiences. Amongst the many Las Vegas Body Shop reviews, New Look Collision Center’s Google Plus Local profile is in a league of its own—even after numerous reviews, they have no negative ratings and 100% praise. Contributing to their 30/30 rating is New Look Collision Center’s expertise in frame and unibody repairs, collision repairs, and color matching. Since 2004, these auto body experts have offered a lifetime warranty on all collision repairs, guaranteeing a brand-new looking car after every service. They also provide free estimates for every project they undertake and help with insurance companies. New Look Collision Center’s perfect score comes from their excellent reputation with auto-body repairs for all foreign and domestic vehicles, including luxury cars and SUVs.

Inland Empire CAA Features Frank Terlep at Meeting

The Inland Empire chapter of the California Autobody Association will host its next chapter meeting on Wednesday, August 29 at its new location, Don Marco’s Restaurant, 10276 Foothill Blvd. in Rancho Cucamonga, CA. The guest speaker will be Frank Terlep, CEO of Summit Software and Marketing Solutions, who will update shops with information about current digital marketing tools. Terlep says it’s no longer “good enough” to just have a website. His topic is “Digital Marketing = More Customers, Revenue and Profit.” TerFrank Terlep lep says small businesses that are successful digital marketers utilize multiple digital marketing tools, techniques and technologies to capture service and retain more customers, revenue and profit. Frank will introduce 10 digital marketing and retention tools, techniques and technologies that will help capture, service and retain more customers, revenue and profit. Frank Terlep often speaks on digital marketing, communications,cus-

tomer retention, loyalty, technology, and lean business processes. Over the past 25 years he has spoken at dozens of automotive industry conferences, events and meetings, including NACE, SEMA, and NADA, and international conferences such as the CARSTAR franchise and Collision Solutions Network conferences, as well as AKZO, PPG, Sherwin Williams, and BASF meetings and conferences, and several CAA, AASP and ASA associations meetings as well. For more information and to RSVP, contact Cindy Shillito, Southern California CAA Chapter representative at (714) 944-4028 or at radiatorgirl@socal.rr.com. Please RSVP by August 24. Registration will be from 6-6:30 p.m. and dinner will be served at 6:45 p.m. Terlep will speak from 6:30-8 p.m. Cost is $30 for CAA members or $45 for a non-member. Cost is $150 for vendors.

Read all our Regional Editions Online at: www.autobodynews.com

4 SEPTEMBER 2012 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

Driscoll Appointed to CAWA Advisory Council

John Driscoll of Manufacturers Reps has been appointed to the CA/NV/AZ Automotive Wholesalers Association’s (CAWA) 2012 Manufacturers Advisory Council. Driscoll is based in southern California and has been an independent manufacturer representative since the early 1980s. He is a graduate of University of Southern California and holds a degree in accounting. “We are pleased to welcome John to the CAWA leadership and look forward to his participation and contributions to the automotive aftermarket industry out west,” said CAWA board chairman Steve Sharp of WORLDPAC. “We are pleased he has stepped forward to give something back to our industry, through his commitment to CAWA.” CAWA is a regional automotive aftermarket trade association, which represents auto parts jobbers, warehouse distributors, retailers, manufacturers and manufacturer representatives in California, Nevada and Arizona. The Association provides education, legislative, regulatory and business support to the industry and its membership.

Rare Ford GT Worth $250K Found Stripped in Vista

A rare sports car worth $250,000 reported stolen in San Diego County on July 10 recently turned up in pieces. The car was stolen from a Rancho Santa Fe storage and its parts were discovered inside a Vista warehouse. San Diego police said the 2005 Ford GT was found stripped. SDPD Sgt. Jim Kistner said the transmission, the frame and the engine were gone. He also said all that was left were small pieces that had been cut up into even smaller pieces. Kistner said the engine of the Ford GT alone is worth about $40,000. Its frame costs $90,000. A stolen Porsche also was found. Police have suspects, but no arrests have been made. Paul Amato, owner of Amato’s Auto Body in Sorrento Valley, told 10News, once he heard the GT was stolen it was good as gone. “I had a feeling (it would be chopped up) or someone was going to joy ride it and it was going to be wrecked,” said Amato. He said no thief is stupid enough to sell the car as a whole. “That car, you can’t sell it because it’s got the VIN number and a VIN tag,” said Amato.

www.autobodynews.com | SEPTEMBER 2012 AUTOBODY NEWS 5

Sacramento Teen Gets Make-A-Wish Transformation of his BMW Golden State Collision Centers Inc. of Orangevale, CA and the Make-a-Wish Foundation revealed a renovated BMW to a local Make-a-Wish teen on his 17th birthday on July 27. The young man was presented with a complete transformation of his 1993 BMW 318i, coordinated through Golden State Collision Centers, Inc. and the Sacramento and Northeastern Chapter of the Make-a-Wish organization. Alex Koryayev received the wish when his BMW, completely transformed, was revealed to him on his birthday at the Golden State Collision Center, 9439 Greenback Lane, in Orangevale, CA. Golden State Collision Centers, Inc. was contacted by the Sacramento Make-a-Wish chapter in the fall of 2011 to ask for assistance in granting this wish for Alex. A native of Russia and local West Sacramento resident, Alex suffers from Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. The wish project was put on hold, however, as one thing had to happen first—he needed to get his California driver’s license. Golden State Collision Centers

collaborated with numerous businesses in order to completely restore the vehicle. Repairs included a complete paint color change, body work, new upholstery, stereo and glass installation, and new wheels.

Recipient, Alex Koryayev, (in red hat and shirt), surrounded by the technicians and team members who contributed to the transformation of his BMW

“We were approached by volunteers of the local Make-a-Wish chapter to help out on Alex’s wish to refurbish and recondition his 1993 BMW. As a company, we are always in search of ways to help our community and its members. When we heard

Scott’s Body Shop Certified by ‘Monterey Bay Green’

For Scott’s Body Shop in Santa Cruz, CA, thinking green started a few years ago as more car parts were being made of plastic. Rather than spend hundreds of dollars on a larger trash container, the owners changed their operations to recycle more and waste less. That mindset led to their recognition as the first body shop in the city of Santa Cruz to be certified green. The first in the county to be certified green is Professional Touch in Scotts Valley. Both “were exceptional and went above and beyond” the requirements, according to Jo Fleming of Monterey Bay Green Business, the certifying entity. “We felt our customers would be receptive,” said Scott’s general manager Bobby Scott, 45, eldest son of the founder. “It’s good for the environment and it’s saved us money.” After the body shop began separating plastic parts for recycling at the city’s resource recovery facility, Scott noticed trade magazines writing about how companies were “going green” and figured it was worth exploring. “Once we got the list of what was required, we saw we already had some of it done,” he said, citing the energy-saving lighting the body shop installed under a PG&E incentive program. “We saw immediate improvement on our bottom line.” He

about this wish, we jumped on board to spearhead the refurbishment of Alex’s vehicle,” said Dave Finkelstein, owner of Golden State Collision Centers, Inc. “We are delighted to partner with the Sacramento chapter

estimates the cost was $5,000 to $8,000, not counting the lighting. For example, when a car is in a wreck and is dripping anti-freeze or oil, the question is how to keep those contaminants from getting in the ground. The solution: Specially designed pans to catch those fluids. Leftover silver, black and blue paint is mixed together for use as undercoating. Instead of paying disposal charges for six 55-gallon waste drums, Scott’s is paying for three. New technology at Scott’s includes disposable paint gun liners which use less cleaning solvent, and a vacuum sanding system to contain sanding debris and a covered wash pad for washing cars. Scott also noted a switch to waterborne finishes, which are expected to reduce emission of air pollutants. “A lot of our industry is driven by accidents,” he said. “While they’re here, people say, ‘Let’s fix up these things, I’m going to keep the car for five more years.’ ”

@autobodynews Accept no Substitutes!

6 SEPTEMBER 2012 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

of Make-a-Wish in making this wish come true.” According to Rebecca Endres, Customer Relations Manager with Golden State Collision Centers, “Approximately $15,000 went into the transformation and there were many

local businesses who helped in this project. Alex was extremely grateful and very emotional at the time of the reveal. I think he was also shocked at how many community and business leaders showed up at this amazing event.” Finkelstein said this idea has blossomed into Golden State’s “Make-aWish in May” campaign, “an annual, month-long program advocating the Sacramento Chapter of Make-a-Wish and designed to benefit multiple local families in making wishes come true,” said Finkelstein. “Our hopes are that our 2012 contribution of $5,650 resulting from this campaign will provide multiple benefits for the families served by the Sacramento Make-a-Wish chapter.” Local vendors included Tow Pros, Marco Muffler, AutoCare by Kenely, Fine Line Trim, Keystone/LKQ, Car Quest, Marvelous Tint Solutions, Aero Mobile Lock, Valley Motor Works, Transparent Auto Glass, Color Supply, Gary’s Airbags, DDI Mobile Detailing, Roseville BMW, and employees of Golden State Collision Centers, Inc. donated their time and services as part of this program.

www.autobodynews.com | SEPTEMBER 2012 AUTOBODY NEWS 7

Electronic Proof of Insurance Raises Privacy Concerns

Lawmakers in California say the heavily supported AB 1708, which would legalize electronic types of insurance proof, raises privacy concerns about authorities’ access to personal information stored on mobile phones. Three unanimous votes pushed the legislation through the state Assembly in less than two months, and the Senate recently amended the bill again on July 5. The legislation was introduced to keep up with new technology. Some concerns are related to information stored on mobile phones that, when presented to authorities, could be accidentally revealed when a driver offers the phone as proof of coverage. “At issue … is what can be done with the information, especially under the laws of criminal procedure,” the legislative analysis stated. Lawmakers added a provision narrowing authorities’ access to information on the phones, prohibiting them “from viewing any other content on the mobile electronic device.” Authors of the analysis warn that the state’s Proposition 8 from 1982 and the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution give authorities greater power over criminal evidence they can seize. “Practically speaking, this might

mean that any person who hands their cell phone over to a peace officer voluntarily risks disclosure of private information accidentally revealed, even though AB 1708 only narrowly authorizes peace officers to view evidence of financial responsibility,” the analysis states, adding that there have been reports of some officers accepting electronic forms, at their discretion, due to the vagueness of the code sections that cover proof of insurance. Many insurers already make electronic proof of coverage available instantly after a driver buys a policy, whether it is through a scanned image of the policy card or coverage documents that can be uploaded and displayed on a mobile phone. “With more and more companies connecting with their customers and providing services via mobile applications, it seems that now is the time for the state of California to provide the same convenience to their customers—the people of our state,” the analysis stated. The bill is backed by industry regulators in the state, the Association of California Insurance Companies and the Personal Insurance Federation of California, which expressed support in the analysis of the bill because it provided a “green” option.

8 SEPTEMBER 2012 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

Maaco Auto Body & Paint Holds Summer Internships

Maaco Auto Body and Paint, an auto body and collision center in Fremont, recognizes that the country is in desperate need of jobs and that young people have been especially hard hit by the recession. Youth unemployment is much higher than the general population, but they still need opportunities to gain experience and move into the workforce. To provide such experiences, Maaco Auto Body and Paint has taken the initiative to participate in a summer internship program. “The body shop business is fun! You get to participate in the dramatic transformations from ugly, faded and damaged to a beautiful, shiny and new-looking car,” Frank Barnard of Maaco Auto Body and Paint said. Since 2009, Maaco has partnered with local schools to provide summer jobs and valuable work experience to youths between the ages of 16 and 21. Past interns have included both boys and girls, with several students coming from the California School for the Deaf, Hayward Adult School and Alameda Community College. The program is administered through the Hayward Adult School, with Maaco Auto Body and Paint having hosted six youths through the program in the past three years. “They give an opportunity to

high school age kids to intern at the shop so they can thrive! How cool is that?” Colin Piotrowski, a job placement specialist for the California Department of Education, said. The interns at Maaco Auto Body and Paint don’t just sweep the floors (although they do that, too), but are given the opportunity to learn handson and side-by-side with Maaco expert technicians. They learn to remove and reinstall parts, recondition peeling paint, repair scratches, and mask and prepare cars for painting. They are not allowed to complete critical repairs on customer vehicles, such as bodywork or painting. They do get to see how these processes work and learn if auto repair work is a good career fit for them. The California School for the Deaf has presented Maaco with a special recognition plaque for its “Outstanding Contribution to the Job Placement Program.”

Search:

Autobody News on Facebook

Sonoma Shop Owner Gives Wheels to Prosper By Dino DiGiulio of Sonoma, CA started repairing cars at 14 and knew right away that he liked working on autos. After high school, he took a job in an auto body shop detailing cars. In 1990, at the age of 21, he took every penny he had and opened his own 1,800-square-foot shop, Body Best Collision Center, on Sonoma’s 8th Street East. He had one employee. Today the shop has grown to 12,500 square feet and DiGiulio employees 14 people. A few years ago, DiGiulio started thinking about giving back to the community. “I have such loyal customers,” he said. Attending a management conference, he became friends with Jody Gatchell, owner of A&J Collision, an auto body shop in Conway, AR. Gatchell had started a program whereby he fixed up and donated a used car to someone who needed it as a way to market his business. DiGiulio decided to do the same in Sonoma, naming the program “Wheels to Prosper.” Last year he fixed up one of his loaner cars, a 1999 Buick Century Ltd, with 68,000 miles. He wanted to give the car to a “worthy” person, which he decided meant someone who spent considerable time to help others.

“That has the most impact on the community,” DiGiulio said. “People who go over and above the call of duty when it comes to helping others. Someone like that deserves to win a car if they need it.” After soliciting names from local residents and going through them with a committee of community leaders, a winner was chosen: Lisa White, a mother of three, soccer coach, and Sunday School teacher at St. Andrew Presbyterian Church. A pharmacy technician at Sonoma Developmental Center, White had been unable to afford paying to fix her own car after it broke down, something that made her life difficult. Later that year, DiGiulio gave away a second car. “The Wheels to Prosper” giveaways were so popular that he wanted to give more cars away and he wanted to get other auto shops involved. In late July, DiGiulio gave away three more used cars and lined up 15 shops across the country to give away cars that same day. “It’s a way to pay it forward,” he said. “It’s amazing to see people’s emotions when they win the car, people who have little, but who sacrifice their time to help others. I’m happy to help them.”

Mullin Museum Debuts 1939 Bugatti Coachbuild The long-awaited debut of Jean Bugatti’s final masterpiece, completed after 73 years, was finally unveiled at a motorsports gathering on August 17.

The Mullin Automotive Museum, a Southern California institution devoted to the preservation of French art and automobiles from the Art Deco era, announced the unveiling of the virtually completed coachbuild of Jean Bugatti’s famed 1939 Bugatti Type 64 Coupe Chassis #64002 at The Quail, a motorsports gathering held on August 17 in Monterey, CA. First designed in 1939 by revered designer and engineer Jean Bugatti (1909-1939), Chassis #64002 was never finished due to Bugatti’s tragic death during the road test of a Bugatti Type 57. After years of extensive research, planning and coachwork

build, this event marked the first time in history Jean Bugatti’s final chassis will wear a streamlined, handcrafted body, a vision left unfulfilled for 73 years. Created in collaboration with the Mullin Automotive Museum, Stewart Reed Design and Automobile Metal Shaping Company, the new body pays homage to Jean Bugatti’s original concept. The handformed body, crafted using many of the same coachbuilding techniques employed in 1939, features numerous original styling cues including iconic papillion doors and an intricate riveted body structure. “We’ve dedicated much of our efforts at the museum to honor the Bugatti family and the marque, but never have we done something of this scale,” said Peter Mullin, Chairman of the Mullin Automotive Museum. “I cannot imagine a greater token of respect to the Bugatti family than to help finish Jean Bugatti’s beloved final masterpiece.” Visitors may view this remarkable piece of automotive history at the Mullin Automotive Museum in Oxnard, CA this fall. The auto is among the museum’s magnificent collection of prewar coachbuilt automobiles.

www.autobodynews.com | SEPTEMBER 2012 AUTOBODY NEWS 9

Continued from Cover

PCI Objects to CDI

The current free market system provides checks and balances by allowing the parties to work together to determine prices for auto repairs and parts—these regulations will undermine insurers’ ability to manage costs and basically provide auto body shops a blank check. These regulations completely ignore the fact that auto body shops are vendors with a financial stake in the system, not consumers. It is not the role of the insurance commissioner to interfere in the free market system and propose regulations that will financially benefit one party (auto body shops) at the expense of policyholders.” A 2011 study by Vincent J. Romans of The Romans Group used 2010 data and reported there are 20,000,000 auto accidents annually. 73 percent of accidents are covered by insurance. The total paid by insurers for auto accidents was $50.8 billion. The total paid by consumers was $2.7 billion. The total paid for auto repair was $31 billion. Insurers paid 90 percent of those repair costs. Of equal concern are the provisions concerning aftermarket parts, “”Commissioner Jones is effectively preventing the use of after-market parts which provide an affordable alternative to original equipment manufacturer (OEM) parts. These regulations erroneously require insurers to perform duties that should be handled by the manufacturers or distributors of aftermarket parts,” said Feliciano. “The Property Casualty Insurers Association of America (PCI) estimates that OEM parts are 60 percent more ex-

Show Low, AZ, Approves New Body Shop Location

The Show Low, AZ, Planning and Zoning Commission approved a conditional use permit for an auto body shop along White Mountain Road during their regular meeting Aug. 14. Gerald Tinkel of Distinktive Auto Body at 1011 N 16th St. Ste 4, Show Low, AZ, submitted the permit to open up a shop on 81 N. White Mountain Road, the old home of J&L Glass which has not been used for some time. He would be moving the business from its current location on the Deuce of Clubs. As conditions for the permit, Planning and Zoning Director Justen Tregaskes said the building facade, landscaping, parking and lighting must be brought up to city code.

pensive than aftermarket parts and if these regulations take effect and aftermarket parts are not used in California the cost of auto repair could increase by $379.9 million per year. If original auto parts are allowed to dominate the market, each Californian with auto insurance could see their premiums rise by $26.00. Given the fragile economy why mandate certain parts that will increase costs to consumers? It is a fact that aftermarket parts provide competition to original auto parts, which helps keep the cost of repairs reasonable. Aftermarket parts serve the same function as generic drugs; they give consumers an alternative to the high cost of brand name drugs.” Among many new ‘vague and burdensome’ provisions, these proposed regulations will: ● Mandate that insurer estimates for repair must be in the amount in “accordance with accepted trade standards.” The auto body shops will establish these standards. ● Insurers will be disallowed from preparing an estimate that is less favorable to the claimant than the standards, costs and guidelines provided by thirdparty repair estimating software. ● Require insurers to pay the cost of any “inspections and tests” of nonoriginal equipment manufacturer (nonOEM) replacement crash parts. ● Require insurers to stop using non-OEM parts if they have knowledge that such parts are not equal to OEM parts and require insurers to notify the estimating software provider and request this part be removed from their list. Insurers must also notify the certifying entity and the distributor if the insurer thinks the part is defective. ● Insurers will be required to pay

the costs of returning a non-OEM part and pay the costs of removing and replacing the part if the part is thought to be not equal to OEM parts. “These regulations are a blatant attempt to create new law via the regulatory process. Commissioner Jones and the Department of Insurance do not have the authority to regulate standards for repairs and use of aftermarket parts,” said Feliciano. “ACIC’s regulatory comments document how the legal foundation of these regulations fails to meet the necessity, authority, clarity, consistency and reference standards under the California Administrative Procedures Act.” “These regulations remove consumer choice by squarely placing the auto body shops in total control of the auto repair process disregarding the legitimate interests of policyholders, insurers, parts manufacturers and parts distributors,” said Feliciano. “Currently consumers have a choice to use original or aftermarket parts. The Department is proposing regulations that will stick California drivers with higher repair costs and fewer choices just to benefit auto body shops. It is seriously irresponsible to propose a law that allows one party to control

www.autobodynews.com

10 SEPTEMBER 2012 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

Competitive Crash Parts - At a Glance ● PCI estimates that the availability of quality competitive replacement parts saved consumers more than $2.3 billion dollars in insurance costs per year nationwide. ● Alternative collision repair parts are anywhere from 26 to 50 percent less expensive than parts issued by automobile companies and also often have longer warranties. ● The availability of quality alternative collision parts means fewer delays in repairs, which gets consumers and business vehicles back on the road faster. ● The elimination of quality collision repair parts as a viable option for consumers could result in higher repair costs that could increase insurance premiums. ● The alternative collision repair parts industry provides tens of thousands of U.S. jobs across the country and has operations in all 50 states. ● Quality alternative collision repair parts are available to consumers at more than 40,000 body shops nationwide.

The Radiator and Condenser Headquarters for Collision Centers

Radiators A/C Condensers NOW AVAILABLE:

Cooling Fan Assemblies!

AkzoNobel Awards FIT Award

AkzoNobel Automotive & Aerospace Coatings Americas recognized three companies engaged in and advancing sustainability practices. AkzoNobel gave the 2012 FIT Sustainability Award to two repairers and a car rental company during a special program held in July at the San Antonio Convention Center in Texas. The businesses recognized are Oka’s Auto Body in Waipahu, Hawaii; Keenan Auto Body in Clifton Heights, PA; and Enterprise-Rent-A-Car in St. Louis, MO.

the process and a law that the Department cannot enforce.”

> Cindy Shillito, “The Radiator Girl”

» » » »

Free Daily Delivery by 30 Company Trucks Free California Overnight Shipping Four Los Angeles Warehouses Limited Lifetime Warranty on All Radiators & Condensers 10425 S. La Cienega Blvd. > Los Angeles, CA 90045

Mon-Fri 7:30 am 6:00 pm

Call our Cooling Specialists:

888.500.6557 Fax: 310.703.5752

www.completesplus.com

Nick Alexander BMW

www.alexanderbmw.com

(800) 800-NICK

Nick Alexander BMW Original BMW Parts & Accessories 95% Same Day Order Fill Rate. We Stock the Parts You Need to Serve Your Customers Quickly. Four Delivery Vehicles. Serving All of Los Angeles Metro Area and Nearby Cities. Ten Knowledgeable Parts Specialists with an Average of 17 Years of Experience Ready to Serve You. Get the Correct & Complete Order the First Time.

www.alexanderbmw.com E-mail: parts@alexanderbmw.com Hours: M-F 8am-5:30pm; Sat 8am-4pm 6333 S. Alameda St. Los Angeles, CA 90001

Toll Free: 800.800.NICK

Wholesale Direct: 323.583.4108 Parts Fax: 323.582.3709

www.autobodynews.com | SEPTEMBER 2012 AUTOBODY NEWS 11

Continued from Cover

CDI Hearing

pared in an amount that will allow for repairs to be made “in accordance with accepted trade standards for good and workmanlike automotive repairs by an auto body repair shop,” and that “No insurer shall willfully depart from or disregard [accepted trade standards] in the preparation of claim settlement offers” and “An insurer shall not prepare an estimate that is less favorable to the claimant than the standards, costs, and guidelines provided by the [estimating system]. Another change of particular interest would require the shop estimate to function as the starting point for any insurer adjustments. This effectively allows the insurer only to “red line” a shop estimate, striking out what it proposes not to pay for, rather than writing an entirely new estimate for the adjusted amount. The insurer would then be required to provide its customer with the edited copy of the estimate written by the shop of their choice. The department says this amendment “is reasonably necessary to

allow both the consumer and the auto body repair shop to identify specifically where those adjustments have been made...” The balance of the proposed changes deal more specifically with aftermarket parts. Those changes would mandate: • that insurers disclose in writing, on any insurer-prepared estimate that specifies aftermarket parts, that they warrant those parts as “like kind, quality, safety, fit, and performance” as OEM parts. • that should an insurer have “implied, actual, or constructive knowledge” that a specified aftermarket part is not equal to the OEM in terms of quality, safety, fit, and performance, the insurer shall immediately cease specifying the use of that part and shall notify the estimating software provider and request this part be removed from the estimating software. The insurer would also be required to notify the distributor, manufacturer, and, if applicable, any certifying entity. In addition, the insurer specifying a part later found to be defective would be responsible for any costs associated with removing and replacing the part with either a

compliant non-OEM part or an OEM part. The Department says, “Performing repairs in a manner that is not compliant with current repair standards or placing an inferior aftermarket part in a vehicle may result the vehicle’s value to depreciate. Also, a part that is not of like kind, quality, safety, fit, and performance may cause injury or even death if it malfunctions.” The department explains, “After several years of evaluating this law and investigating complaints from the consumers and auto repair shops, The Department of Insurance has concluded that disputes regarding the true cost of repairs of damaged vehicles and the applicable repair standard required to comply with the current regulation continue to negatively effect the claims handling process. Additionally, aftermarket parts that are not compliant with the current regulations continue to infiltrate the repair process threatening public safety. The Department is also aware of substantial costs borne by auto repair shops and their customers associated with installing defective or poorly fitting parts required by insurers.”

The proposed amendments are intended to address these and related issues, the Department said. “...the added disclosures and reporting safeguards provided by the proposed amendments increase the overall transparency in the insurance claims transaction and maintain insurers’ accountability in the process.”

ABRA Opens Another in NC

ABRA Auto Body and Glass has announced the opening of a new shop location at Asheville Ford in West Central North Carolina. The location brings the company’s total franchise repair centers to 43. “We are absolutely thrilled with the progression of our national growth plan,” said Duane Rouse, president and CEO of ABRA Auto Body and Glass. “The excellent reputation of Asheville Ford in the community along with ABRA’s cutting-edge technology creates a partnership and business model second to none.”

www.autobodynews.com CHECK IT OUT!

• Exceptional Service • Full-time Experienced Wholesale Specialists • Ready to Serve You • Genuine OEM Tires Hours:

• Extensive Inventory • Free Delivery • Dedicated Wholesale Parts Staff • Genuine OEM Tires Hours:

Hours:

• Open Saturdays • Serving all of San Gabriel Valley for over 30 Years • 5 Delivery Trucks • Genuine OEM Tires Hours:

Mon.-Fri. 7am - 6pm; Sat. 8am - 4pm

• Wide Delivery Area • Competitive Pricing • Ready to Serve You • Genuine OEM Tires

Parts Dept.:

626-249-0032

800-245-8509

626-359-8291

800-320-9065

Fax: 626-932-5660

www.sierraauto.com

parts@sierracars.com

CHEVROLET 1450 South Shamrock Ave. Monrovia, California 91016

MAZDA 735 East Central Ave. Monrovia, California 91016

12 SEPTEMBER 2012 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

SUBARU 1450 South Shamrock Ave. Monrovia, California 91016

HONDA 1450 South Shamrock Ave. Monrovia, California 91016

www.autobodynews.com | SEPTEMBER 2012 AUTOBODY NEWS 13

Mitchell Hosts CAA-San Diego at Open House

Mitchell International hosted an open house for San Diego CAA members at their new Mitchell Corporate Headquarters in the University City area of San Diego on July 24th. The California Autobody Association—San Diego Chapter partnered with Mitchell International to host the open

L to R: Stephan Brisard - Mitchell Director, Product Marketing. Jim O’Leary - Mitchell VP Product Management, RepairCenter. Yuan Cheng - Mitchell Product Manager, Repair Center, Gene Lopez - I-CAR Southwest Regional Manager, Craig Peterson - Mitchell Sr. Marketing Manager

house so that CAA members could get an insider’s view into the world of collision information software and development. The event was well attended with over 50 participants. Yuan Cheng, Mitchell Product Manager, RepairCenter presented a demonstration of Mitchell’s new RepairCenter™ ToolStore, which pro-

vides a platform to integrate multiple third-party applications that can help shops be more productive. Cheng demonstrated how the RepairCenter™ ToolStore Open Platform worked with multiple partners to enable shops to add third–party tools quickly and easily. Enterprise and LKQ are already providing free applications on ToolStore and other apps are in development. According to Mitchell’s website, RepairCenter™ ToolStore is a dynamic marketplace that empowers body shops to connect with their mission critical collision repair trading partners and third-party add-on tools —tools that help shops streamline workflows and run their businesses more profitably and efficiently. Built within RepairCenter’s market leading repair data and business management solutions, the ToolStore features applications, such as paint, rental, parts, analytics, accessories, compliance, digital marketing, customer satisfaction and more. Mitchell also hosted a casual dinner and raffle at the end of the demonstration. For additional information about the CAA and membership benefits, contact Hop Sanchez. at: SanchezH@Finishmaster.com.

Bay Area Men Charged with 90 Felonies in Elaborate Insurance Fraud, Theft and Arson Two Fresno, CA, men will stand trial after allegedly operating a fraud ring that siphoned more than $600,000 from insurers. Detectives believe that Louis Houston, 48, and Cedric Berdell Jackson Jr, 28, served as perpetrators in the filing of a variety of bogus insurance claims dating back to 2000. Their extensive scheme involved filing loss claims for traffic collisions, stolen vehicles, vehicle vandalism, vehicle fires, residential fires, and even water damage. Over the course of a year-long investigation by the California Department of Insurance (CDI), authorities learned Houston and Jackson filed more than 50 claims since 2007, and more than 165 loss claims since 2000. On July 26, 2012, the CDI and Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office served multiple search and arrest warrants for insurance fraud, burglary, and conspiracy. In procuring evidence that led to felony charges and the suspects’ arrests, investigators received assistance from Geico, Allstate, Balboa, Homesite, Farmers, 21st Century, Travelers, RepWest, Nationwide, AAA Insurance Exchange, Assurant, MetLife,

and Safeco, along with the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB). “Detectives from CDI along with investigators and the prosecutors from the District Attorney’s office worked arduously to bring these suspects to justice,” said California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones. “Their tireless efforts have stopped these suspects from allegedly stealing from additional consumers and ripping off insurers, which often leads to higher premiums for Californians.” Investigators are now attempting to calculate the amount of loss to the insurance industry as a result of these alleged fraud schemes. The estimated loss, which contains both real and potential amounts, is believed to be between $400,000 and $600,000 and may even be higher. The Contra County District Attorney’s Office is prosecuting the case. The court has set bail for Houston at $1,865,000, and $620,000 for Jackson.

www.autobodynews.com C

GIVE US 1% OF YOUR TRUST AND WE’LL EARN THE OTHER 99%! » Our goal is to insure your body shop with the highest quality filters available at competitive prices and timely delivery. » We’ve been in business for 25+ years serving customers all over the United States with a centrally located distribution center. » We offer high quality filters from many manufacturers such as AFC, Binks, Blowtherm CMC, Garmat, USI, etc. » Filters are shipped in boxes via FedEx Ground Service, normally within 24 Hrs. Delivery is 1 to 4 business days on most orders. When ordering filters, unless you are ordering a large enough volume, your FedEx shipping cost is calculated in real-time. (If you see the shipping option “Freight” then you can choose to let us find the best shipping price to you and pay for the shipping after your order, this only happens on very large orders.)

All Filters are backed with a 1 year manufacturer warranty.

VISIT US AT:

WWW.FILTERSFORBOOTHS.COM 14 SEPTEMBER 2012 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

Nick Aquila, Former Body Shop Owner, Dies at 88, Accomplished a Lot from Humble Origins

Nick Aquila, who worked for 30 years in the auto body repair business and was the former owner of Sebastopol Auto Body, died August 8 of heart failure at a Santa Rosa, CA hospital at the age of 88. A Sebastopol, CA, businessman and civic leader, Aquila was a child of the Depression who had empathy for kids, county jail inmates and elderly nursing home residents. He served as a reserve sheriff’s deputy in Sonoma County for 20 years, was a member of the Sebastopol Planning Commission and the Sonoma County grand jury, and was voted Man of the Year by the Sebastopol Chamber of Commerce in 1975. Active in local politics, he was a friend and campaign volunteer for judges and prosecutors, including former Judge John Gallagher and District Attorney Gene Tunney. Aquila, who overcame a potentially damaging brain aneurism, was told by doctors that he would not walk again, but he recovered completely and became a ballroom dance instructor. He was also a self-taught musician. “If he wanted to do something, he just learned about it,” said his daughter, Christell Chapin of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho.

The son of working-class Italian immigrants, he was born on leap day in 1924 in Castle Gate, Utah, a former coal mining town. Aquila was only eight days old when his father was one of 172 miners killed in a mine exploNick Aquila sion, then the third deadliest coal-mining disaster in U.S. history. His mother and stepfather moved to Contra Costa County when he was young, and Aquila grew up in the hard times of the 1930s. He moved with his wife and five children to Sonoma County in 1968 and lived in Freestone and Occidental before moving to Santa Rosa in 1983. Playing guitar and harmonica and singing, Aquila favored Johnny Cash numbers and often performed at local nursing homes. Also like Cash, Aquila related to inmates while working as a reserve deputy at the Sonoma County Jail. Aquila also served as an unpaid patrol deputy in West County, retiring around 1990.

Solera Holdings, Inc. Awards Cypress College with Grant

Cypress College in Cypress, CA, has been awarded a portion of Solera’s Matching Makeover grant through the Collision Repair Education Foundation. The Solera grant was made available exclusively to California secondary and/or post-secondary schools, and Cypress College will have its $50,000 wish list of needed tools, equipment, and supplies fulfilled to benefit its collision program. This $25,000 grant is a portion of the $100,000 donation made to the Collision Repair Education Foundation in 2010 by Solera, Holdings, Inc. and its CEO, Tony Aquila, and is the largest cash donation ever received by the not-for-profit organization. Current industry supporters of the California Matching Makeover grant program for Cypress College that will fulfill the second $25,000 of the grant include: 1-800-Radiator & A/C, ALLDATA, Assured Performance Network, Chilton Auto Body, Collision Services, Crockett’s Premier Autobody, FIX Auto, Hobart, Matco Tools and Oakland Autobody. “Solera is truly pleased to provide and sponsor the Matching Makeover grant program for Cypress College through the Collision Repair Education Foundation,” said Rick Tuuri, VP of Industry Relations for

Audatex, a Solera Company. “It is important to Tony Aquila that we make a lasting difference for collision repair students, and transforming Cypress College helps to achieve that goal. We would also like to thank the additional industry partners that have come on board to participate in this Matching Makeover grant program for Cypress College. Only through industry members coming together to support its future professionals will we have the greatest impact.” Cypress College Auto Collision Instructor Dan Snook said, “As the recipients of the 2011 California Matching Makeover grant sponsored by Solera and Tony Aquila, the Cypress College Collision Repair Technology Department staff and students express their appreciation. Collision technical schools, ours included, are dependent upon industry partnerships such as this. It is the support of partnerships and educational grants that make it possible to train students at the highest level. Future technicians receive hands-on training using the latest equipment and products provided by our industry partners, ensuring students will be trained to the highest level before entering the automotive collision repair industry.”

www.autobodynews.com | SEPTEMBER 2012 AUTOBODY NEWS 15

Industry Insight

John Yoswick is a freelance writer based in Portland, Oregon, who has a body shop in the family and has been writing about the automotive industry since 1988. He is the editor of the weekly CRASH Network (for a free 4-week trial subscription, visit www.CrashNetwork.com). Contact him by email at jyoswick@SpiritOne.com.

Information Providers Assure They Have Privacy Issues Handled with John Yoswick

One by one this past spring, a panel of repairers at the Collision Industry Conference (CIC) voiced their concerns about the privacy of their shop’s estimating and other data, and expressed a desire to “opt out” of Aaron Schulenburg having that data compiled and reported on by the Big Three information providers. But Audatex, CCC Information Service and Mitchell International have now responded to that concern by essentially saying it’s not something shops need to be concerned about. The formal responses came in a somewhat delayed fashion to a formal question posed to them in January by three national repairer groups. Aaron Schulenburg, executive director of the Society of Collision

Repair Specialists (SCRS), said back in April that CCC was the first to provide a formal response to the associations’ request. “The response addressed that they have a mutual concern in protection of data, but didn’t really address the questions that we’d asked relative to an opt-out policy or discontinuation of collecting the data,” Schulenburg said. Mitchell’s response came in late April, Schulenburg reported at an SCRS board meeting held in July. “Their response basically indicated that Mitchell continues to believe that it’s in the best interest of the collision repair industry, insurers and the motoring public (for Mitchell to) continue to provide aggregated, anonymous data as a critical business tool for the industry,” Schulenburg said. He said Mitchell’s response indicated that it does not supply statistics

16 SEPTEMBER 2012 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

or data in a form in which a single shop’s data could be identified, and does not provide profitability information or detailed data from shops to outside parties. “So their response was essentially that they believe their current process are good for the industry and that there is no threat,” Schulenburg said. “I think there are a lot of repairers that we represent who feel otherwise in the way their data is presented and as it comes back to them in reports and things along those lines.” The response from Audatex, Schulenburg said, arrived in mid July. “The response essentially indicates that uploading the data to Audatex is a choice that the repairer makes,” Schulenburg said. “The Audatex master agreement makes provision for the use of data that is provided to Audatex by insurers, repairers and independent appraisers for the purposes specified in the agree-

ment…(and that) Audatex is committed to protecting personal data and information, using aggregated data only that reflects estimate content after stripping out client information.” Schulenburg said SCRS will now discuss how to proceed with the other associations (the Automotive Service Association and the Alliance of Automotive Service Providers) that sent the request in January. “It’s a little confusing why it would take such a lengthy amount of time to receive those responses,” Schulenburg said, “But at least six months later we have answers to what we felt was a pretty simple question about their current practices.” Also at the SCRS board meeting in July, held in San Antonio, TX, Schulenburg said State Farm’s mandated use of an online parts ordering system is generating increased communication and involvement among collision repairers, which, he said, is

actually leading to the formation of some new state and regional associations. “We’re seeing new groups pop up in Utah, Idaho, Alabama and even in Texas,” Schulenburg said, “I spoke with the folks in Idaho the other day, and this was the first time in 11 years that they’ve had an association meeting in the state, so it is wonderful to see.” He said the Idaho meeting attracted about 50 shops, which is especially significant given the fact that there are fewer than 300 shops in the state. Schulenburg said just as state associations help shops understand they are not alone, he said SCRS brings that message to those state associations as well. He said he thought of that when he was in Sydney, Australia, this June, as one of several SCRS representatives speaking at a repairer conference in that country. “It was fascinating to me to travel 10,000 miles and 20-plus hours and have the exact same discussions that we have here in a country half a world away,” Schulenburg said. “Shops there face the same pressures, the same level of friction, the same level

of disrespect shown toward our trade.” He said the shop response there, however, tends to be more direct, including rallies and pickets against insurers viewed as making unacceptable demands. Even shops on an insurer’s direct repair program didn’t hold back in letting that insurer, if represented at the conference, know how they felt. “They were very upfront, very direct and very pointed with the questions and comments they had for the carriers,” Schulenburg said. “It was very different than I think some of the types of discussions that repairers in the U.S. attempt to have here, such as at CIC, where I think there’s an ongoing sensitivity that if we’re straightforward and direct and pointed with what we say, the insurers won’t come any more. There’s concern by some people in that room that you need a more sensitive or politically correct approach to the message to ensure that everyone continues to show up. While the rallies and pickets may not suit the U.S., I think the direct nature of the conversation certainly should. Conversation isn’t worth having unless it’s honest, genuine and direct. If people don’t want to hear what you have to

say, there’s no sense in having them in the room anyway.” In one piece of SCRS association business, Schulenburg also announced that board member Stephen Regan had submitted a letter of resignation to the board. Regan, a political and communications consultant who has worked with the Massachusetts Auto Body Association (MABA) and who joined the SCRS board in 2008, said a change in his employment would limit his ability to attend future SCRS board meetings. Schulenburg said that SCRS Chairman Aaron Clark will appoint a replacement this fall for Regan, whose term was to expire in April of 2015. “We’ll certainly miss Steve Regans’ contributions,” Schulenburg said. “He’s been a great asset to the board for a great many years.”

John Yoswick, a freelance writer based in Portland, Oregon, who has been writing about the automotive industry since 1988, is also the editor of the weekly CRASH Network (for a free 4-week trial subscription, visit www.CrashNetwork.com). He can be contacted by email at jyoswick@SpiritOne.com.

Toyota to Sell Hybrid Avalon in the Fall

Toyota will offer a gas-electric hybrid version of its all-new Avalon big sedan when the car comes out in the fall. Toyota says the new Avalon hybrid, with ample room for five people, will get 40 miles per gallon in combined city and highway driving, and 39 mpg on the freeway. The standard Avalon will come with a 268 horsepower, 3.5-Liter V-6 engine that gets 25 miles per gallon in combined city-highway driving, and 31 on the freeway. The hybrid system has 200 horsepower and has two electric motor-generators and a gasoline engine. It runs mainly on a combination of gas and electricity, but can be all-electric for up to a mile at speeds under 25 mph. The hybrid could help boost sales of the Avalon, which is competing in a shrinking market for fullsize cars. Gas mileage is one reason that people have been downsizing from larger cars to midsize ones. Toyota said the Avalon, designed mainly in the U.S., will ride and handle better than the current version, and it’s also quieter. No prices have been released for either Avalon model. The current Avalon starts at $33,195.

www.autobodynews.com | SEPTEMBER 2012 AUTOBODY NEWS 17

Carlyle Makes Offer on DuPont Performance Coating

The Carlyle Group has emerged as the top bidder in the race to acquire DuPont's auto paint business, according to recent media reports. The purchase price is reported to be between $4.5 and $5 billion. According to the New York Post, the Carlyle bid values the business at about eight times earnings before interest, depreciation, taxes and amortization—slightly higher than DuPont had anticipated. The DuPont unit had sales of $4.3 billion last year, with revenue of $2.1 billion in the six months to June 30 as higher prices countered a slight decline in volume. DuPont’s auto paint business serves auto makers General Motors and Ford and its primary clients are Maaco and other auto-paint refinishers. DuPont last year launched a strategic review of its fourth-largest unit by revenue as opportunities to expand sales and margins have lagged behind its eight other operating businesses. Three-quarters of the coatings unit's sales are outside the U.S., and the business operates 19 plants, including eight in Europe and five in Asia. Private-equity firms see a chance to improve the performance of a global business that has not seen

much investment from DuPont as the company shifts its attention away from so-called commodity chemicals and to science-focused product innovation, such as Kevlar body armor and genetically modified seeds. The Carlyle Group is acquiring in the automotive aftermarket, purchasing U.S. based Service King Collision Repair Centers and compressor manufacturer Sullair Corporation in the last few weeks. Competing bids were submitted by Apollo Management, Blackstone and KKR. For Carlyle, the deal would be its second multibillion-dollar acquisition this summer. Last month, the Washington, D.C., firm agreed to pay United Technologies Corp. about $3.5 billion for its Hamilton Sundstrand unit, which makes industrial pumps and compressors. Carlyle Group still has to finalize the proposed deal to acquire one of the largest suppliers of paints and finishes to the global auto industry, and there's no guarantee a deal will be reached. But the firm topped offers from two other private equity suitors. Meanwhile, a sale would mark DuPont's first large-scale divestiture since 2004, when it sold its fibers unit to for $4.2 billion.

Nebraska Auto Body Association Opposes State Farm’s Pilot Parts Procurement Program The Nebraska Auto Body Association (NABA) announced its opposition to State Farm Insurance’s parts procurement system through PartsTrader. The announcement comes on the heels of other organizations that also recently denounced the program, including the Alliance of Automotive Service Providers (AASP) of Illinois and AASP of New Jersey. The NABA cautions collision repair shops to consider PartsTrader’s potential business impacts, such as additional administrative times and costs. Norbert Zaenglein, director of the NABA, said all U.S. states have ineffective regulations for market conduct, which gives insurers free rein over the collision industry. He said state regulation of insurers’ claims settlement practices is seriously compromised, and the catalyst for several foundational problems faced by repairers. “Lack of regulatory oversight allows insurers to take more and more control over the collision repair industry from influencing estimating databases, manipulating labor rates and controlling the repair process. Repairers who believe that this will be the final encroachment into their busi-

ness are seriously mistaken. The squeeze by insurers will be relentless, and claimants will pay the price in terms of repairs that do not restore the vehicle as promised under the policy of insurance,” Zaenglein said. “Without adequate regulation of the insurance industry, it is up to shops to stand up to intrusive mandates by the insurance industry and get actively involved in fixing a very broken insurance regulatory process.” State Farm launched its pilot program through PartsTrader earlier this year. The program requires shops affiliated with State Farm’s Select Service direct repair network to source parts from vendors through a Webbased process facilitated by PartsTrader. Repairers submit parts orders through the system and vendors bid for the sale. State Farm has said the process should improve part availability, process efficiency, order accuracy and create a better experience for customers.

www.autobodynews.com

DREW HYUNDAI • Large Inventory • Fast & Free Delivery • Experienced Wholesale Specialists Ready to Serve You • 12 Trucks Serving San Diego County, Imperial County and parts of Riverside County

888-839-0777 LOCAL:

619-668-7782

8850 GROSSMONT BLVD., LA MESA, CA 91942 18 SEPTEMBER 2012 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

WWW.DREWHYUNDAI.COM WWW DREWHYUNDAI COM e-mail: importorder@drewauto.com MONDAY - FRIDAY: SATURDAY:

7:00AM - 6:00PM 8:00AM - 5:00PM

BHPH Legislation Up for Debate Again with CA Lawmakers major components and lasts for at least 30 days or 1,000 miles. • Prohibit BHPH dealers from requiring a buyer to make regular payments in person. • Require BHPH dealers receive written consent from the buyer prior to selling a vehicle with an electronic tracking device. • Require BHPH dealers to provide notice to the buyer of the presence of ignition shutdown technology in the vehicle and that such technology be set to provide advance warnings to the driver to help avoid stranding drivers. Furthermore, Assembly Bill 1534 received would require a BHPH dealer to display a label on any used vehicle offered for retail sale that states the “reasonable market value” of the unit. The bill would require the label to contain specified information used to determine the vehicle’s reasonable market value and the date the value was determined. Moreover, AB 1534 would require a BHPH dealer to provide to a prospective buyer of the used vehicle a copy of any information obtained

California lawmakers have through August to give final approval of bills that could greatly regulate how buyhere pay-here (BHPH) dealerships operate. “There’s never been anything like this. Dealers are very concerned,” Independent Automobile Dealers Association of California (IADAC) executive director Larry Laskowski said. Senate Bill 956 has three main goals: • Impose first-ever regulations on dealers offering buy-here, pay-here installment loans by requiring them to obtain a California Finance Lender’s license. • Limit used-vehicle installment loans to an interest rate of no more than 17.25 percent, which would give California the strongest cap in the nation. • Change the way BHPH dealers are able to repossess vehicles to include grace periods and make it easier for buyers to reinstate a repossessed unit. Some of the regulations Assembly Bill 1447 would create include: • Require BHPH dealers to provide a limited warranty that covers most

from a nationally recognized pricing guide the dealer utilized to determine the reasonable market value of the vehicle. As SB 956 works its way to a second reading before the Assembly Judiciary Committee, the two Assembly measures are set to be reviewed by the Senate Appropriations Committee. The bills must be approved and sent to Gov. Jerry Brown by Aug. 31. Laskowski is concerned that California lawmakers still do not have firm classification of what a BHPH dealer is. “There’s not a definition for a buy-here, pay-here dealer because it’s a business model,” said Laskowski. “It’s not a check box on your DMV application when you’re getting your dealer license that you want to be a buy-here, pay-here dealer. It’s simply a business model,” he said. “According to the definition they have now, our study says it probably involves 50 percent of the retail dealers just because it’s so broad reaching. Right now they’ve got a big problem with the definition and we don’t have a resolution as of yet.”

The IADAC official also is wary about lawmakers’ belief that a significant amount of “churn” goes on in the BHPH space. “That’s a term, as I understand it, with the intent of just trying to repossess the car and resell it,” Laskowski explained. “That is something that is so far from the truth. By and large, if we’re talking about problems this is probably a miniscule problem because those who do bad business aren’t going to stay in business for very long.” Should all three bills become California law, Laskowski fears that competition will dwindle because the measures will significantly hurt dealers such as Gus Camacho. Laskowski recapped that Camacho, who operates several independent stores in southern California, testified during several committee hearings as one of IADAC’s most respected members. Laskowski indicated that Camacho told lawmakers he would have to terminate about half of his workforce of about 80 employees if the bills became law.

“Guiding Auto Body and Repair Shops to More Cars, Customers, Revenues and Profits” “Guid

Special Limited Time Offer for AUTOBODY NEWS Readers: Find out How Your Shop can Capture, Service and Retain More Customers, Revenue and Profits through Digital Marketing.

FREE Marketing Audit and Report when you mention thiss ad. Call Us Today

Send Us an Email

Visit our Website

1.888.377.2661

sales@emarketingsherpas.com

www.emarketingsherpas.com

$395 Value Plus 10% Off Your 1st Order.

www.autobodynews.com | SEPTEMBER 2012 AUTOBODY NEWS 19

Prevost Introduces One-Push, Quick Release Coupler Prevost is pleased to announce their “New Generation PS1” coupler in the HVLP (High Flow) profile. This is a completely new and innovative quick release coupling for compressed air. The new patented one-push, quick release coupler combines safety, performance and ease of use. Unsecured (non-safety) couplers present a significant risk of hose-whip during disconnection. Employers are responsible for a safe working environment. Prevost safety-couplings comply with ISO 4414 and ISO 6150 standards, and these couplings are regarded among the best in the market. To comply with the norms, a coupling should purge the compressed air on the supply side before releasing the plug. This is done using a double locking device. The user has to operate a safety coupling twice to disconnect: A first time to purge the compressed air, a second time to release the plug. This two-step operation is mostly done by any combination of rotating the sleeve from left to right and/or viceversa or to push the sleeve back and pull it forward again, north, south

east or west. The new ESI coupling of Prevost uses the compressed air on the supply side of the coupling to sustain the first locking phase. Only when the compressed air is purged will it automatically click to the second phase and release the plug. The user has to perform just one action: push the button. Depending on the volume of compressed air, the purge and release time will be a few seconds for a 10-meter 3/8” hose and practically nothing for an air tool. This new generation of couplings will give users a long, safe and leakfree lifetime. Prevost, with offices in Greenville SC, was established in France in 1978. They first introduced the world's only push-button quick disconnect coupler. Later they developed the innovative push-button quick disconnect safety coupler, the first coupler to pass the ISO 4414 safety standard. Today, Prevost offers the most complete range of innovative compressed air products in the industry. For details on Prevost ALR Aluminum Air Piping Systems, call 800845-7220 or visit www.prevostusa.com.

Surf with us for a Great Deal on Collision Parts!

Miles ahead with

$850,000 inventory... Ask for Tee or Bill 3 delivery trucks serving South Bay, L.A., Orange County — Irvine to Brea Parts@TimmonsLongBeach.com M-F 7-6, Sat 8-4 (No Delivery)

National Autobody Parts Warehouse Earns NSF Cert

National Autobody Parts Warehouse Inc. is now certified by NSF International’s Automotive Collision Parts Distributor Certification Program. NSF International is an independent testing and certification organization with more than 20 years of automotive experience. The automotive collision parts distributor is one of the first companies to earn this certification. The NSF Automotive Collision Parts Distributor Certification Program helps close the gap in the supply chain between parts manufacturers and body shops and was developed to respond to the needs of collision repair shops, insurers and ultimately consumers. The distributor program complements the NSF Automotive Collision Replacement Parts Certification Program, which certifies automotive collision replacement parts, including steel bumpers, step bumpers, brackets, rebars, sheet metal, plastic, lighting and absorbers. The latter program certifies that parts meet rigid quality, safety and performance standards in terms of form, fit and function. “An extension of NSF International’s Automotive Collision Replacement Parts Certification Program, the NSF Automotive Distributor Certifica-

tion Program certifies the ability of distributors, such as National Autobody Parts Warehouse, to meet stringent performance and quality standards including having an effective system to track orders and parts,” said Bob Frayer, director of NSF International’s Automotive Parts Certification Programs. To earn certification, National Autobody Parts Warehouse demonstrated that it has effective records and inventory systems to track orders and parts through the supply chain. National Autobody Parts Warehouse also met the following criteria required by the NSF Automotive Collision Parts Distributor Certification Program: An ISO 9001-certified quality management system; a parts traceability and inventory tracking system; a defective parts procedure including a customer parts complaint process; the ability to administer a manufacturer’s recall; a formal corrective action to complaints and an immediate recall plan. Having met all of the certification requirements, National Autobody Parts Warehouse is authorized to use the NSF Certified Distributor mark on its website and promotional materials indicating it is an NSF automotive parts certified distributor.

Surf with us for a Great Deal on Collision Parts!

Miles ahead in

customer service...

Ask for Miguel or Dana 3 delivery trucks serving South Bay, L.A., Orange County — Irvine to Brea Parts@TimmonsLongBeach.com M-F 7-6, Sat 8-4 (No Delivery)

Forester Passat CC

Toll Free

1-888-489-5001 Fax

562-426-3550

3940 Cherry Ave., Long Beach, CA 90807 20 SEPTEMBER 2012 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

Toll Free

1-888-489-5001 Fax

562-426-3550

3940 Cherry Ave., Long Beach, CA 90807

Insurance Auto Auctions Donates $10,000 to CREF

Insurance Auto Auctions has contributed $10,000 to the Collision Repair Education Foundation. The contribution will support the Education Foundation’s Collision Repair Education Campaign fund, which allows the Foundation to provide its annual student scholarships, school grants and the yearly Ultimate Collision Education Makeover $50,000 grant. “IAA is proud to provide financial support that will help remove financial barriers to education and attract and inspire students to pursue career options in the collision industry,” said Donald J. Hermanek, chief client officer at Insurance Auto Auctions. “IAA values the important work the Collision Repair Education Foundation does in building awareness of the industry and rewarding those students who bring passion for their trade.” “Insurance Auto Auctions’s donation significantly helps our efforts in supporting secondary and postsecondary collision students and their school’s collision programs,” said Clark Plucinski, Collision Repair Education Foundation executive director.

Florida Shop Increases Labor Rate 12.5%, Most Insurers Object, Then Pay Ray Gunder, founder of Gunder’s Auto Center, Inc., which has served Lakeland, FL and its surrounding communities for over 44 years, determined the current labor rates which were being offered by insurers were insufficient to sustain profitability and continued growth. Upon determining the true cost of operations, in June, 2012, the decision was made by insurers to increase the standard door labor rate from their previously posted rate of $42.00 to $48.00 per labor hour, a12.5% increase. Ray Gunder stated, “It had been almost six years since rates had moved, driving our net profit into a danger zone. Our business and our techs struggling financially left me with no options. Every insurance employee I talked with certainly hadn’t missed their cost of living raises. If repairers sit around and wait for a handout - that’ll be what they will likely get - a hand-out. I felt that for my company and its team members to keep up with the rising costs of living and for us to keep abreast of ever-increasing operational costs, raising our labor rates was necessary. We needed to take actions and we did.” Gunder’s new rates were posted in their reception area and each claims

rae

Reliable Automotive Equipment, inc.

person and appraiser who Gunder’s dealt with were informed of the new rates. This increase, which Gunder considered minimum, was considered by many insurers to be substantial and was met with anticipated resistance, however, most know of Ray’s lack of hesitation to “pull the trigger” and to act on behalf of his customers in asserting their rights for “fair and acceptable” compensation for “reasonable and necessary” repair costs. Many insurance companies made their concerns and objections known but elected to pay the rate. Those insurers include: MetLife, Kemper Services, Westfield Comp., Auto Owners, Acceptance Casualty, Liberty Mutual, Amica Mutual, Horace Mann, The Hartford and Direct General. And others, not so agreeable, include: USAA, GEICO, State Farm, Allstate, Infinity and Travelers. Thus far, the above insurers have yet to pay Gunder’s customers’ labor rate willingly. As such, Gunder’s has had to take the appropriate action to enable their customers to receive their entitlements necessary to allow them to get a thorough and quality repair and has proceeded to file lawsuits on behalf of their customers.

“To date, two of these insurers have asked our attorney what his charges are to date, perhaps with the thought of conceding, paying our rates, and avoiding protracted litigation. With regard to the others, we have filed for discovery and scheduled depositions with their claims people and I am anxious to see what we find as it will no doubt lead to other issues to be used in future actions - if and when they should be required,” Ray said. “I am sure all insurers are concerned with having to pay other shops in the area if they pay Gunder’s, but I have to say that I am stunned at how far we have come in getting fair and reasonable compensation for things like PMC-Logic material invoicing, mark-up on sublet, parts return fees and many other reasonable and necessary charges and have consistently heard that other local repairers don’t request such compensation, even though they know Gunder’s is getting paid for them. I’ve had appraisers tell me…’Ray, I’d pay it if asked…but very few even ask!’ “As for me, I’m not looking to fix the world, I just want to fix my customer’s cars properly, pay my techs fairly for their efforts and provide for my family,” Gunder said.

RAE is North America’s premier supplier of Wielander+Schill equipment, the most globally recognized name in collision repair with the most OEM approvals. OEM approved systems and products are the “preferred choice” for use in collision repair because the system or products have already been pre-screened by the car manufacturer.

Start Fixing

“The Right Way” Call Us:

732.495.7900 00 Fax: 732.495.7904 04

58 Leonardville Rd., Belford,, NJ 07718

www.facebook.com/reliableautomotiveequipment www.fa acebook.com k

www.raeservice.com

www.autobodynews.com | SEPTEMBER 2012 AUTOBODY NEWS 21

Registration Up for Repairer Driven Education at SEMA

The Society of Collision Repair Specialists (SCRS) has announced that registration for the Repairer Driven Education (RDE) series at the 2012 SEMA Show is up nearly 300 percent year-to-date over last year. “The first two years of the RDE program brought a lot of very positive response from the attendees, and we believe that the numbers clearly indicate that our program at the SEMA Show is delivering exactly what the industry is looking for right now,” said SCRS Chairman Aaron Clark. “We’ve worked hard to put together a program that specifically addresses solutions to existing business conditions.” SCRS also reports an uptick in the number of MSOs and international automotive businesses participating in RDE. International repairers currently signed up for the 2012 RDE represent more than a dozen different countries. SCRS believes that the growth in both of these types of participants reflects the universal relevance of the issues addressed in the RDE sessions and the benefit the information holds for collision businesses regardless of location, business model or size.

LKQ Sweepstakes Grand Prize Winner Gets a Car

LKQ Corporation’s GetGreen Sweepstakes Grand Prize winner of a Chevy Cruze is Don K., parts manager at Fender Mender, Charleston, SC. Fender Mender is a regional collision repair shop serving the Charleston area, and is a customer of LKQ Savannah and Keystone Charleston. Fender Mender repairs over 2,700 cars a year and is one of the largest professional collision repair shop in the state of South Carolina. “We strive to provide our customers with timely, affordable and effective service in a friendly professional environment,” said Don K., who has over 35 years experience in the industry. As collision repair specialists, Fender Mender has been providing top quality auto body, paint and refinishing services for over 200,000 vehicles since 1987. Fender Mender is also recognized as a “Green Repair Shop.” The company has instituted a recycling program for hazardous wastes and excess materials from repairs. These materials are sent to processing centers and more than 75% of waste materials are recycled.

Maita SUBARU • Delivery to Greater Sacramento and Reno/Tahoe Areas • Highly experienced parts personnel • No order too big or too small • Largest late model inventory in the area • Absolute best prices

Man Accused in Connection with Counterfeit Auto Parts

A man who works as a mechanic in a Charlotte, NC, body shop is accused of running a multi-state counterfeit auto parts ring, and federal agents are investigating if customers are driving around with fake airbags in their vehicles. Homeland Security agents said Igor Borodin, who lives in a new house in a quiet subdivision, played a critical role in distributing fake auto parts throughout the southeastern United States. Federal agents stacked dozens of boxes on Borodin’s driveway, each one believed to contain counterfeit auto parts. The operation involved Homeland Security agents from North and South Carolina, Tennessee, and Georgia. Agents collected evidence from the house for eight hours. The owner of Krugger Auto in North Charlotte said Borodin works as a mechanic in his body shop. He said federal agents told him they believed Borodin was dealing in fake airbags, and asked for receipts and other documentation. The owner, who did not want to be named, said he’s cooperating fully with investigators and will do whatever they ask of him.

Carlyle Group Closes Deal on Service King

The Carlyle Group has closed its deal to acquire Service King Collision Repair Centers. Service King Collision Repair Centers, which operates nine locations in San Antonio, TX, was bought out by a consortium made up of The Carlyle Group and the company’s management. The Carlyle Group now holds majority ownership in Service King. Financial terms were not disclosed. Founder Eddie Lennox retains some ownership stake in Dallas-based Service King. Former CEO Cathy Bonner is now chairman of the board. Chris Abraham has been appointed as new CEO and Jeff McFadden is now president of the company. Service King currently operates 49 locations in the Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, San Antonio and Austin metropolitan areas. In the last three years, the company’s revenues and location count have doubled. Part of the reason The Carlyle Group bought Service King is to help the company expand nationally.

Professional Attitudes Ready to Serve YOU! * High Quality, Certified Parts * Large Inventory * Qualified Staff

Call Today! www.maitasubaru.com

Call us Today!

877.484.4870 916.484.4876 Fax: 916.484.4878 Hours: M-F 7:30 am - 5:30 pm 2410 Auburn Blvd. - Sacramento, CA 95821 22 SEPTEMBER 2012 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

855-511-0479 www.hendersonchevy.com Hours: Mon-Fri 7 am - 6 pm Sat 8 am - 2 pm 240 N. Gibson Rd. Henderson, NV 89014

WHEN IT ABSOLUTELY POSITIVELY MUST BE DELIVERED ON TIME. Call

OF DOWNTOWN LA

TEL: 213-748-4624 FAX: 213-222-1278 Service Hours: Mon - Fri 7:30am - 6:30pm / Sat 8am - 4pm

1900 S. Figueroa St. • Los Angeles, CA 90007

www.porschedowntownla.com

• Best Delivery Service (Twice Daily) to LA County • 8,000 Numbers in Stock • 750,000 Genuine VW Parts Inventory

VOLKSWAGEN l l Ca OF DOWNTOWN L.A. TEL: 213-747-7246 • 213-747-7247 FAX: 213-222-1272 Service Hours: Mon - Fri 7:30am - 6:30pm / Sat 8am - 4pm Parts Manager: Carlos L.

1900 S. Figueroa St. • Los Angeles, CA 90007

www.vwdowntownla.com

Audi Genuine Parts For a fit that will impress. Best Delivery Service (Twice Daily) to LA County $750,000 in Audi Genuine Parts Inventory $8,000+ Parts in Stock

Audi of Downtown LA 1900 S. Figueroa St., Los Angeles, CA 90007 Tel: (213) 747-7248 Fax: (213) 222-1261 Parts Manager: Fausto G. www.audiofdowntownla.com Service Hours: M–F, 7:30 – 6:30; Sat 8 - 4 www.autobodynews.com | SEPTEMBER 2012 AUTOBODY NEWS 23

WIN Awards Two Top Female SkillsUSA Winners For the sixth year in a row, the Women’s Industry Network (WIN) has awarded scholarships to the two top scoring female winners at SkillsUSA to attend NACE. This year’s recipients are Jessica Crowley, who placed third in the automotive refinishing technology category, and Kristina Shaver, who is the high scorer in the collision repair technology category. The WIN scholarship includes airfare, lodging and associated expenses, as well as a full access NACE Expo Pass provided by the Automotive Management Institute (AMI) and ASA. Additionally, Crowley and Shaver will be honored at the ASA sponsored industry awards ceremony on October. They will also receive a 2012 WIN membership. Crowley is a native of Boise, ID and entered the collision industry by enrolling in the College of Western Idaho’s auto body and collision program. Following her 2012 graduation, she began working as a lead commercial painter for Wrecker Sales in Mountain Home. “It’s the people I have met along the way that have made this neverending journey rewarding,” said Crowley. “I wake up every morning with the question

of what I can do for someone else, and this attitude is what has propelled this troublemaker to turn it all around and have a fulfilling career in the automotive industry.” She is currently completing her associate’s degree in applied science at College of Western Idaho. Shaver is a second year collision repair student at Baker College in Flint, MI. “I have loved cars and working on them my whole life,” she said. “As much as auto body repair is about returning vehicles to given specifications, it’s also an art form.” A native of Birch Run, MI, Shaver is currently employed at Golden Elm Dairy. “The WIN NACE scholarship goes to the heart of WIN’s mission to support and encourage women who are entering the industry, particularly those in the technical ranks. Surrounded by our amazing WIN members, this scholarship has consistently been a wonderful way to introduce young women to the collision industry,” said Teresa Bolton, Win’s scholarship co-chair and treasurer.

www.autobodynews.com CHECK IT OUT!

CARSTAR will hold its annual conference in San Antonio, TX, September 22-25 at the Hyatt Regency Hill Country Resort and Spa. The Conference will include a vendor expo featuring manufacturers and service providers in the industry, a keynote address by nationally recognized Afterburner, a team of real fighter pilots who deliver powerful leadership seminars, and a general session address by five industry experts: Greg Horn, Mitchell VP of Industry Relations; Robb Knott, Nationwide Insurance Claims Director; Jeff Peevy, I-CAR Director of Field Operations; Vincent Romans, CEO of the The Romans Group LLC; Matthew Ohrnstein, Managing Director of Symphony Advisors LLC. More than 350 store owners and employees will join the CARSTAR corporate leadership team to plan for the growth of CARSTAR in the years ahead, celebrate the successes of the CARSTAR store owners, participate in training programs and share time together as North America’s largest MSO network. CARSTAR also is expecting claim executives from a majority of the top 20 personal auto insurers to be in attendance.

I-CAR Announces Training Schedule at ASRW

Automotive Service & Repair Week (ASRW) announced that I-CAR has released its training schedule for this year’s event and will provide 11 training classes Oct. 10-12 at the Morial Convention Center in New Orleans, LA. Each instructor-led (live) class will be four hours in duration. I-CAR returns to the event this year with some of its newest training, such as the premiere of its Blueprinting Process and Damage Discovery (BLU01) course. During this “live-demo” course, students will learn how blueprinting can lead to more accurate damage assessments and gain insights into applying the blueprinting process in their own shop environments. The livedemo will include the disassembly of a vehicle and steps to discover hidden damage. The blueprinting course will take place Thursday, Oct. 11, and Friday, Oct. 12, from 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. on the ASRW show floor and will have a maximum of 15 students per session. “Offering I-CAR training courses at ASRW is a huge value-add to attendees, and we’re pleased to once again partner with them in this capacity,” said Ron Pyle, ASA president.

KEARNY MESA

SUBARU se. It jus t mak es sen

CARSTAR Annual Event Set for Sept. 22 in San Antonio

The right part makes the difference.

HYUNDAI YOUR SEARCH ENDS HERE.

www.kearnymesasubaru.com/parts

www.kearnymesahyundai.com/parts

• We Have Wholesale Specialists Ready to Help and Advise You on All Your Subaru Genuine Parts Needs • Offering Free Delivery (M-F) and Competitive Discounts

• We Have Wholesale Specialists Ready to Help and Advise You on All Your Hyundai Genuine Parts Needs • Offering Free Delivery (M-F) and Competitive Discounts

800.548.9124 Fax: 858.300.3331 Email: cguth@kmhyundaisubaru.com Hours: Mon-Fri 7 - 6; Sat 8 - 5

4797 Convoy St. • San Diego, CA 92111

24 SEPTEMBER 2012 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

800.469.9731

Fax: 858.300.3331

Email: cguth@kmhyundaisubaru.com Hours: Mon-Fri 7 - 6; Sat 8 - 5

4797 Convoy St. • San Diego, CA 92111

Research, Documentation is Ammunition in Battles with Insurers by John Yoswick

John Borek didn’t just acquiesce to putting reconditioned wheels—which he had serious concerns about—on his customers’ cars when that’s what insurers insisted on. Instead he found a way to determine and demonstrate whether those wheels were fit to be used. That’s a pattern that Borek, owner of Autocraft Bodywerks in Austin, TX, has demonstrated over and over again: Gathering the information he needs to successfully prove his argument.

Holy Custom Car!

determine if it was bent. “You can balance a wheel that’s crooked, but just because it’s balanced doesn’t mean it’s going to be true,” Borek said. “This machine helps us avoid using reconditioned wheels that are out of round.” Borek acknowledges that payback on the equipment is not necessarily quick. “But even if we never get our money back, it helps us do the right thing,” he said. Another way Borek has fought

If there’s any one vehicle that catches your eye inside Autocraft Bodywerks, it’s the C4 Corvette converted into one of the best-known vehicles of all-time—The Batmobile, complete with “real-sounding” front-mounted machine guns.

Shop owner John Borek said the project is something he will use to help raise awareness and funds for “Superhero Kids,” a non-profit to assist children (and their families) battling cancer and blood disorders at the Children’s Blood and Cancer Center of Central Texas. Borek was one of about 40 members of his Corvette club that this summer gave kids battling cancer a chance

“I never imagined when I started in this business that I would have to be more of a lawyer and use my brain rather than use my hands,” Borek said. “But if you don’t, you can’t fix the car correctly and get paid for doing so.” When it came to the reconditioned wheels, for example, Borek’s shop invested in a Hunter Engineering Road Force GSP-9700 machine. More than just a tire balancer, the equipment measures the wheel inside and out, identifying high and low spots. When an insurer insisted on a reconditioned wheel and a customer signed off on it, Borek said, they tested the wheel to

the welding of the new quarter panel make painting of the underside necessary as well. “You can get another hour or two to paint the backside, and it’s got to be painted,” Borek said. That concept came to his mind shortly thereafter when his shop was installing a floor in a 2009 Honda Accord, and the insurance appraiser refused to pay for painting both the top and bottom of the floor pan. “There’s paint on both sides, and you have to put the vehicle on a lift to

to ride in a Viper, Lexus LFA or other high-end vehicle on a 30-mile police-escorted cruise in Central Texas. “There must’ve been 20 motorcycle cops from three different agencies, all volunteering, that shut down I-35 and then Congress Avenue through Austin for us,” Borek said. “We got to blow through every red light.” Borek said he’d actually rather have people focus on such projects than his success using tools to prove that his collision repair charges are reasonable. “I would like people to know there’s people in the industry who do good things and help people,” he said. The Batmobile isn’t the first imaginative vehicle Borek has created at his shop. Last year, he constructed a flying saucer to install in his front yard on Halloween. The flying saucer looked like it had just crashed into lawn, surrounded by yellow caution tape and smoke, thanks to an interior fog machine. “You gotta have some fun,” Borek said. “If you just work all the time, you’ll just go crazy and have a heart attack.” (The original TV Batmobile was designed and built by George Barris based on a Lincoln Futura.)

successfully for what he knows is right hasn’t cost him a dime. He’s frequently turned for free help offered through the Database Enhancement Gateway (DEG). Funded largely by three national repairer associations, the DEG offers a simple way to submit an inquiry to any of the Big Three estimating database providers. Several years ago, for example, Borek took a class taught by consultant Mike Anderson of CollisionAdvice in which Anderson pointed out that labor times to paint a quarter panel are only for painting the outside the panel. Grinding of pinchwelds and

paint the underside,” Borek said. “And not only that, it was a different color, a green e-coat.” He submitted DEG Inquiry No. 1787, and received confirmation from Audatex that its paint labor allowance is for only the interior surface of the floor pan. “I basically said to the adjuster, ‘Which side of the floor do you want me to paint because you’re only paying me to do one side,’” Borek said. The documentation supplied through the DEG was enough to convince the insurer to pay for the additional paint labor, two-tone materials

and the needed replacement sounddeadener. “So that’s an example of something we got paid for by using the DEG,” Borek said. Borek said he’s used the Audatex system long enough that he usually knows the answer to the question he submits to the DEG, but the process provides the authoritative documentation he needs to prove his point. More recently, for example, Borek received a document that American National Property and Casualty Company (ANPAC) that the claims services company said was from Audatex and indicating that color sand and buff is included in Audatex refinish times. Borek knew this wasn’t the case and submitted it to the DEG. Within 24 hours, not only had Audatex responded that its labor times did not include color sand and buff, but also that it had searched its reference manual back to 1993 and could not find the document that ANPAC was using to defend its position. “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?” ANPAC later told the Texas Department of Insurance that the appraiser used “an outdated document.” Borek still contends the document was “fraudulent” given that Audatex concluded that the document is “most certainly not from ADP/Audatex.” “But in any case, those are just two examples where the DEG helped us. And very quickly, I might add,” Borek said. “I think the reason some people don’t use it is they think it might only help on the next one, and when am I going to have that exact same vehicle and procedure in my shop? But it can help you right now if you just send it in. It doesn’t cost anything, and you can sometimes have a response in 24 hours. And once you’ve done the research, you always have it. We still get paid for painting both sides of those floors.” John Yoswick, a freelance writer based in Portland, Oregon, who has been writing about the automotive industry since 1988, is also the editor of the weekly CRASH Network (for a free 4-week trial subscription, visit www.CrashNetwork.com). He can be contacted by email at jyoswick@SpiritOne.com.

www.autobodynews.com | SEPTEMBER 2012 AUTOBODY NEWS 25

Weatherford BMW

www.weatherfordbmw.com

(800) 995-9269

Original BMW Parts and Accessories

Over $1 million parts inventory Extremely Knowledgeable Parts Crew Our fleet of vehicles will get your order delivered when you need it At Weatherford BMW we are 100% committed to your complete satisfaction

Weatherford BMW 750 Potter Street, Berkeley, CA 94710 www.weatherfordbmw.com

26 SEPTEMBER 2012 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

Toll Free:

(800) 995.9269 (510) 841.5996 Fax

parts@weatherfordbmw.com

www.autobodynews.com | SEPTEMBER 2012 AUTOBODY NEWS 27

28 SEPTEMBER 2012 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

www.autobodynews.com | SEPTEMBER 2012 AUTOBODY NEWS 29

30 SEPTEMBER 2012 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

13 Paint Companies Exhibiting at NACE-CARS

Automotive Service & Repair Week (ASRW) has announced that 13 paint and coatings companies are supporting this year's event through exhibit space and interactive sponsorships. Confirmed paint companies that will exhibit at ASRW include • DuPont Performance Coatings • BASF - The Chemical Com-

pany • Sherwin-Williams Automotive Finishes Corporation • Valspar • Matrix System Automotive Finishes, LLC • Axis Performance Coatings/Vogel Automotive Coatings • Fashion Paint • Silver Sails Paints. Also exhibiting are • Beta Color • Chemicar • ChemSpec USA Inc. • Lusid Technologies Inc.• Roberlo, S.A.

Dick Cross to Keynote at NACE-CARS

Dick Cross, who served as CEO of CARSTAR from 2004 to 2011, will be the keynote speaker at this year’s NACE. Cross is the author of the recently-published “Just Run It,” which ASA’s Ron Pyle said offers a formula to help business owners understand “the bigger picture of how to achieve business success.” Pyle

said the message of Cross’ book and keynote address will be that small business owners can get so focused on the “next great theory” (like “lean”), that they overlook some basic principles for running a business successfully. “We’ve complicated it to the point that we need to now go back and say, ‘Just run it,’” Pyle said.

One of Southern California’s Largest Collision Parts Inventories 50,000 parts in stock and ready to ship We do bulk buying so we can pass the savings on to you 16 professional parts associates ready to help you 30 delivery trucks serving the San Fernando Valley & surrounding areas

Call DIRECT

We ship around the U.S. and the world

(866) 665-2365

Online ordering g through OEConnection

Wholesale Hotline

— Call for details

GALPIN WHOLESALE 7868 Orion Ave. • Van Nuys, CA 91406

210

N 27

118 ROSCOE BLVD.

101

170

405

2013 FORD FOCUS ST

HOURS: M-F 7AM-6PM, SAT 8AM-5PM

WWW.GALPIN.COM

(818) 778-2090 FAX www.autobodynews.com | SEPTEMBER 2012 AUTOBODY NEWS 31

速

+ 32 SEPTEMBER 2012 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

Subscribers:

The Honda and Acura Dealers Listed Here are HO N DA CA LI FO R N I A

CAL IFO RNIA

C ALIF OR N IA

AR IZONA

Autowest Honda Roseville

Honda of Hollywood

San Francisco Honda

R os ev ille

H o l l y wo o d

S an F ra nc i sco

Chan d ler

800-262-3201 916-783-5628

800-371-3719 323-466-3205

415-913-5125

800-765-1353 480-285-2804

Dept. Hours: M-F 7:30-6; Sat 8-5:30 autowesthondaparts@hotmail.com

Dept. Hours: M-F 7:30-6; Sat 8-5 parts@hondaofhollywood.com

Avery Greene Honda

Honda of Oakland

Vall ejo

O a k l a nd

800-834-8886 707-551-3202

510-547-8047 Dept. Hours: M-F 7-8; Sat 7-6

Dept. Hours: M-F 7:30-6; Sat 7:30-5 parts@averygreenemotors.com

Kolbe Honda

Barber Honda B ake r sf i el d

661-396-4235 Dept. Hours: M-F 8-5:30 bestchoice@barberhonda.com

Clawson Honda

R e se d a

800-735-1424 818-609-7441 Dept. Hours: M-F 7:30-6; Sat 7:30-5 carparts@kolbehonda.com

Larry Hopkins Honda S u nn yva le

Dept. Hours: M-F 8-5:30 partsws@sfhonda.com

Selma Honda S el ma

800-717-3562 559-891-5111 Dept. Hours: M-F 7-6; Sat 7:30-4:30 hondapartsmgr@selmaautomall.com

University Honda Davis

800-585-8648 530-758-8770 Dept. Hours: M-Sat 8-6; Sun 8-5 dfortier@uhdavis.com N EVAD A

Findlay Honda Henderson

Dept. Hours: M-F 8-5; Sat 8-5 parts@clawsonhonda.com

408-720-0221 408-736-2608 Dept. Hours: M-Sat 8-5 parts1@hopkinsdirect.com

888-234-4498 702-568-3531

First Honda

Metro Honda

Dept. Hours: M-F 7-6; Sat 8-5 fhhparts@findlayauto.com

F res n o

559-435-5000

S im i Val le y

888-523-0698 805-584-6646 Dept. Hours: M-F 7-6; Sat 7:30-5 hondaparts@firstautogroup.com

Galpin Honda Mi ssi on Hill s

800-GO GALPIN 818-778-2005 Dept. Hours: M-F 7-6; Sat 8-5 blemen@galpin.com

Honda Cars of Corona

M o nt cl a ir

800-446-5697 909-625-8960 Dept. Hours: M-F 7:30-5:30; Sat 7:30-4 wholesaleparts@metrohonda.com

Nelson Honda

Dept. Hours: M-F 7-5:30; Sat 7-5 wholesaleparts@santanhonda.com

Showcase Honda Ph oenix

800-537-8236 602-230-7306 Dept. Hours: M-F 7-7; Sat 8-5; Sun 9-4 dfoote@vtaig.com

Tempe Honda Tem pe

800-571-7019 480-421-4860 Dept. Hours: M-Sat 7-6 Jdodge@penskeautomotive.com

He nde r s on

AR IZ ON A

Bell Honda Ph o e nix

866-682-9802 602-772-4159

626-258-3494

Dept. Hours: M-F 7-6 apawholesaleparts@vtaig.com

Dept. Hours: M-F 7-7; Sat 7-5 ccampanella@gohondas.com

Chapman Honda

Robertson Honda

800-461-6744 520-202-5770

E l M o nt e

Santan Honda

Tuc so n

Co r on a

N o rt h H ol l ywoo d

800-557-3652 951-734-9045

800-508-3894 818-301-3511

Dept. Hours: M-Sat 7-5 terry.love@pscauto.com

Dept. Hours: M-F 7-6; Sat 8-5

Dept. Hours: M-F 7-6; Sat 8-4 robertevenson@chapmantucson.com

AC U RA CA LI FO R N I A

CAL IFO RNIA

C ALIF OR N IA

AR IZONA

Acura of Fremont

Metro Acura

Santa Monica Acura

Frem o n t

M o nt cl a ir

S an ta Mo n ic a

Peoria

888-435-0504 510-431-2560

800-446-5697 909-625-8960

866-332-4950 310-449-0064

866-347-4507 623-792-2559

Dept. Hours: M-Sat 8-6 mike.ohare@acuraoffremont.com

Dept. Hours: M-F 7:30-5:30 wholesaleparts@metrohonda.com

Dept. Hours: M-F 7-7; Sat 8-6 Scott.p@santamonicaacura.com

Dept. Hours: M-F 7-6; Sat 7-5 dcavanaugh@vtaig.com

Acura of Pleasanton

Power Acura South Bay

P lea s an t on

To rra nc e

888-985-6342 925-251-7126

310-784-8647

Dept. Hours: M-F 7:30-6; Sat 8-6 mitch.cash@hendrickauto.com

Dept. Hours: M-F 7-6; Sat 8-5 iwashitas@autonation.com

Acura of Peoria

Acura of Tempe

N EVAD A

Findlay Acura He nde r s on

877-770-5873 702-982-4160 Dept. Hours: M-F 7-6; Sat 8-4 jmoore@findlayauto.com

Tem pe

866-455-6601 480-344-6703 Dept. Hours: M-F 7-6; Sat 8-5 acuraparts@acuraoftempe.com

www.autobodynews.com | SEPTEMBER 2012 AUTOBODY NEWS 33

AUTOMAKER, AU A UTO OM MA M AK AK ER OEM OEM AUTOMAKER KE R,, OEM, M,, AND AND RECALL RE R E C AL CA ALL LL EC Autobody News Toyota to Recall 778,00 RAV and Lexus for Suspension

Toyota will recall approximately 778,000 vehicles that are at risk for problems with their rear suspension. But the recall hasn’t started yet, because the company hasn’t figured out how to fix the problem. “The remedy is being finalized,” wrote Vinnie Venugopal, Toyota’s general manager of Engineering and Manufacturing in North America, in a recall acknowledgement letter sent to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. “Toyota will provide NHTSA with additional details at a later time.” Notifying NHTSA of the problem without a solution is an unusual step, perhaps especially so, considering Toyota says it has been monitoring the problem since 2008. The company said it would notify owners of affected RAV4 and Lexus HS 250h models by mail when they can schedule repairs. The problem centers on improper tightening of lock nuts in the rear-vehicle tie rods. Rust has developed on the tie rods, leading to corrosion, and possibly to separation of the arm from the vehicle. Unchecked, the problem could result in loss of vehicle control, according to the defect report. While the company says it is safe for motorists to drive the vehicles until a permanent solution is found, they should ensure the lock nuts are properly tightened. The problem could be responsible for at least one highway accident, in which a driver reported a loud noise that immediately precipitated a loss of control. An internal Toyota investigation could not discern whether the tie-road corrosion had caused the accident. RAV4 vehicles built in the 2006 through 2010 model years and account for 760,000 of the vehicles in the recall. Lexus 250h models number approximately 18,000 and are from the 2010 model year. Toyota did not respond to requests for comment.

CALIFORNIA • NEVADA • ARIZONA

www.autobodynews.com

September 2012

2012 Nissans Probed on Airbags

Mazda Recalls 217K Tributes

Infiniti JX Gets Brake Probe

GM to Recall 250K SUVs, May be Fire Hazard in Electricals

Chrysler’s Top Sellers Probed

Hyundai Settles Airbag Lawsuit

U.S. safety regulators are investigating reports that a damaged cable assembly in the 2012 Nissan Versa could prevent its airbag from deploying in a crash. NHTSA said its investigation covered an estimated 100,000 Versas sold in the United States. NHTSA said Nissan had notified it that the airbag cable assembly was found pinched within the steering column on some Versas. “Damage or a short to this cable may cause the airbag to not deploy, which poses a safety risk,” said NHTSA’s Office of Defect Investigation.

GM is recalling nearly 250,000 sport utility vehicles because of an electrical problem that might cause fires. The recall pertains to some 2006 and 2007 Chevrolet Trailblazers, GMC Envoys, Buick Raniers, the SAAB 9-7x, and Isuzu Ascenders, sold in a number of northern states, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. In these vehicles, fluid may enter the driver’s door module, causing corrosion that can lead to a short-circuit. ‘A short may cause the power door lock and power window switches to function intermittently or become inoperative. The short may also cause overheating, which could melt components of the door module, producing odor, smoke, or a fire,’ the recall states. GM reported that at least 28 vehicle door fires were reported in connection with the problem. The recall includes a total of 249,260 vehicles that were sold in Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, West Virginia, Wisconsin and the District of Columbia. A solution to the problem is still being finalized, according to the recall. Owners will be notified if their vehicle is included in the recall by the respective car makers.

34 SEPTEMBER 2012 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

Mazda is recalling 217,500 Tribute SUVs due to a throttle problem that could make it difficult to slow down a vehicle after a driver presses down the accelerator. Ford has recalled 2001 to 2004 model Escape SUVs. Ford and Mazda jointly developed the affected Escape and Tribute models, assembled by Ford. The recall affects vehicles made for the 2001 to 2006 and 2008 model years that were equipped with the 3-liter, V-6 engine and speed control. Ford recalled 423,634 Escapes in the US and 484,600 worldwide for the problem. Chrysler’s two top-selling vehicles, the Ram pickup and the Jeep Grand Cherokee SUV, are under investigation by the NHTSA. The rear wheels can lock up in Rams from the 2009 and 2010 model years, potentially causing crashes, while power steering fluid hoses can leak in 2012 Grand Cherokees, possibly causing engine fires, according to documents posted Monday on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration website. Up to 230,000 Ram pickups and nearly 107,000 Grand Cherokees. The pickup is Chrysler’s top-selling vehicle this year, while the Grand Cherokee is No. 2.

Some Big GM Vans Recalled

GM is recalling more than 10,000 full-size vans in the US and Canada because the fuel filler pipes can rust, leak and cause fires. The recall affects Chevrolet Express and GMC Savana vans from the 2003 and 2004 model years with left-side cargo doors. It covers vans sold in 20 states, Washington, D.C., and in Canada, where salt and chemicals are used to clear snow from roads. GM said salt and chemicals can get trapped in a conduit that covers the fuel filler pipe and cause corrosion. Gasoline may leak and cause a fire. The company said it doesn’t know of any fires or injuries from the problem. Owners with questions can call Chevrolet at (866) 6946546 and GMC at (866) 996-9463.

NHTSA has opened an investigation into the 2013 Infiniti JX over possible improper application of the e-brake. While the investigation of 8,000 new Infiniti crossovers is not a recall, it could eventually trigger one if the government agency doesn't like what it finds. Owners have reported that “the intelligent brake assist system inappropriately activated emergency braking autonomously bringing the vehicle to an immediate and complete stop.” Obviously there’s danger in a vehicle that stops unintentionally and without warning. Law firm Hagens Berman has reached a settlement with Hyundai in a lawsuit regarding faulty airbags in the auto manufacturer’s Sante Fe crossover vehicles. The lawsuit alleged that airbags in some 2007–2009 Hyundai Santa Fe crossover vehicles failed to deploy during certain types of collisions. The settlement allows owners of 2007–2009 Hyundai Sante Fe crossovers to return defective vehicles if the company cannot repair them through a software upgrade, Hagens Berman said. Hagens Berman said Hyundai has ordered a recall of roughly 200,000 vehicles in response to the lawsuit. The recall is the latest in a series of recalls by Hyundai, which have amounted to about 1.3 million vehicles since 2006. Hagens Berman said the settlement will be filed in court for approval by Aug. 17. The recall will occur even if the court does not approve the settlement. “We negotiated a settlement that is very favorable to consumers, giving Hyundai owners the ability to return their vehicle if the settlement’s software upgrade does not fully solve the problem,” said Rob Carey, attorney for Seattle-based Hagens Berman. “This is especially important when it comes to something as critical as an airbag, a safety feature mandated by federal law.”

www.autobodynews.com

GM Recalls Cruzes, Fire Risk

Engine fires are forcing General Motors to recall the Chevy Cruze, a popular model that has helped GM win back small-car buyers. The recall covers 475,000 vehicles made in the U.S. from September of 2010 through May of 2012. It’s the car’s fifth recall since it arrived in showrooms nearly two years ago, raising questions about the sedan’s reliability. The fires can break out when fluids drip onto a hot plastic shield below the engine. The problem occurs mainly when oil is spilled and not properly cleaned up during changes, General Motors said Friday. The company knows of 30 fires caused by the problem, but no injuries have been reported, spokesman Alan Adler said. Flames engulfed and destroyed cars in two cases reported to federal safety officials. GM will notify owners starting July 11 about when to bring cars to local dealers for repairs, which are free and should take about 30 minutes. Dealers will fix the problem by cutting the plastic shield to let the fluids drain to the pavement, GM said. Cruzes with worn-out manual transmissions also can leak fluid onto the shields in rare cases, GM said.

Chrysler Issues Bulletin on Welded Sheet Metal Repairs, Cautions on GMA Welds

Regardless of the cause of vehicular damage, the repairer’s moral obligation is to repair the vehicle to the original design intent relative to safety, NVH, comfort, durability, and corrosion protection by duplicating the original construction as closely as possible by following all manufacturers’ guidelines. With the increasing use of advanced high strength steels in body construction, and their susceptibility to degraded material properties from welding heat, the approved process for installation of replacement panels has changed. Chrysler has previously approved the use of “weld bonding,” where squeeze type resistance spot welding (STRSW) is combined with an approved structural adhesive, as one of the acceptable methods to install welded panels while maintaining the original appearance and corrosion protection. High quality and capable STRSW equipment, which was a rare shop tool in the collision repair industry, has now become the norm and with this, it is now important to state that weld bonding of replacement panels is the recommended installation method to utilize when repairing Chrysler, Dodge, Fiat, Jeep, or Ram vehicles. GAS METAL ARC WELDING (GMAW or

MIG) SHOULD ONLY BE USED IN THE FOLLOWING SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES: • Proper weld access cannot be attained utilizing STRSW equipment with any of the available accessory arms. • Utilize 6-8 mm ring fillet welds for exterior panels and 8-10 mm for all others. • Adhesives need to be kept 25 mm from a ring fillet weld due to their flammability. • A Chrysler publication explicitly calls out fusion welding as the proper repair method. • The original attachment was GMAW. ALL OF THE FOLLOWING GUIDELINES MUST BE ADHERED TO: • DO NOT use heat to straighten sheet metal unless the panel will be replaced. • If weld-on pulling studs are used, their use must be minimal and the backside of the repaired panel must also be repaired to restore the original corrosion protection. CHARACTERISTIC OF ACCEPTABLE STRSW EQUIPMENT: NUMBER: 31-007-12 GROUP: Collision Bulletin

DATE: August 14, 2012 • Must utilize 220 volt (or greater), three-phase power supply. • Must utilize inverter technology • Must have the capability to provide a minimum of 10,000 amps of output. • Must have the capability to provide 600 pounds of tip force (267 daN) with the longest arms • Should utilize “smart” technology which helps eliminate errors in equipment set-up.

STRSW EQUIPMENT MEETING THE CRITERIA INCLUDES: • Car-O-Liner CTR12000 • Cebotech Tecna Smart-Plus 3664+ • Elektron Multispot® MI-100 Control • Pro Spot i5 • ONLY Lord Fusor #112B or 3M #08116 have been approved by Chrysler for weld bonding. These materials provide corrosion protection in the vulnerable weld zone. Joint sealers should be applied after welding is complete and appropriate primers have been applied (if needed). • Only remove e-coat from the new panel at the weld-bond mating location. • Minimize removal of galvanize/galvanneal coating. See Chrysler Bulletin, Page 48

YOU ONLY GET ONE CHANCE AT THE FIRST REPAIR. Choose Original MINI Parts. Because you can’t repair your reputation.

S Hardtop 2011

These Dealers Below Are Original MINI Parts Distributors:

California

Bob Smith MINI Calabasas

888-215-7854 818-340-9455 Fax

Nick Alexander MINI

South Bay MINI Torrance

310-939-7342 310-939-7343

Los Angeles

800-800-NICK 323-583-4109 Direct www.alexandermini.com

www.autobodynews.com | SEPTEMBER 2012 AUTOBODY NEWS 35

SCRS Director Learns from Geese and Declares PartsTrader Fowl by Ed Attanasio

More than 100 body shop owners, personnel, vendors and friends were on hand at PPG’s San Francisco Business Development Center in Concord, CA on July 24 to enjoy a barbecue dinner and listen to a presentation by Aaron Schulenburg, the Executive Director of the Society of Collision Repair Specialists (SCRS).

Aaron Schulenburg, Executive Director of the Society of Collision Repair Specialists (SCRS), entertained and informed more than 100 collision repair professionals at the July meeting for the East Bay Chapter of the California Autobody Association.

member of our group, due to injury or illness? Do we step up and help them, like the geese do? “Whenever a goose falls out of formation, it suddenly feels the drag and resistance of trying to fly alone, and quickly gets back into formation to take advantage of the “lifting power” of the bird immediately in front. Lesson: If we have as much sense as a goose, we will align ourselves with people who are headed in the same direction—where we want to go.” “When the lead goose gets tired, it rotates back into the formation and another goose flies at the point position,” Schulenburg said. “Lesson: It pays to take turns doing the hard tasks and sharing leadership—with people, as with geese, interdependent with one other.” Have you ever noticed that the same people all seem to hold all the leadership roles in any volunteer-based organization? We could learn a lot from geese. Thinking about how even geese know the way to get it done should be a call to action to engage body shop owners to share leadership roles in organizations such as CAA and SCRS. After his inspirational opening and some background information about the scope of SCRS, Schulenburg discussed a variety of current industry events such as OEM repair procedures and industry standards of repair; the usefulness of the SCRS

Schulenburg kicked off his speech by discussing his take on the classic metaphor “Lessons from the Geese” from a book written in 1972 by Dr. Robert McLeish, which identifies migration habits of geese and applies the concepts to human behavior and teamwork. Schulenburg drew an analogy between geese acting cooperatively and how professional organizations like CAA and SCRS need members that will support and work together as a team to make the industry stronger as a whole. Instead of being for the birds, Schulenburg’s remarks served to separate the fowl from the foul. “As each goose flaps its wings, it creates uplift for the bird following,” Schulenburg explained. “By flying in a From left, Melissa Perez, District Sales Manager for “V” formation, the whole FinishMaster; Trish Pickens, District Manager for Audatex and Gigi Walker from Walker’s Auto Body network at the flock adds 71% more flying East Bay CAA chapter July meeting, held at PPG’s San range than if each bird flew Francisco Business Development Center in Concord, CA alone. Lesson: People who share a common direction and sense Guide to Complete Repair Planning of community can get where they are (www.scrs.com); an overview of the going faster and easier because they very helpful Database Enhancement are coasting on the thrust of one an- Gateway (www.degweb.org), and led a rousing conversation on the topic other.” Still flying along with the geese that every body shop owner in the analogy, Schulenburg asked the audi- country is discussing—State Farm’s ence, what happens when we lose a PartsTrader program which is being

36 SEPTEMBER 2012 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

piloted in four U.S. cities. PartsTrader is the online parts bidding system that was created for State Farm as they seek a refined so-

awaiting their feedback, but the buzz from the industry so far has not been positive, Schulenburg said. “This system has yet to demonstrate any real advantages or benefits for repair facilities or parts vendors, and has demonstrated the potential to lead to inefficiencies, greater costs to manage, and smaller profit margins based on the feedback we have heard from participants both in the U.S. and other markets,” Schulenburg said. From left, Jamie Maltbie, General Manager at Jim’s “Mandating the systems California Auto Body in Concord; Jeff Rogers, Manager that are used and the at Jim’s California Auto Body; Jim Boyle, Owner of Regal Collision Repair in Vallejo; Sam Snodgrass, Sales Rep for processes in which they will 3M and Mark Juell, Zone Director for PPG, contemplatbe used, it certainly opens ing geese formations after the meeting. the door for insurers to exercise much greater control over the relution for the parts locating and orpair business and their purchasing dering process. In short, PartsTrader decisions.” enables a shop to upload an estimate, PartsTrader is scary to many in the giving both new and used parts venindustry for a wide range of reasons, dors an opportunity to see all the many of which stem from the conparts on the estimate and offer a cerns relative to how important parts “bid” on the pricing they can offer for profit is to the health of most colliany part of the estimate. State Farm sion repair businesses, Schulenburg is sampling the system currently in See SCRS Director, Page 41 100+ shops within select cities, and

• Dedicated Wholesale Staff with Over 100 Years Experience • Large Inventory • Daily Local Deliveries

Parts 800-952-5307 Direct 916-405-4700 Fax 916-405-8045 Hours: Mon-Fri 7-7 • Sat 7-5

9640 W. Stockton Blvd. • Elk Grove, CA 95757

www.autobodynews.com | SEPTEMBER 2012 AUTOBODY NEWS 37

Looking Forward to SEMA at Foose Design by Chip Foose

It’s hard to believe, but as I write this, SEMA (Specialty Equipment Marketing Association) Show in Las Vegas, the biggest automotive show of the year, is only a few short weeks away. The Aftermarket, OEM’s and Suppliers take over three exhibit halls with displays and exhibits of their latest products and vehicles. SEMA is a very important event for all of us at Foose Design, and we never miss it. This year at SEMA, we will feature three purpose-built Foose vehicles. We also have a special build that will return to the SEMA Show—more on that later. The builds we are completing will feature the design and fabrication efforts of everyone at Foose Design and here are some details.

WD-40 Company Projects Once again we are teaming up with WD-40 for two vehicle builds in support of SEMA Cares Charities (Childhelp®, The Victory Junction Gang® Camps, SEMA Scholarship Program). WD-40/SEMA Cares Foose ‘53 Ford F100 It’s the 60th Anniversary of WD-40® Multi-Use Product. To celebrate this milestone, Foose Design is customiz-

ing a 1953 Ford F-100 Pickup, designed and built to maintain the look and feel of that truck used to deliver the first case of the product approximately 60 years ago. We will keep the original look, but update the drive train, suspension, wheels and tires and paint. I created a tribute, period correct, Rocket Chemical Company logo for the doors. We have many suppliers that are helping us build, including LMC

Truck Parts. The final design will be a tribute to the WD-40 Company and its history. The vehicle will be displayed in the Grand Lobby near the Central Hall, showcased at key West Coast auto shows and events in December 2012, and then auctioned at the 2013 Barrett-Jackson Collector Car Auction in Scottsdale, AZ, with proceeds benefiting Childhelp and The Victory Junction Gang Camps.

WD-40 Multi-Use Product, created by Rocket Chemical Company in San Diego, was developed as a water displacement material and was first used on the Atlas Missile Program as a rust inhibitor. The final formula was the 40th formula tried, hence the name WD-40.

WD-40 Specialist/SEMA Cares Foose Ford F-350 This project celebrates the new WD40 Specialist™ line of products and will serve as the companion truck to the ‘53 Ford F-100. The build will have us working in a much larger scale to create a true work truck that has appeal for automotive as well as construction and skilled trades audiences. Following SEMA, the Ford F-350 will be used for a 16month promotional period and then auctioned with proceeds funding scholarships through SEMA Cares. Starting with a stock 2013 Ford F350, I am developing a set of custom body kit parts including new front and rear wheel flares, side rockers and front chin spoiler. We will have custom axles made for the correct tire placement and will include numerous upgrades to the already stout stock suspension. I plan on making a set of very cool, one-off Foose wheels for

38 SEPTEMBER 2012 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

this project. The custom paint will be completed at Foose and should turn a few heads.

ELDOROD A significant part of my design history is Eldorod, the first car I designed as a full-time employee at Boyd’s Hot Rods. Ironically, it is the last car to be delivered out of the Boyd Shop before it closed in 1998.

Based on a 1949 Cadillac, it is sometimes referred as the sister car to the Larry Erickson designed Billy Gibbons owned Cadzilla. My original design had a lot of details that we removed or abbreviated in the interest of delivering the car. When current owner Chris Andrews purchased the car, he contacted me to ask if I would be interested in redoing the vehicle based on my original sketches. I jumped at the chance. Many subtle design features based on the original design that previously lived only on paper are being fabricated for this re-fresh. The hood line has been changed, the front windshield reshaped to a more gentle curve, the dash has been reshaped to match the hoodline, the wheel openings have been reshaped, front and rear bumpers are restyled including bumperettes from a ‘56 Nomad, and a grille opening from a mid 50’s Olds. New chrome side trim has been custom made and the top has been reshaped, surrounded by a thin chrome trim border and re-skinned in Mercedes canvas. The original maroon color has been repainted in a deep BASF blended blue, based on the color found in my original illustration. A completely new leather inte-

rior has been designed, stitched and installed. I am excited to unveil this re-creation in the booth of my sponsor, BASF Paints.

SEMA SPECIAL BUILD Now for some exciting news I mentioned earlier. Overhaulin’ is back! After nearly a five-year break, I am back with my talented crew changing people’s lives by completely rebuilding their neglected vehicles. The show will air on Velocity and Discovery Channel. Stay tuned for details about new episodes airing in the fall. We are well into the filming on our first episodes, but here’s the good part about the special build—we are going to do a live build of Overhaulin’ at SEMA! We are planning on securing a new vehicle from one of the OEM’s and then we will walk through SEMA like you would in a supermarket, picking out all the parts and components on the display floor to be included on this build. We will do all the disassembly, fabrication, customization, paint, interior and rebuild in front of a live audience. We even have some special plans on how this vehicle

may be given away to one lucky SEMA attendee. Stay tuned to my website www.chipfoose.com as I will be providing more details as we get closer. For those of you attending SEMA this year, make sure to check out my schedule for autographs and appearances. It will be published on my website about two to three weeks before SEMA. If you are not attending SEMA, maybe you should reconsider, there’s going to be a lot of great innovative products to see, and one lucky attendee might drive off with a new Foose vehicle! I hope to see you in Las Vegas!

Custom Corner

Rich Evans is the owner of Huntington Beach Bodyworks and an award winning painter and fabricator. He offers workshops in repair and customization at his facility to share his unique talents. For contacts and design samples visit www.huntingtonbeachbodyworks.com

Some Cool Tips and Tricks to Save You Time and Money with Rich Evans

In this month’s column, I want to share some new and cool tools that have saved me time. As I always say, time is money, especially in this industry. Many of you are fixing plastic bumpers and you’ve probably come across parts that are broken, made out of polyurethane or plastic, or sometimes you can’t get the parts you need, or the parts are too expensive for your customer.

I came across a company called Automotive Welding Solutions that has a product called the Mixplast Hot Stapler (or Mixplast Magic Stapler) for plastic repair. It’s a plastic panel repair system, a 2 in 1 machine that staples and welds plastic. It saves on the cost of a machine. It’s battery operated, no cables are needed, it offers quick cooling time and fast repair time and has three positions for angled staples, which is cool

for tight areas. It has three or four different types of staples for different usages. It also comes with a handy storage case. Since I’ve found this tool, I’ve found more uses for it every day in the field—like door panels where a tab is ripping. I used the stapler to repair the tab without having to use glue, bonding or waiting. It’s an instant repair. In one of my projects, I used the stapler on a front bumper filler that was missing a corner. The only place to buy this filler is in Europe and that would have cost the customer $250 with a six-

week wait because the part was on back order. Instead, I used the staple gun to re-apply the piece, positioning the staples where I thought the strengthening needed to be. I put the staples in and melted the staple so it became part of the part, and then I cut the staple prongs and ground them down, then used 3M panel bond #08115 to level it out. I let it dry overnight, then came back and sanded it with 80-grit, then 150-grit, getting it shaped and ready to prime. I had a repaired part in less than 24 hours. It saved the customer time and made a

great repair and it bonds like it was never broken. I wish I had this tool 15 years ago! My second tip is a very affordable tape we get for a few dollars from Home Depot. It is multi-purpose foil tape and it becomes a tool when you are fabricating and modifying pieces on a project. I learned this technique from a good buddy of mine, Richard Wood, when we were up in Canada filming a

new TV pilot called World Wide Car Building. We had nine guys under one roof, and you can imagine the creativity and the different ways people do things, so I walked out of there learning five or

ten years worth of new ways to do things. The foil tape is a tool, a gig and a clamp all in one. Here’s a good example of a project

where I used the foil tape. We took a ‘54 panel truck and turned it into a pickup truck, dropping it on a 2006 SSR chassis. The chassis is wider and needed clearance for wheels, so we needed to weld the fenders to the hood and we welded the grill and front bumper all in one piece, mocked it up, and then had to cut the fenders and widen them 2-1/2 inches. We were able to put gussets underneath and get fender placement without removing the original position of the headlight, but I needed to make 20 different cuts into the fender and I had to try to roll that as a natural curve back into the headlights because there was a 2-1/2 in gap where I cut it. My buddy Rich came by and showed me a few tricks on how to use this foil tape. Normally, we’d have to hold everything together by spot welding pieces and re-spot welding them. Using the foil tape allowed me to shape the fender to get the look I was looking for, with the tape holding everything together from the outside with the natural contours so it doesn’t look awkward. I’ve got 20 different pieces so how is a clamp going to hold that? The tape was strong enough to hold everything in place so I was able to shape everything.

From that point, after using the tape, I took the hood off and turned it upside down and was able to go to the inside and tack everything together while the tape was holding it, then flip the hood back over and remove the tape. This is just one way of using the taping method. The tape can be used: #1 as a tool, #2, to hold everything in place, and #3, to give you an actual visual of how everything is going to look. I’ve been really busy the past few months. I mentioned the 10-day shoot in Nova Scotia, Canada, with Curtis Customs, filming an episode for our documentary called World Wide Car Building. We will unveil the two vehicles we built there at the SEMA show. One of the builds is a 2004 H2 Hummer that we chopped five inches and made it into a two-door. I am also working on another show called Build it With Rich Evans. For more information, see BuildItWith-

RichEvans.com. In this show, I am getting back to the nuts and bolts and helping DYI builders who are working on cars in their garages, where most professionals start. You can keep up with me on my fan page, Rich Evans Designs on Facebook, or visit me at RichEvansDesigns.com or HuntingtonBeachBody works.com. Thanks to my sponsors, I couldn’t build anything without them: 3M, Infratech, Woodward Fab, Lucas Oil, SPX products and others listed on my sponsor page at HuntingtonBeachBodyworks.com. Keep on wrenching. Hope to see you at SEMA.

www.autobodynews.com | SEPTEMBER 2012 AUTOBODY NEWS 39

Texas Body Shop Owner Creates Sculptures Out of Car Parts by Melanie Anderson

What with running his shop and being the town mayor, Johnny Anders, 62, owner of Anders Paint and Body Shop, at 701 N. Swenson in Stamford, TX, doesn’t have much free time on his hands. But when he does have free time, he puts it to good use, creating larger-than-life metal sculptures out of car parts.

Cindy and Johnny Anders

With no art background, Anders starting creating his whimsical sculptures from car parts back in the late 70s. He first created “Dino”—a 30foot long, 8-foot tall Brontosaurus, inspired by the large automobiles of the day—the Pontiacs and Buicks that were called dinosaurs because of their size and fuel consumption. The sculpture is mostly made out of control arms, rocker arms, leaf springs and a piece pipe for the spine.

The Dino sculpture is located in the city park with two other of his projects, a millipede made out of car wheels and a 40-foot-long praying mantis. Two of his sculptures are located alongside the highway, beckoning passersby to stop awhile and visit Anders’ small town, population 3,400, located in northern Jones County in West Texas.

His favorite and “most fun” piece, he says, is his ‘97 Chevrolet pickup. Street legal, the vehicle has two front ends. Anders enjoys driving it around town and it’s been dubbed with a couple of names: “Coming And Going” and “Push Me Pull Me.” Anders’ largest metal sculpture is his calling card—a 25-foot tall T-Rex that guards the front of his shop and makes his business easy to spot. It took Anders two years to build it during his spare time. The T-Rex is made out of leaf springs, oil pans, rocker arms and control arms out of various pickups and cars. Over the years, Anders has created six metal sculptures, including a giant spider, 60 feet across and 25 feet high, that sits alongside U.S. 277, looking spooky at night with glowing red LED lights for eyes. A 1957 or 1958 Isetta car serves as spider body and the legs are drill pipe. His latest piece of artwork is called “Bedlam” and is his version of Stonehenge. Made out of damaged and discarded pick up truck beds, he and his friends lined up 12 truck beds in a circle, trying to make it look like face of a clock. The truck beds were buried upright 18 inches into the ground and poured in concrete. The sculpture has become a place for the kids to graffiti, which is OK with him because it allows young people to come out and spray paint without harming anything. A tall cross made of chrome wheels stands in the middle of the pickup beds. For his next project, Anders is planning to create a huge Texas black beetle, also known as the stink bug. He will use an older Volkswagen and build legs from drive shafts and feet from brake shoes. As mayor of his town and a business owner, Anders doesn’t have much free time. “Operating a business and taking care of stuff, you don’t have a whole lot of time for it. I just do it in my spare time,” he says. “My dad was a city council member here for 12 years and he passed away in 1994. In

40 SEPTEMBER 2012 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

1996, I got talked into running for a spot on the council and I’ve been the major for the last eight years.” As mayor, part of Anders’ job has been to clean up and beautify the city. Anders has lived in Stamford his whole life. In fact, he lives 100 yards from where he was born. “I wouldn’t live anywhere else. You know everyone by first name and they know you. It’s a good feeling.” Anders’ paternal grandfather, Fay Anders, arrived in Stamford in a cov-

ered wagon in 1923 and opened his first business, called “Limp In, Leap Out,” making minor repairs and fixing

flat tires. From the late 1930s to the mid 1950s, Fay’s Wrecking was one

of the largest wrecking yards in the entire Southwest. His granddad’s shop burned in the 1950s and his father opened another one down the street. His granddad had six boys, all who were in the body shop business, two now retired and the others have passed on. When Johnny Anders graduated from high school, his father tried to get him to go to college, but Anders just wanted to work on cars. Anders took over the business after the death of his father in 1994, and now he’s the only one left keeping the family business alive. Anders has a son and two daughters, all who have followed different career paths.

Auto Industry Customer Satisfaction Hits 20-Year High Customer satisfaction with major automakers has hit a high point in the nearly 20 years since such data has been tracked by the American Customer Satisfaction Index. The survey compiles data from approximately 70,000 customer interviews and measures customer satisfaction with more than 225 companies in 47 industries. The auto industry achieved an overall ranking of 84 out of 100, tying 2009 for its best-ever mark. But this year’s performance is the industry’s most impressive, because customer satisfaction was artificially high in 2009, said David VanAmburg, managing director of ACSI, based near Ann Arbor, MI. In 2009, customers were happy because vehicle prices hit rock bottom when the U.S. government launched the cash-for-clunkers incentives in the summer of 2009. Prices have since rebounded— but consumers still are satisfied. ACSI measures three-year satisfaction among new vehicle buyers. “The automakers are paying more attention to improving the quality of the vehicles themselves. This might be a little more real, a little more sustainable,” VanAmburg said. Six of the nine domestic auto

brands improved from 2011 to 2012: The Jeep brand rose from a score of 79 to 83, while Dodge edged up from 79 to 81. The Chrysler brand went from 76 to 78—though still ranked at the bottom of the industry. “Obviously there are lots of indicators that Chrysler has been improving,” VanAmburg said. “Its financials have been showing that; its sales are up. They had such a gap with Ford and GM. They’ve closed that gap, but there’s still some ground to make up.” Ford’s Lincoln brand, which is in the early stages of a makeover, had the best score, at 90. But VanAmburg cautioned that its declining sales in recent years helped its score. Despite improvement among the domestic brands, foreign companies still lead. Toyota’s Lexus luxury brand was second-best at 89, up 2 points. Subaru (87), BMW (86), Hyundai (85), Mercedes-Benz (85), Toyota (85) and Volkswagen (85) all beat the industry average. GM’s Buick posted the third-best score at 87, up 2 points. Chevrolet rose 2 points to 84, while Cadillac slipped a point to 86. Ford brand fell a point behind Chevrolet to 83. Nissan (83), Kia (82) and Mazda (82) all trailed the industry average.

Continued from Page 36

SCRS Director

said. The rest of the discussion primarily consisted of a recap of industry reactions to the program from the discussions the week before at the Collision Industry Conference in San Antonio, TX. He highlighted some direct quotes and comments attributed to State Farm and PartsTrader representatives throughout the process. In addition, he presented introductory documents provided by both companies that demonstrate the lack of choice for both repairers and vendors in test markets. All of the information was presented in a manner that provided attendees with things to consider, but without ever directly soliciting them to agree one way or the other. During the discussion part of the

evening, Toby Chess, a collision veteran, Autobody News columnist and I-CAR trainer, made an interesting observation: “If the insurance companies can dictate where or how you buy your parts, wouldn’t the logical next thing be paint?” This got the attention of some of the top PPG managers in attendance. At the end of the meeting while several CAA members were standing in the rear parking lot and making small talk, Schulenburg’s geese analogy became a little more concrete. As if on cue, a formation of geese appeared in the sky and flew directly above the PPG Business Development Center. Several CAA members as well as Schulenburg saw them, honking and flying in their famous ‘V’-formation. “They wanted a curtain call and there it was!” Jim Boyle, Owner of Regal Collision Repair in Vallejo, exclaimed.

Free Twice Monthly Newsletter at www.autobodynews.com

Call DIRECT

We ship around the U.S. and the world

(866) 665-2365

Online ordering through OEConnection

Wholesale Hotline

— Call for details

GALPIN WHOLESALE 7868 Orion Ave. • Van Nuys, CA 91406

210

N 27

118 ROSCOE BLVD.

101

170

405

2012 IMPREZA WRX

HOURS: M-F 7AM-6PM, SAT 8AM-5PM

WWW.GALPIN.COM

(818) 778-2090 FAX www.autobodynews.com | SEPTEMBER 2012 AUTOBODY NEWS 41

Inside Insurance

The Insider is a corporate-level executive with a Top 10 auto insurer in the U.S.. Got a comment or question you’d like to see him address in a future column? Email him at Auto.Insurance.Insider@gmail.com

Sale of Estimate Data Isn’t New and Shops Don’t Own That Data with The Insurance Insider

Have you sold your soul to the devil? I’m here to tell you that if you have a computerized estimating system, and you electronically communicate with an insurance company, you have. You signed away your rights when you executed the contract to pay the information providers a monthly subscription fee. What does that mean to your business? Estimating data generated by your shop for a direct repair program and electronically sent to that insurance carrier is now useable by the information provider. Of course it’s an instant revenue stream for that company as well. Every day thousands of new estimates are added to their extensive data library. Think this is shocking? How could they do this? Is this legal? News flash: This has been going on for more than 20 years. The collision repair industry, now worrying about data mining and privacy, is just a little slow getting to the party. But welcome to the party. You are the guests of honor. Just sign on the dotted line. Former U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt famously stated, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” He wanted to spur optimism in the American public. So: What do you fear? I actually think Roosevelt was right and it’s fear itself. Most shops aren’t worried about the information providers selling confidential information such as their customer’s name, address or phone number. Most reputable vendors have contractual language stating that that’s protected information. Aside from that, in today’s litigious society, people are always seeking op-

portunities to sue and cash in. It’s just not worth taking the risk. So what is being sold? The estimating data itself. Why? It’s data that insurance companies rely upon to make decisions, identify trends, manage their business and in some instances, establish market guidelines.

This data is critical to managing the insurance business and has significant monetary value. So, you may ask, if the information providers are making money on estimate data from my shop, why isn’t someone paying me? It’s a reasonable question. Personally, I think if shops were paid for the use of the data, the persistent question of “Who owns the data?” would disappear. The fear would be reduced to squabbling over the table scraps the information providers left behind. Remember Cuba Gooding Jr. repeatedly shouting, “Show me the money” in the movie Jerry Maguire? So, to our esteemed information providers reading this article: Show the shops the money and you will quickly hear “Where do I sign?” Given that this practice has been

Give us your opinion on matters affecting the industry.

write us! publisher@autobodynews.com

42 SEPTEMBER 2012 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

going on for over two decades, why hasn’t it been established who owns the data? I’ve read many articles on the subject, none of which answers the question. Unfortunately, I won’t be able to provide an answer either. Until there is a precedent set with case law on this matter, it will be a subject to debate. I am, however, going to venture a guess and tell you that you don’t own the data, and to think otherwise is delusional. You wrote an estimate on behalf of the insurance company. Here’s what you do own on that estimate.At the top of the estimate is the name of your business. You legally own the rights to the name of your company. That’s it. Does the estimate data belong to the vehicle owner? Absolutely not. The vehicle owner owns the right to their confidential information on the estimate (insurance policy number, address and phone number). Shops should be protecting the customer’s data (and themselves) by having an agreement in place

with their vendors to ensure data is not shared without their written consent. Does the information provider own the estimating data? In a word, ‘no.’ They don’t own anything other than the rights to aggregate the data contained in the estimate specific to the actual repair of the vehicle. That’s data that you signed over to the devil when you signed your agreement with that company. Does the insurance company own it? In my not-so-humble view, ‘yes’ we do. Out of all the potential parties, the carrier is the most logical owner. By virtue of our direct repair program contracts, we have an agreement with a vendor (body shop) to produce an estimate to repair the vehicle. You agreed to participate in the direct repair program. You agreed to create an estimate and upload it. In return, you are referred to our policyholders as an option. We directly or indirectly paid for the service. In other words, we own it.

NORTH COUNTY KIA PROVIDING AUTHENTIC KIA PARTS TO SAN DIEGO SHOPS SINCE 1999.

• Qualified, Experienced Staff • Free Delivery • Huge Inventory Hours: Mon. - Fri. 7am - 6pm Sat. 8am - 4pm

Call Us Today!

760-945-9939 w

Additional 10% OFF your or der of $500 or more for mentioning this ad.

parts@northcountykia.com www.northcountykia.com

866-888-3074 fax

1501 Auto Park Way S., Escondido, CA 92029

with our Genuine Ford Parts When it comes to Ford Genuine Parts, go with a winning team. Use Gen Genuine nuine Ford Parts for your customers s la ate model Ford late Ford, Lincoln and Mercury vehicles. Y You You're always guaranteed tthat ha they will fit right the first time, every time. Take it to the End Zone. Ta

Call your local Authorized Ford Wholesaler today!

These dealers are Genuine Ford Parts wholesale specialists. Airport Marina Ford LOS AN GE L E S

888-590-6622 310-306-2899 Fax

www.airportmarinaford.com parts@airportmarinaford.com

Antelope Valley Ford L AN CAS TE R Wholesale Parts Dept.

661-945-0881 661-945-3501 Fax

www.avford.com jrondou@avford.com

Bob Wondries Ford AL HAMB RA Wholesale Direct

888-238-5415 626-284-9109 Fax

www.bobwondriesford.com parts@bobwondriesford.com

Buerge Ford

W E S T LOS AN GE L E S

310-820-1431 310-826-0221 Fax

Citrus Ford

SO. C A LIFOR N IA

Drew Ford L A ME S A

800-648-7431 619-668-7765 619-668-7719 Fax www.drewauto.com

Fairview Ford

S AN B E RN ARD I N O Wholesale Direct

909-386-0220 909-889-1741 Fax

Ford of Montebello

E-mail your orders parts@colleyford.com

CARL S B AD

760-438-2892 760-431-0803 Fax

LON G B E ACH

Future Ford of Clovis CLOVI S

800-350-2552 559-294-0816 Fax

Fritts Ford R I VE RS I DE

951-343-7556 951-687-3044 Fax VAN N U Y S

800-253-3807 909-592-8577 Fax

Ken Grody Ford

fordofmontebello@yahoo.com

888-566-5240 323-838-0195 Fax

scunningham@citrusmotors.com GL E N DORA Wholesale Parts

Largest wholesaler in San Diego with 17 delivery trucks.

MON TE B E L LO Wholesale Direct

wsparts@frittsford.com

Colley Ford

S AN D I E GO

858-560-5033 800-635-6669 858-560-9648 Fax

www.kengrodyford.com Steve.manning@ kengrodyford.com

ON TAR I O

909-390-0948 909-390-0982 Fax

Kearny Pearson Ford

Galpin Ford

818-778-2005 818-778-2090 Fax

Pacific Ford

Vista Ford Lincoln Mercury OX N ARD Wholesale Direct

805-983-4551 805-278-0554 Fax

Worthington Ford LON G B E ACH

800-622-4225 562-421-4033 562-496-1871 Fax

tonyc@calworthington.com

N O. C A LIFOR N IA

Harrold Ford S ACRAME N TO

916-922-8355 916-922-2691 Fax

800-353-7224 562-492-9452 Fax

mdiaz@harroldford.com www.harroldford.com

CATHE DRAL CI TY

COL MA Wholesale Parts Dept. Phone:

parts@pacificford.com

Palm Springs Motors 760-328-7149 760-328-5092 Fax

Super Ford Lincoln Mercury

(Formerly Puente Hills Ford) CI TY OF I N D U S TRY

800-965-1055 626-965-9666 Fax

phfordparts@yahoo.com

Tuttle-Click Ford Lincoln Mercury

Serramonte Ford 650-301-7190

Wholesale Parts Dept. Fax:

650-301-7087

www.serramonteford.com

Sunnyvale Ford Lincoln Mercury S U N N YVAL E

408-738-1530 408-738-3125 Fax

N O. C A LIFOR N IA

The Ford Store of San Leandro S AN L E AN D RO

800-690-6906 510-347-4160 Fax

N EVA D A

Ford Country HE N D E RS ON

702-558-8100 702-566-7037 Fax

www.fordcountrylv.com

Friendly Ford L AS VE GAS

702-877-6546 702-870-6280 Fax

Gaudin Ford L AS VE GAS

702-796-2762 702-792-5370 Fax

A R IZON A

Berge Ford ME S A

480-497-7660 480-497-7581 Fax

A R IZON A

Camelback Ford Lincoln Mercury PHOE N I X

602-248-8396 602-240-5645 Fax

Chapman Ford S COT TS D AL E

480-946-3900 480-949-7617 Fax

Earnhardt Ford CHAN D L E R

480-763-6233 480-783-4655 Fax

www.earnhardtford.com

Power Ford North Scottsdale S COT TS D AL E

480-998-0652

Sanderson Ford GL E N D AL E

800-367-3673 623-842-8762 623-842-8799 Fax

www.sandersonparts.com

www.bergeford.com parts@bergeford.com

www.fordautodirect.com

I RVI N E

949-472-5230 949-472-0327 Fax

Make us your one-stop shop today!

www.autobodynews.com | SEPTEMBER 2012 AUTOBODY NEWS 43

Refinish Distributors Alliance: Collaborating to IMPACT Minds by Chasidy Rae Sisk

The Refinish Distributors Alliance (RDA) is a national group of refinish distributors dedicated to providing quality services and products to their customers. Founded in 2008 by seven members, they now consist of 15 members and are represented in 179

locations over 26 states. RDA’s marketing brand is IMPACT. They understand the importance of marketing their brand and use IMPACT when referring to the group and everything they do in the group. Representing a cross-section of all major refinish brands, IMPACT members do over $400 million in sales as a group, comprising around 15% of the refinish business nationwide. Their goal is “to leverage the

creative solutions to benefit the whole. Combined, IMPACT members have a better opportunity to compete with large national chains while maintaining their independence. IMPACT was formed as a forprofit company. Members are all equal shareholders and thus invested in the organization’s success. One way that RDA members enjoy the benefits of group strength, through combining business and marketing programs as well as combined purchasing power, is through the development of the Impact Brand. According to their brochure, IMPACT “provides our members an exclusive and powerful ‘Common Theme’ approach to marketing products and services to the collision industry. Members are fully engaged in working to develop and implement products and services that benefit each member of the group” by providing a variety of tools to aid members in effectively competing against both local and national distributors.

IMPACT uses the funding created from the group’s purchases to increase the resources and programs offered to members and their customers. Examples of these programs include discounts on AAIA membership, credit card processing through First Data, discounts on business forms through RR Donnelley and partnership with I-CAR training. Members can offer their customers the IMPACT Elite Member program. This program is for the premier collision shops and will help them become stronger, more competitive and grow their business. IMPACT has put together business and marketing tools at discounted rates. As an IMPACT Elite member they will receive savings on uniforms, Phoenix Solutions Group’s marketing services, credit card processing, the Impact BizUnite market place and much more. Since IMPACT’s inception, Blickenstaff has seen positive effects to his business operations, including the creation of better buying opportunities from a margin perspective and a better gross profit margin. The networking and sharing of ideas with members has been beneficial for him

and his company. He notes that involvement with IMPACT “allows members to differentiate themselves by providing customers with something that no one else can.” Blickenstaff notes that it has become increasingly tougher to compete in the distribution business as the insurance, collision and distribution industries are all going through consolidations which make it difficult for the ‘little guy’ to compete against big national players. IMPACT members are better able to increase their footprint by “banding together from a resource perspective.” The RDA/IMPACT group is unique and the first PBE group where independent distributors who are all leaders in their markets have come together. IMPACT’s members have integrity and commitment to the success of their businesses as well as their customers’ businesses. Their goal is the group strength that allows members, collectively, to compete on a national level on which they have no chance individually. See Refinish Distributors, Page 52

Give your customers what they deserve... The Best. Genuine Mazda parts are specifically designed, engineered and tested for Mazda vehicles. Customers and repair professionals prefer the quality and satisfaction that only comes from genuine Mazda parts.

A recent RDA member’s meeting was well attended to represent the IMPACT brand. Inset: Bernie Blickenstaff (upper) is president of IMPACT. Robert McKenzie (lower) is Executive Director.

strength of individual members in an effort to become even stronger as one cohesive group.” Bernie Blickenstaff, president of IMPACT as well as CEO of Pro Finishes Plus, Inc. in Lanham, MD, notes that IMPACT was formed to allow members “to accomplish things as a group that we can’t do individually. We are stronger together and unified.” Executive Director Robert E. McKenzie, Jr. adds that “IMPACT’s members all have common interests and a common desire to grow their business.” By collaborating as a group, members are able to discuss problems in the industry and arrive at

Their approach to growing business includes lowering sales and distribution costs, increasing overall market share and profits, marketing new products and programs, training and education support. They have also created the IMPACT Collision Solutions web site, which provides members access to a variety of buying, marketing and training programs for their businesses and their customers. Only members of their group sell IMPACT Performance Products, their premium private brand of products, offered through manufacturers with a proven record of consistency and quality.

44 SEPTEMBER 2012 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

RX-8 2012

SO. CALIFORNIA

NO. CALIFORNIA

Galpin Mazda

Capitol Mazda

Van Nuys

San Jose

818-778-2005

408-723-8808

Fax 818-778-2090

Fax 408-723-0814

www.galpin.com

Mon.-Fri. 8am - 6:30pm Sat. 8am - 4pm www.capitolmazdasj.com

Order your Genuine Mazda Parts from one of these parts specialists in your area.

Original BMW Parts

bmwusa.com

Original Thought #78

You only get one chance at the first repair. When you repair a BMW, use the parts that are identical to those used in Series production – and just as reliable. Choose Original BMW Parts. Because you can’t repair your reputation.

• Original BMW Parts & Accessories

Northern California BMW Centers Niello BMW

Sacramento (916) 486-1299

Sonnen BMW

San Rafael (415) 482-2040

Southern California BMW Centers BMW of Escondido

Escondido (800) 544-4269

BMW of Murrieta

Murrieta (888) 805-2393 FAX (951) 698-2086 www.bmwofmurrieta.com

BMW of Palm Springs Palm Springs (760) 324-8314

BMW of San Diego

San Diego 858-560-0268 FAX (858) 277-7928

Bob Smith BMW

Calabasas (818) 340-9640 FAX (818) 340-9455 parts@bobsmithbmw.com

Center BMW

Sherman Oaks (818) 990-9518

Long Beach BMW

Weatherford BMW Berkeley (800) 995-9269

Nick Alexander BMW

Los Angeles (800) 800-NICK (323) 583-4108 Direct parts@alexanderbmw.com www.alexanderbmw.com

Savage BMW

Ontario (800) 241-4269

South Bay BMW

Signal Hill (800) 794-4269 (562) 427-5494 www.longbeachbmw.com

Torrance (310) 939-7342 (310) 939-7343

Alhambra (626) 576-2867

Newport Beach (949) 645-8729

New Century BMW

Sterling BMW

www.autobodynews.com | SEPTEMBER 2012 AUTOBODY NEWS 45

SCRS REPAIRER DRIVEN EDUCATION (RDE) series will feature seminar offerings. Each of the courses has been individually selected or crafted by SCRS because the content specifically focuses on issues and information that are relevant to collision repair professionals operating in today’s marketplace, and appeals to the diverse array of marketplace perspectives that exist within the collision repair industry. PRICING RDE Headline Session: Innovation Forum = $75 each (advanced) | $85 each (after Oct 15/onsite) 1-2 RDE regular session tickets = $65 each (advanced) | $75 each (after Oct 15/onsite) 3-6 RDE regular session tickets = $50 each (advanced) | $65 each (after Oct 15/onsite) SCRS RDE Sky Villa After-party* = $75 each (advanced) | $85 each (after Oct 15/onsite) *All guests must have a ticket to enter; ticket is included with Full Series Pass

RDE Full Series Pass BEST VALUE! = $300 each (advanced) | $350 each (after Oct 15/onsite) Full series pass includes 7 RDE regular sessions (one in each available time slot) + Headline session + Ticket to After-party on Thursday night. With Full series purchase, sessions are as little as $28.12 each

Tuesday, Oct. 30 / 12:30PM – 2:30PM

RD1 – Hybrid Power & Platforms (David Gruskos, RAE Inc.) For a shop and technician to have an understanding of how the manufacturing of the new car bodies and hybrid power train are combined together. With the future of many new hybrid platforms, it is critical to know how to identify the metals and/or composites when developing a plan for repair or replace. This presentation will show the OEM’s plan on educating the repair facilities. Attendees will learn: ● Proper tooling for new repairs ● Where to find repair information ● How to identify repair methods ● How to develop a repair plan for working with hybrid power platforms

RD2 – Marketing: More Customers, Sales & Profits (Frank Terlep, Summit Software and Mobile Solutions) By attending this session collision repairers will learn how digital marketing, social media, customer retention and loyalty tools, technologies and techniques that will result in increased customer counts, improved customer referrals, loyalty, revenues and profits.

RD3 – Monetize Your Opportunity: The Benefits of Business Diversification (Tom Myroniak, SEMA) Industry events, such as the SEMA Show, demonstrate the greatest value to business owners when the value proposition translates into a tangible return on investment when you return to your business. As the collision repair market continues to be laden with small margins and undue pressure, many repair businesses are looking for opportunity to bring in added revenue streams while increasing the frequency of contact with their customer through expanded service offerings. This session will give the attendee an overview of: ● Where to find unique and complementary business opportunities on the show floor

● How to map out your strategy for finding the ideal opportunities for your business ● How value added services can be integrated into your business ● How to benefit from the marketing advantages of consumer oriented service offerings to bolster your collision business.

Tuesday, Oct. 30 / 3:00PM – 5:00PM

RD4 – Learn How to Make Sense of OEM Repair Information (Tom McGee, ALLDATA)

OEMs communicate their repair procedures in different ways. This session will help you interpret OEM procedures (symbols, supplies, equipment, etc…) and help in making a proper repair. Participants will: ● Increase their understanding of OEM repair procedures ● Aid in improving estimate accuracy ● Aid in completing repair to OEM recommendations

RD5 – Change the Way You Think at a CORE Level (Bill Park and Dr. Byron Bissell, MpowerU) The purpose of this presentation is to provide a clear understanding of what junk thinking is, show evidence of existence in the market, and provide a clear direction for attendees to depart from the junk thinking environment. We believe, and can show that junk thinking is responsible for 80% of the problems in one’s business, and throughout the presentation we will provide tangible insights that will allow the attendees to identify and remove those barriers in their business. The lack of quality thinking has led to enormous disasters and disappointments. And it’s not only thinking through the solutions to the gnarly problems...more often than not, it’s the painful reality that you’re working on the wrong problems. We hope to FREE their minds! Attendees will: ● Leave understanding the premise of JUNK THINKING ● Learn how to identify whether or not they are solving the wrong problems in their business ● Feel empowered and confident to sift their thinking in order to break away from the herd

RD6 – Numbers You Can Take to the Bank: Measuring and Improving Performance (Tom Hoerner, BASF) A look at the data required, both financial and nonfinancial, to effectively manage a collision repair business. Ratios, percentages and tracking trends are explained within the context of running a business. Participants will learn how to use a solid understanding of their numbers to increase their profitability and the success of the business. Course attendees will receive the following objectives during the session: ● Understand how to collect accurate and timely data from their business ● Develop a working knowledge of collision cen-

46 SEPTEMBER 2012 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

ter performance indicators, and what affects them ● Understand how to use those KPIs to measure and improve their performance with the goal of increases net revenues.

Wednesday, Oct. 31/12:30PM– 2:30PM

RD7 – Paint Shop Throughput: A Quick Changeover Approach (Robb Power and Brett BiaLowas, PPG Automotive Refinish) Quick Changeover, sometimes referred to as Setup Reduction, is a systematic approach to eliminate or reduce non-value added activities and time in the setup and/or teardown of any processes within production, allowing companies to more quickly and efficiently change from one product to another. Quick Changeover is a critical component of Lean Manufacturing and is a foundation for gaining critical capacity to meet customer demand and grow operations. This seminar will focus on applying quick changeover techniques and principles to the refinish area within collision, more specifically, to optimize booth cycles for any shop faced with needing to gain capacity and throughput while being held back by the current cycle time of their booths. While this seminar will focus on the refinish area, these principles can also be applied to other areas within collision where better transition and utilization of equipment and assets is involved. Participants will: ● Understand the principles and techniques of quick changeover as applied to spray booth optimization ● Learn techniques for evaluating the effectiveness of their refinish operation as well as learning to see opportunities for booth cycle time reduction. ● Be introduced to the concept of flow and resource planning in relation to gaining throughput and capacity in the refinish operation of collision repair. ● Learn simple methods to standardize processes and enable continual improvement.

RD8 – Marketing to Consumers - Supporting Customer Pay Sales Efforts (Steve Trapp, DuPont Performance Coatings & Robert Rick, Gates Business Solutions) With 35-40% of customers asking repairers to write a customer paid estimates and a historical 50% closing ratio on these estimates, improving sales skills for these more price sensitive customers is key. This course will review and practice the advisory sales process and how it uniquely applies to this segment of prospective customers. We will then discuss sales support tools which would be useful to help reinforce your unique value proposition to close more sales. Finally, we will reinforce follow-up strategies to help optimize performance. At the end of the course we will create a personal improvement plan per attendee. After completion of this session, attendees will be able: ● To briefly review the customer pay segment its % of estimate traffic and closing ratio for this segment - Sell the why... ● To explain the advisory and sales process to lay

a foundation to a unique approach to these price sensitive prospects. ● To role play using this process with fellow classmates to ensure both parties are comfortable with the sales process model. ● To review various tools available to repairers to help offer proof that your repair center should be their choice. ● To review various follow-up strategies which have proven effective in this segment ● To gain alignment on the process tweaks in each person’s selling strategy they would like to make when they return.

RD9A - Understanding Design Based Repairs (Richard Perry, CHIEF Automotive) This course will help attendees understand necessary information about the new metals being used in the construction of today’s vehicles, and how they impact the repair process. We will discuss methods for metal identification and the proper repair methods by material. In addition, the course will focus on why automobile manufacturers have made such an aggressive transition to the use of the advanced steels in new vehicle construction. It doesn’t matter who is working on the vehicle, whether it is the person writing the estimate or the technician performing the repairs, it is pertinent to first find out what the vehicle’s structural content is before starting any structural repairs. Attendees will be able to: ● Make sure they are able to find the proper repair methods, and that they have the right equipment before commencing repairs ● Ensure that their technicians have the proper training and ability to perform the repairs correctly. ● Leave with an understanding of why you cannot use the same repair methods on today’s vehicles, as those that were being used just a few years earlier.

Wednesday, Oct. 31 / 3:00PM – 5:00PM

RD9B - Going Green Doesn’t Have to be Expensive (Steven Schilling, GRC-Pirk Management) Shops can save a lot of money by greening their practices, rather than spending a lot of money. Marketing tricks and television advertising do their best to convince us that in order to become more eco-friendly we have to buy more stuff – but that’s not true. If you replace a perfectly good item just to buy a new eco-friendly one, you aren’t really doing anything to benefit the environment! So with that in mind, this presentation will discuss 101 ways that shops can save money by practicing green. Attendees will find many simple things to implement in their shop to go green and attain recognition on the www.findgreengarage.com public service website! Attendees will leave the session understanding of: ● What it means to “go green” and to be a good environmental steward ● What is sustainability, energy conservation and pollution prevention

● That you can’t manage what you don’t measure: your carbon footprint = Greenhouse Gas

RD10 - Dedicated vs. Universal Fixtures: The Pros and Cons (Shawn Hart, Car-O-Liner Company) This presentation is designed to explore the pros and cons of the dedicated and universal fixture repair systems. We will look at a number of different areas that shops, technicians, and insurance companies have issue with or questions about regarding each of the repair systems. These areas include: time, cost, and flexibility, ease of use, OEM recommendations, and accuracy. After completing this session participants will be able to identify: ● The differences between dedicated and universal fixture repair systems. ● The pros and cons of each type of repair system. ● The difference between anchoring and fixturing.

RD11 - Lean Flow Concepts: Improve Your Hours Completed Per Day (Steve Trapp, DuPont Performance Coatings & John Sweigart, The Body Shop) Repairers have been asked to focus on improving the hours completed or repaired per day, and this seminar will help you refine your administrative and production processes to improve performance. Looking not only at the value of the steps in the process, but also the flow of the processes is key to improving this number to industry leading performance. We will give very specific best practice recommendations to enable reduction and improvement of customer service provided. We also will discuss how to sell the change to your staff once you return and make them own the improvement and be supportive of the enhanced best practices. Objectives of completing this workshop are to: ● Understand hours per day, standards for performance and what step change is possible ● Understand both the administrative and production processes impacting hours completed per day and review best practices to improve ● Understand how coordination of work flow enhances performance when you have large volume and need to keep flow moving ● To re-sell the value of improving the metric to the technicians and office staff, and get them to see the value in change ● To discuss how to prioritize the improvements and then to establish visual controls to keep them in place long term.

Thursday, Nov. 1 / 12:30PM – 2:30PM

RD12 - Maximize Your Web Presence (Mark Claypool, Optima Automotive) Having a website has one purpose, and only one purpose; bringing potential customers to your door. If your business is going to have an online presence, it is NOT enough to just have a website. To be truly effective, your site needs to bring you prospects, needs to be searchable by people looking online for the products/service you provide and, most importantly, it needs to convert website visitors to customers. After going through this session, you will learn: ● Website essentials, such as what needs to be taken into consideration when building and having a website online ● About Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Just

having a website doesn’t mean people will come to it. It must be optimized, and SEO is a science unto itself that few website developers get right. In this session you will learn what to look for. ● Be prepared, participants will engage in live reviews of attendee websites and social media efforts.

RD13 - Make More Money WITHOUT Spending an Arm and a Leg! (Toby Chess) Cultivating positive change in your business can come across like a daunting task fraught with challenge and expense that many businesses just aren’t able to justify in the current economy. What if you knew that there were simple straightforward areas throughout your business that could streamline your operation, and increase your profit by reducing your waste and expenses? For collision repair businesses there is a ton of opportunity to improve your business with very little investment if you know where to look. This session is going to offer a number of proven ideas that will decrease cycle time, reduce comebacks and increase quality; and the investment costs will be under $500.00! Forget about learning fancy buzzwords associated with process improvement, this session is going to give time-tested examples of ways to improve your business and make more money for very little, if any, up front expense.

RD19 - Bidding Wars: A Global View on the Possible Economic Impact of Insurer Involvement in Parts Procurement (David NewtonRoss, Collision Repair Specialists of Australia (CRSA)) Online bidding requirements for parts procurement has just entered into the U.S. market recently, but there are other countries, such as New Zealand, where the parts tendering practice was constructed by the country’s largest carrier for its own use in 2003, and has since become a mandatory practice for all carriers. This session will provide attendees with a global perspective on: 1. The economic impact the online bidding program has had on repair facility margins in NZ 2. The procedural impact the program has had on cycle times and the estimating process 3. The changes the program has had on the repair facilities relationship with parts vendors 4. How the program has impacted part type selections 5. Why the program succeeded in NZ while failing to grab hold in neighboring countries such as Australia. 6. What the potential impact is that this type of parts procurement could have on the United States.

Thursday, Nov. 1 / 3:00PM – 5:00PM

RD14B - Importance of Repair Standards in Completing a Safe and Seamless Repair (John Spoto & Shawn Collins, 3M) We audit many repair facilities and see common repair practices that lead to improper and unsafe repairs. This session will expose the audience to some of the most common repair processes that result in improper repairs, and we’ll review solutions around the man, machine, materials and methods to create seamless, safe repairs. Finally, we will introduce the audience to Job Instructional Training methods to sustain these repair standards. Our attendees will leave the room with: ● An understanding of how to avoid common re-

pair process mistakes that lead to improper repairs ● An understanding of many repair standards ● A roadmap to sustain adherence to these standards through Job Instructional Training ● A benchmark of critical success factors in order to sustain proper repair standards

RD15 - Waterborne Refinish Coatings: What Are You Waiting For? (Jeff Griffin & John Parran, PPG Automotive Refinish) You are here at SEMA to learn about the latest and greatest technology. Do not let this session pass you by. This is your chance to learn about the latest technology that is having an impact in the collision repair and custom markets. You will learn about the capabilities and the unique advantages of water technology in today’s demanding markets. Most important come and hear about what the masters in car building, such as Charley Hutton, have learned while making the move to waterborne finishes. Attendees will receive: ● A brief history of water based refinish coatings which demonstrates the technology is over 10 years old and is in its third generation. ● The advantages of water based coatings compared to current technology ● The status of North American legislation ● Answers to general questions fielded on water technology, on topics such as training, needed equipment, color match capability and more. ● Color range for the custom market and where we see this going ● A Question & Answer session with the presenters, accompanied by industry expert Charley Hutton, Painter & Owner of Charley Hutton’s Color Studio.

RD16 - Bulletproof Your Company: Effective Human Resources, Policies and Procedures (Cory J. King, Fine, Boggs & Perkins LLP) Lawsuits by current and former employees are skyrocketing. The financial impact of such suits on a company can be devastating. While an employer cannot stop a desperate employee from filing a lawsuit, they certainly can put themselves in a position to deter and ultimately win lawsuits before they ever get filed. It all starts with effective HR policies and procedures. Bulletproofing your company against employment claims is much easier than you think! Participants in this seminar will receive practical, real world instruction on what policies and procedures are essential to lawsuit avoidance, how to implement those policies and procedures, and what makes an effective policy and procedure in comparison to what gets employers into trouble. Participants are encouraged to bring their current employee handbook or policy manual for hands-on analysis and review for compliance. If you have employees, this seminar should not be missed!

Friday, Nov. 2 /10:00AM – 12:00PM (HEADLINE PRESENTATION)

RD2012 - RDE Headline Session: Game Changers - Innovation Forum Emerging ideas serve as the lifeblood for businesses and industries alike, offering the competitive edge necessary to enhance business growth and profit. Businesses that have the foresight to harness those advantages through rethinking products, services, processes, and business models are able to materialize the greatest level of differentiation between the remainder of the market in

the eyes of your customer. So how does innovation prosper in the collision repair industry, and how can you foster innovation as a core value that shapes the framework of your business? Join leaders in the collision repair industry for the RDE Game Changers - Innovation Forum headline presentation of the Society of Collision Repair Specialists’ 2012 Repairer Driven Education series at the SEMA Show in Las Vegas. At this highly interactive event, you’ll learn: ● What innovation can look like in the collision repair business — including technology, product, service, and business model innovation — and how it is becoming core to business strategy. ● How leading companies manage for innovation, including the internal and external partners needed for success, overcoming barriers, and utilizing tools and technologies to accelerate implementation. ● Key success factors for making your company a leader in your market through embracing ongoing innovation as a core function of your business. ● Forum Moderators, Panelists and Participants will be announced at a future date.

Friday, November 2 / 12:30PM – 2:30PM

RD17 - Vehicle Knowledge for Triage, Blueprinting and Estimating (Larry Montanez III, P&L Consulting) Participants will learn how to identify and understand the advanced material substrates in today’s vehicles, how to diagnose the sustained damage by pre-measuring the vehicle to ascertain the amount of sustained damage, if any. Participants will learn the process and procedures of Triage and Blueprinting to ensure all sustained damage is accounted for and all associated repair procedures and materials are covered to ensure an accurate damage report is written, that not only ensures a correct safe repair, but ensures there will be no delays or missed items to increase the facility’s profitability. Attendees of this session will leave with the understanding of how to: ● Eliminate the need for supplements by writing complete damage reports the first time ● Pre-measure the vehicle efficiently to increase profitability ● Properly blueprint a vehicle to ensure no repair delays ● Diagnose damage with a better understanding of applied collision forces ● Apply logic from the estimating system procedural pages and use OEM repair information

RD18 - Achieving Service Excellence by Applying LEAN Thinking (Steven Feltovich, Sherwin-Williams Automotive Finishes) This course is exclusively designed for SCRS/SEMA participants, and the workshop will provide participants the knowledge needed in order to achieve customer service excellence through lean thinking principles. Attendees will learn to use lean management techniques to transform or continue to improve your customer service delivery, and discover the extreme competitive edge in achieving service excellence the lean way! Understand the process driven approach to delivering the “ultimate customer experience.” Attendees will benefit from the following workshop objectives: ● Explain the driving factors behind the experiential service economy, and how to become more profitable with a customer focused strategy. ● Establish a proven method for providing the value actually desired by each customer.

www.autobodynews.com | SEPTEMBER 2012 AUTOBODY NEWS 47

● Learn how to build a strong brand based on customer service excellence. ● Apply a simple process that improves the efficiency and effectiveness of your customer facing staff. ● Find out how to identify service excellence professionals inside and outside your organization. ● Attendees will leave this class with a self-assessment tool in order to evaluate their own organization’s level of service excellence.

RD14A - He Who Controls the Data, Controls the Truth (Michael Anderson, Collision Advice) Have you ever wondered where insurance companies get the data which they use to manage Key Performance Indicators they request from your shop? Have you ever been told your severity is too high in comparison to the market, or that your posted labor rate is excessive? In this riveting session, Mike Anderson will outline the process in which your estimating and management system information can be harvested, aggregated, depersonalized and then reported on in the form of trending reports and data analytics. Using his background as a multiple location collision repair business owner, as a consultant, and as a participant on advisory councils for Information Providers and Insurance Carriers, Mike is going to illustrate how repair facility information is used to re-apply pressure on your business, and prepare you with the necessary resources and knowledge to counter that pressure. In fact, this course will help you outline an action plan to utilize your own internal data as a resource, and how you can establish processes in your business that produce more consistent and accurate estimate information.

Whether you have multiple estimators working out of one facility, or multiple facilities, having consistency in your estimating practices is critical to your success. By setting defined estimating practices, procedures and policies for your estimators, and following through with management practices which reinforce that those standards are followed, you will be able to better control the accuracy of your data output; producing data that accurately represents the charges and tasks performed in your business. We will look at websites, tools, forms and technology applications that will allow your estimators to become more efficient and ACCURATE in their duties of writing a thorough damage analysis. Tools such as the SCRS Guide to Complete Repair Planning, blend within a panel refinish break down, Structural Repair Calculator and a variety of other documents and tools will be showcased. This course will provide Collision Repair Facility owners the resources to consistently train their estimating staff how to reflect your standard of repair in the estimating process, while generating the most comprehensive and profitable repair plan necessary to return the vehicle to Pre-Accident Condition. “Writing it right” has an impact on the growth of your bottom line, but it also has an impact on the industry through the estimate data it produces. The information in your estimate can play a significant role in how the reports from the information providers reflect market practices, which is one of many reasons that having all the necessary and performed operations listed is critical to your success. This course is ideal for Owners and Managers.

WANT EVERY JOB TO BE A BANG-UP JOB? These dealers are Genuine VW Parts Wholesale Specialists.

So. California

City Volkswagen S A N D IEG O

800-927-2277

FAX: 619-276-2414 M-F 7:30am - 6pm; Sat 8am - 5pm

www.cityvolkswagen.com

No. California

Dirito Bros. Walnut Creek Volkswagen WA L N U T CR EEK

1-800-VOLKSWAGEN FAX: 925-934-0786 diritovw@aol.com

Timmons Volkswagen LO N G B EA CH

1-888-489-5001

FAX: 562-426-3550 parts@timmonslongbeach.com

Volkswagen of Downtown LA LO S AN GEL ES

213-747-7246

FAX: 213-222-1272 Ask for Carlos or Erasmo

WE WANT TO BE YOUR SOURCE FOR REAL VOLKSWAGEN PARTS. With your skill and our parts, every collision repair will be a bang-up job. And that will add up to more repeat business for both of us. Call your order in today. 48 SEPTEMBER 2012 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

Continued from Page 35

Chrysler Bulletin

• Solvent wipe with suitable product before application of adhesive. • Initial application of adhesive should be spread from the bare metal onto the e-coat to provide a continuous corrosion barrier.

THE REPLACEMENT STRSW WELDS SHOULD DUPLICATE THE ORIGINAL WELDS IN: • Size • Quantity • Location NOTE: replacement welds should be within ¼-inch of the original location while trying to avoid placing new welds over old welds. Where replacing only the exterior panel in a 3T sit-

ALLDATA Revamps Website

ALLDATA has a completely revamped website featuring testimonials, new Facebook and Twitter feeds, and visitor polling. “ALLDATA.com is our company’s face to the world,” said ALLDATA President Jeff Lagges. “As the number one provider of automotive software, we needed a website that reflects our rapidly evolving technology, our suite of solutions and our achievements.”

uation, the new weld should be placed about 3/8-inch away to avoid shunting and reestablish a 3T weld. • Never use “weld-thru” primer. • Completing all welded panel replacements requires applying a coating of creeping rust inhibitive material in all areas where any welds were made, even where weld-bonded. • Replacement panels must be installed as provided, and utilizing the methods described in this bulletin, unless additional guidelines are made in another Chrysler Collision Repair Bulletin, Chrysler Body Repair Manual, or other Chrysler approved publication. Failure to follow these repair guidelines will result in a vehicle which may not duplicate the original design intent in terms of function, safety, and durability.

ASA Announces its New 2012 Associate Members

The Automotive Service Association (ASA) has announced its newest associate members: Blue Light Integrated Services, Indiana Autobody Association (IABA), Motor Trade Association of South Australia and Specialty Footwear International LLC—all of which joined the association during the second quarter of 2012.

Precise fit and finish, easy installation and a limited warranty direct from KIA — all genuine advantages of genuine KIA parts. Your local KIA retailer has all the parts you need.

SO. CALIFORNIA Car Pros Kia Carson

Toll Free (800) 553-0940 Parts Direct

(310) 221-9101

(310) 816-9811 Parts Fax #1 Wholesale Dealer Serving Southern California

Citrus Kia Ontario

(800) 583-7042 (909) 390-0948

(909) 390-0982 Fax

scunningham@citrusmotors.com www.citrusmotors.com

M - Sat 7:00am - 6:00pm Free Local Delivery Ask for Ike, Jimbo, Chris, Juan, Sean, Jeff Se Habla Español

First Kia Simi Valley

1-888-531-4785

NO. CALIFORNIA Concord Kia

(805) 306-1085 Fax Free Local Delivery M-F 7:00am - 6:00pm Sat 8:00am - 5:00pm Se Habla Español Ask for David or Julio

Elk Grove Kia

Concord

Sacramento/Elk Grove

(925) 685-2952 Fax M-F 8:00am - 5:30pm Sat 9:00am - 1:00pm

(916) 753-1045 Fax

(888) 811-3058

Dublin Kia Dublin

Wholesale Direct

(925) 828-8251

(925) 829-2941 Fax M-F 7:00am - 6:00pm Sat 8:00am - 4:30pm

(888) 244-3404 (916) 753-1040

www.elkgrovekia.com

Momentum Kia

San Leandro Kia San Leandro

(510) 347-3010 (510) 347-3003

(510) 895-1027 Fax Free Local Deliveries Shipping Available

North County Kia Escondido

(760) 945-9939 (866) 888-3074 Fax

parts@autogrp.com www.northcountykia.com M-F 7am - 6pm In San Diego Over 10 Years

Vallejo

(707) 638-1825 (707) 554-2637 Fax

bvahl@momentumautogroup.com M-F 8am - 5pm Sat 8am - 3pm

www.autobodynews.com | SEPTEMBER 2012 AUTOBODY NEWS 49

Social Media for Shops

Ed Attanasio is an automotive journalist based in San Francisco, California. He can be reached at era39@aol.com.

Customer Appreciation Events Build Customer Base with Ed Attanasio

If we’re talking about social media and all it entails, what’s more social than a party? Yes—you’re going to be picking up the tab for this party, but in the end it will lead to new customers while you’ll also be strengthening the ties you have with your existing ones. Customer appreciation promotions and events have been taking place since the 1600s, when you bought six pigs, you got the seventh one free! Whether it’s a giveaway, a discount, or in this case, an event— showing your customers that you care matters and will benefit your body shop in many other ways down the road. When it comes to customer retention efforts, the whole theory is Image Perceived; Mission Achieved. If you’re going to the trouble of doing a customer appreciation day, do it right and make it special. Make it exclusive and really pull out of all the stops. Call it a VIP Customer Night

and make it an invitation-only affair and limit the attendance. Step it up a notch and it will pay off in the long run. For example, nix the hot dogs and burgers and do a surf and turf thing. How about a clam bake? All-you-can-eat crab or ribs or chicken--what the heck, cook a whole cow! Food is the straight shot to peoples’ hearts and an all-you-can-eat setup is always a winner. Do giveaways galore—from baseball hats, pens, t-shirts to better items like jackets, polo shirts and maybe even executive-style gifts such as leather bound notebooks or fancy briefcases. I’ve been to so many SEMA and NACE shows I can’t even count them all, but I still get excited when I get some high-end merchandise with a company’s name on it. How about giving everyone a swag bag, with fun gifts people will remember long after the event? Sure it will cost you a few dollars, but in the

50 SEPTEMBER 2012 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

end it will lead directly to new business and more referrals. Do a raffle at your customer event and give the money to a local charity. Ask your vendors to donate raffle items, such as tickets to sporting events, toys for the kids, household appliances and mini-vacations. Give everyone a small number of free raffle tickets and put them in their swag bag, but if anyone wants to buy more, there’s a nominal charge. Get your entire crew onboard to make your customer appreciation day even more special. Train your employees to promote your event and leverage it whenever possible. “Wow, Mrs. Smith, this is a pretty serious fender bender. But the good news is— you qualify for our VIP Customer Party next month!” This method of keeping your old customers and getting new ones works for body shops all over the county, yet only a small number seem to embrace

the approach. To prove my point, I contacted several body shops to see if their customer appreciation events are successful and to find out if they garnered repeat business or helped them to reap any new customers as a result. Ernie Fogarty, the owner of Bayview Collision Center in Jacksonville, FL has a five-year-old shop that has hosted several customer appreciation events and received a significant amount of new customers by doing them, he said. “The customer is #1 around here and always will be,” Fogarty said. “One happy customer can lead to 8-10 referrals, so we want to stay connected to our customers as much as we can and as long as we can. We invite everyone in the community to our customer appreciation day, including the insurance companies we work with and their families.” Fogarty also works with a wide range of charities to give back to the community. The one they’re raising

money for currently is called the First Coast No More Homeless Pets organization, a cause he personally believes in. “We’re saving dogs and cats in this area so they won’t get put down. It offers us a great opportunity to show the community that we’re not just about the money. We plan on being here in Jacksonville for many years, so it just makes sense.” Rob Ellision, Marketing Manager at Chantilly Auto Body in Chantilly, VA, can identify positive feedback and new customers derived from a series of customer retention events, he explained. “We’re very aggressive about going after new business and we recently did our very first customer appreciation day and it was a huge success. It was a cloudy, cold day and we still got 300 people here and I know for a fact that we’ve gotten at least 10 new customers as a result. Most importantly, it created a buzz from the event, laying the foundation for other things we want to do in the near future.” Other events Ellision is planning include a car show, displaying vehicles on loan from several local car dealerships and collectors, he said, as well as Friday afternoon barbecues for

customers. “Our appreciation event attracted families, so now we’re going to do a car show that will appeal more to men between the ages of 20 to 50. In addition, we’re going to host a free BBQ lunch for our customers when they come down and pick up their cars on Fridays. These are two new things we’re going to use to attract new customers and keep in touch with our existing ones.” Kareem Abouzeiz, owner of Knockout Collision Center in Chico, CA does customer-centric events and definitely sees the value in doing them on a regular basis, he said. “The last one we held definitely resulted in more than a few new customers. When most people get their cars fixed at a shop, they never get to meet or interact with the owner. That’s why we open up our whole shop for the public at our customer appreciation day and make our entire staff available for our guests. We’re all about our people, so we want the public to meet them and get to know them. Building ongoing, long-term relationships is the key.”

www.autobodynews.com CHECK IT OUT!

GAINSCO Selects Mitchell as New Claims Provider

Mitchell, a leading provider of technology, connectivity and information solutions to the Property & Casualty Claims and Collision Repair industries, announced that GAINSCO Auto Insurance®, a provider of specialized personal auto coverage, has selected Mitchell as its new long term provider of auto physical damage claims processing solutions. Under the terms of the multiyear agreement, GAINSCO will implement Mitchell WorkCenter™ Total Loss, developed in conjunction with customer satisfaction and vehicle pricing expert J.D. Power and Associates, as well as Mitchell’s assignment, repairable estimating and reporting solutions. Greg Castleman, Sr. Vice President and Chief Claims Officer, for GAINSCO Auto Insurance, said, “We selected Mitchell as our auto physical damage solutions provider of choice because we were extremely impressed with the functionality of its product suite and the service-orius of your opinion on entedGive approach the Mitchell team. They went above and beyond to provide a solution that fits our needs and integrates seamlessly with GAINSCO’s claims management system.”

I-CAR Launches Tech School Training Program

I-CAR has launched a comprehensive collision repair training program for schools that will be introduced for the 2012-2013 academic year. The program, called the I-CAR Professional Development ProgramEducation Edition, is a performancefocused training curriculum that provides a standardized learning system for students, I-CAR said. The curriculum aligns with the specific roles, education and knowledge needs defined within I-CAR’s Professional Development Program, which was introduced to the industry in 2010. I-CAR said the training program is structured into three successive levels, referred to as I-CAR ProLevels, which recognize students for completion of their role-based training. I-CAR said it will provide schools with guided course materials, instructor guides and student performance evaluations. Students who graduate from the program will be better equipped with the skills needed to begin working efmatters affecting therepair industry. ficiently in a collision facility at the start of their careers, I-CAR said.“

write us!

publisher@autobodynews.com www.autobodynews.com CHECK IT OUT!

Capitol Mazda To advertise call Advertising Sales at:

800-699-8251 e-mail:

advertising@autobodynews.com

www.autobodynews.com

Right Parts. Part Pa rts. Right People. RightToPrices. advertise The source for timely call Joe To advertiseMomber at: information that every • Fast Free Delivery 800-699-8251 call Advertising Sales at: body shop needs!

• Trained, Qualified Staff800-699-8251 e-mail: jmomber@autobodynews.co CALL 800-699-8251 e-mail: • Competitive Prices p Start Your FREE Mail Subscription.

See the NEW

advertising@autobodynews.com www.autobodynews.com

www.autobodynews.com

Dept.: Autobody NewsParts Website Mon. - Fri.

Free Monthly Autobody New at www.autobod

8:00am - 6:30pm www.autobodynews.com

Sat. 8:00am - 4:00pm

www.autobodyn

• Price matching utilizing collision parts advantage To advertise call Sean Hartman at:

800-699-8251 e-mail:

shartman@autobodynews.com

www.autobodynews.com

408-723-8808

Parts: Fax: 408-723-0814 To advertise 980 Capitol Expressway Auto Mall call Sean Hartman at: San Jose, CA 95136

Call Us Today!

800-699-8251 www.parkwayfamilymazda.com www.capitolmazdasj.com e-mail:

shartman@autobodynews.com

www.autobodynews.com | SEPTEMBER 2012 AUTOBODY NEWS 51

www.autobodynews.com

Continued from Page 44

Refinish Distributors

The IMPACT board has monthly conference calls and holds four meetings a year. They also hold two

D’Angelos Automotive & Industrial Coatings of Oxnard, CA is a founding member of RDA and thus has been involved with the organization since October 2008. President Art D’Angelo notes that he became involved with RDA because “our future shows that we need to be coming from strength.” He believes that building lines, such as Impact, allows RD to establish a larger footprint and increase their buying power. Additionally, the rebates that they receive from manufacturers provides funding for marketing and allows them to build programs to improve their businesses which brings more value to the body shop. D’Angelo notes “in today’s competitive market, it is important to be part of a bigger group

membership meetings per year. The membership meetings offer networking opportunities as well as seminars on topics, such as Increasing Customers Business, Removing Cost from Distribution, Business

to increase your footprint… though RDA is still trying to reach our identity, we are getting there now.” Leading Edge Auto Refinishes, Inc. of Tempe, AZ is also a founding member of RDA, and they became involved because “with the way the industry is going, it is necessary to be a part of something bigger than yourself”, according to John Rang. “It is important to find like-minded people and combine resources because we’re better together… there is no sense in being the biggest guy in your immediate market when you are inconsequential on a national scale.” Leading Edge particularly finds the networking and idea sharing that RDA offers to be beneficial.

SHINGLE SHINGLESPRINGS SPRINGS

SUBARU SUBARU

Wholesale’s Our Business For Your Business Wholesale’s Our Business For Your Business

•• Professional and Knowledgeable Staff Professional and Knowledgeable Staff •• FREE UPS Ground Freight FREE UPS Ground Freight •• WeWe Match oror Beat AllAll Competitor Coupons Match Beat Competitor Coupons •• Serving Northern California forfor Over 2525 years Serving Northern California Over years •• Mention This AdAd forfor anan Extra 5%5% OffOff Mention This Extra

Hours: M-F 8:30 amam - 5:30 pmpm / Sat 8 am - 5-pm Hours: M-F 8:30 - 5:30 / Sat 8 am 5 pm

Call usus Today! Call Today!

530.676.0444 530.676.0444

530.677.6528 FAX 530.677.6528 FAX

Building, Time Management, Marketing and Sales. Their next member meeting will be held October 29-30 in Las Vegas just before SEMA. IMPACT is selective about who is permitted to join the organization as they allow no competition within the group, a concept that lends to members’ willingness to collaborate on solving problems they face in the industry. Those interested in joining RDA/IMPACT should contact Executive Director Robert E. McKenzie, Jr. directly at 731-217-9081 or via email at robertemckenzie@me.com. IMPACT continues to seek new members that share a common desire to improve their business and work collaboratively within the group to address national industry issues. McKenzie expects to see additional growth within the group during the last quarter of 2012 and into 2013 because “we have some exciting things happening to assist members with growing their business.” Besides the addition of new marketing programs, IMPACT is currently in the process of creating a more effective website which they hope to have published in September or October 2012. The URL address is www.impactcollisionsolutions.com.

Vehicle Service Group (VSG), parent company of leading vehicle service equipment manufacturers Rotary Lift®, Chief™ Automotive Technologies, Forward® Lift, Direct Lift®, Revolution® Lift, Hanmecson®, nogra® and Blitz®, is making substantial investments in its global manufacturing facilities. The company is investing more than $1 million in its North American manufacturing facility this year, and recently broke ground for a 54,000-square-foot expansion of its Asian manufacturing facility. VSG is installing a new laser manufacturing system and two additional CNC machining centers in its North American facility. The investments are designed to improve responsiveness to customer orders, reduce manufacturing costs, increase the facility’s productivity, and provide capacity for future market growth. Expanding the Asian facility is expected to increase manufacturing capacity by more than 80 percent. Construction is scheduled for completion in the third quarter of 2012, with production ramping up next spring.

SHINGLE SHINGLESPRINGS SPRINGS

NISSAN NISSAN

We Have The Parts You Need! We Have The Parts You Need!

•• Highly Experienced Parts Personnel Highly Experienced Parts Personnel •• NoNo Order Too BigBig oror Too Small Order Too Too Small •• Serving Northern California forfor Over 2525 years Serving Northern California Over years •• Family Owned and Operated Family Owned and Operated Order •• Parts: parts@shinglespringsnissan.com Order Parts: parts@shinglespringsnissan.com •• Mention This AdAd forfor anan Extra 5%5% OffOff Mention This Extra

Hours: M-F 8:30 amam - 5:30 pmpm / Sat 8 am - 5-pm Hours: M-F 8:30 - 5:30 / Sat 8 am 5 pm

Call usus Today! Call Today!

530.676.0444 530.676.0444 530.677.6528 FAX 530.677.6528 FAX

4045 Wild Chaparral Dr., 4045 Wild Chaparral Dr., Shingle Springs, CACA 95682 Shingle Springs, 95682

www.shinglespringssubaru.com www.shinglespringssubaru.com

www.shinglespringsnissan.com www.shinglespringsnissan.com

52 SEPTEMBER 2012 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

VSG Invests in Manufacture Updates, Expansions

GENUINE SERVICE & PARTS GENUINE SERVICE & PARTS

On Creative Marketing

Tom Franklin has been a shop sales and marketing consultant for fifty years. He has written numerous books and provides marketing solutions and services for many businesses. He can be reached at (323) 871-6862 or at tbfranklin@aol.com. See Tom’s columns at www.autobodynews.com under Columnists > Franklin

Conversations That Sell Jobs, No Need to Mention Entropy with Thomas Franklin

Remember when you last drove a a system.” brand new car? Think back and reThe second law of thermodymember how wonderfully solid it namics dictates that eventually every felt. If you’ve ever driven an old car machine will wear out and quit workthat rattled and squeaked and made ing. As parts wear, the movement beall sorts of random noises, you could comes more and more random and really appreciate that new car. It had disorderly until the machine stops alnot yet yielded to the relentless at- together. For our fellow craftsmen in tack of the forces of entropy, one of the mechanical repair field, entropy with Dick Strom the most powerful forces in the uni- is their best friend, providing them verse. with a continuous flow of vehicles in No, entropy is not a new disease need of repair. of the colon. Entropy is usually But how does this apply to peothought of as the natural tendency for ple and sales? The forces of entropy things to be come disordered over bombard us everyday. We have uptime. Like your shop. Without work sets, disagreements, and sometimes, done to clean it up it tends to get even fights. These entropic forces messier on its own, right? Entropy is often bring disorder to our lives. And a concept that affects everything perhaps one of the most unsettling from loose parts to information. experiences a person can have is an The formal scientific definition automobile accident that interrupts with Amaradio of entropy is first “a Lee measure of a hisJr. or her life and, at least temporarsystem’s capacity to undergo sponta- ily, takes away the valued method of neous change” and second, “a meas- transportation they rely on every day. ure of the disorder or randomness in An estimator generally meets and

Opinions Count

Action Counts

volvo Genuine parts Right Part. Right Price. Right Now.

Your Turn

with Sheila Loftus

Your Source for Wholesale Volvo Parts Shop Showcase So.California with Janet Chaney

Galpin Volvo VAN NUYS

818-778-2005 818-778-2090 Fax www.galpin.com

www.autobodynews.com

Industry Overview Trust your order to the collision parts specialistsCHECK at these fineIT Dealers OUT! with Janet Chaney

talks to the vehicle owner or driver at this very upsetting time. This could make a sales conversation very difficult or it could make getting the job very easy. A while back I did several weeks of sales training for estimators at a chain of collision centers. A couple of the estimators were already very competent, closing the majority of jobs they estimated. They instinctively used what something called dissipative conversation. The forces of entropy affect us all. We all experience friction and wear and tear, and in the long run, we also run down and stop working. But, in the short term, we have a powerful advantage over machines, and a more cheerful prospect thanks to the work of Nobel laureate Ilya Prigogine, a Russian-born Belgian theoretical chemist. Prigogine received his Nobel Prize in the 1970’s for proving that increased order in nature and evolutionary progress come about because of the entropy of chaos and disorder—not despite it. Prigogine said we have an advantage because the open systems of living creatures have an ability that inanimate machines lack. That is the ability to dissipate the pressures that cause entropy. He noted that this second law of thermodynamics applies only to closed thermodynamic systems, where no energy enters or exits the system. In an open system, like that of human beings—and the earth itself with its energy input from the sun—are able to dissipate or throw off the forces of entropy and thus adjust, shift, change and, in the case of a traumatic experience like an accident, feel much better. We can think of this as energy input to overcome disorder. Like the work you do to clean up your shop, for example. To take another example, we dissipate anger and frustration by venting it— “letting off steam” —kicking

the wall, banging our shoe on the table—or perhaps meditating. We dissipate frictions by conflict resolution discussions, negotiations, agreements, and occasionally smacking an opponent in the jaw. But if given an opportunity, we can release negative emotions through dissipative conversation. The estimators who closed the most jobs used dissipative conversation. Apparently, a major flaw in many sales people is a tendency to talk endlessly and listen very little. These estimators did exactly the opposite. They encouraged what we might call verbal “image streaming,” allowing their prospect to speak without interruption to a natural stopping point. In conversation, we are often eager to have our say, and will interject a comment or take the conversation in a different direction if we lose interest in what the other person is saying. This is detrimental to the dissipation process. Let ‘em talk. Their accident was a highly traumatic experience and may call for a lengthy conversation to dissipate the stress. A busy estimator may have several estimates to write and people to talk to. While there is a limit to how much time can be given to any one prospect, the estimators I talked to said they could listen to their prospect until a calm point was reached, without harming their own efficiency. The important point is the fact that these prospects being given the opportunity to release some emotional pressure usually did leave their car and their keys with the listening estimator. I’m sure that most managers and estimators reading this article have listened to more than their fair share of accident stories, but it’s not easy to resist the urge to cut the story short and to move on to getting the job sold. The question to ask oneself is, “If I had listened a bit more, would my closing ratio be better today?” It’s worth a try.

Give us your opinion on matters affecting the industry.

write us! publisher@autobodynews.com

www.autobodynews.com | SEPTEMBER 2012 AUTOBODY NEWS 53

Continued from Cover

Proposition 33

proposition would change that. However, opponents point out that it would do something that would radically change the industry—insurance companies could surcharge people who didn’t have insurance in the past. This has lead to claims of unfairness, with opponents saying the bill would disproportionately affect lowincome and new drivers. And this new ability for the insurance companies to determine prices based on previous coverage would alter the current law on guidelines for calculating rates. “The [failure of the lawsuit] was the campaign’s second failure in two days to convince a court to hide facts about Prop 33 from the Official Ballot Pamphlet sent to all California voters,” according to Consumer Watchdog, which has vehemently opposed the proposition, as well as the similar Prop. 17 on the 2010 ballot. Prop. 33’s proponents appealed a decision by a Superior Court judge denying the campaign’s effort to edit the language of the Attorney General’s ballot label and title and summary,

which read: “Changes current law to allow insurance companies to set prices based on whether the driver previously carried auto insurance with any insurance company.” Prop. 33 backers opposed the language because according to them it conveys the idea that the measure would allow insurers to set prices, something that is prohibited by California law.

D’Arelli v. Bowen and Price Setting The lawsuit filed by Mercury Insurance Company billionaire George Joseph claimed that the title and summary that would be read by voters contains “inaccurate language that is highly likely to prejudice voters against the measure.” Included in the suit were the state attorney general and the California secretary of state. As it stands now, Proposition 103, passed in 1988, sets uniform guidelines for how California auto insurance companies are allowed to calculate rates. Using three sets of mandatory criteria—a driver’s record, the number of years he or she has driven, and the number of miles driven per year—insurance companies determine a per-

QUALITY IS ALL WE THINK ABOUT. THAT AND QUALITY.

son’s premium. In addition, there are 16 optional rating factors. According to a legislative analysis of California’s law, they are the following: 1) Vehicle type, 2) Type of use (pleasure, business, commuting, etc.), 3) Percent use of the vehicle by the rated driver, 4) Number of vehicles, 5) Academic standing, 6) Training courses completed, 7) Vehicle add-ons, 8) Vehicle performance capabilities, 9) Driver’s gender, 10) Marital status, 11) Policy persistency (within the same company), 12) Smoker status, 13) Number of policies, 14) Claim frequency in surrounding area, 15) Claim sizes in surrounding area, 16) Secondary driver characteristics. But Prop. 33 would add another factor to the 24-year-old set of guidelines governing how rates are calculated, and this is fueling the controversy. The fact that Prop. 33 will give insurance companies new power to increase premiums for good drivers led the California Democratic Party to vote to oppose Prop. 33 at its recent Executive Board meeting. Proposition 33 is funded 99% by George Joseph, whose company Mercury Insurance has a “deserved reputation for abusing its customers and

intentionally violating the law with arrogance and indifference,” according to the California Department of Insurance. The initiative’s official proponent, Michael D’Arelli, is an executive in a Sacramento insurance lobbying group funded by Joseph. “George Joseph and Mercury Insurance refuse to accept even the nonpartisan analysis of Prop. 33 and are using his virtually unlimited resources to try and maintain the deceptive marketing of this insurance deregulation initiative,” said consumer advocate Doug Heller with Consumer Watchdog Campaign, which is part of the coalition opposing Prop 33. “Prop 33 is just another insurance industry trick aimed at helping insurance companies at the expense of Californians, and now Joseph is trying to enlist the courts in another of his frequent battles to overcharge consumers.” Mercury brought a similar, unsuccessful legal challenge to silence the Attorney General and consumer groups opposed to Proposition 17, a nearly identical measure sponsored by Mercury Insurance on the June 2010 ballot. That initiative was defeated by the voters in an upset after the company spent $16 million.

CERTIFIED AUTO PARTS OEM QUALITY MECHANICAL PARTS

CAPA CERTIFIED AUTO BODY PARTS

Genesis 2012

See these Hyundai dealers below for all your collision parts needs!

SO. CALIFORNIA

Drew Hyundai

Tuttle Click Hyundai

SA N D I E G O

IRVINE

888-839-0777

800-428-7485 949-472-7430

619-668-7782 Direct 619-460-4082 Fax importorder@drewauto.com www.drewhyundai.com

Kearny Mesa Hyundai

949-586-5104 Fax 949-586-7093 Fax Mon-Fri 7am - 7pm; Sat 8am - 5pm snielsen@tuttleclick.net www.tuttleclick.com

NO. CALIFORNIA

SACRAMENTO

BAY AREA

800-469-9731

Lithia Hyundai

916-381-5712

858-300-3331 Fax

FRESNO

408-293-6122 650-610-8852 510-380-8718

SA N D I E G O

Mon-Fri 7am - 6pm; Sat 8am - 5pm cguth@hyundaisubaru.com www.kearnymesahyundai.com

800-462-2231 559-436-6041

SINCE 1988

L E VA N

MONTEREY PENNINSULA 831-783-1220

GROUP, INC.

559-436-0743 Fax Mon-Fri 7am - 6pm; Sat 8am - 1pm etaylor@lithia.com

54 SEPTEMBER 2012 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

Servicing Northern California collision shops since 1988

An Accident is No Laughing Matter When it Comes to Lost Keys by Melanie Anderson

The day of my memorable accident was nearly foretold—it began with startling news and ended with lost keys. And, yes, there was a bang in there too. First thing that morning, my teenage daughter hit me with the surprising news: she no longer wanted my beloved 2004 Kia Sorento. I had offered to give her my mid-sized SUV when she got her driver’s license. Instead, she was opting for her grandparents’ Dodge Intrepid that was nearly as old as she was but still had low miles as her 90-year-old paternal grandparents didn’t drive it anymore. I was heartbroken at this news. I thought she loved my car as much as I did. Our Sorento had safely transported us up and down the state of California on many long drives. We lived in the foothills of the gold country, and since Lake Tahoe was practically in our back yard, we often drove further into the Sierra mountains for day trips. That car routinely carried teenagers, football, volleyball and softball gear, teammates, friends. That

car was a testament to the story of our lives. I even drove it in the snow, and being a native southern California girl, I didn’t enjoy it one bit. In response to her shocking news, I made a declaration: “Fine! I will keep that car until its dying breath!” Maybe I shouldn’t have said that. A few hours later, I got caught in heavy, stop-and-go traffic near

2004 Kia Sorento after the fateful car fire

midtown Sacramento on Business I80 and rear-ended a vehicle as I attempted to pass. I swear, we were going slow, so it wasn’t that big of a

bump. Instead of pulling over, the guy gets out of his car while we’re still in the slow lane! Who gets out of a car in the middle of traffic? Annoyed, I waved him over. I remained calm as I followed him to the side of the road. I remained calm as I bent down to retrieve the insurance information out of the glove box underneath the passenger seat. I must have noticed the smoke just then, because I got out of the car without the paperwork, but I am not sure, because in all my calmness, I may have actually been going into shock. We stood next to my car—me, the guy I hit, and his wife. I watched the flames shooting out beneath the bent hood, and I was mesmerized, like watching a campfire. The other woman started freaking out, jumping up and down and screaming at her husband to move their car away from my burning vehicle. I calmly watched the flames, until I heard my inner voice yell, “THE CAR IS ON FIRE!” I jumped into action then, reaching back into the car for my phone and purse. I walked away, a little worried the car might explode, because that’s what happens in the movies. But I really had nowhere to go. Behind me, the roadside disappeared into a freeway bridge and that wasn’t safe either. I stopped short of the bridge, putting a little distance between me and the car fire, to start making phone calls. First, I called 911 to report the fire. Of course, the operator wanted to know where I was. I knew exactly where I was. I had driven this stretch of road hundreds of times. I had done this commute for years. But I struggled to tell her the location. My brain had shut down. First, I told her the wrong freeway, then I told her the wrong direction. Finally, I managed to blurt out that the Sutter Cancer Center was behind me. Then I called a friend to come pick me up. Meanwhile, a semi truck pulled over and the driver ran to my baby with a fire extinguisher, but it did nothing to dampen the flames. The

next vehicle to pull over was a fire truck! A waterless fire truck, it turns out. The firefighters jumped into action anyway, opening all the doors to my vehicle and throwing things onto the side of the road. They grabbed my case of CDs and I wondered why they would risk their lives for old CDs. I still thought the car might explode. But, while they were at it, I called out “Get my portfolio! Get my briefcase!” Then the police and another fire truck arrived. I missed the excitement of watching them put out the fire because I was talking to the police and the other driver. Soon, everyone was gone, except for me and one police officer. I was feeling a bit shaky by then. Someone had called a tow truck and the driver came to ask me for my keys. Meanwhile, my friend was trying to find me and was on the wrong side of the freeway. The cop didn’t want him pulling over at the scene and made arrangements for the tow truck driver to drop me off at a nearby exit where my friend would be waiting. It was sad to see my lovely car up on the racks of the tow truck and I averted my eyes from the damage, the ash, the blackened engine and hood. As I heaved myself and all my belongings up into the tow truck, I realized then how sore I was from the accident. And then I started to cry. (It’s what girls do.) I knew I was making the tow truck driver uncomfortable, but I couldn’t stop sobbing. By then, the shock had worn off. He kept looking at me anxiously, evidently nervous about having a crying woman in his cab. To make matters worse, he was getting radio calls from all the other truck drivers in the area. Apparently, my car fire had caused quite a stir among the other tow truck drivers. Embarrassed by all the radio chatter, he denied rumors of having my car while glancing worriedly at me. I felt sorry for him. I’m sure he wasn’t expecting me riding shotgun that day. Although I was still crying, my inner funny bone was taking it all in and somewhere inside I was laughing hysterically. It wasn’t until I got home that I realized the tow truck driver hadn’t returned my keys. It seemed like a long story to explain how I lost my keys. “Just say you lost your keys, mom,” my daughter advised. “No one is going to believe this story.”

www.autobodynews.com | SEPTEMBER 2012 AUTOBODY NEWS 55

Don’t Get LETF Behind for Not Knowing the Law state’s labor regulations and cites those companies that don’t adhere to Here is the scenario: One afternoon a the law. Suddenly, dire thoughts begin group of very business-like individu- darting through your brain. “I know I als walk into your shop. Are they get- run an honest shop and we try to adting an estimate? No. Are they selling here to all the laws, but have I forgotsomething? Absolutely not. Or are ten something?” you ask yourself. It’s they here to simply discuss the advan- a frightening moment for any business tages of waterborne paint? Not likely. owner and plenty get cited and fined every month throughout the state for a wide range of offenses. With more than 50 people in attendance at the Santa Clara County California Autobody Association’s (SCCCAA) July meeting, five representatives from LETF made presentations and shared information that is deFrom left, Estimator Rudy Solorio with B2B Perfection Auto signed to help body shops in Body; John Martin, Territory Sales Executive with Mitchell; order to operate within the JR Radcliffe, Account Service Manager with Mitchell were laws of the state. Consisting on hand to listen to presentations by the LETF of five organizations and a lot After business cards get ex- of acronyms, LETF includes the Divichanged and pleasantries are con- sion of Labor Standards Enforcement veyed, you quickly realize that you’re (DLSE); Division of Occupational being inspected by the California Safety & Health (CAL/OSHA); EmLabor Enforcement Task Force ployment Development Department (LETF), a team that enforces the (EDD); Board of Equalization (BOE); by Ed Attanasio

and Bureau of Automotive Repair (BAR). Representatives in attendance were EDD Chief Simon Ramsughag (Underground Economy Section);

PowerPoint presentation, outlining their purpose, its mission and importantly, techniques that body shops can use while dealing with LETF. Senior Deputy Labor Commis-

From left, EDD Chief Simon Ramsughag (Underground Economy Section); EDD Manager Kim Wesley (Underground Economy Section); BAR Program Representative III Donald Johnson CAL/OSHA District Manager Jan Hami and Senior Deputy Labor Commissioner Mark Janatpour from the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement were at the SCC-CAA’s July meeting

EDD Manager Kim Wesley (Underground Economy Section); BAR Program Representative III Donald Johnson CAL/OSHA District Manager Jan Hami and Senior Deputy Labor Commissioner Mark Janatpour. Each spokesperson made a

sioner Mark Janatpour from the DLSE was the first speaker at the outreach meeting and discussed topics such as overtime, meal periods, rest periods and time recordkeeping when it comes to your employees, their work breaks and their pay.

Genuine Nissan and Infiniti OEM Wholesale Parts are superbly crafted to strict quality standards. Use of genuine OEM Wholesale Parts is a shift in the right direction toward trouble-free repairs and quicker turnaround. The following dealers proudly stock genuine parts for your Nissan or Infiniti repairs. Call your local distributor today! 2012 GT-R S. CALIFORNIA

DOWNEY NISSAN DOWNEY

888-444-1355 (562) 334-1195 Fax Billy Smith-Parts Manager

Shift into Genuine Nissan and Infiniti OEM Parts METRO NISSAN INFINITI OF MONTCLAIR MONTCLAIR

800-243-5575

www.downeynissan.com

(909) 625-4087 Fax Ask for Rita or Steve Large inventory available

INFINITI OF BAKERSFIELD

NATIONAL CITY

M-F 7-6, Sat. 7-5

BAKERSFIELD

661-617-2020 (661) 617-2039 Fax M-F 8-5

www.infinitiofbakersfield.com

NISSAN OF BAKERSFIELD

BAKERSFIELD

888-402-6915 (661) 835-0389 Fax M-F 7-6, Sat. 8-5

www.nissanofbakersfield.com

MOSSY NISSAN

800-300-7251

(619) 474-4347 Fax Largest Inventory in San Diego www.mossyparts.com

56 SEPTEMBER 2012 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

N. CALIFORNIA

DIRITO BROTHERS NISSAN WALNUT CREEK

800-865-5792 (925) 934-8459 & (925) 934-8221 Fax

LITHIA NISSAN FRESNO

800-870-7779

559-436-6040 Parts Direct 559-438-0183 Fax M-F 7-6, Sat. 8-1

Etaylor@lithia.com www.lithia.com

SHINGLE SPRINGS NISSAN

SHINGLE SPRINGS

530-676-0444

(530) 677-6528 Fax www.shinglespringsnissan.com

Janatpour stressed the fact that employers need to give their workers proper lunch and rest breaks, even when the shop is busy. He explained that the authorized rest period time needs to be based on the total hours worked daily at the rate of 10 minutes net rest time for every four hours worked, without exception. The breaks cannot be combined, such as giving an employee one 20-minute break toward the end of the day. In addition, if an employee works more than five hours in any given day, he or she is entitled to and required to take a 30-minute lunch. If an employee works six hours and that’s the end of their working day, they don’t need a lunch, as long as the employee consents. Janatpour also stressed the importance of good, thorough record keeping. So many shops get cited and fined for not maintaining their records. Accurate production records for employees paid at piece rate and overtime need to be properly documented. “These are some red flag areas that many body shops run into and it’s one of the first things we look at when we do our inspections,” Janatpour said. CAL/OSHA District Manager Jan Hami explained what employers

should know about the inspection process and the ramifications. “First off, we always come unannounced. Initially, we have an opening conference before we do a walk-through of your worksite. We may also want to interview some of your employees and review documents when applicable.” Hami also advised body shop owners about how to act when LETF is in your shop.

plus. We’re enforcement, not consultants and we never issue warnings, but we’re here to help you in your abatement efforts.” “It all comes down to doing the right things, staying up-to-date on the current laws and running a safe working environment,” Hami said. LETF’s fines for violations can be as high as $7,000 for “non-serious” issues, according to CAL-OSHA’s website (www.dir.ca.gov). Serious offenses that present a realistic hazard with possibility of death or serious physical harm due to an actual hazard in your shop can be up to $25,000, and willful, repeat violations can cost up to $70,000. EDD Manager Kim Wesley talked about the ongoing distinctions about who is an employee vs. an independent Assistant Managers for Car West Auto Body are Vivi Cardenas (left) and Imran Abbass, at the July meetcontractor? ing of the CAA’s Santa Clara chapter Several SCC-CAA members “Understand your rights and ask asked why some shops are able to hire a lot of questions,” he said. their employees as independent con“Take good notes and document tractors while others seemingly can’t everything and gather your necessary do the same? staff to assist you. If you can rectify Wesley explained that there are something on-site right there while only a very few true independent conwe’re doing the inspection, that’s a big tractors out there.

“If you’re hiring an independent contractor, you can only control or direct the results of the work they’re doing for you,” she said. “But, you cannot control or direct the way they’re doing the work. That’s a very significant difference.” BAR Program Representative III Donald Johnson works out of the organization’s San Jose, CA, field office and discussed his role and the way the BAR works. “We don’t conduct routine inspections anymore, because our time is limited,” he said. “There is always going to be some cheating in auto repair, so we’re concentrating on the worst cases and the chronic repeat offenders. Most of the body shop owners in this room run good, honest businesses, so you may never see us in your shop. But, for shops that are operating without licenses or doing anything fraudulent, we’re going to be there to see you eventually.”

@autobodynews Accept no Substitutes!

Great Service.

Great Prices. Riverside Nissan

Riverside Volkswagen Competitive Parts Pricing!

Direct Line:

951.509.2125 951.509.2123 Fax

8330 Indiana Ave., Riverside, CA 92504

Riverside Honda We Use Collision Link!

FREE DELIVERY TO MOST OF THE INLAND EMPIRE

Mention this ad for a free gift!

D Direct Line:

951.509.6550 9 9951.509.6523 Fax 8330 Indiana Ave., Riverside, CA 92504

Hours: Mon-Fri. 7-7; Sat. 8-5 8330 Indiana Ave., Riverside, CA 92504

Riverside Hyundai Genuine OEM Parts!

Qualified Staff!

GENUINE SERVICE & PARTS

Riverside Mazda Huge Inventory!

Direct Line:

951.509.6574

951.509.6577

8330 Indiana Ave., Riverside, CA 92504

951.509.6575 Fax

951.509.6578 Fax

www.autobodynews.com | SEPTEMBER 2012 AUTOBODY NEWS 57

Rich Evans Films Pilot Episode of World Wide Car Building in Canada Famed car builder and Autobody News columnist Rich Evans returned to Curtis Custom Designs and Radical Garage in the Elmsdale business park in Nova Scotia in late July. Much like his trip in 2011, Evans built a custom vehicle in a short period of time. However, this time, he brought an all-star group of builders, and a camera crew with him to shoot the pilot for a new TV series. The car in question was a 2004 H2 Hummer, which they planned to lower the roof, turn it into a coupe, and change the front end. “We’ve got nine of the best craftsmen from the U.S. that I’ve selected personally,” said Evans. “We’re going to travel the world building cars out of our comfort zone. The first stop is Canada—we’re in an unknown area, unknown garage, coming out to Curtis Custom Designs. We’re challenging ourselves to build a vehicle in 10 days. We flew out here to build a 2004 H2 Hummer for Curtis—and what we’re going to do is chop it, make it from a four-door into a twodoor, build a front-end for it, and turn it into a roadster. It’s something that’s

never been done before.” When Rich arrived with his group of builders, and they started sizing up the shop, and the Hummer, Rich began to think that maybe they had it too easy. “I looked at the job, and I said ‘we have too much talent,’ “ explained Evans. “This is too easy. So I was challenged by a local customer of Curtis to build a ‘54 Chevy in the same ten days. I didn’t hesitate—I Rich Evans made my mind up in about 30 seconds. I let my guys know, and they were all for it. So we now we’re building two cars in ten days—two totally different cars. “That’s what it’s all about,” continued Evans. “Getting the best of the best under one roof, and all of us learning off of each other—that way we’ll get better. Really it’s the journey of getting better at what we love to do, and the passion and the challenge of what we do. We all eat, breathe, and live customizing.”

Audi Genuine Parts

Nothing else measures up.

Order Audi Genuine Parts from these select Dealers

So. California Audi of Downtown LA Circle Audi LOS ANGELES 213-747-7248 213-222-1261 Fax

LONG BEACH 800-675-2472 562-597-2854 Fax

Ask for Carlos or Fausto

Ask for Eddie or Nate

No. California Carlsen Audi PALO ALTO 650-856-6300 or 650-856-0611 650-856-0648 Fax 58 SEPTEMBER 2012 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

Evans feels as though this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for himself and his crew—to explore different shop cultures, and to step outside of their comfort zone to work on cars. It’s a challenge that he feels will help everyone involved expand their existing skill set, and add new skills. “You always live for that best job,” said Evans. “What’s happening here is that we’re meeting up with a shop in Canada that has a staff, and it’s really U.S. meets Canada, where we all get together and build something cool. So we’re learning from you guys, you’re learning from us, and that makes for great TV.” Amongst Evans’ all-star team of car builders is amateur builder Denny Stewart. Stewart teaches high-school auto body in a town of 200 people in Missouri. Stewart worked with Evans on builds 20 years ago, so Evans brought him along to have the chance to be part of a team that will hopefully inspire his students in the future. The inspiration for the show came from the first trip Evans had taken to Elmsdale in 2011—wherein he built a Mustang in five days.

“When I left here last year, after the media, the news, the car show, the people—the Canadian car enthusiasts, I got an idea,” said Evans. “I wrote down a treatment, met up with a production crew, and really tightened up what was written. What we’re doing here has never been done before— using top-of-the-line cameras on a reality show. What we have here is really a perfect marriage for something new and cool to bring to the industry.” Currently the show is called World Wide Car Building as a provisional title while it remains in production—chances are high that it could be changed before airing, however. “Curtis,” is what Evans answered when asked what the inspiration was to bring his show to Elmsdale over other places in Canada. “I met Curtis at SEMA—where we’ll eventually be taking these two cars. That was five years ago when I was a spokesperson for Chicago Pneumatics, and he invited me out to Nova Scotia last year. I came out to do a project with him, and to see what I can learn from Canada’s side of the fence—I had a blast, so here I am, back out one year later, and I’m back

for another car show, and I brought some friends with me. “I dig it here,” continued Evans. “The greenery and the weather while we’ve been here—I’m running on about one-hour of sleep, but I still want to get out and see your guys’ backyard. It’s phenomenal, we went out shark fishing not too far away and caught 15 sharks with the aid of a captain that was very good at what he did, and very knowledgeable. And the car enthusiasts here absolutely blow my mind.” “It’s very slim,” said Evans when asked about the equipment and product selection in rural Canada when compared to the United States. “You don’t have much of the same equipment or product, but the community is great about getting together—it makes the hospitality just phenomenal. Everybody’s not geared up like we are, we’re out of our comfort zone up here, yet we’re still able to pull off the impossible.” Though the tools and products and equipment may differ up north, Evans believes that it’s the team and local community coming together around them that’s making this as easy as it has been. “It’s a situation of ‘use what you

have’,” explained Evans. “We want to show people that you can use just what you have. It’s a team, and it’s about using what you have together; and we really want to show that to the audience. We really want to show people the nuts and bolts of our world— and what drives people to do this. So that when they see someone working on a car, they can understand it a little bit better. It’s fun, I like to say that every suit-and-tie-guy wants to do my job; and my job’s not even a job. I’ve never worked a day in my life.” “Absolutely I plan on coming back in the future,” continued Evans. “I love it here—it seems like it’s a once-a-year deal, so hopefully we can come back and do something bigger-and-better next time. Every year it gets better. Last time I was here for five days and I built one car. This year I’m here for 10 days and I built two cars; so maybe next year I’ll come for ten days and build three. It’s all about keepin’ it cool, so I hope you guys invite me back next year, because I’ll certainly come back.” Indian, Evans’ manager, and producer on the TV show also took the time to speak with The Weekly Press about the challenges of bringing a Hollywood TV film crew to rural

Canada, and the changes in car culture and product availability. “It’s very intense,” said Indian. “You’re up against deadlines; finding product; finding out which place is open, which place is closed; working on the weekend when nothing is open—like Sunday we were working, and nothing was open. We needed materials, so people were coming out to open their shops for us. So it’s pretty cool—but it’s definitely a challenge.” They plan on showcasing the local community and various facets of the local culture during each episode of the show. This is to pay homage to the areas that host them, alongside hopefully inspiring the build. “People dig Rich up here,” said Indian. “The thing that I thought was pretty cool in this area is the amount of cool custom and classic cars. It’s really a big car culture here—I was impressed to be quite honest. It’s something that’s expected in Southern California, yet to come up here I was really surprised to see them just on the road—because each time you’re out, chances are you’ll see one.” During their tenure in Nova Scotia, Evans’ crew participated in a car parade to downtown Halifax, a

car show, and multiple meet-andgreet/autograph sessions, all while continuing work on both cars. “Curtis has got a really good shop here, and a really good group of guys,” said Indian. “People have been really, really nice, and really accommodating. It’s definitely a place worth coming to. I’ve never been to this side of Canada, so I didn’t know it was this much of a beautiful place.” “I think it’s a great way to showcase Nova Scotia,” continued Indian. “That’s why we want to incorporate the cultural end of things. The local beauty, and the local cultural is something that we really want to incorporate into the show. It’s almost like ‘No Reservation’ meets ‘Orange County Choppers,’ but for cars. We just hope to keep building off of it—it should be cool.” Nova Scotia is where the pilot for the TV show is being filmed, and despite pressure from other Canadian shops to go film at their location, they plan to make Nova Scotia the only Canadian stop for the show. “We want to spread it around,” said Indian. “We want people to experience a lot of different places. It might happen (where they will shoot another episode in Canada), nothing’s

Parts You Need. People You Trust. Genuine Mitsubishi Replacement Crash Parts are close at hand through the following quality dealerships. Exceptional customer service, wide selection of in-stock parts and the experience necessary to ensure your repairs proceed smoothly.

THESE DEALERS ARE GENUINE WHOLESALE PARTS SPECIALISTS. C AL IFOR NIA

2012 Lancer Sportback OHIO

Rick Case Mitsubishi

800-424-7884 BEDFORD

(440) 439-6982 Fax M-F 8:00 am - 5:30 pm Sat 8:00 am - 4:00 pm carnycharatian@rickcase.com

Elk Grove Toyota ELK GROVE

916-405-4700 800-952-5307

916-405-8045 Fax

Mon. - Fri. 7am - 7pm; Sat. 8am - 5pm www.elkgrovetoyota.com

www.autobodynews.com | SEPTEMBER 2012 AUTOBODY NEWS 59

out of the realm of possibility—I just think it’s more of trying to keep it different. What we did in Nova Scotia would be a lot different than what we could do in, say, Jamaica. “It’s early in the game,” continued Indian. “We’re working with producers that are very busy. We have to time it in a way that makes sense, otherwise it’s not worth doing; but this stop was a no-brainer. Rich had been here before and had a great feeling about the place, so he wanted to do it here first.” They hope to air the show some-

time in 2013. Should it become successful, Evans plans to hopefully return once again in the future, with more cars, less time, and more talent. For more information on the progress of the show, stay tuned to Evans’ Facebook page (Rich Evans Designs) and keep an eye on the listing for the Speed channel. “The biggest thing is to do what you love to do,” said Evans. “Do something new every day, and try to better yourself. Really live life to its fullest— that’s what we’re trying to do here.”

Hyundai Settles Airbag Lawsuit for Crossovers

Consumer rights law firm Hagens Berman recently reached a settlement with Hyundai for a lawsuit regarding faulty airbags in the auto manufacturer’s Sante Fe crossover vehicles. The lawsuit alleged that airbags in some 2007-2009 Hyundai Santa Fe crossover vehicles failed to deploy during certain types of collisions. The settlement allows owners to return defective vehicles if the company cannot repair them through a software upgrade, Hagens Berman said. Hagens Berman said Hyundai has

ordered a recall of roughly 200,000 vehicles in response to the lawsuit. The recall is the latest in a series of recalls by Hyundai, which have amounted to about 1.3 million vehicles since 2006. The recall will occur even if the court does not approve the settlement. “We negotiated a settlement that is very favorable to consumers, giving Hyundai owners the ability to return their vehicle if the settlement’s software upgrade does not fully solve the problem,” said Rob Carey, attorney for Hagens Berman.

OUR PARTS IN THE TR AINED HA NDS OF A PROFES SIONAL

GM Parts

Finish Second to None.

Together i

CITY CHEVROLET

AU TO M OT I V E G R O U P San Fernando Valley

We are YOUR Source for GM Parts in Los Angeles! Extensive inventory — Delivery trucks are in your area Accountable, responsible & unconditionally dedicated to excellence

t’s a Masterpiece!

San Diego • Large Inventory of Mechanical and Collision Parts • Fast Delivery/7 Delivery Trucks

818-832-1660 Fax: 818-832-1692 nrparts@rydells.com Mon-Fri: 6:00 AM - 7:00 PM Saturday: 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM

Toll Free: Parts: Fax:

• Over 250 Years Combined Parts Experience

800-927-2277 619-276-6900 619-276-2414

Hours: Mon-Fri: 7:30am - 6pm; Sat: 8am - 5pm WWW.CITY-CHEVROLET.COM

Serving Contra Costa, Alameda, San Joaquin Counties. An Authorized Saturn Wholesaler.

Wholesale Direct: 925-828-8251 Fax: 925-829-2941 Hours: Mon. - Fri. 7am - 6pm Sat. 8am - 4:30pm 4200 John Monego Ct., Dublin, CA 94568 Chevrolet•Cadillac•GMC•Buick•Pontiac Oldsmobile•Saab•Saturn•Hummer

* High Quality, Certified Parts * Large Inventory * Qualified Staff 240 N. Gibson Rd. Henderson, NV 89014

M-F 7:00 am - 6:00 pm Sat 8:00 am - 2:00 pm

855-511-0479 702-558-2444 Fax www.hendersonchevy.com 60 SEPTEMBER 2012 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

NAIC Releases WreckCheck App

The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) has released a mobile app to help guide drivers on what information they should disclose after an accident. The association says the new WreckCheck app (www.insureuonline.org/auto_page.htm) will help prevent drivers from giving away too much personal information, such as home address, phone number or driver’s license number, that could lead to identity theft.

Continued from Cover

PartsTrader

will affect profitability on parts purchases, additional administration time, and will affect overall shop efficiency. George Avery, Auto Claim Consultant for State Farm, stated “the pilot is still being evaluated and State Farm and PartsTrader are working to correct problems and mitigate concerns.” This new program would be part of a shops Select Service direct repair

agreement. Since State Farms pilot test announcement, this program has created strong controversy from both the shop side and the parts supplier side. Although shops and suppliers have little control in how this program will eventually roll out, there is a larger issue to address. There has been a strong commitment from the collision side over the last few years to focus on better business practices and stronger efficiencies. At some point, the reality sets in that this is as far as it can go. Shops have worked hard over the years

to develop strong parts vendor relations that benefit both sides. To implement a new program that changes this could hurt everyone involved. The CAA believes that shops know their marketplace and are working with the best vendors available to provide quality, safe parts for their customers. Up to this point, nothing has come out to show that the shop will benefit by participating in this program. The CAA’s state executive board feels that the current State Farm parts See PartsTrader, Page 62

NO. CALIFORNIA NO. CALIFORNIA

SO. CALIFORNIA

Sierra Subaru of Monrovia NEVADA

ARIZONA

NEVADA

Monrovia TEXAS (626) 359-8291 (626) 932-5660 Fax OKLAHOMA Mon.-Fri. 7-6; Sat. 8-4 LOUISIANA parts@sierracars.com NEWwww.sierraauto.com MEXICO

Timmons Subaru ARKANSAS

Long Beach (888) 489-5001 (562) 426-3550 Fax KANSAS Tue. 7-8; Mon., Wed.-Fri. 7-6; UTAH Sat. 8-4, Sat. No Delivery Parts@timmonslongbeach.com www.timmonssubaru.com COLORADO

MISSISSIPPI

Power Subaru

Scottsdale (480) 425-2950 OKLAHOMA (480) 425-2948 Fax Mon.-Fri. 7-6; Sat. 7-4 LOUISIANA TEXAS

NEW MEXICO Subaru Superstore ARKANSAS of Chandler

Chandler (877) 443-3239 MISSISSIPPI (480) 268-2402 KANSAS (480) 621-3805 Fax Mon.-Fri. 7-6; Sat. 7-5 UTAH subaruparts@shopsubaru.com www.shopsubaru.com COLORADO

NO. CALIFORNIA

Maita Subaru

SO. CALIFORNIA

The following dealerships are eager to serve your needs. Call your local Subaru collision NO. CALIFORNIAparts specialist today! SO. CALIFORNIA

Galpin Subaru

Van Nuys (818) 778-2005 TEXAS (818) 778-2090 Fax www.galpin.com OKLAHOMA ARIZONA

NEVADA

LOUISIANA Kearny Mesa Subaru

San Diego (800) 548-9124 ARKANSAS (858) 300-3331 Fax COLORADO Mon.-Fri. 7-6 MISSISSIPPI cguth@kmhyundaisubaru.com www.kearnymesasubaru.com/parts KANSAS NEW MEXICO

UTAH

Marin Subaru

San Rafael (415) 257-4690 (415) 257-4684 Fax Mon.-Fri. 7:30-5:30; Sat. 8-4 marinmazdasubaru@yahoo.com www.marinsubaru.net

Subaru of Glendale Glendale (818) 550-1500 (818) 549-3850 Fax Mon.-Fri. 7-6; Sat. 8-4 parts@glendalemitsu.com www.subaruofglendale.net

Sacramento (877) 484-4870 NEVADA (916) 484-4876 TEXAS (916) 484-4878 Fax Mon.-Fri. 7:30-5:30 OKLAHOMA www.maitasubaru.com ARIZONA

NEW MEXICO Shingle Springs Subaru LOUISIANA

Shingle Springs (530) 676-0444 COLORADO (530) 677-6528 Fax www.shinglespringssubaru.com MISSISSIPPI ARKANSAS

Subaru of Santa Cruz UTAH KANSAS

Santa Cruz (800) 549-8490 (831) 420-1402 (831) 420-1923 Fax Mon.-Fri. 7:30-6; Sat. 8-5 parts@santacruzsubaru.com www.santacruzsubaru.com

www.autobodynews.com | SEPTEMBER 2012 AUTOBODY NEWS 61

Continued from Page 61

PartsTrader

bidding program, although part of a shops DRP agreement, takes away from the shop’s right to manage the efficiency and profitability of their business and the overall operation of servicing the customer. No matter how you look at the current proposed program, the shop will be the one to adapt and figure out how to deal with reduced profits, higher overhead, and

the loss of long time vendor relations. In the end, shops make tough, challenging decisions every day on how their business adapts to changes. Some shops will be faced with evaluating this new program and making a business decision on how this fits into their overall business model. The CAA will continue to evaluate this program and provide members valuable information. For additional information, contact the CAA state office (916) 5578100 or check the CAA website.

New Website for Labor Rate Survey Collision repair professionals have a new tool when it comes to assessing labor rates. International Research Incorporated has launched a website that allows repairers to fill out surveys on labor rates. The service is not associated with or funded by any insurance company. Repairers may fill out surveys for free. There is a small annual fee to view the results of the surveys. See bodyshopratesurvey.com. The survey site does insist on shop identification, but only to ensure that

AUTOBODY MARKETPLACE

â Alloy â Steel â New â Used â Recon

STOCK OEM WHEELS Next Day to Most Cities! Right on price, Right on time Every time!!

1-800-383-7974 Las Vegas Nevada Business Asset Sale Profitable Autobody Shop, services sev’l DRP’s and Fleet Accts

Profitable Autobody material & supply biz. Has several accounts

Call the Pacific Group at: 702-800-1545

thepacificgrouplvnv@gmail.com

Compare our $130 and less gallon kits of clears against the competitors $400 kits of clear and see the diﬀerence every time.

House of Klear 818-504-4933 Sun Valley − Valencia − Maui

TEACHING THE ART OF PROFESSIONAL AUTOMOBILE & TRUCK GLASS REPLACEMENT

Find out for yourself why so many painters love Southern Polyurethanes.

Our school offers comprehensive training that addresses not only product, materials, and technique, but most importantly, “hands-on” training!

www.southernpolyurethanes.com WHEELS AMERICA

Nine Locations in the USA!

• Thousands of OEM Remanufactured Wheels in Stock 101 • Lifetime Guarantee • CNC Quality • Powder Coated

888-4-FIX-RIM $109 to repair with this ad www.fixrim.com

Stop Subletting & LEARN to do it YOURSELF!

Sacramento, CA

916-480-2789 www.horizonautoglass.com

Search: 800-524-1504 www.red-viper.com

62 SEPTEMBER 2012 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

Autobody News on Facebook

each shop only fills out one survey and that the submitted rates are included in the correct geographic area. Names of shops or individuals are never published. Each month, the site allows shops from a small number of states to participate. A full year covers the entire U.S. Some may worry that the purpose of such a site is to aid collusion. However, the site itself warns participants not to discuss certain topics with other survey participants, as doing so is a violation of certain U.S. antitrust laws.

www.autobodynews.com | SEPTEMBER 2012 AUTOBODY NEWS 63

95% Same Day Order Fill Rate. We Stock the Parts You Need to Serve Your Customers Quickly. Four Delivery Vehicles. Serving All of Los Angeles Metro Area and Nearby Cities. Ten Knowledgeable Parts Specialists with an Average of 17 Years of Experience Ready to Serve You. Get the Correct & Complete Order the First Time.

Nick Alexander MINI 6201 S. Alameda St. Los Angeles, CA 90001 Toll Free:

Original MINI Parts

Wholesale Direct:

Parts Hours: Monday-Saturday: 8 - 7

800-800-NICK 323-583-4109 Fax Line:

323-277-8213

Sunday: 10 - 6