New Jersey Automotive August 2018

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August 2018 $595

THE OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE ALLIANCE OF AUTOMOTIVE SERVICE PROVIDERS/NEW JERSEY (www.AASPNJ.org) AND THE AUTOMOTIVE RECYCLERS ASSOCIATION OF NEW JERSEY (www.ARANJ.org)

Todd Tracy

on “The Truth”

Are You a Broken Record?

www.grecopublishing.com

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We Appreciate Your Business!

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P.O. Box 734 Neptune, NJ 07753 EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Charles Bryant 732-922-8909 / setlit4u@msn.com 2017 - 2019 OFFICERS PRESIDENT Jerry McNee, Ultimate Collision Repair, Inc. 732-494-1900 / ultimatecollision@att.net COLLISION CHAIRMAN Dennis Cataldo, Jr., D&M Auto Body 732-251-4313 / jr@dandmautobody.com MECHANICAL CHAIRMAN Keith Krehel, Krehel Automotive Repair, Inc. 973-546-2828 / krehelauto@aol.com TREASURER Tom Elder, Compact Kars, Inc. 609-259-6373 / compactkars@aol.com SECRETARY Thomas Greco, Thomas Greco Publishing, Inc. 973-667-6922 / thomas@grecopublishing.com BOARD John Craggan, Ultimate Collision Repair, Inc. 732-494-1900 / jcraggan@ultcollision.com Gary Gardella, Jr., County Line Auto Body 732-363-5904 / countylineautobody@gmail.com Dave Laganella, Peters Body and Fender 201-337-1200 / petersbandf@gmail.com Sam Mikhail, Prestige Auto Body 908-789-2020 / mikhail@goldcar.com Ted Rainer, Ocean Bay Auto Body 732-899-7900 / ted@oceanbayautobody.com Anthony Trama, Bloomfield Auto Body 973-748-2608 / anthony@bloomfieldautobody.com BOARD ALLIED Joe Amato, The Amato Agency 732-530-6740 / joesr@amatoagency.com Dave Gruskos, Reliable Automotive Equipment 732-495-7900 / dave@rae1.com Mike Kaufmann, Advantage Dealer Services 973-332-7014 / mkaufmann@advantageds.com PAST PRESIDENT ATTENDING Jeff McDowell, Leslie’s Auto Body 732-738-1948 / chacki@aol.com

PUBLISHER Thomas Greco / thomas@grecopublishing.com SALES DIRECTOR Alicia Figurelli / alicia@grecopublishing.com EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Joel Gausten / joel@grecopublishing.com CREATIVE DIRECTOR Lea Velocci / lea@grecopublishing.com

CONTENTS

VOLUME 48 NUMBER 8 | August 2018

10 OUT OF BODY AND (MECHANICAL) EXPERIENCES 14 PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE 18 14TH ANNUAL 2018 AASP/NJ LOU SCORAS MEMORIAL GOLF OUTING REGISTRATION

20 EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S MESSAGE 22 I-CAR CALENDAR 58 NJA ADVERTISERS’ INDEX

INDUSTRY UPDATE by John Walczuk, ZB Negotiations 24 Diminished Value: Vehicle Owners Lose Again: Part 2 of 2

LOCAL NEWS 28 AASP/NJ Members Get “Eye Opening” Lecture on Strategic

Improvements at June Meeting

GUEST EDITORIAL by Todd Tracy 32 The Truth is Simple

AASP/NJ MEMBER SHOP PROFILE 36 P&N Auto Works

by Alana Bonillo

42 COVER STORYby Joel Gausten Grand Visions, Harsh Realities: Tesla Stumbles Into Collision Repair ASK MIKE 46 What Are the “Who Pays for What?” Industry Surveys?

LEGAL PERSPECTIVE by Mitchell Portnoi 52 Personal Injury Law and Lawyers: Misperceptions

AUTOMOTIVE RECYCLERS ASSOCIATION OF NEW JERSEY 58 Wharton Insurance Briefs by Mario DiFilippis

EDITORIAL/CREATIVE COORDINATOR Alana Bonillo / alana@grecopublishing.com OFFICE MANAGER Donna Greco / donna@grecopublishing.com CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Charles Bryant • Mario DeFilippis • Jeff McDowell • Mitch Portnoi • Ron Ananian Keith Krehel • Jerry McNee • Bob Dirkes

Published by: Thomas Greco Publishing, Inc. 244 Chestnut Street, Suite 202, Nutley, NJ 07110 Corporate: (973) 667-6922 / FAX: (973) 235-1963

www.grecopublishing.com NEW JERSEY AUTOMOTIVE is published monthly and is sent to AASP/NJ and ARANJ members free of charge. Subscriptions are $24 per year. NEW JERSEY AUTOMOTIVE is published by Thomas Greco Publishing Inc., 244 Chestnut St., Nutley, NJ 07110. The editorial contents of NEW JERSEY AUTOMOTIVE are copyright © 2018 by Thomas Greco Publishing Inc. and may not be reproduced in any manner, either in whole or in part, without written permission from the publisher and/or editor. Articles in this publication do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Thomas Greco Publishing Inc. Stock Images courtesy of www.istockphoto.com.

Joe Amato, Sr. Ron Ananian Jim Bowers Charles Bryant Don Chard Guy Citro Pete Cook Ed Day Dave Demarest Phil Dolcemascolo Tom Elder Bob Everett

Thomas Greco Dan Hawtin Rich Johnson Wes Kearney Nick Kostakis Jim Kowalak Joe Lubrano Michael Lovullo Jeff McDowell Sam Mikhail Ron Mucklow

George Petrask Russ Robson Jerry Russomano George Threlfall Cynthia Tursi Lee Vetland Paul Vigilant Rich Weber Brian Vesley Glenn Villacari Stan Wilson

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Our flagship dealerships are pleased to offer a wide selection of authentic genuine parts so you can repair your customer’s luxury car to the highest quality.

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OUT OF BODY (AND MECHANICAL) EXPERIENCES

Daydream Believer

by THOMAS GRECO, PUBLISHER

I’ve learned a whole lot about the health care system over the last seven months. Some very good things and some very bad things. But like most of life, it is a learning experience. So many things happened on this journey that I could write about and I guess eventually it will all come out. For now, I’d like to share an interesting story that happened along the way.

Sometime back in the fall, I was sitting in the

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waiting room of a treatment facility in New York City waiting for my sister to be called in for bloodwork. This being a very large and well-known facility, there were usually at least 50-100 people in the waiting room at all times. And like any normal person, when you’re waiting you tend to fall into the practice of people watching.

Surprisingly, over the first few months of treatment, we didn’t see any familiar faces. Then again, maybe

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that’s not so surprising in a city of eight million people.

But this one day I was sitting there looking at my phone when I noticed a shadow come by and sit down across from me. He moved the table between us and said, “Excuse me.” I looked up and pretty much yelled, “PETER?” He smiled a big smile and said, “Yes?” My sister looked at me like I was crazy. I turned to her and said, “Do you know who this is?” She said, “No, who?” I said, “It’s Peter Tork of the Monkees!”

Immediately after I said it, his wife glared at me, pressed her finger against her lips and said, “Shhh!” I had forgotten where we were. This was not a place a famous person wanted to be seen at. Peter laughed and looked at me and said, “You get one question.”

I was tongue-tied. I had grown up with the Monkees. I had all of their records. I had seen them in concert at least 10 times. Here was an actual Monkee sitting across from me. But I honestly could not think of a question. Peter laughed again and said, “It’s okay.

Take your time.” The best I could do was make nerdy fanboy conversation like, “Thank you for all the great music” and “I am such a huge fan…” He was so gracious and friendly and upbeat; it was very heartwarming in that situation. Yet I guess I couldn’t hide my excitement. My sister kept elbowing me because I was talking too loudly, and his wife kept giving me dirty looks. After a few minutes, I actually thought of a question. I turned to Peter and said…

Before I could get the words out, a nurse came into the waiting room and screamed at the top of her lungs, “PETER TORK???”

His wife looked at me and sighed. Peter laughed again, shook my hand, wished my sister well and walked away. Maybe to catch the Last Train to Clarksville.

Thanks for the music, Peter. And thanks for making us smile.

NJA

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PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

STOPPING A BROKEN RECORD

If you’ve read my messages in the past, you know that I typically include some words that hopefully encourage our members to stand up for what’s right and not back down from fighting back against outside parties that try to control our businesses. I don’t want to be a broken record in this magazine, but I honestly can’t think of anything

516-361-9220

more important to say to our readers.

How do we effectively stand our ground these days? It’s not by getting angry and allowing our blood pressure to rise every time we get on the phone with an insurer; it’s about asking for compensation for proper procedures and following the P-Pages. It’s also about utilizing paint material cost

www.collisionequipment.net

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by JERRY MCNEE

accounting systems and including those in your invoices. None of us can afford to be beaten down to the point where losing money on every job is the norm.

In my mind, the best way for a shop to get a true handle on their expenses is by using a management system. This goes a long way in helping repair professionals make educated decisions on what to charge based on their actual numbers. Insurers absolutely run and rule their world that way, so why don’t we? Yes, I know you have cars to finish and have difficulty finding the time to look into the management side of things. I completely get it, but if you’re not taking control of your business, then someone else is going to control it for you.

If you’re giving away money on every vehicle you repair, then it doesn’t matter how busy you are. It also doesn’t matter how much volume an insurer is giving you if that partner is urging you to cut corners or use inferior parts. On top of that, what’s going to happen to your shop once the MSOs roll into town in greater numbers and your severity gets capped? What happens when your insurance partner pulls the plug on you?

You need to know how to protect yourself from disaster and use realworld facts and numbers to strengthen your standing before it’s too late.

On a positive note, my recent conversations with various AASP/NJ members have shown me that the vast majority of people have truly had enough. People are beginning to take a stand, which is great to see. Of course, it’ll take an even greater push before things change for real. We can grow this industry, but it’s going to take every shop waking up to reality and doing what is really necessary to survive. I want every member of AASP/NJ to thrive and survive, but the decision is yours. I hope you make the right one.

NJA

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For Original BMW Parts, contact one of these authorized BMW centers: BMW of Springfield 391-399 Route 22 E. Springfield, NJ 07081 Toll Free: 800-648-0053 Fax: 973-467-2185 bmwofspringfieldnj.com

Flemington BMW 216 Route 202/31 Flemington, NJ 08822 PH: 877-657-2787 Fax: 908-782-1795 njparts.com/bmw

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Princeton BMW 3630 Quaker Bridge Road Hamilton, NJ 08619 PH: 609-570-1611 Fax: 609-570-1602 princetonbmw.com

Wide World BMW 125 East Route 59 Spring Valley, NY 10977 PH: 877-817-3895 Fax: 845-425-5080 wideworldofcarsbmw.com

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Circle BMW 500 Route 36 Eatontown, NJ 07724 Parts Direct: 732-440-1235 Fax: 732-440-1239 wholesale@circlebmw.com circlebmw.com

Paul Miller BMW 1515 Route 23 South Wayne, NJ 07470 PH: 973-696-6060 Fax: 973-696-8274 paulmillerbmw.com

Park Ave BMW 530 Huyler Street South Hackensack, NJ 07606 PH: 201-843-8112 FAX:201-291-2376 parkavebmw.com

BMW of Bridgewater 655 Route 202/206 Bridgewater, NJ 08807 PH: 908-287-1800 FAX:908-722-1729 bridgewaterbmw.com

BMW of Bloomfield 425 Bloomfield Avenue Bloomfield, NJ 07003 Parts Direct: 973-748-8373 psantos@dchusa.com

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14TH ANNUAL 2018 AASP/NJ LOU SCORAS MEMORIAL GOLF OUTING

Monday, SEPTEMBER 17, 2018 THE COLONIA COUNTRY CLUB • 300 Colonia Blvd., Colonia, NJ PLAYER REGISTRATION: Company

Player

Number of players:

___ x $225.00 = $ __________________

Dinner only:

___ x $75.00 = $ __________________

Hole Sponsorship:

___ x $400.00 = $ __________________ Total Amount: $ __________________

All payments must be received prior to the day of the outing.

Sponsor/Shop Name

Phone Number

10 am - Registration Begins 11:30 am -Lunch Served 1 pm - Shotgun Start 5:30 pm - Cash Bar 6pm - Dinner Served HELP SUPPORT AASP/NJ

________________________________________ Street: __________________________________ City: ____________________________________ State: ______________ Zip Code: ____________ Phone: __________________________________ Fax: ____________________________________ Email: __________________________________ Contact: ________________________________ ___ Hole Sponsorship ___ Platinum, Gold, Silver or Bronze Sponsorship

Platinum Sponsor - $3,000 Gold Sponsor - $2,000 Silver Sponsor - $1,500 Bronze Sponsor - $1,000 This outing is dedicated to the late Lou Scoras of Holmdel Auto Body. Part of the proceeds from this year’s outing will go toward a collision industry scholarship fund.

Please make checks payable to AASP/NJ Mail to: AASP/NJ, c/o Charles Bryant P.O. Box 734, Neptune, NJ 07753

_____ Check Enclosed OR _____ Bill My Credit Card ___ Visa ___ MasterCard ___ Amex ___ Discover Card #: ______________________________________________Name on Card: ____________________________ Exp. Date: ____________________________________________Security Code: ____________________________ Billing Address: ________________________________________________________________________________ Contact: Charles Bryant (732) 922-8909 or Randy Scoras (732) 946-8388, Colonia Country Club (732) 381-9500 or visit www.aaspnj.org 18 | New Jersey Automotive | August 2018

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EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S MESSAGE

MESSAGE TO THE COLLISION INDUSTRY:

STOP TRYING TO BE THE HERO!

For some reason, when an insurer refuses to pay for

certain necessary repair procedures or provide a fair and reasonable amount to repair a damaged vehicle, many

rather than tell their customer that they will be responsible for the difference.

A well-known collision industry question that has been

collision shop owners feel obligated to eat the loss, so to

floating around for years carries the answer to how to

responsible for the difference between what the insurer

Is it the vehicle owner, or is it the insurer paying for the

speak, rather than inform their customer that they will be pays and the actual cost to repair the vehicle safely and

solve this problem: “Who is a collision shop’s customer?”

repairs? Because it is usually an insurer that pays for

properly. Collision shops are constantly fighting with

collision damage repairs and negotiates an agreement

paint and materials cost, payment for proper repair

for repairs, what type of parts are going to be used, what

insurers on issues like Labor Rates, aftermarket parts, procedures and on and on. This is not new; this has been going on for as long as I can remember. The problem is, when the insurer just refuses to pay, the shops almost

always seem to take it upon themselves to absorb the loss

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with the collision shop on how much they are going to pay

will get repaired as to getting replaced, how much the

shop will be paid for the paint and materials and all other

aspects of a repair job, many collision shops seem to think

that the insurer – rather than the vehicle owner – is their

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by CHARLES BRYANT

customer. This is not only wrong, but this is one of the reasons the

collision industry is in the current predicament it is in right now.

In almost any other business, a

business owner would never allow a third party to play Let’s Make a

Deal on the cost of their products or services. They would set the

price for their product or services, and their customers would either

pay or refuse that price. However, because of the unique

circumstances of an insurer being

responsible for the payment of the cost of collision damage repairs,

most shops seem to think that they have no choice but to accept

whatever the insurer decides the

shop will be paid. Because this is the way that things have been

done for so long, many consumers seem to think that it is not their

problem and don’t want to hear

anything if the collision shop they choose is not able to reach an agreement with an insurer.

The smart shop owners who

understand who their customer is and what their cost of doing

business is are changing the way they deal with an insurer that

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CALENDAR EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S MESSAGE procedures, a fair and reasonable Labor Rate, the actual cost of paint and materials or anything else needed to repair a damaged vehicle

properly. Those shop owners are simply informing their customer – the

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vehicle owner – that the insurer responsible for the payment of the

repairs has refused to pay the full amount necessary to repair their

vehicle and that they will either need to contact the insurer and work out the issue or be responsible for the difference.

When the vehicle owner contacts the insurer and demands that

they resolve the issue, it’s a whole different story. When an insurer is negotiating with a collision shop that is not a party to the contract of

insurance, the insurer can basically say or do whatever they want.

However, when the insured who is a party to the contract of insurance demands that the insurer pay the full amount required to repair their

vehicle as dictated by the insurance indemnity policy, the insurer has to be much more careful in how they handle the issue due to the

possibility of a bad faith lawsuit or breach of contract suit, which the shop making the repairs cannot pursue.

The problem is there are too many shop owners who want to act

like the hero and make sure their customer does not have to pay anything out of pocket to get the repairs done (except for the

deductible – and often not even that). The problem is that in the past,

shops could simply not perform certain procedures that an insurer did not pay for or straighten a part that should be replaced because a

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carrier refused to pay for that. Now, doing these things can put the

occupants of the vehicle in danger if the vehicle is involved in another accident. What is also important to know and remember is that it

makes no difference even when a customer tells the shop that they

don’t care how the vehicle gets repaired because they are going to trade it in when they get it back. A collision shop that performs an

unsafe repair remains liable for those repairs even after the vehicle

gets traded in by the current owner, no matter who owns the vehicle or how many times it changes hands.

The bottom line is that collision shops should stop trying to be the

hero and take on the problems their customers face when dealing with an unethical insurer that refuses to pay. It is not the shop’s position to

take on those battles. Anyone who is watching what is going on in the industry has to be aware of the recent suit where a collision shop in

Texas was found liable for performing repairs improperly and it wound up costing them $31.5 million. Stop trying to be the hero and demand to be paid to repair vehicles safely and properly. If you can’t do that, then don’t do the job.

NJA

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NJA

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INDUSTRY UPDATE By John Walczuk, ZB Negotiations

Diminished Value:

Vehicle Owners Lose Again –

Part 2 of 2

The following is a continuation of John Walczuk’s article in last month’s New Jersey Automotive.

Some insurance carriers use a database company to evaluate the information that is submitted with a diminished value claim. This particular database company is an approved evaluation provider for total loss calculations in some states, but it also provides diminished value services.

The method they use for determining diminished value claims dissects the repairs into cosmetic and major damage categories. Only the major damage portion is considered for diminished value, while the cosmetic component is eliminated. Trying to determine their methodology and its basis is unclear. What it does impact is the value they assign to a diminished value claim. Their method also considers OEM parts versus the use of non-OEM parts. The consumer loses again here, as non-OEM parts tend to cost less and may be seen as a poorer quality repair, thereby impacting the vehicle’s resale value.

When non-OEM parts are used in repairs, and considering that the cost to repair impacts the calculation of diminished value, their methodology converts to a lower diminished value claim. In summary, the carrier pays less to repair the vehicle using less expensive parts and then values the DV claim lower based on the repair cost. Once again, the consumer loses throughout the process, and only the

24 | New Jersey Automotive | August 2018

carrier receives a financial gain.

Several major insurance carriers insist on post-repair inspections. It is unclear why, as their denial of some claims states they do not see any diminished value. Why go through the process if the denial is cast in stone?

This can only be seen as an attempt to appease the claimant without any real intention of recognizing their financial loss. These post-repair inspections are also performed by senior-level damage adjusters – who are not trained as vehicle value appraisers. A distinction needs to be made here between a vehicle damage adjuster and a vehicle appraiser. The vehicle adjuster works to determine what is needed to repair a vehicle to a safe, drivable condition, while the appraiser is trained to

determine the repaired vehicle’s resale value after repairs. One company comes to mind that does not provide any written support for their determination of denial – just a form letter.

Another carrier also likes to perform post-repair inspections. You need to question both their ethics and why they re-inspect. After inspection, the claimant might receive a letter stating the vehicle was not repaired based on their estimate, the vehicle was not properly repaired or they do not see any diminished value. When asking for details behind their decision, one usually receives a response stating it is a “work product” and therefore not shareable. The term “work product” is often used in legal matters and implies privacy as

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disclosure could be damaging. It is apparent that this carrier has learned to use a legal term to avoid providing information or justification. Let us also not lose sight of the fact that the repair facility works for the insured, not the insurance carrier. Using the carrier’s estimate to repair a vehicle would imply that the carrier is assuming liability for the repair, which we know is not factual. Challenging their approach through legal means is also an option and would require that they provide support for their “work product” response. Here again, post-inspections are performed by damage appraisers, not value appraisers. This important distinction in qualifications seems to be a consistent issue in determining what diminished value really means.

It’s clear to see that the vehicle owner is at the mercy of the insurance carrier. The tragedy of diminished value claims is that the party or person affected was an innocent third party. When all is said and done, the vehicle owner will lose money as a result of the negligent acts of another and may have no recourse with the insurance carrier.

ZB Negotiations works to obtain fair settlements for vehicle owners who have been impacted as a result of the

negligence of others. Before filing any diminished value claim, we evaluate the loss occurrence and advise our clients with respect to the possible outcome. Our service includes the initial evaluation, the preparing of the diminished value report by a licensed and certified appraiser and negotiation with the at-fault insurance carrier. Our services are exclusively provided on a contingency basis. *This article is not legal advice and may not reflect the opinions of AASP/NJ and Thomas Greco Publishing.

John Walczuk is the director of client services for ZB Negotiations. The company specializes in helping vehicle owners obtain fair market settlement offers for their totaled vehicles. John can be reached at John@ZBLLC.net or (516) 364-0713.

NJA

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AASP/NJ Members Get “Eye-Opening” Lecture on Strategic Improvements at June Meeting

LOCAL NEWS

AASP/NJ President Jerry McNee and John Niechwiadowicz presented their informative “Open Your Eyes” seminar to nearly 70 repair professionals on June 25.

On June 25, nearly 70 members of AASP/NJ gathered at Ultimate Collision in Edison to get an informative, useful and “eye-opening” look at how to strategically improve their businesses.

Jerry McNee, owner of Ultimate Collision and president of AASP/NJ, and John Niechwiadowicz (QLC, Inc.) presented “Open Your Eyes. . . And You Will Become a Game Changer,” a seminar that used real day-to-day examples to spur a healthy, interactive discussion on identifying Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), practicing effective communication and leadership and managing challenges.

“We are not talking about problems; we are talking about solutions,” said Niechwiadowicz upon opening the lecture. “There is a lot of opportunity out there. How do you know where the opportunity exists?”

“KPIs identify what your strengths are. There is only so much time in one day to work on something, so when you do work on something, it better have the best possible return.”

“If you are not putting in, you are not getting anything out,” commented McNee. “As a leader, you must know and understand your KPIs because you have to be able to gauge your performance against them.”

Audience members were asked to identify their KPI factors in an anonymous poll; the results were used to help them see the importance of each of these major factors: Total Sales, Total Labor Sales, Total P&M Sales, Average RO (Severity), Paint Hours Per RO, Technician Efficiency,

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Cycle Time, Touch Time and Sales Per Repaired Panel.

A conversation about insurance companies and proper repair techniques was sparked as a result.

“You have to stand up to the insurance company and tell them what you need,” McNee said. “If everyone started pushing in the same direction, this stuff would start falling into line.”

“Have you ever had the pleasant surprise of putting something on a ticket and it gets paid? It doesn’t hurt to try,” Niechwiadowicz suggested. He pointed out that hours spent researching OEM repair guidelines to repair a vehicle should be counted as a billable expense, something which many shop owners currently don’t take into consideration when writing an estimate and supplement.

Both referenced the John Eagle case, emphasizing the risks of what can happen if a vehicle is not fixed properly.

In addition, the discussion explored how a good work culture and leadership team are crucial factors shop owners must embrace.

“You want to be a game changer; you have to have a positive attitude. Accept personal responsibility.

Sometimes we are all running 100 miles per hour. You have to slow down and smell the roses and pay attention to what is going on around you,” said McNee. “If you don’t know what is wrong, how do you know what to fix?”

For more information on upcoming AASP/NJ events, please visit aaspnj.org or call the AASP/NJ Administrative Office at (973) 667-6922. NJA

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The Truth is Simple

GUEST EDITORIAL By Todd Tracy

I’m often reminded of a Ford commercial that ended with the phrase, “Keep Your Ford a Ford.”

The entire commercial involved how Ford develops, designs, engineers and tests its vehicles with parts that it has approved through strict engineering standards. The commercial goes on to say that any deviation in part or component performance can have devastating consequences, because a vehicle is a system that must work together to ensure a safe and proper performance in the event of a crash.

I have a rhetorical question: Why didn’t Ford add “Use Only Ford OEM Parts” to the end of that commercial? Make no mistake about it – the vehicle manufacturers know that their OEM parts are far superior than any aftermarket part. How can such a bold statement be made? The answer lies in the FMVSS (Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards) testing that the industry conducts when they self-certify their vehicles. When a vehicle manufacturer conducts its crash testing to meet FMVSS Nos. 201, 208, 209, 210, 214, 216 and 301, the vehicle contains only OEM parts. With reverse engineering and the quest to always improve profit margins, you can rest assured that if an aftermarket supplier made a better part that was cheaper, the vehicle manufacturer would use it to certify its vehicles and comply with all applicable FMVSS regulations. Further, the OEM would use that aftermarket supplier as its replacement parts supplier. However, this is not happening. Why? The truth is simple: Aftermarket parts do not weigh the same or look the same as OEM parts. They are not the same quality and do not go through the same engineering analysis as OEM parts. This is true for a number of reasons. First, the vehicle industry spends hundreds of millions of dollars on a new platform vehicle to ensure it will perform in a crashworthy manner. Second, when even

32 | New Jersey Automotive | August 2018

“

The truth is simple: Aftermarket parts do not weigh the same or look the same as OEM parts.

They are not the same quality and do not go through the same engineering analysis as OEM parts.

”

subtle changes in a design are desired, the vehicle industry has strict engineering methodologies that must be met to ensure the change does not negatively affect performance in any way. Third, the vehicle manufacturers look at the entire scope of a vehicle’s performance, not just how one component performs, because they understand that a flawed part can negatively affect structural, restraint or even occupant kinematic performance. This is

precisely what was proven in the three Honda Fit crash tests that were conducted by KARCO following the John Eagle Collison Center verdict. These tests were conducted to evaluate whether aftermarket parts and nonapproved repair methods negatively affected the safety performance of the vehicle. The results were clear, and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) had to admit in its advisory that there were

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substantial differences in vehicle performance and injury production due solely to the use of aftermarket parts and non-approved repair methods.

Loaded with engineering proof that aftermarket parts and nonapproved repair methods decrease vehicle performance and increase injury potential, the insurance industry should now only approve and pay for OEM parts or OEM-approved replacement parts. Sadly, that is not the case, because we live in a world where insurance companies believe they know more about safety than the vehicle industry, vehicle crashworthiness engineers, biomechanical engineers and engineers who have devoted their careers to finding ways to improve our chances of surviving an accident that 20 years ago would have been a death sentence. Insurance companies undermine decades of research, engineering analysis and science by insisting on aftermarket parts that are not like kind and quality and by insisting that the OEM repair method is not necessary. Let me coin a new phrase here: “Underminers of safety.”

The insurance company has increased its profit margins, destroyed the vehicle repair industry and exposed millions of people to catastrophic injuries and deaths because the cars they are riding in are ticking time bombs waiting to detonate when an accident occurs – all because the insurance company dictated the repairs and abandoned safety.

The insurance industry needs to stick with what they do best – take in premiums, find ways to not pay claims and tell our doctors how best to treat patients. It is time for the vehicle repair industry to stand up for itself.

The insurance industry destroyed healthcare in this country, and they have likely already destroyed the vehicle repair industry. I firmly believe there is time to take back your industry. But it will not be easy. It will

require sacrifice. It will require standing up to insurance companies who couldn’t care less about your company or your customer.

As vehicle safety professionals, you have a moral and legal obligation to ensure that your customers make it home safely because your repairs were performed properly, responsible and ethically. It’s time to get off the sidelines, stop bellyaching and get engaged in this fight. Like they said in the movie Highlander, “There can be

only one” winner. Unless your industry changes its mindset, the insurance companies will continue to use and abuse your shops and your customers. *This article is not legal advice and may not reflect the opinions of AASP/NJ and Thomas Greco Publishing.

NJA

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AASP/NJ MEMBER SHOP PROFILE By Alana Bonillo the reins of the already established

business and living out a dream he had for many years.

LeGuillow is a veteran of the

industry, having worn many hats

over the past 25 years in all areas of

the business. He started his career

working for his father’s auto body

shop, originally learning and

P&N AUTO WORKS

Amado LeGuillow is about to celebrate his first anniversary as owner of P&N Auto Works in East Orange.

Last August, LeGuillow purchased

the 35-year old business from fellow

AASP/NJ member Pete Cook (owner

of Citro’s in Pompton Lakes), taking

performing basic repair work. Then,

he made a pilgrimage over to the

office, where he learned everything

from writing estimates to ordering

parts. After spending five years

working for GEICO as an appraiser

and later a supervisor, LeGuillow

went back to work on the auto body

side, where he would spend 15

years at a shop that grew to handle about $10 million annually.

After setting his sights on owning

his own shop and spending years

searching for the right establishment,

he found what he was looking for

with P&N Auto Works, which he says

had “good bones and good

infrastructure.”

“Pete’s a really good guy with a

good reputation, and he spared no

expense in equipping the shop and

staying on top of the industry as it changed.”

LeGuillow has not made any

changes to the shop. He even kept

the shop’s longtime employees, who have a good rapport with clients.

After spending this first year

reestablishing and maintaining the business, he now plans to work

towards expanding. It’s a busy shop

with eight to 10 cars being repaired

per week (and work on the calendar

in advance), but he would eventually

like to see that number double,

which will mean finding additional

36 | New Jersey Automotive | August 2018

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staff members – something that can

be a challenge.

“I think one of the biggest

struggles in this industry is finding

good dependable help that can get

through a job in good time.”

LeGuillow says he found much

success working with insurance

partners. Working on different sides

of the industry has given him a

good understanding of what drives

them and what the keys are to

maintaining financial stability.

“You have to look at the big

picture. You have to hope that if you

are doing it all right and getting it

done in a timely manner, you will be

profitable. Having that

understanding really bodes well

and makes it good on both sides –

being successful on the DRP side

and being a profitable business.”

LeGuillow has been active with

AASP/NJ for the past 18 years

through previous shops, and he

continues on now with his own. The

thing he appreciates the most about

the association is the industry

camaraderie it brings.

“You feel like you really have an

ally out there to watch your back,

and that was a big motivator for me to continue to be part of it.”

Many long days over the past

year may have kept him from

missing some AASP/NJ events, but

he knows full well the value of the

meetings, the speakers they bring

forth and the interaction with other

shop owners.

“You feel like you have a little

group of people all struggling the

same way. You’re not alone out

there.”

NJA

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40 | New Jersey Automotive | August 2018

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COVER STORY

by Joel Gausten

Grand Visions, Harsh Realities: Tesla Stumbles into Collision Repair Do you have $70,000 to spend on a headache?

That’s what one New Jersey-based shop owner estimates he invested in the training and equipment necessary to become a Tesla-certified shop last year. With OEM certifications all the rage – and Tesla’s reputation for technological innovation – the veteran repairer believed that aligning his business with the manufacturer would give him a competitive advantage.

Unfortunately, what at first appeared to be a worthwhile endeavor has resulted in added stress to his already hefty workload.

“I’m not pleased with Tesla. It cost me thousands to get certified, but here’s the reality: I can’t get parts.”

At this facility, it’s not uncommon for even medium-sized Tesla hits to sit around for months waiting for the correct parts to arrive. Sadly, this

42 | New Jersey Automotive | August 2018

appears to be far from an isolated occurrence. In an industry based on returning vehicles to the road as swiftly as possible, New Jersey Automotive’s recent conversations with various East Coast shops indicate that Tesla is failing to meet the standards of efficiency and communication that certified facilities expect.

“When you call Tesla, you might as well just put that phone down because you’re on hold for hours,” observes another Tesla-certified shop owner, who recently waited five months for an airbag to arrive. “We eventually just give up and disconnect.”

(Unsurprisingly, New Jersey Automotive’s requests to Tesla for an interview remained unreturned at press time.)

Is this the kind of treatment that a certified shop for any OEM should ever receive? Certified shops on Tesla’s

program came up with the money to send their techs to training, cover their flights, put them up at hotels and make the necessary equipment upgrades to handle Tesla’s demands. The sting gets even worse when you look at what’s happening at Tesla service departments.

“I know their service departments take priority over the Tesla-certified shops,” observes another certified repairer. “We’ve waited five or six weeks for mechanical parts that their shops have been able to get in a week.”

Excruciating parts delays. Poor communication. Disappointed certified shops. Any one of these issues should be a sign for Tesla to hit the pause button, take a serious look at its relationships and work to make things right. However, Tesla’s apparent solution to its shop-related woes is to dive into repair business itself. In early June, Tesla CEO Elon Musk told shareholders at a meeting in Mountain View, CA that the company planned to create its own body shops in the top 10 metropolitan areas in the country by the end of that month.

“This will be a dramatic improvement in the cost and time of body repair,” he announced. “In fact, we think we might be able to do – for a lot of them – same-day body repair…If we go to a third party, in the best case it’s about a week. In some cases, it’s several weeks.”

Musk added that these Tesla body shops will be established by “basically just taking our biggest service centers,

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adding in an annex for body repair and pre-stocking the parts so you don’t have to wait for [them] to come from the factory.”

While these words were certainly ambitious, they appear – at least for the moment – to be more talk than action.

As of mid-July, Musk’s promised auto body facilities were only up and running in Washington, Texas, Florida, Nevada, Georgia, Maryland, Illinois and California. While Tesla-owned facilities were not in the Garden State at press time, shops report that the automaker is aggressively advertising for technicians. Naturally, these job opportunities are not for entry-level repairers; these are high-tech roles that must be filled by people with the highest level of training possible. Who are the people in New Jersey most qualified to meet these requirements?

Techs at certified shops. Who paid to train these techs? The certified shops that can’t get Tesla on the phone. While Musk and his grand visions for the future grab plenty of headlines, at least one repairer we spoke to remains unimpressed.

“He runs his company like a candy store,” he sighs. “He blames body shops, and now he wants to put his own shops in? Don’t reinvent the wheel; just give us a parts department and some place to go where I can pick up a wiring harness and buy a quarter panel. I just need parts.”

“It’s a double-edged sword with them slapping all these other shops on,” comments another East Coast Tesla-certified facility owner. “I do

understand that they’re being pressured by the insurance companies to lower severity, but who covers the five or six months we babysit the car?

Also, how do these Tesla-owned shops compare to us in terms of training? Not everyone who walks through the door for a job at one of these new places is going to be ready to take on those vehicles. They haven’t gone through everything that our guys went through – and they won’t be able to steal all of the techs from the certified shops already here.

“There’s something else to consider,” he continues. “Is it possible to lower severity and for insurers to maintain their record profits with all this technology offered in today’s cars?

Tesla is getting into the body business at a time when dealership rates are sometimes three times what we get.

We’re struggling out here, but Tesla has all of these problems figured out?

Really?”

Musk’s ambitions to enter the auto body world comes at a time of considerable upheaval for Tesla. A week following his Mountain View presentation, Musk revealed plans for a “comprehensive organizational restructuring” – including the loss of at least 3,000 jobs – in an email to employees.

“As part of this effort, and the need to reduce costs and become profitable, we have made the difficult decision to let go of approximately nine percent of our colleagues across the company,” he wrote. “These cuts were almost entirely made from our salaried

population, and no production associates were included, so this will not affect our ability to reach Model 3 production targets in the coming months.”

Musk’s email also addressed Tesla’s ongoing lack of profitability.

“Given that Tesla has never made an annual profit in the almost 15 years since we have existed, profit is obviously not what motivates us. What drives us is our mission to accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable, clean energy, but we will never achieve that mission unless we eventually demonstrate that we can be sustainably profitable. That is a valid and fair criticism of Tesla’s history to date.”

With Tesla already dealing with an increasingly full plate and a lack of financial stability, its success running dedicated body shops remains to be seen. While all signs point to a massive need for the company to refocus its efforts to improve parts distribution and better serve its certified facilities, launching a series of new shops is a tremendous gamble. Elon Musk might be a visionary, but he’s quite possibly looking in the entirely wrong direction this time.

As one Tesla-certified shop manager says, “He’s not going to make any money in the body industry. Then again, that won’t make a difference; he’s already used to not making any money.”

NJA

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INDUSTRY ADVICE

ASK MIKE

Do you have a question for Mike?

Contact New Jersey Automotive Editorial Director Joel Gausten at joel@grecopublishing.com or (973) 600-9288, and we’ll ask him in a future issue.

What Are the “Who Pays for What?” Industry Surveys?

This month, we “ASK MIKE” to discuss his ongoing work in coordinating the free “Who Pays for What?” industry surveys with John Yoswick of CRASH Network. We at New Jersey Automotive hope you find this following exchange useful, and we encourage you to reach out to us if you have a question for Mike on this or any industry-related matter that he can answer in a subsequent issue.

New Jersey Automotive: What led you and John to formulate the idea of the “Who Pays for What?” surveys, and what are the general goals that they aim to accomplish?

Mike Anderson: When I had my shops, there was a guy by the name of Charlie Baker, who had something called Collision Repair Industry INSIGHT. I used to subscribe to it, and Charlie would send out a survey that people could fax back to him; this was long before email. It was a one-page sheet that asked, ‘How often do you get paid for these things?’ I found great value in it; it helped my business at the time with not-included items and showing me that I wasn’t the only one. After I sold my body shops, I still continued to promote Charlie Baker’s efforts. One day, he stopped producing it; shops didn’t have it anymore. After a couple of years went by, I decided that if Charlie wasn’t going to do it anymore, I would do it –

46 | New Jersey Automotive | August 2018

out by showing who gets paid for the procedures ‘always,’ ‘most of the time,’ ‘some of the time’ or ‘never.’

They also have the option to say it’s a procedure for which they’ve never sought to be paid. From there, we break it down by insurer and compare DRP versus non-DRP. We sort it by region as well. For any state from which we get 100 responses to a survey, we will actually publish the results just for that market. We did that for Texas, which was the first state to reach that number of responses.

The survey has also grown to help but do it a little differently and make it us gather other statistics like the types much more intense. I didn’t have the time to do it, but I had the knowledge. of OEM software and management I contacted John and asked him to do systems that shops are using. We’ve heard of shops using the survey to it as the third party, and I would show insurance companies that provide all the questions and the they’re not the only facility charging for commentary. He agreed, so we something. Other shops have told us partnered up. We’ve been doing this they use it as a training mechanism to for three years now. train their staff on what’s not included.

Charlie’s survey was about 20 We’ve even had some shops tell us questions, but mine ended up being more than 100. We decided to break it they use it to show consumers that down into quarterly surveys, with each what they’re asking for isn’t unfair or quarter being a different topic. The first unreasonable when an insurer refuses payment. quarter of every year is always on My team and I conduct classes refinish; the second quarter is on body around North America. When we do a work, then we have class, we ask people to bring an structural/mechanical, aluminum and estimate so we actually see estimates miscellaneous shop supplies. There where people got paid. That way, we are four different surveys every year. can substantiate and verify that people It’s just grown. We had about 700 are truly getting paid. Also, I will people take the first survey, then we occasionally contact some of the got to 800 and we’ve broken 1,000 survey participants – always people a couple of times. We started

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confidentially, of course – and review some estimates with them. We work very hard to verify that the results are accurate and true.

We run the quarterly surveys for 30 days at a time, and they each take about 20 minutes for a shop to fill out.

We’ve had some people say it takes too long to fill out, but if you spend 20 minutes to do a survey and then capture another hour on an estimate because of greater awareness, what is that worth to you?

One myth about the surveys is that people think they have to pay for the results. We do not charge shops anything for those; they’re free. They can go to my website, collisionadvice.com, and download earlier survey results for free. I fund the project myself 100 percent.

I’m very happy to announce the new partnership that we have with the Database Enhancement Gateway [DEG; degweb.org]. Every time John and I release the results of a survey, DEG Administrator Danny Gredinberg will include the results in the DEG’s response to any inquiry that supports or proves that something is a notincluded operation. I’m very excited about that next level and partnering with the DEG. NJA: Some people in this industry are understandably reluctant to share information about their shop.

How do you protect the information you receive from each participant?

MA: The only people who ever know who takes the surveys are John Yoswick and myself. We do not sell our database list, and we don’t share it with anyone. I know if I ever did that, it would breach confidence with everybody. I own all the intellectual

property, and I own the database list.

We never attach anybody’s name to it.

We only release cumulative data, never any individual shop information.

NJA: Let’s talk about something that’s big in the industry right now.

What information have you been able to derive concerning where the industry is in embracing pre- and post-repair scanning and getting paid for those procedures?

MA: Pre- and post-repair scanning has actually grown each year. More and more shops are getting compensated for it. That’s encouraging, but it’s also discouraging because that should be 100 percent. Another thing that’s discouraging is when we ask shops, ‘Why don’t you scan?’ and they say they don’t think it’s necessary. That’s scary. That’s what led me to start the different webinars I’ve been presenting on OEMs each month.

There is a link at collisionadvice.com for people to view the previous webinars.

NJA: Are there any trends in particular that you’ve seen that were actually very surprising and changed your expectations of the results you had anticipated?

MA: A lots of times, people believe that DRP shops are not getting paid for everything they do. In certain questions, I’ve seen that DRPs do get paid more than non-DRP shops. I have to believe that’s because those shops can just write the estimate and have it uploaded, and they don’t have somebody there negotiating with them face-to-face. I can also tell you there was an insurer that contacted

me to tell me they saw a result and realized they were the only company not paying for something. They started paying for that one specific thing; they changed their policy.

NJA: How did it feel to recently receive the SCRS Collision Industry Non-Individual Service Award for the work you and John have been doing with these surveys?

MA: It was definitely a surprise.

People were texting me and saying, ‘Hey, you got this award.

Congratulations!’ I replied, ‘What award?’ A couple minutes later, John was nice enough to text me. It’s just a complete honor. There are so many worthy people in the industry – I think of [California-based instructor] Toby Chess and how much he gives back – who could have been recognized with that award. It was an honor; I appreciate it and I will never take that for granted. I just want my legacy to be that I made a difference.

For more information on the “Who Pays for What?” surveys and to sign up to take them, please visit collisionadvice.com.

NJA Mike Anderson is an Accredited Automotive Manager (AAM) and the former owner of Wagonwork Collision Centers, two highly acclaimed shops located in Alexandria, VA. He has served as a member of many industry organizations throughout his career, including the WMABA Board of Directors, the Mitchell Advisory Board, the MOTOR Advisory Board, the ASE Test Review Committee, the National Auto Body Council, the Collision Industry Conference and the Society of Collision Repair Specialists.

Additionally, he is a past Virginia SkillsUSA chairman, serves as a facilitator for Axalta Coating Systems’ highly recognized Business Council 20 Groups in both the US and Canada and facilitates numerous courses for Axalta Coating Systems’ Educational Series.

He currently offers expert industry consulting via his latest venture, Collision Advice (collisionadvice.com).

New Jersey Automotive | August 2018 | 47

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48 | New Jersey Automotive | August 2018

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Unsurpassed Quality. Genuine Hyundai Parts.

HYUNDAI IS PROUD OF ITS REPUTATION FOR QUALITY AND SERVICE. SO ARE THE DEALERS AND BODY SHOPS WHO RELY ON GENUINE HYUNDAI PARTS. TO MAKE CERTAIN THAT YOU GET THE RIGHT HYUNDAI PART, ASK FOR A HYUNDAI WHOLESALE PARTS SPECIALIST. For Genuine Hyundai parts, contact an Authorized Hyundai Dealer.

MAXON HYUNDAI 2329 ROUTE 22 WEST UNION, NJ 07083 TOLL FREE: 800-964-7281 FAX: 908-851-5631

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WAYNE HYUNDAI 305 ROUTE 17 NORTH MAHWAH, NJ 07430 201-529-2400 FAX: 201-529-2138

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Diagnostically speaking, there is no substitute.

Porsche technology.

Porsche Genuine Service & Parts.

Contact one of these authorized dealers.

Town Porsche 105 Grand Avenue Englewood, NJ 201-227-6505 Fax 201-227-6553 town-motorcar.porschedealer.com

Flemington Porsche 213 Route 202/31 Flemington, NJ 800-216-5124 Fax 908-782-9397 flemingtonporsche.com

Porsche Princeton 3333 Route 1 Lawrenceville, NJ 609-945-1500 Fax 609-945-1501 princetonporsche.com

Š 2018 Porsche Cars North America Inc. Porsche recommends seat belt usage and observance of traffic laws at all times.

50 | New Jersey Automotive | August 2018

Paul Miller Porsche 3419 Route 46 East Parsippany, NJ 973-227-3000 Fax 973-575-8396 paulmillerporsche.com

Porsche Monmouth 280 Route 36 East West Long Branch, NJ 732-935-7600 Fax 732-935-7602 porschemonmouth.com

Manhattan Motorcars 711 11th Avenue New York, NY 877-661-1586 Fax 646-473-0798 manhattanmotorcarsporsche.com

NJA0818.qxp_NEW JERSEY AUTOMOTIVE 7/27/18 10:26 AM Page 51

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Over $1 million of inventory located in a dedicated 8,000 sq. ft. wholesale warehouse Large multi-vehicle delivery fleet Multiple daily deliveries available Long-term dedicated wholesale staff with over 100 years combined parts experience Deep discounts Quality service Industry-leading order fill rate All major parts procurement platforms including PartsTrader, OE Connection, OPSTrax

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MEMBER New Jersey Automotive | August 2018 | 51

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LEGAL PERSPECTIVE

by Mitchell Portnoi

Certified by the Supreme Court of New Jersey as a Civil Trial Attorney

Personal Injury Law and Lawyers:

Misperceptions

Much is misunderstood about personal injury law and the lawyers who represent injured people. What are the most prevalent of those misperceptions? I will attempt to dispel some of those myths below.

The client has a significant responsibility in pursuing a “case.” In actuality, a client should only really be concerned about getting better and getting treatment from a doctor in as short a period of time as possible. It is up to the lawyer to build a case and do the work to ensure that a liability (fault) case is made. The lawyer should also obtain the necessary medical records and reports, and they should have a doctor(s) prepared to testify about the client’s medical condition as a result of the accident and the negligence of the defendant.

It is expensive to pursue a case in court. In almost all of the personal injury cases that come through my office, we forward the costs of the lawsuit so the client does not have to do so. In a rare number of cases, it is possible that we may ask a client to carry the costs of pursuing a personal injury case. That is the exception. We charge a “contingent fee,” meaning we only get paid a fee if we are successful in obtaining a recovery for our client. Ours is generally 33.3 percent of the recovery, though that also differs in cases involving workers’ compensation and minors.

The insurance companies will treat me fairly if I do not hire a lawyer and bring the case on my own. Don’t bet on it! Very simply, insurance companies make money on the premiums they charge and save money on the claims they DON’T pay. Clients do not know the value of a case, and lawyers know the appropriate value of most settled cases. The only thing a lawyer doesn’t know is what a jury may ultimately award them if a case were to go to trial.

People who hire lawyers are always litigious.

Not the case. It is more frequent for me to meet a new client and the first thing they say is, “I’m not the type of person who goes around suing others.” The fact of the matter is – it happens. People get hurt and have legitimate claims worthy of pursuing for damages. In truth, illegitimate cases will ultimately get thrown out of court and be a waste of time and effort (and money) for both the lawyer and the client.

All cases have big money value. It’s important to note all cases are valued based on their facts and many variables, such as how the accident occurred, available insurance coverage, injuries involved, loss of wages, the age of the client and many other less tangible characteristics of the client and the incident, as well as the defendant and their characteristics. In other words, all cases stand on their own, and one cannot – and should not – be compared to another.

The legal process is too slow. It takes time to put all the ducks in a row to bring a case, comply with all court rules, allow for written discovery (interrogations) to be completed, depositions of all parties and witnesses to occur, defense exams to take place, an arbitration to be held and a myriad of other court processes to take place. These processes aim to shed light on the legal process and allow a client to be informed about the case through much of the litigation.

At Post Polak, we have handled thousands of personal injury matters, and have been fighting for our clients’ rights for over 30 years. If you or someone you know has been injured in an accident and are seeking legal assistance, please call me at (973) 228-9900 ext. 217.

NJA

52 | New Jersey Automotive | August 2018

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WHY

?

Over $1 million of inventory located in a dedicated 8,000 sq. ft. wholesale warehouse Large multi-vehicle delivery fleet Multiple daily deliveries available Long-term dedicated wholesale staff with over 100 years combined parts experience Deep discounts Quality service Industry-leading order fill rate All major parts procurement platforms including PartsTrader, OE Connection, OPSTrax

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New Jersey Automotive | August 2018 | 53

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Superior customer service starts with Town Audi and Audi Genuine Parts.

• Our expert parts staff is ready to serve you with over $500,000 in inventory and a fleet of trucks to help ensure same-day delivery on most orders • We respect your time, and offer a quick and accurate order process to help meet your needs • Proudly serving the Tri-State area with Audi Genuine Parts since 1970 • Same-day delivery on stocked items, next-day availability on most non-stocked items

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Town Porsche 105 Grand Avenue Englewood, NJ 07631 201-227-6505 town-motorcar.porschedealer.com

© 2018 Porsche Cars North America Inc. Porsche recommends seat belt usage and observance of traffic laws at all times.

54 | New Jersey Automotive | August 2018

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Superior service starts with superior parts.

Rely on what Mazda drivers already know-Genuine Mazda parts extend a car's life.

Designed specifically for Mazda vehicles Get the right part the first time We're an accurate, trusted resource as close as your phone Give us the opportunity to serve you Contact these Mazda dealers for all your parts needs: Maxon Mazda 2329 Route 22 West Union, NJ 07083 Phone: 800-964-7281 Fax: 908-851-5631

Nu Car Mazda 172 North Dupont Highway New Castle, DE 19720 Phone: 800-346-5283 Fax: 302-322-7135

Mazda of Lodi 130 Route 46 East Lodi, NJ 07644 Phone: 866-716-0511 Fax: 973-594-4933 www.mazdaoflodi.com

Wayne Mazda 1244 Route 23 North Wayne, NJ 07470 Phone: 973-646-0333 Fax: 973-694-1700 www.waynemazdafactoryparts.com

New Jersey Automotive | August 2018 | 55

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LET US TURN THEM AROUND!

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Genuine Nissan parts are built to the same standards as Nissan vehicles. It’s no wonder they’re the driving force behind the most exhilarating vehicle on the road.

Contact New Jersey Automotive Sales Director Alicia Figurelli

7 experienced countermen and 12 drivers ready to serve

(973) 667-6922

Parts: 800-782-7597 E-mail: John@lynnes.com www.lynnesnissan.com Hours: M-F 7:30am - 6pm, Sat 7:30am - 2pm 5 Alva Street | Bloomfield, NJ 07003

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WE KNOW WHAT YOU’RE THINKING. YOU WANT TO KNOW IF THE PART’S IN STOCK , HOW MUCH IT COSTS, AND WHEN IT’S GONNA GET THERE. We get it.

You want the best part for a Toyota, but you’ve got to know when and how much.

Well, now you can. In addition to tools that can help you find and order the right VIN-based parts, now you can see if it’s in stock, schedule the delivery, even see your shop’s net price from your participating Toyota Dealer.* Now you’re thinking: “Cool!”

ToyotaPartsAndService.com

©2014 Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc.

For Toyota Genuine Parts please call this authorized local Toyota Dealer:

Glen Toyota 23-07 Maple Ave, Fair Lawn, NJ 07410 Toll Free: 800-444-1959 Direct: 201-791-1133 Fax: 201-703-5652 parts@glentoyota.com www.glentoyota.com

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ARANJ 2018 Officers

President Rodney Krawczyk Ace Auto Wreckers (732) 254-9816 aceautonj@comcast.net

1st Vice President Ian Szoboszlay Ocean County Auto (732) 349-0332 ian@cosmosautoparts.com 2nd Vice President Darryl Carmen Lentini Auto Salvage (908) 782-6838 darryl@las-parts.com 3rd Vice President Mike Ronayne Tilghmans Auto Parts (609) 723-7469 tilghmans@snip.net

Past President Bob Dirkes Dirkes Used Auto Parts (609) 625-1718 dirkesauto@gmail.com Executive Director Brian Snyder Auto Recyclers of NJ (609) 714-2339 brian@aranj.org

ARANJ 2018 Board of Directors David Yeager EL & M Auto (609) 561-2266 elandmauto@aol.com

Ed Silipena American II Autos (609) 965-6700 esilipena@yahoo.com

Norm Vachon Port Murray Auto (908) 689-3152 portmurrayauto@yahoo.com Dylan Rinkens East Brunswick Auto (732) 254-6501 ebautonj@comcast.net

ARANJ

The Automotive Recyclers Association of New Jersey

Wharton Insurance Briefs THINK BEFORE YOU RESPOND!!!

You may be putting all your assets at risk by responding inappropriately during a heated employee/employer conversation! You can obtain insurance coverage for this exposure. However, your best Risk Management practice is to “Think Before You Respond.”

Executives at as many as half the firms surveyed in a recent poll say it is likely that an employee may sue them, their Board members and their companies and/or lodge a discrimination complaint with federal or state authorities. Nearly one-third believe that an allegation or actual case of wrongful termination, discrimination or harassment has the potential to inflict financial or other serious damage to their company.

Employment Practices Liability Insurance provides you and your company with coverage for this type of exposure. Some companies offer a policy for as low as $500. Completion of a one-page application can secure quotes within a week.

As always, we are here to give you more information about these issues. If you should have any questions or would like to obtain a quote, please contact me.

Mario DeFilippis, AAI Vice President 800-221-0003 (ext. 1320) 908-513-8588 (cell) mdefilippis@whartoninsurance.com

ADVERTISERS’ INDEX 1-800-NEW-PARTS ................................................12-13

GM Group ..............................................................45

Post Polak ..............................................................53

Accudraft ................................................................438

Hyundai Group ........................................................49

PPG ........................................................................3

Acme Nissan ..........................................................4

Innovative Solutions & Technology / Pro Spot ............IFC

Princeton BMW ......................................................57

Amato Agency ........................................................41

Kemperle ................................................................IBC

Safety Regulations ..................................................36

Audi Group..............................................................30-31

Klean Frame............................................................21

Sherwin-Williams ....................................................15

Axalta Coating Systems ..........................................6

Lynnes Nissan East..................................................56

Subaru Group..........................................................33

BMW Group ............................................................16-17

Maxon Buick-GMC ..................................................51

Town Motors ..........................................................54

BMW of Springfield..................................................27

Maxon Hyundai........................................................51

Toyota Group ..........................................................56

Classic Audi ............................................................23

Maxon Mazda..........................................................53

Tri-State Luxury Collection ......................................8-9

Collision Equipment Company..................................19

Mazda Group ..........................................................55

Valtek......................................................................37

Collision Equipment Consulting ................................14

MINI Group..............................................................44

VW Group................................................................40

Empire Auto Parts....................................................21

Mopar Group ..........................................................39

Westbury Jeep Chrysler Dodge Ram SRT ................48

Flemington Audi ......................................................5

NUCAR....................................................................34-35

Wheel Collision Center ............................................37 ZB Negotiations ......................................................25

Flemington Group....................................................29

Performance Ford Lincoln........................................56

Fred Beans..............................................................26

Polyvance................................................................10

Glen Toyota..............................................................OBC

Porsche Group ........................................................50

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ISTS CIAL SPE

S EA07R410 Y 0 R a3ir Lawn, NJ VE O e, F iv r R D FO9-01 Pollitt

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G.T.

A GLEN TOYOTA PRODUCTION

ACCEPT NO SUBSTITUTES AND INSIST ON GENUINE TOYOTA PARTS

SAME-DAY, NEXT-DAY AND SATURDAY DELIVERIES • MULTIPLE DELIVERIES DAILY HOURS: MONDAY - FRIDAY 5:30am - 6pm • SATURDAY 8am - 4pm TOLL FREE 800-444-1959 • PARTS DIRECT 201-791-1133 • FAX 201-703-5652 www.glentoyota.com • parts@glentoyota.com Contact PARTS MANAGER PAUL CIMILLO for all your parts needs

•

pcimillo@glentoyota.com