How are things going at your shop lately? I ask because it feels like we are in some strange times. We, as repairers, should be the repair experts…right? Why does it feel like the insurers turn a blind eye to some procedures and not others? Sometimes I feel like I’m in the twilight zone of collision repair where up is down and left is right!

At my shop, we stay up on the newest technology, OEM procedures and repair techniques while always updating equipment, computers and diagnostic tools. We are learning every day. Some of this requires research, which often sends me down a path of repair education because this collision business and new vehicle technology is ever-changing. I always find something in the OEM data or repair procedure and refinish manuals that will be useful in negotiations with an appraiser which displays something we did or will do to a vehicle to repair it to OEM specification. In my mind, this data confirms that we are doing the right thing. That seems really simple, doesn’t it?

That’s the insurance appraiser’s trap that I often fall into and end up in the twilight zone of the insurance industry’s perception of collision repair. Ok, I know I’m being obtuse while masking it with a lot of flowery language, so here is a real life example I’ve recently dealt with.

We are putting a quarter panel on a newer Dodge Charger. As many of you know, these vehicles have a laser-welded roof seam with no natural breaking point, which requires a true “up and over” for the extension of clear coat into the roof and the opposite uniside. So naturally, I found the OEM position on clear coat blending and

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Corporate: (973) 667-6922 / FAX: (973) 235-1963 www.grecopublishing.com my paint manufacturer’s refinish guide on the extension of clear. I know that this particular insurer and appraiser are very difficult, so I go as far as to send them two videos from SCRS about this very subject and how the vehicle must be refinished. Upon negotiation, the insurance appraiser tells me he will not be covering the “up and over” as it is not “industry standard.” Much to my dismay, I quickly pull up all the documentation I spoke of earlier, to have the appraiser tell me, “That doesn’t matter because the other shops in your area don’t fix cars that way. They all foam a line or roll an edge on the roof “seam” (I put “seam” in quotations because they barely exist). My mind starts to spiral because I am now in the twilight zone of collision repair. It gets better…

Same vehicle, we damage a rocker molding while removing it from the vehicle because all the clip mounts split and also, as most know reading this, it’s an extremely common occurrence with Mopars, as they are fragile and have an almost impossible access point to depress the clips. Naturally, I wrote to replace it because it was no longer in pre-accident condition. The same appraiser then proceeds to show me the OEM procedure on how the rocker molding is removed, stating “Nowhere in this procedure does it say that this part is one-time use or unable to be reinstalled.”

Now, the world is spinning so fast I need to hold onto something to keep my balance! I explain, “We performed that exact procedure of removal, and due to lack of access, the part was damaged in the process of an R&I which was written on the original insurance estimate. We agree that we had to remove it, but we don’t

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