Livingston Collision, Inc

At Livingston Collision, everyone is family. It’s a value the Crawford family has instilled since the shop’s early years when the late Jean Crawford got it off the ground, and it’s a tradition that has carried through up to today when his wife and sons run the business alongside a team of dedicated long term employees who strive to provide quality service to their loyal customers. The family-owned-and-operated business has been growing strong for over 60 years and counting.

“It was a humble body shop with an apartment above it where my father raised his family and built this shop up,” says co-owner Brad Crawford of his father’s legacy while reflecting on the early years of the business. Today, one will find Brad running the business operations, while his mother, Valerie, runs the office and his brothers, JR and Clint, head up the mechanical and towing side.

Although he grew up around his father’s body shop, Brad didn’t immediately take the path into the collision repair world. He admits he “had visions of eventually coming in here and being part of it,” but before jumping into it, he “wanted to make sure I understood and knew how to run a business. I wasn’t sure when that would be, but the background really helped once I did.” He didn’t plan it; it just happened. While taking a hiatus from the corporate world, Brad began spending some time at the shop, and soon, it was time to do his part in helping to run the operations. That was back in 2014, and he’s been there ever since.

The Livingston Collision management team: (L-R) JR Crawford (owner); Rich Paris (shop manager); Brad Crawford (owner); Valerie Crawford (owner); and Clint Richards (towing manager). Livingston Collision offers towing services and roadside assistance in addition to quality collision repairs.

The shop has grown in size and business operations over the years. Brad recalls his father expanding the shop in 1987, growing it from a modest 2,500 square feet to its current size which boasts more than twice as much space as its humble origins. Livingston Collision has maintained a healthy crew of long term employees and has seen “very little turnover through the years.” The shop’s general manager was with them for 25 years before he retired about two years ago.

Brad believes their success comes from the way they treat their customers and each job that comes in. He sees Livingston Collision as a “boutique body shop.” They don’t seek out heavy volume or production stats. Instead, they focus on taking care of their customers one at a time. “Each customer is special,” he affirms.

He’s proud to say they don’t participate in a DRP with any carrier. The business’s towing operation and their overall reputation affords them the opportunity to bring in enough jobs. “It’s nice to not have to work within the restrictions of the insurance companies.”

Just dealing with insurance carriers has brought many challenges over the years, but Brad believes the biggest ones involve “overcoming the new world order post-Covid where carriers want shops to do their jobs without compensating us for the additional administrative duties.” Insurers wanting a photo of every process during the repair is just not feasible. He’s managed to push and get carriers to send someone out to inspect the work in person, but overall, it’s been another challenge they’ve had to contend with. This is just one issue of many that makes Brad feel it’s important for body shops to be a part of AASP/NJ, which works to be a voice for repairers in a world where “insurers have so much power.”

“The auto body industry is so fragmented. Everybody feels like they are on their own island. But the association brings community among this fragmented group. There is strength in numbers, and a bunch of like-minded people coming together can work to help solve problems.”

Livingston Collision has been a member of AASP/NJ for a number of years. Back in 2019, Brad decided to step up and devote his time as a member of its Board of Directors. “I wish more shops would join,” he says of AASP/NJ. “I don’t understand why more don’t take advantage of what the association has to offer. It shocks me. When I encounter other professionals who aren’t up to speed on the various issues in this industry, I tell them to join and learn.” Brad strives to keep things efficient and streamlined at the shop so it continues to grow organically. He’d like to see solutions to issues brought upon by virtual estimating – something he believes the industry is just not yet ready for. “I love when people pick up their cars and say, ‘Wow, it looks better than the day I bought it.’ We pride ourselves on that and on providing the highest level of quality workmanship with a superior job, making sure the car is detailed and clean. No one likes to get into an accident, so to have a customer be thrilled upon leaving with a car that looks even better is what we strive to provide.” NJA

continued from pg. 31 and equipment cost to keep shops ready to repair modern vehicles.” On the flip side, the industry’s efforts to increase the number of qualified technicians will be irrelevant if there aren’t enough operating shops available to employ them.

So, how can shop owners position their businesses to survive the storm and keep their doors open amidst the rising tide of technology?

“Embrace the EV repair landscape, and start preparing for it,” Olsen stressed. “Identify your particular market’s needs, and choose to commit to the standards involved with that. Identify the things you aren’t prepared for, and partner with another business that you can sublet to. The worst thing a shop can do is take on a repair that they’re not properly equipped and trained to complete.”

“There will be a lot of new information for repairers to learn, as the vehicles of 2030 will be even more complex and sophisticated than they are today,” Weikel forecast. “To be ready, shops need to make the use of OEM repair procedures their standard practice – from the beginning to end of the repair – today. That is why Auto Innovators is working with repair associations on state legislation to mandate the use of OEM procedures in all post-collision, insurance-funded repairs. It is the key to both proper repairs and proper payment. To help repairers repair the cars of tomorrow, automakers have also worked with California regulators to ensure EVs will be equipped with an OBDII-style port to access vehicle data, so technicians will not need to learn a whole new system just to work on EVs.”

Carey suspects, “By 2030, we will have certified shops that must certify repairs and attach an electronic package to the completed repair, together with all of the electronic documentation that identifies the procedures used, the diagnostic and calibration reports, the parts used and quite possibly which technician(s) repaired the vehicle. For me, the primary concern is not the passage of time or even the make of the vehicles on the road – it’s about preparing for a future (long before 2030) where we are clearly documenting that a safe and proper repair was performed.” “Know your market area, and regularly understand how it is evolving,” Allen advised. “Develop a business plan, and if you don’t know how to do that, I’d honestly recommend that your first investment be hiring a consultant. Work the plan, refine the plan, adjust the plan. As an entrepreneur, you’ve accepted that you’ll be the one making decisions. The upside is that you don’t have to answer to a boss, but the downside is your decisions impact other lives in your organization, including your own. It’s okay to ask for help. It’s your future, but there are others who are willing and able to help professionalize your business and see it grow to the next level of sustainable profitability.”

How are New Jersey shops preparing for the onslaught of EVs and other advanced technology? Find out in “Navigating the Storm: Shops Prepare for the EV Evolution,” slated for next month’s New Jersey Automotive.