Wenzel's Auto Body

Wenzel’s Auto Body has been a trusted source for quality auto body repairs to the Upper Cape area of Massachusetts for 40 years and counting.

The family-owned/operated business was started by Jim Wenzel in 1981. Eventually, his sons, Dan and Steve, joined him. All three are involved in the operation today, although Jim has taken a bit of a backseat as Dan and Steve have taken over the reins of the body shop.

“My father is semi-retired and somewhat removed from the day-to-day, but he still stays busy with the business,” Dan says. “We really like having him around.”

Dan was just two years old when his father opened Wenzel’s Auto Body, and he grew up in and around the business. While in high school and college, he had the opportunity to work at the shop during the summer and on Saturdays. He also studied business and accounting but soon returned to the shop after graduating college. He has never looked back.

“After about a month or so of coming back home, I knew this was pretty much what I was going to do. I was very intrigued by the cars, the technology, the business end and the customers. Everything about this is fast-moving, and I found myself liking it all quickly.”

That was 20 years ago. Since then, he’s been part of the Wenzel team, working to build a strong, solid facility with a team of over 20 members between the office and the body shop.

“We have really had a nice pace of growth over the past 15 years. We hit some standstill with COVID-19, but we’re moving ahead, and we plan to continue the trajectory going forward.”

Keeping on top of training has been important to the Wenzel team.

“We’ve been I-CAR Gold since 2007, which we are very proud of, as that was not a big thing back then. Everyone is into it now. I-CAR is still pretty much the standard for how we receive our training, but we also get it from our jobber, who provides paint certification training, and representatives from the companies we buy from. They are always providing training that we take advantage of.”

Recently, Dan was elected to the AASP/MA Board of Directors, representing Zone 1. A member of the association for some time, he admits he had to give running for the Board some thought at first, knowing that he already had a lot on his plate. Then, he realized that others do it and give up their time to help the industry, so he decided to give it a try.

As one of the new faces on the Board, he hopes to help bring along some new ideas through “a fresh pair of eyes.”

In addition to the strong efforts AASP/MA has been making at the Legislature, Dan believes that one of the keys to ongoing success in the industry is making sure all parties are on the same page when it comes to proper repair procedures.

“I think the main thing is to stay current with the technology demands from the manufacturers and how to repair cars properly. If we aren’t staying focused on that, we can all be in trouble. I think you have to bring this to light to the whole industry – the shops, the insurers and the suppliers. Everyone has to be on board; if not, it will be a difficult task to take on by yourself. I think the Board does a good job of addressing this need.”

One of the things Dan loves most about the industry is its sense of community.

“I’ve met so many good people in this industry – from the team we have at our shop to the members of AASP/MA, the vendors and a lot of the people I’ve met throughout the country over the years. Some of them have become my best friends.”

Looking toward the future, the Wenzel team hopes to continue to do what it does best – representing the family name, serving the community and always making the shop a great and safe place to work.

Left to right: Steve, Jim and Dan Wenzel of Wenzel’s Auto Body

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