6 minute read
Good call catapults crash repairer into 21st century
by Boylen
Gavin Rich happily admits he had no idea what lay ahead when approached by Tesla in 2018 to become one of its certified repairers.
Now he’s one of Tesla’s biggest fans.
“I think they’re a great car and they have been excellent for business,” he said.
Was the bold move a gamble?
Maybe, he concedes: “The best way I could describe it was it was ‘unknown’.”
Gavin is a director at Australian Crash Repairs, the second of three certified Tesla repairers in Adelaide.
Adelaide Motor Bodies was the first, before an unsolicited call came from the Texas EV manufacturer, keen to expand options for local motorists.
“People talk through the industry and I’d like to think that’s how that came about,” Gavin said.
“Our reputation as a prestige body shop has been around for 40 odd years.
“But I don’t think we realised what we were getting into.”
Overnight revolution
That call completely changed the direction and focus of the Allenby Gardens business.
“Not knowing much about it, we had the opportunity to take on another brand and basically it was like turning a light switch on.
“The cars started rolling in, so we had to learn on our feet very quickly.
“It wasn’t a slow, gradual thing. It was overnight. The next morning there were three Teslas rolling through our door.
“We had to adapt and grow quickly and the first year was very, very challenging.
“But all of a sudden we could see the rewards and we still do.
“Probably from day one, we could see the benefits of the investment and the road we were going down.”
That outlay came without government support and was a significant sum, adding to the initial costs of training, as well as the ongoing expense of tooling and training updates.
When a new model is released, Tesla provides new tooling - but of course, that is another cost.
Tesla classes Australian Crash Repairs as a service centre but it has chosen to specialise in panel work.
In little more than a year, the company has doubled the value of its EV work from around 25 per cent of its total business to about half.
Besides Tesla, they are also accredited repairers for other EV branded cars including BMW, Lamborghini, Bentley, Subaru and BYD.
“The only negative is we’ve had to turn away a lot of traditional customers who have been with Australian Crash for a long time.
“That’s the downside of it. It’s a hard call to tell people you can’t fix their car anymore.
“We just don’t have the capabilities to take on any more work. We’re booked a long way out.”
Brand specialisation
But Gavin can see the day coming when Australian Crash is forced to distill its energies and resources even further, such are the complexities and demands required to work on each different brand of electric vehicle.
“I believe it will get to that point where you are going to have to be a specialist in your brand,” he said.
“That’s my opinion. Porsches are starting to come out with electric cars, Volvos too and once Germany get hold of all the technology and master it, it’s going to be like BMW.
“We’re the only ones who can get access to their repair methods so you’re going to have to be a specialist in your field, I believe.”
Already the upskilling at Australian Crash has been exponential.
“There is a lot of online training. Every staff member has their own access to the Tesla training portal.
“At the beginning, we had to get everyone up to speed.
“That included sending techs up to Brisbane for welding certification. All our techs have to be qualified aluminium welders.”
Gavin said that staff could refer to the training portal to get step by step instructions on how to fix most issues, something that does not exist with other brands.
This was backed up by experts at Tesla and he emphasised the value of these relationships.
Australian Crash Repairs now boasts a fleet of highly skilled experts who undertake the repair of all their electric vehicles.
Staff have transitioned from being panel beaters to technicians, noting their growing experience in finding problems - which are normally electronic, not the bodywork.
Insurance implications
Gavin came from an insurance background and read the tea leaves, moving seamlessly to the flip side of the motor repair industry.
He warned that when it comes to EVs, insurance companies are just one of many facets of the motor vehicle ecosystem still playing catch up.
For example, when repairing BMW EVs, Australian Crash still relies on a representative from the dealership to arrive on site before commencing work.
“We are not allowed to touch those vehicles until they are disarmed.”
It all contributes to pushing the cost of repairing a damaged EV beyond that of a traditional vehicle.
Sourcing parts
Australian Crash only uses new parts to repair damaged Teslas.
“Sourcing those parts remains a challenge but it’s becoming easier.
“Tesla has a big warehouse in Sydney. It’s pretty good and on par with any other manufacturer, if not better.”
Finding parts for other EV brands remains difficult for now.
And employing qualified technicians to work on EVs is every bit as problematic.
The industry is still struggling to find good tradespeople, so Gavin is now focussed on training the next generation.
His own son studied as a mechanical engineer and now works for Australian Crash as an estimator.
He would love nothing more than to one day hand him the company keys.
Education is the future
But well before then, he’s convinced much more needs to be done to stimulate what looms as a flourishing trade.
“We need to be getting into schools and explaining what our industry is doing now.
“It’s not the dusty old tin sheds that it used to be.”
The modern workshop now features:
Specialist aluminium rooms and EV bays
Hoists rather than pits
Excellent air flow
Electronic measuring systems
Sealed rooms that keep out contaminants when technicians are working on aluminium and carbon fibres
“It’s a really cool industry and I’m quite passionate about it,” said Gavin.
“I want to get kids through because they are going to absorb and love it.”
