Remembering James Olver Nesbitt III

“In today’s age, do some research if you’re a consumer. It’s pretty easy to get on the internet and within five minutes find out who in your market is competent and capable of repairing your automobile. I would just caution everybody to not just take an insurer’s direction to send you to a specific repair facility. In many cases, that becomes the fox guarding the henhouse. The insurance company’s interest and the vehicle owner’s interest are not always in alignment.

“One thing I would really encourage the vehicle owner to do is just remember that the insurer has a vested interest in trying to keep the costs down in the repair of your vehicle,” he added. “That may be in their best interest, but it isn’t always in the best interest of the vehicle owner and the correct repair of that vehicle.”

Although professional repair facilities are committed to returning damaged vehicles back to pre-loss condition using OEM-recommended/required tools and procedures, many insurers have been notoriously reluctant to adequately reimburse their insureds to cover all aspects of repairs. Lamborghini told Papageorg that this dilemma is getting worse as automobile manufacturers continue to add new technologies to their vehicles.

“As they develop these systems that provide safer operations of the vehicle, the cost to repair those vehicles is going to go up. It’s gone up tremendously, and I think the insurance industry has not been prepared for this. They’re having a hard time accepting the fact that we, as repairers, are really not in control of what the costs of repairs are. This is what the manufacturer requires, this is what the public demands and this is how you have to repair the car so it’s safe to go on the road – not only for the people inside the vehicle but for the rest of the motoring public they’re going to come in contact with.”

Additionally, Lamborghini advised listeners to look to see if a shop they’re considering has proper training (citing I-CAR Gold as an example) and certifications to provide a safe and dependable repair job to ensure their vehicles will react as designed by the manufacturer in a subsequent collision.

“Because of the complexity of repairing today’s vehicles, you really want to make sure you’re dealing with a repair facility that has a really good handle on repairing for the kind of make and model that you happen to be driving.”

“Everything Auto with Mike Penacho” can be heard each week at wsar.com. Audio/video of the June 8 episode with guest host Lucky Papageorg and special guest Jack Lamborghini is available at aaspma.org.

On May 12, Lieutenant Commander James Olver Nesbitt III passed away at the age of 99. Born in July 1921, he was the stepfather of Nadine Nesbitt, assistant to AASP/MA Executive Director Evangelos “Lucky” Papageorg.

A colorful man who lived a colorful life, Nesbitt joined the Navy Air Force in 1943, the same year he married his first wife, Phyllis Ruth Steele (with whom he had five children). His 23-year naval career took the family across the country five times before landing in Brunswick, ME. He was a naval acrobatic and instrument instructor. His aeronautical designs were adapted by the Navy, and one was patented. After retiring from the Navy in 1966, he became the director of the Androscoggin Valley Regional Planning Commission (AVRPC), a position he held for 10 years. His work at the AVRPC helped clean up the Androscoggin River as part of Senator Muskie’s Clean Water Act.

Nesbitt and his second wife, Naomi Snyder, married in 1989. Together, they pursued Eastern Mysticism, living at Kripalu Ashram and Sri Premananda Ashram and visiting Sai Baba at Puttaparthi.

AASP/MA and New England Automotive Report offer Nesbitt’s family and friends our deepest condolences. PROTECTING CONSUMERS AND THE COLLISION INDUSTRY

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