W 0613 issue web

by John Yoswick

A consultant whose study indicatedthat the vast majority of the indus-try finds the current way that paintand materials compensation is cal-culated is a poor methodology isnow saying more accurate and faircalculation systems exist, are beingused by some shops and are beingaccepted by some insurance compa-nies.

“The most important messagehere is that by properly presentingitemization and documentation usinga paint material calculation system,we are actually able to resolve theseconflicts,” consultant Steve Lanza ofRichfield Associates said at the Colli-sion Industry Conference (CIC) heldin Phoenix in April.

Lanza’s firm in 2012 released itsfindings that compensation for paintand materials has not kept pace withincreases in the costs of these products,and that 64 out of 68 industry partici-pants interviewed think the currentway paint and materials compensationis calculated is a poor methodology.Only four people (including represen-tatives of three repairer operations andone estimating system provider) ratedthe current system as “adequate” or“good.”

The study concluded the currentsystem is flawed in part because onsmaller jobs, repairers do not receiveadequate compensation, and for largerepair jobs, insurers believe materialscharges become excessive.

It also found that while average

by Ed Attanasio

As a follow-up to our interview ofApril 2012, Autobody News sat downwith John Wallauch, Chief of theBureau of Automotive Repair (BAR)recently, to find out about what he haslearned and achieved during his first15 months on the job.

Q: Legitimate collision repairers arevery concerned about sketchy shopsthat are getting away with sub-parwork and committing outright fraud.How can you respond to that?JW: We have several body shops thatare going through the courts all the

time, but you rarely hear about the set-tlements once these cases are settled.

It’s difficult to re-spond to this ques-tion, because mostof these violatorswork under theradar, late at nightand early in themorning. If wedon’t know aboutthem or see themin action, I don’tknow how anyonecan expect us to dosomething about

by Ed Attanasio

It was a beautiful day tochange the industry, onemeeting at a time. On April16, the Automotive ServiceCouncils of California(ASCCA) partnered againwith the California AutobodyAssociation (CAA) to con-vene in Sacramento and meetwith their California legisla-tors to have their concernsheard.

More than 80 shop owners, bothmechanical and collision, were onhand to represent both organizations

and push legislation that benefits bothgroups.

ASCCA/CAA Lobbies California Capitol inSacramento during Joint Legislative Day

Q&A With Calif. BAR Chief John Wallauch

See Paint and Materials, Page 30

See ASCCA/CAA Lobbies, Page 28

CIC Continues Discussion of Alternatives to ExistingPaint and Materials Calculations

BAR Chief JohnWallauch says

he’s quickly learnedmuch about the

collision industry inhis first 15 monthsin the position

See Q&A with Bar Chief, Page 26

ASCCA/CAA Lobbyist Jack Molodanof (left) and ASCCAPresident Jack Crawley (right) spoke to the ASCCA/CAAmembers attending Legislative Day

by Melanie Anderson

In Delray Beach, FL, Eddie Quin-tela, 42, owner and operator of Colli-sion Concepts, recently spent $10,450

on filing fees for53 separate law-suits against insur-ers for short pays.Quintela says he’snot worried aboutthe money. Hewill recoup courtcosts and attor-

ney’s fees when he wins his cases,plus recover the compensation heshould have received in the first placefor properly repairing the vehicles. Todate, he and his customers have wonevery single case they’ve filed againstinsurers.

According to Quintela, his planto get insurers to pay for underpay-ments is pretty simple and easy to do.

“If we cannot get an agreed price

with an insurance company to prop-erly repair a vehicle, we engage thecustomer,” said Quintela. “We giveour customers a couple of options: 1)they can pay the difference, or 2) thecustomer can sign an Assignment ofBenefits or Assignment of Proceedsand I will go after the insurance com-pany on their behalf. I’ll step intotheir shoes. Every customer I’ve dis-cussed this with agrees to take thesecond option.”

Currently, Quintela has 80 cus-tomers he is representing in court. Inone week alone, he filed 53 cases.The insurance companies he’s cur-rently in litigation with include StateFarm, GEICO, USAA, Travelers,Bristol West, Infinity and others.

Collision Concepts, a 10,000-square-foot shop, currently has sevenDRPs. Quintela and his staff of 11work on 80–100 vehicles per month.He’s been in business since 2002.

Florida Shop Owner Files 53 Lawsuits toCounter Short Pays by Insurers

See 53 Lawsuits, Page 25

Eddie Quintela

CaliforniaNevadaArizona www.autobodynews.comYEARS3131

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Contents

Publisher & Editor: Jeremy HayhurstGeneral Manager: Barbara DaviesAssistant Editor: Melanie AndersonContributing Writers: Tom Franklin, David Brown,John Yoswick, Rich Evans, Janet Chaney,Toby Chess, Ed Attanasio, Chasidy SiskAdvertising Sales: Joe Momber, Sean Hartman,Jay Lukes (800) 699-8251Sales Assistant: Louise TedescoArt Director: Rodolfo Garcia

Serving California, Nevada and Arizona, Autobody Newsis a monthly publication for the autobody industry. Per-mission to reproduce in any form the material publishedin Autobody News must be obtained in writing from thepublisher. ©2013 Adamantine Media LLC.

Autobody NewsP.O. Box 1516, Carlsbad, CA 92018(800) 699-8251 (760) 721-0253 Faxwww.autobodynews.comEmail: [email protected]

Audi Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . .46Automotive ID . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24Axalta Coating Systems . . . . . . . . . . .5BASF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15Bill Luke Chrysler-Jeep-Dodge . . . .18Bill Luke Fiat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18BMW Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . .43Bob Smith BMW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40Bob Smith MINI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40Buerge Chrysler-Jeep-Dodge . . . . .17Car-Part Pro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39CCC Information Services . . . . . . . . .7Certified Automotive PartsAssociation (CAPA) . . . . . . . . . . .11

Champion Pneumatic . . . . . . . . . . .21Chief Automotive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23Classifieds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .62Downtown Motors of LA(Audi, VW, Porsche) . . . . . . . . . . .31

Drew Hyundai . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36East Bay BMW-MINI . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8Elk Grove Toyota . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26Enterprise Rent-A-Car . . . . . . . . . . .20Equalizer Industries . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6Ford Wholesale Parts DealersAZ, CA, & NV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .51

Galpin Motors . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28, 37Garmat USA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16GM Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . . .53Honda-Acura Wholesale PartsDealers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32-33

Hyundai Wholesale Parts Dealers . .44Innovative Tools & Technology, Inc .35KBS Coatings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10

Kearny Mesa Subaru-Hyundai . . . . .52Kia Motors Wholesale Parts Dealers .55Levan Group, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14LKQ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .63Los Gatos Luxury Cars . . . . . . . . . .29Maita Subaru . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30Malco . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9Mazda Wholesale Parts Dealers . . .61MINI Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . .42Mitsubishi Wholesale Parts Dealers .60MOPAR Wholesale Parts Dealers . .47Moss Brothers Chrysler-Jeep-Dodge .13Nissan/Infiniti Wholesale PartsDealers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .48

North County Kia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9Power Chrysler-Jeep-Dodgeof Arizona . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25

PPG . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2Preval Spray Gun . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .64Replica Plastics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38Riverside Metro VW-Honda-Hyundai-Nissan-Mazda . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22

SATA Spray Equipment . . . . . . . . . .19Shingle Springs Nissan-Subaru . . .45Sierra Chevrolet-Honda-Mazda-Subaru . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41

Sonnen BMW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4Subaru Wholesale Parts Dealers . . .59Timmons VW-Subaru . . . . . . . . . . . .49Toyota Wholesale Parts Dealers . . .50VIM Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .56Volkswagen Wholesale Parts Dealers .57Volvo Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . .54Weatherford BMW . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27

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REGIONALAlmost Everything Autobody in Fremont

Voted Best . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18ASCCA/CAA Lobbies California Capitol in

Sacramento during Joint Legislative Day. . . . 1Auto Body Shop Opens in Old Firehouse

in Utah . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18Benefit Held for Burned Montana Shop Owner. . 4CAA San Diego Hosts Flat-Rate Wage Meeting. . 4CAA Santa Clara Golf Day to Benefit

Operation Comfort . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4Caliber Collision Surprises Three Struggling

Tucson Families . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19California Court of Appeal Upholds Authority

of Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones . . . . 8Collision Industry Leader Matthew Ohrnstein

Passes Away at Age 57 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3Father-Son Bodywork Bandits Team Con

Seattle Seniors with Bad Body Repairs . . . . . 8FinishMaster Customer Appreciation Event

Held in Cathedral City, CA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9FinishMaster to Host Free Airbrush Seminar

June 29 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10Frank Embree Passes at 84 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10Glendale/Foothill CAA Meets June 12 on

Blueprinting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4J’s Auto Body in Barstow Suffers Damage

from Fire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10Los Angeles Auto Parts Owner Killed . . . . . . . . 6Military Veterans Receive Recycled Rides

in Southern California . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16Nevada’s Collision Authority Expands in

Las Vegas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10Paramount Collision Center Franchises

with Fix Auto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4Q&A With Calif. BAR Chief John Wallauch. . . . . 1Santa Clara CAA Hosted Mike Anderson

of Collision Advice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18Seidner’s Collision Opens 14th Location

in LA Area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4SEMA Hails Proposal to Save OHV Area at

Twentynine Palms in California desert . . . . . 10Spokane Shop Busted for Selling Drugs

Near School . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18Stolen Pulp Fiction Car Found

Two Decades Later . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6Teen’s Classic ‘65 Mustang Gets a Makeover

from Make-A-Wish . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6Victorville Body Shop Workers Snuff Out

Car Fire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9WIN Wins Big with 2013 Education

Conference in Phoenix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

COLUMNSAttanasio: Google+ Is an Emerging Star for

Media-Savvy Body Shops. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20Franklin: The Power of Persistence

in Marketing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24I-CAR Tech: Dressing GMA (MIG) Welds. . . . . 38Yoswick: Repairer-Only Meeting Focuses onShops’ Response to Key Industry Issues

at April CIC Phoenix Meeting. . . . . . . . . . . . 14

NATIONAL16 Arrested in Multi-State Car Theft and

Fraud Conspiracy, Dealerships andIndividuals Targeted . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

1Collision Adds Illinois Shop. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30ABRA Awarded Farmers MSO of the Year . . . . 58ABRA Grows in Michigan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29ABRA Has Acquired 23 WA Precision

Collision Centers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61AkzoNobel Opens its FIT Awards

for Nominations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58AL to Start Producing its First Acura Models . . 37Allstate’s Profit Dips 7.4%, Expands Esurance . . 61AMI Accepting Applications for

Cosette/Westerlund Award . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56ASA Business Meeting Emphasizes Unity,

Transparency, Inclusion & Collaboration . . . 56Automaker, OEM and Recall News . . . . . . . . . 34Avery Names New CIC Standards

Cmte Leaders. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44Axalta Coating Partners With Optima

Automotive. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37Axalta Coating Systems Launches Rival™

Economy Brand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58BASF Names Micro Auto & Paint

Distributor of Year. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37BLS Stats Show Increase in Number

of Body Shops . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58CARFAX Hit by $50M Federal Lawsuit Filed

by 120 Automotive Dealerships . . . . . . . . . 61

Carlyle Group to Sell 50,000 Share Stakein Hertz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

Car-O-Liner Names Peter Richardsonto Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

CARSTAR to Support “Hire Our Heroes”Campaign . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

CIC Attendees Overwhelmingly SupportBMS Data Standard Over EMS . . . . . . . . . 60

CIC Continues Discussion of Alternatives toExisting Paint and Materials Calculations. . . . 1

Collision Repair Education Foundation andPartners Announce First of $300,000in Student Scholarships . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

Colorado Auto Dealers Find Support inState Legislature. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

CREF Seeks Employers For Summer Students . . 61Dan Risley Appointed Interim Executive

Director of ASA, Outlines ASA Positionon PartsTrader . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

DEG Received 1,300 Inquiries in 2012,Up 30% from Previous Years . . . . . . . . . . . 21

First Southern Automotive Repair IndustryConference Held in Biloxi, MS, April 26–27 . . 40

Florida Shop Owner Files 53 Lawsuits toCounter Short Pays by Insurers . . . . . . . . . . 1

Ford Adds 38 New Parts to Collision Program . . 58Ford to Donate $1 Million . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30Former Florida Body Shop Bookkeeper

Sentenced to 3 Years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36GCIA Completes 2013 Collision Labor

Rate Survey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39GEICO Foundation Donates to CREF in

CA, FL, DC & NY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58Hermanek and Ricciotti Join CREF Board

of Trustees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61IABA Invites Ray Gunder to Hit the Road

in Indiana . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24I-CAR Announces Keynote Speakers

Reginald Modlin and John McElroyfor Boston July Meeting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

I-CAR Plans New-Format IndustryConference in July in Boston . . . . . . . . . . . 49

IL Body Shop to Close for Subway Franchise . . 42Industry Demonstrates Early Confidence in

SEMA Show with 6% Exhibitor Increase . . . 52LIABRA Joined NYSACTA for Lobby Day

in Albany, New York on April 16 . . . . . . . . . 22Maine Legislature Holds Hearings on

Right to Repair . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48Mercedes-Benz Plans $70M Expansion,

600 Jobs in AL. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37MID Issues Bulletin to Insurers: Cover, Feather,

Prime and Block for Hail Damaged Cars . . . 44Minnesota Senate Passes New Paint,

Materials Tax Law. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58MS Legislature Lures Auto Parts Plant . . . . . . 39Mississippi’s Attorney General Hood Tells

Insurance Companies to Cover Feather,Prime & Block, Etc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

Mitchell ITR Says Collision Parts Index Declined Last Year For First Time in Ten Years . . . . . . 52

NJ Cracks Down on Fraud . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18Ohio Body Shop Owner Convicted of Stealing

Custom Cars, Even From a County Prosecutor. . 42OK Court Reverses Finding on Ford and

Dealership . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44Only Two Small 2014 SUVs Performed Well in

Front-End Crash Tests According to IIHS . . 46PartsTrader Announces New Feedback

Function Release . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49Progressive Sues Other Insurers For

Alleged Patent Infringement . . . . . . . . . . . . 62Rhode Island Industry Attorney: “Body Shops

Suffer From an Image Problem” . . . . . . . . . 54Safelite Named in New Lawsuit Alleging

Windshield Separation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46Safelite Opens Chicago Store . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39SEMA Show Enhances Services for

Collision Repair Market. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50Stacy Bartnik Joins Team PRP as Executive

Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50State Farm’s Campus Project in TX is Growing . . 44Texan Charged with $3.5 Million Dollar Fraud . . 59TX Franchise Bill Passes House and Moves

to Senate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23Two More Insurers Require Inspections

for Glass Repair . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50U.S. Supreme Court Rules Against

Towing Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54uParts Gets $2M in Financing. . . . . . . . . . . . . 60VeriFacts & Airbag Solutions Create Restraint

Systems Clinic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60

www.autobodynews.com | JUNE 2013 AUTOBODY NEWS 3

Collision Industry Leader Matthew Ohrnstein PassesAway at Age 57Matthew Ohrnstein, managing di-rector of Symphony Advisors and co-host of the Collision Repair ExecutiveWebcast (CREW), and formerly Cal-iber Collision Centers CEO, passedaway suddenly on April 30 while jog-ging near his home in southern Cali-fornia. He was 57.

Ohrnstein is survived by his wifeof 19 years, Marcy Tieger, who washis business partner with SymphonyAdvisors, and sons Michael and Stevenand daughters Jessica and Rose.

Prior to founding his consultingfirm, Symphony Advisors, Ohrnsteinserved as chairman and CEO of Cal-iber Collision Centers from 1997 untilOctober 2004. Under his leadership,Caliber added 68 stores in Californiaand Texas with annual revenues ofmore than $200 million and more than1,600 employees.

He was a featured speaker at manyindustry events both in the U.S. and in-ternationally. He was a co-founder ofthe Collision Repair Executive Webcast(CREW), an every-other-month web-cast that features a guest speaker andfocuses on collision repair topics.

As managing director of Sym-phony Advisors, Ohrnstein and his

wife Marcy assisted countless colli-sion repair businesses with servicescovering mergers/acquisitions, strate-gic planning, litigation management,succession planning and more.

In recent years, Ohrnstein trav-eled the world to share his experienceand knowledge with industry partici-pants as a featured presenter at eventssuch as the NACE MSO Symposium,the International Bodyshop IndustrySymposium (IBIS) in Europe, theCanadian Collision Industry Forum,and many others.

A memorial service was heldMay 6 at University Synagogue inIrvine, CA. In lieu of flowers, the fam-ily asked that donations be made toRady Children’s Hospital’s Heart In-stitute in care of Dr. John Lamberti.Dr. Lamberti conducted five heart sur-geries on Ohrnstein’s son Steven.

Erick Bickett, CEO of Fix AutoUSA, a longtime friend and businessassociate, said, “Matt was a greatman, father and husband. I can thinkof only a few people who have had thekind of positive impact for collisionrepairers in our industry with theheart, integrity and depth of knowl-edge that he possessed.”


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The San Diego chapter of the Cali-fornia Autobody Association hostedan “emergency” meeting for mem-bers only on May 22 at the Hilton onHarbor Island.

In March, the California Courtof Appeals in Los Angeles affirmeda 2011 trial court decision thatchanged the face of the flat-rate com-pensation forever. An appeal to theCalifornia Supreme Court is ex-pected, but shops paying employeeson a flat-rate system must makechanges now to protect themselves.

Owners and managers onlywere invited to this meeting.

Guest speaker was Cory King,partner with the San Diego office ofFine, Boggs & Perkins LLP, whopresented a 90-minute seminar called“Flat-Rate Wage Plan Solution.”

King and his firm serve as laborand employment counsel for the Cal-ifornia Autobody Association, aswell as the California New Car Deal-ers Association. He explained howthe industry ended up in this situa-tion, and provided a number of pro-posed solutions for shops to consider.

For membership questions, con-tact Cindy Shillito, southern Califor-nia representative, at (714) 944-4028.

CAA San Diego Hosts Flat-Rate Wage Plan Meeting

The Glendale/Foothill chapter of theCalifornia Autobody Association willmeet June 12 to discuss blueprintingand to host a fundraiser for chapterpresident Linda Holcomb who isbattling breast cancer.

This meeting was originallyscheduled for May 15 but has beenchanged to June 12.

Featured guest speaker isDaniel Panduro of J&L Body andPaint Shop, located in the Los Ange-les area. Panduro will discuss blue-printing, what it is and how it canhelp improve your business. He is asecond-generation shop owner and isan economics and business manage-ment graduate from the University ofCalifornia, Irvine. Panduro is in his11th year as president of business op-erations at J&L.

The second featured guestspeaker is Brian Erkstand from All-data who will be discussing their newestimate compliance software.

Social hour begins at 6 p.m. withthe meeting starting at 7 p.m. Cost is$40 for members or $100 for non-members. The meeting will be held atBrookside Country Club in Pasadena.RSVP to Cindy Shillito at (714) 944-4028 or at [email protected].

Glendale/Foothill CAA MeetsJune 12 on Blueprinting

The Santa Clara chapter of the Cali-fornia Autobody Association willhold its 30th annual golf tournamenton June 19 at Cinnabar Hills GolfClub in San Jose, CA. Proceeds

from the tournament will benefitOperation Comfort, a non-profitfounded to put wounded war veter-ans back to work by teaching auto-motive repair skills.

Registration begins at 11 a.m.Format is best ball scramble with ashotgun start. Event fees are $225per player and include green fees,GPS Cart, range balls, box lunchand banquet dinner. Tournamenthole events include hole-in-one fora car, longest drive and closest to thepin. Cost for dinner-only attendeesis $60.

For questions, call TabiasPadilla at 408-406-7903 or RudySolorio at 408-876-3050.

CAA Santa Clara Golf Day toBenefit Operation Comfort

Seidner’s Collision Centers recentlyacquired its 14th collision repair lo-cation in Ontario, CA.

Seidner’s new facility, previ-ously known as Wally and Jim’sBody Shop, is its second shop open-ing this year for the California-basedmulti-shop operation.

“Wally and Jim’s has had along tradition of excellent service tothe local area,” said Rick Seidner.“Their long history and commitmentto customer service made this acqui-sition a natural fit within the Seidnermodel.”

All of the company’s 14 loca-tions are located in the San GabrielValley and Inland Empire regionsnear Los Angeles.

“As always, our focus remainson customer service, cycle time andcost control. Expanding our foot-print within the Inland Empire is anintegral part of our overall growthstrategy and our unparalleled com-mitment to customer service,” saidSteve Seidner, vice president ofSeidner’s.

Seidner’s Collision Opens14th Location in LA Area

Friends and co-workers of RodHessler recently held a benefit tohelp him cover medical costs at aColorado hospital, where he has beenrecovering from burns on 40% of hisbody after his auto body shop inBillings, MT, caught fire on Feb. 28.

The event, “An Evening WithFriends: A Benefit for Rod and CindyHessler,” was held at the Shrine Au-ditorium, and included happy hour,appetizers, a silent auction, dinnerand music. Tickets were $75 and allproceeds went to the Hessler’s.

Hessler was injured while weld-ing too close to combustibles at hisshop, Al’s Body Shop, when nearbymaterials caught fire and caused anexplosion.

The fire destroyed the shop.Hessler was flown to the Universityof Colorado Hospital’s burn unit, inAurora, CO, where he was in criticalcondition with burns over 40% of hisbody.

Since then, he has undergone 10surgeries. While he is insured andcould return home soon, the costs ofthe extended stay continue to mountand his wife, Cindy, has taken offtime from her job at Rocky MountainCollege to be by his side.

Benefit Held for BurnedMontana Shop Owner

Fix Auto recently announced thatParamount Collision Center of Para-mount, CA—now Fix Auto Para-mount—is the latest body shop tofranchise with the national collisionrepair organization.

Fix Auto Paramount ownerPeter Bakhtar enrolled his businessinto Fix Auto’s Collision Repair Ex-perts (CRX) program, a solution de-signed to help a shop manage itsreputation, enhance the customer ex-perience and evaluate and ultimatelyimprove operational efficiency andprofitability.

“As an independent shop owner,there’s little accountability to any-thing beyond your own business,”said Bakhtar. “It’s easy to get stuckin your ways. Once I made the deci-sion to seek improvement, and withthe assistance of Fix Auto’s CRXprogram, which offers comprehen-sive reports and peer accountability, Irecognized the opportunity to realizea number of very real improvementsin my business.

“Then, when the time came totransition to franchise, the processwas smooth because I’d already en-gaged in the organization through myCRX affiliation,” he added.

Paramount Collision CenterFranchises with Fix Auto

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A teen from Sacramento, CA, saw hiswish come true when the Make-A-Wish Foundation and Golden StateCollision Repair Centers presentedhim with his fully repaired and reno-vated 1965 Mustang Fastback.

The 1965 Mustang Fastback hadbeen the teen’s father’s car and it was hiswish to restore it to its original condition.

The wish was coordinated throughGolden State Collision Repair Centersand Make-A-Wish Northeastern Cali-fornia and Northern Nevada chapter.

Michael Lua, 18, was presentedwith his renovated ’65 Mustang onApril 29, the 33rd anniversary date of

the very first wish granted by Make-A-Wish. Through a partnership of theNortheastern California and NorthernNevada Make-A-Wish Chapter andLes Schwab Tire Centers and GoldenState Collision Repair Centers, thetransformed Mustang was revealed toMichael on Make-A-Wish’s WorldWish Day, at the Golden State Colli-

sion Repair Center, in ElkGrove, CA.

Golden State Collision Re-pair Centers was contacted byMake-A-Wish in the winter of2012 to ask for assistance ingranting this wish for Michael.Golden State Collision Centerscollaborated with numerousbusinesses in order to com-pletely restore the vehicle. Re-pairs included a complete paintcolor change, body work, newupholstery, new sound system,

glass installation and new wheels.“We were approached by volun-

teers of the local Make-A-Wish chapterto help out on Michael’s wish to refur-bish his ‘65 Mustang Fastback. As acompany, we are always in search ofways to help our community and its

families. When we heard about thiswish, we jumped on board to spearheadthe renovation of Michael’s vehicle,”said Dave Finkelstein, marketing di-

rector of Golden State Collision RepairCenters. “We are delighted to be ableto present this wish on the anniversarydate of the very first wish granted byMake-A-Wish. Once the word got outon our World Wish Day project, otherlocal businesses readily stepped up tothe plate to help out. This is truly acommunity coming together to helpmake a wish come true,” he said.

“We are very grateful to LesSchwab Tire Center for adoptingMichael’s wish, and for Golden StateCollision Repair Center who quarter-backed the refurbishment,” said Jen-

nifer Stolo, CEO of Make-A-WishNortheastern California and NorthernNevada. “What makes this wish uniqueis that Michael has worked on his caralongside the Golden State Collisioncrew during the preliminary refurbish-ment. He will surely be surprised whenhe finally sees the finished product!”

“Michael worked alongside bothpainter Mike Inong and body techni-cian Eric Sims on the work done tothe vehicle,” said Rebecca Endres,VP Customer Relations with GoldenState Collision Repair Centers. “Hewas really passionate about the entirewish and developed an amazing rela-tionship with both our technicians.There was amazing journey alongwhich Michael was really educated onthe entire renovation.”

Local vendors, including LesSchwab Tire Centers, AmericanMustang, Windshield Pros North,LKQ/Keystone Corporation, Uphol-stery Tech, Genesis Window Tinting,Acme Tops & Tunes, Leland Insur-ance, and employees of Golden StateCollision Repair Centers donatedtheir time and services as part of thisprogram.

Teen’s Classic ‘65 Mustang Gets a Makeover from Make-A-Wish


In late April, an unidentified suspectentered an auto body parts store insouth Los Angeles and allegedly con-fronted the owner. According to au-thorities, an argument ensued and thesuspect fatally shot the victim multi-ple times before fleeing through thealley.

The victim was identified asRigoberto Dupre, 54, of Los Ange-les. Police say Dupre was well-knownin the area and had no gang affiliation.

Investigators are trying to iden-tify the suspect, described as a 22-year-old black male. He was lastseen wearing a dark hooded sweat-shirt and carrying a small handgun.

“Wallet was there, money wasthere, he didn’t pat him down, noth-ing, he just shot him and left,” saidLuis Dupre, Rigoberto’s son.

Luis Dupre last saw his fatheralive that morning at his dad’s shop.

“We have not established anymotive,” said LAPD Lt. Jeff Nolte.“We have no witnesses to the homi-cide at this point, so we have notbeen able to establish a motive atthis point. But we do believe thatthere is people on Florence or Cim-maron or in the area that saw thingsthat will be important to us.”

Los Angeles Auto PartsOwner Killed

Two decades after it was stolen, Cal-ifornia police have found the iconicred Chevrolet Chevelle Malibu usedin the movie “Pulp Fiction.”

According to the San BernadinoSun, police ran a vehicle identifica-tion number for a Chevrolet Malibubeing stripped in a school parking lotand found the VIN had been clonedand registered to two vehicles, in-cluding one in the Bay Area.

That clue led police to Oscar-winning director Quentin Taran-tino’s missing Malibu.

The missing vehicle had beenregistered in the Bay Area for manyyears under the fraudulent VIN, but po-lice do not suspect the owner is in-volved in the theft of the iconic moviecar.

The car was driven by JohnTravolta’s character Vincent Vega in“Pulp Fiction.” It was found daysafter Tarantino’s 50th birthday.

Stolen Pulp Fiction CarFound Two Decades Later

From left, Rick Hunter, Golden State Collision; TriciaLitts, Make-A-Wish coordinator; Michael Inong, GoldenState Collision painter; recipient Michael Lua with hismom and dad; Eric Sims, Golden State Collision Centersbody technician; and Dave Finkelstein, Director of Mar-keting, Golden State Collision

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Father-Son Bodywork Bandits Team Con SeattleSeniors with Bad Body RepairsA father-and-son team nicknamed the“Bodywork Bandits” face felony theftcharges for intimidating and scam-ming elderly Seattle-area drivers withbad auto body repairs.

King County prosecutors sayRobert Mitchell and son BryanMiller scammed 10 drivers they tar-geted around Seattle during the pasttwo years, as reported by Seat-tlePI.com. They are alleged to haveintimidated drivers, mostly elderlymen, into accepting bodywork, andthen demanding large payments forpoor repairs.

Mitchell, a 46-year-old alsoknown as Johnny Mitchell and RobertCharmack, and his son Bryan Miller,26, often held tools as they demandedmoney from drivers they approachedin parking lots. They’re alleged tohave made hundreds of dollarsthrough the scam, which they’re al-leged to have used across Washingtonand Oregon.

Usually, the men approachedtheir intended victims near theirparked cars and offered to repair bodydamage at a low price, Seattle PoliceDet. Chris Young told the court.Miller and Mitchell would then applywax or paint to disguise the damage

and request payment.“They insist the repairs are worth

hundreds of dollars and the victimsare intimidated into paying for thefraudulent repair,” Young said, notingthat they sometimes held crowbars asthey demanded money.

Most of the victims were in their60s or 70s. One 70-year-old man is al-leged to have been conned out of $760after Mitchell and Miller “fixed” hiscar.

Both men now face a host oftheft-related charges related to thescam.

Mitchell has been charged withfour counts of second-degree theft andone count of second-degree identitytheft, as well as six other felony andmisdemeanor counts. He is a fugitivefrom Clackamas County, OR, wherehe’s said to have scammed an elderlywoman following a car repair.

The younger Miller has beencharged with one count of second-de-gree identity theft and five other theft-related counts. Miller also currentlyfaces a forgery charge filed againsthim in Cowlitz County, OR.

Both men were arrested April 9and confined at the King County Jailin Seattle.

On April 26, 2013, the CaliforniaCourt of Appeal upheld a Los AngelesSuperior Court ruling that dismissedMercury Insurance Company’s law-suit challenging the insurance com-missioner’s authority.

“I am pleased that the Court of Ap-peal recognized that Mercury’s lawsuitlacked merit and must be dismissed,”said Commissioner Dave Jones.

“The Court of Appeal clearly af-firmed the insurance commissioner’s ex-clusive authority to adjudicate disputes

between the De-partment of Insur-ance and insurers inan administrativeforum and that in-surance companiessuch as Mercurymust wait until Irender a final deci-sion before seeking

judicial intervention.”Mercury’s lawsuit sought to un-

dermine the insurance commissioner’sauthority in administrative hearing de-cisions by asking the Superior Court tointercede in this case before the com-missioner could render a final decision.

Instead, the Court of Appeal af-firmed the insurance commissioner’s

exclusive authority to fully adjudicateissues presented in an administrativeforum before an insurance companycan contest the commissioner’s deci-sion in a Superior Court.

Mercury’s attempt to prevent theDepartment of Insurance from pre-senting evidence in an administrativeproceeding regarding allegations thatMercury charged improper fees andrates to policyholders was rejected bythe Court of Appeal.

“This appellate court ruling sup-ports the consumer protections and au-thority of the insurance commissionerprovided for under Proposition 103, andI look forward to rendering a final deci-sion once the administrative process iscompleted,” said Commissioner Jones.

California Court of Appeal Upholds Authority of Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones

Dave Jones

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Victorville Body Shop Workers Snuff Out Car FireEmployees at a Victorville, CA, bodyshop jumped into action when a carfire disrupted business as usual in midApril.

The fire department praised thebody shop workers who put out thefire before the engines arrived. Em-ployees had recently participated insafety training.

Workers grabbed fire extin-guishers to snuff out a vehicle fire be-fore firefighters arrived, according toSan Bernardino County Fire Depart-ment officials.

The call came in to Fire Dispatchat 12:29 p.m. of a car on fire at Son-shine Auto Body on Jasmine Street inVictorville, officials said.

Two fire engines, one from Vic-torville and the other from Hesperia,were dispatched to the scene, accordingto Hesperia Battalion Chief RichardCampos, who also responded to the in-cident.

When Campos arrived, the autobody shop was full of black smoke andthe car fire had been put out, he said.

“I was very impressed by theway the employees reacted,” Campossaid. “They called 911, put out the fireand gave direction for all employeesto leave the structure and everyonewas accounted for.”

A full commercial fire responsewas dispatched to the business, andthen canceled once Campos realizedthe fire had been extinguished.

Employee Matt Mena, who wasworking on a car nearby, heard a pop-ping sound and looked up to see a2010 Jetta on fire nearby, he said.

Mena remembered PASS, a fireextinguisher method that stands forpoint, aim, squeeze and sweep, thathe learned during the company firetraining program.

“We knew where the fire extin-guishers were because of the train-ing,” Mena said. “I remembered toaim at the base of the fire.”

Arson investigator Hector Trevinowas also called to the scene because thecause of the fire was not known and it isunder investigation, Campos said.

FinishMaster Customer Appreciation Event Heldin Cathedral City, CAThe annual FinishMaster CoachellaValley Customer Appreciation andTrade Show event was held at the Fin-ishMaster location in Cathedral City,CA, on April 27. Approximately 100customers attended throughout theday and 50 t-shirts were given awayto shop employees within the first twohours of the event. Customers wereable to get a hands-on look at newproducts and enjoy a great barbecue

lunch prepared by Donna Tegarden,wife of branch manager Miles Tegar-den.

(l to r) Hop Sanchez, FinishMaster, TimBarker , McGeez Auto Body, and JoannaMurrieta, 3M

Mike Peck with So.Cal Sales showing newplastic repair tool and Iwata spray equipment

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The Specialty Equipment Market As-sociation (SEMA) has endorsed a pro-posal by Rep. Paul Cook that wouldend a five-year debate on how to ex-pand the U.S. Marine Corps (USMC)base at Twentynine Palms, CA.

Under the compromise, theMarines would have access to the ad-joining Johnson Valley Off-Highway(OHV) Recreation Area for up to 42days a year for training exercises butthe OHV area would be otherwisepreserved in perpetuity.

“SEMA thanks RepresentativeCook for crafting legislation that ad-dresses the needs of local residents,the OHV community and the MarineCorps,” said SEMA President andCEO Chris Kersting. “It represents acommon sense, shared-use compro-mise that fairly protects the interestsof all stakeholders.”

Johnson Valley is the largestOHV area in the U.S., totaling nearly189,000 acres. It is managed by theU.S. Bureau of Land Management(BLM).

The land is used year-round byOHV enthusiasts, as well as mountainbikers, equestrians and hunters. Thearea is also home to numerous motor-ized events that draw thousands of

competitors and spectators to the areaevery year, including the famous Kingof the Hammers event.

The legislation protects OHVactivities by establishing the “John-son Valley National Off-Highway Ve-hicle Recreation Area” under thecontinued management of the BLM.The legislation also provides for pub-lic participation in determining thedates for military activities that willbe the least disruptive for OHV ac-tivities.

SEMA and its SEMA ActionNetwork (SAN) is urging lawmakersto adopt the solution and enact thelegislation into law. SEMA representsthousands of companies that marketproducts for OHV vehicles and,through the SAN, millions of enthusi-asts who buy and operate these vehi-cles.

Before being elected to Con-gress, Rep. Cook served a 26-year dis-tinguished military career in theMarine Corps before retiring as acolonel. He has lived for years in thearea that includes Johnson Valley andthe Twentynine Palms base and repre-sented those communities at the locallevel, in the California state legisla-ture and now in Congress.

SEMA Hails Proposal to Save OHV Area atTwentynine Palms in California desert

Nevada’s Collision Authority Expands in Las VegasNevada-based Collision Authority re-cently held grand openings for its20,000-square-foot North Las VegasGreenfield site and their newest37,500-square-foot Fremont Street fa-cility. The MSO now operates six col-lision repair centers and one satelliteoffice in the greater Las Vegas, area.

CEO Michael Spears noted thatCollision Authority’s locations areamong the few shops in the state li-censed as Class A facilities under theNevada DMV licensing program. Ofthe eight total Class A licenses grantedby the DMV to date, six of them areCollision Authority locations.

“The Nevada Class A shop pro-gram drew its inspiration from Colli-sion Industry Conference (CIC)standards, with requirements that inmany ways align with aspects of theCIC recommendations, and wasthoughtfully designed with consumersand their safety in mind,” said Spears.

Class A is the highest level ofbody shop licensing obtainable fromthe Nevada DMV. It is a distinctlyhigher level of licensing than commonbody shop licensing.

In addition to meeting properequipment requirements, Class A cer-tified shops are required by the stateto provide ongoing training—includ-ing I-CAR Gold Class qualifications

or an ASE Blue Seal of Excellence.“Given the significant complexi-

ties and safety issues surroundingtoday’s collision repair processes,we’re very proud to have been thefirst collision repair organization tohave taken the necessary steps and ap-plied efforts to be recognized and cer-tified by the state of Nevada with theClass A designation in all of our loca-tions,” Spears said.

“And, we sincerely hope otherswill step up and make the same com-mitment to excellence Collision Au-thority has. It’s good for our loyalcustomers, consumers in general, andthe automotive collision communityas a whole,” he added.

Vicki Dessaints, Collision Au-thority COO, said, “As we continue tobroaden our footprint and deepen thestrength of the Collision Authoritybrand in Nevada, we will always en-sure each of our facilities is Class Acertified and thusly licensed by theDMV, to the benefit of our customersand valued business partners alike.”

A free Charles ArmstrongAirbrushSeminar will be held for FinishMas-ter and PPG customers on Saturday,June 29 at PPG’s Training Center,11276 5th Street #500, in RanchoCucamonga, CA, from 10 a.m. to2:30 p.m. Lunch will be served.

To sign up, contact Hop Sanchezat [email protected].

FinishMaster to Host FreeAirbrush Seminar June 29

Frank P. Embree, 84, of Sunnysidedied May 1 in Yakima, WA. He wasborn in Grants Pass, OR, and at-tended school in Zillah. He workedfor auto body shops in the YakimaValley and also farmed mint. In1971, he established Frank’s AutoBody Repair in Sunnyside, WA, andoperated it until retiring in 1993. Sur-vivors include his wife, Flora; daugh-ters Pam Burton of Sunnyside andDeanna Holroyd of Vancouver, WA;brothers Ray Embree of Yakima,Jesse Embree of Idaho and Earl Em-bree of Selah; sister Ethel Fuller ofTexas; and three grandchildren.

Frank Embree Passes at 84

In Barstow, CA, a May 15 fire at J’sAuto Body Shop caused damage tointerior office space and charredmuch of the West Main Street busi-ness’ street-facing metal exterior.

The fire was reported to BarstowFire Protection District officials at7:37 a.m. and under control by 8:30a.m., Assistant Fire Chief Sal Corraosaid.

“It looks worse than it is,” Cor-rao said, adding that damage wasonly the office area and that flamesspared vehicles inside the body shop.

As officials from the SanBernardino County Sheriff’s Depart-ment Arson/Bomb Detail conductedtheir investigation, paramedics alsostood by in case of injury, Corraosaid.

Two engines and one truckfrom the BFPD received assistancein extinguishing the fire from twoMarine Corp Logistics Base engines,Corrao said.

No injuries were reported, ac-cording to Corrao.

The cause of the fire is underinvestigation.

J’s Auto Body in BarstowSuffers Damage from Fire

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The Women’s Industry Network(WIN) kicked off its three-day Educa-tion Conference at the Ritz CarltonHotel in Phoenix, AZ, with a Cincode Mayo welcome reception that in-cluded teambuilding games andevents.

The theme of the 2013 WIN Edu-cation Conference held on May 5-7was “Empower the Leader Within.”The focus of the conference centeredon leadership development, technol-ogy, industry trends, hiring and careerprogression.

According to Margaret Knell,2013 WIN Incoming Chair, the eventwas well attended by over 160 womenin the collision industry, includingshop owners and employees, manu-facturers and service providers to theindustry.

“We’re very pleased by the atten-dance at this year’s conference,” Knellsaid. “The WIN conference provides

a unique opportu-nity for women tonetwork with otherwomen in the in-dustry and learnhow to be forwardthinking in a dy-namic and chang-ing industry.”

On May 6, keynote speakerSusan Fowler with The Ken Blan-chard Companies, presented “The

Promise of Optimal Motivation.” Inher speech, Fowler discussed howmotivation can be taught, learned andnurtured as a skill. She said that in-stead of relying on others to motivateus, we can take responsibility to mo-tive ourselves, and in the process, im-

prove the quality of our work,relationships and life experi-ences.

One of her key points wasthat it’s the quality of the mo-tivation that matters most.Fowler’s research is based on6 levels of motivation:1. Disinterested (lowest level,we’re not even participating)2. External Motivation (risky,because they can be takenaway)3. Imposed Motivation (we

do something because we have to)4. The Aligned Motivational Outlook(tied to important and meaningfulgoals)5. The Integral Motivational Outlook(part of who we are, fulfills sense ofdeep purpose) 6. The Inherent Motivational Outlook(it’s fun and enjoyable; at this levelour competence is in sync with thetask at hand and we’re “in the zone”)

The afternoon session on “Re-cruiting, Hiring & Careers” was apanel discussion with Marie Artrim,

VP Recruiting with Enterprise, KathyMello of TGIF Body Shop, and StaceeRoyce of 3M. The panel was moder-ated by Denise Caspersen of ASA.Topics covered included what hiringmanagers are looking for, how to at-tract the best talent, and how to keepyour employees engaged and commit-ted to your company’s success.

One of the key takeaways from allthree panelists was that intervieweesneed to have the basic job qualifica-tions, but “attitude is everything.” An-

other word of advice was to follow-upwith the company after submitting aresume (via email or phone) and showinterest and initiative. Ask for the jobif you want it.

Day two of the conference startedearly with a WIN Scholarship Indus-try Walk. Over $3,000 in donationswere raised for the WIN ScholarshipFund.

The May 7 keynote speaker, BarbMoses, VP of Discover LeadershipTraining, presented “Empowering theLeader Within by the Observer be-coming the Observed.”

The afternoon panel session on“Emerging Technologies & Trends”included panelists Rick Leos of Toy-ota, Jim Muse, Director of IndustryRelations with Axalta, and Gina Pin-gitore of JD Powers & Associates.The panel was moderated by Liz

Stein of Assured Performance. Pan-elists discussed the rapidly changingauto industry (projection of adriverless car in 2020!) andthe importance of trainingand access to auto repair in-formation.

Jim Muse from Axaltaspoke about private equities’interest in the collision repairbusiness. He stated that eventhough there has been a sig-nificant decrease in the num-

ber of body shops since 2006 to36,800 shops, the larger shops withstrong operating procedures are doingvery well. According to his research,the top 2,000 shops bring in 21% of

the total revenue.“Why would private equity invest

in a flat industry?” he asked. “For theability to improve the process and bemore efficient.”

Muse described the future state ofthe supply chain as: 1. Increased consolidation of the Dis-tributor2. Elimination of Waste 3. Improved Service Level Agree-ments

After lunch, the following break-out sessions were offered:1. “Predictive Estimating” with RickLeos of Toyota2. “Cash Through Clarity” with LisaCherney of Conscious Marketing3. “Laugh Yourself Healthy” withNorma Richardson, The Body KnowsBest

After two full days of networkingand learning opportunities, ChristyJones, of R Jones Collision in DesMoines, IA, said, “The conferencewas well worth every cent. It was agreat way to get out of the shop, re-en-ergize and meet other women in theindustry.”

To find out how you can become amember or support WIN, please visit thewebsite at www.womensindustrynet-work.com or contact Margaret Knell [email protected].

WIN Wins Big with 2013 Education Conference in Phoenix

WIN women participate in Cinco de Mayo welcomereception team building exercises

Recruiting, Hiring and Careers Panelists (l to r) Marie Artim, Kathy Mello and Stacee Royce

Emcees (l to r) Petra Schroeder andYolanda Sandor

Representatives from WIN Sponsoring Companies

Susan Fowler

Emerging Technology Trends Panelists (l to r) Rick Leos, Jim Muse and Gina Pingitore


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Insurer-mandated parts procurementsystems, and I-CAR’s decision not tofollow through with its plans to workwith automakers to identify and closethe gaps in existing collision repairprocedures, dominated discussion at arepairer-only meeting held in Phoenixin April.

Aaron Schulenburg, executivedirector of the Society of CollisionRepair Specialists, led the “RepairerRoundtable” meeting, but said it wasless tied to any one organization thanto an over-arching goal of providingrepairers a place to discuss and estab-lish objectives without the influenceof other industry segments.

“I think our industry has becomewell-informed,” Schulenburg said.“There is a great network of informa-tion going in and out of the associa-tions, and from the trade press. But justbeing informed isn’t enough. We needto be able to strategize as an industryand have a plan. Being informed with-out having a plan won’t get us there.That’s part of what this meeting is, toformulate our voice.”

I-CAR’s decision, announced justthe week prior to the meeting, waswidely criticized by those in atten-dance. In late 2011, three national tradeassociations (later endorsed by morethan two dozen state and regionalgroups) asked I-CAR to take on thetask of communicating with the au-tomakers in an effort to increase theamount and availability of OEM repairprocedures. As recently as late January,I-CAR CEO John Van Alstyne saidhis organization was moving forwardwith a planned roll-out this summer ofa 5-pronged approach to the issue, butthe members of I-CAR’s board in at-tendance at a March meeting votedunanimously to halt the program.

The request from the trade groupshad indicated such an effort would sup-port their statement that OEM repairprocedures are the industry “standard”for repairs. Meeting attendee TonyPasswater, executive director of theIndiana Auto Body Association, saidbased on his past involvement with I-CAR, he believes it was the word“standards,” more than the concept of

expanding the availability of OEM pro-cedures, that led to the decision.

“That’s where they all cringe, es-pecially on the insurance side,” Pass-water said.

Meeting attendee Dusty Womble, anI-CAR board member and an operatingpartner in Roger Beasley Collision Centerin Austin, TX, said the I-CAR vote would

not have been unan-imous had it nottaken place at thefirst board meetinghe’d missed in fouryears.

Meeting attendeeBarry Dorn, a Vir-ginia shop owner,

said he felt it was important that peopleask I-CAR what led to the decision.

“I implore all of you to talk to thefolks at I-CAR about what happened,ask them to explain why they voted theway they did,” Dorn said. “To me thisis inexcusable. In my opinion, I-CARhas been hijacked by special interests.”

But meeting attendee Scott Biggsof the Assured Performance Network,which joined the national associationsin their 2011 request to I-CAR, notedthat it was a decision made by the I-CAR board, not staff.

“It should be noted that the staff dida huge amount of work in the last 18months to address a lot of the things thatwe wanted them to do,” Biggs said.“Most of those things they’re going tocontinue to do.”

What won’t continue, Biggs said,is I-CAR’s planned creation of a“council” to help facilitate and filterthe communication between automak-ers and the industry. Biggs and Schu-lenburg each said the conceptualsolutions for the council was one as-pect of I-CAR’s plan they hadn’t been“entirely comfortable with.”

“I-CAR seemed like a good fit atthe time. But any organization that isn’twilling to publicly and clearly state thatthe OEM repair procedures are the stan-dard for repair probably isn’t a goodpartner for what we’re looking to ac-complish here,” Schulenburg said. “Sowhile there’s not a lot of detail I cangive, what I can share is a large subset

of the original requesters do intend tocreate an industry council to addresscollision repair procedural standards.The primary mission of this council willbe to gather feedback and provide inputto the OEMs to address deficiencies inthe library of procedures and issues orquestion that arise form the industry di-alog. It’s about communication.”

Meeting attendee Dan Risley ofthe Automotive Service Association,which also was among the organiza-tions requesting I-CAR’s involvementin 2011, said communication will beimportant because there “are some in-stances where the OEM repair proce-dure probably may not apply.” Henoted, for instance, that Honda callsfor replacement of sun visors afterairbag deployment.

“And you can’t even use thesame screws. You’re supposed to havebrand new screws, otherwise you’ve

just deviated from the standard proce-dures from Honda,” Risley said.

Similarly, he said, Toyota callsfor the complete replacement of someseats after airbag deployment.

“And if you meet with Toyota andyou ask them, ‘Why can’t I just replace aseat back,’ which was the procedure atone time, their response is a little bit dif-ferent than you might think,” Risley said.“Most people assume it’s a safety issue.In this particular case, the reason theywant you to replace the full seat is the im-pact on customer service. The material onthe seat back wouldn’t match the seatbottom and customers were dissatisfied.”

Schulenburg acknowledged thatthe goal is not to give “automakerscarte blanche” in terms of proceduresbut to have two-way communicationwith them and to have mechanisms inplace to ensure it is a collaborative in-


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Industry Insightwith John Yoswick

—John Yoswick is a freelance writer based in Portland, Oregon, who has a body shop in thefamily and has been writing about the automotive industry since 1988. He is the editor of theweekly CRASH Network (for a free 4-week trial subscription, visit www.CrashNetwork.com).Contact him by email at [email protected].

See Key Industry Issues, Page 48

Dusty Womble

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© 2013 BASF Corporation

“ The last thing you do to a car is the first thing you see.”

— Sam Foose (Chip’s dad)

My dad taught me to demand the very best of everything—from the wheels on up to the finish. Fortunately, BASF shares our passion and delivers. World-class finishes, outstanding durability and industry-leading color tools all back up that claim. Like me, BASF knows that you never get a second chance to make a first impression. To learn more, visit basfrefinish.com.

For more information, scan the QR code with your smartphone. If you do not have a QR code app, it can be downloaded for free.

Two military veterans, David Rose ofDowney, CA, and Melanie Moralesof Long Beach, CA, were the recipi-ents of refurbished cars, a gift fromthe National Auto Body Council’s Re-cycled Rides program. Through theprogram, vehicles involved in acci-dents are completely refurbished andgiven to those who need reliable trans-portation.

Prior to receiving his new late-model Toyota Camry, David Rosespent hours on the bus getting to andfrom his job at Disneyland, the DailyBreeze newspaper reported.

“I finally have reliable transporta-

tion for me and my family,” Rose said.“It’s a blessing.” Rose spent 11 yearsin the U.S. Army and five years in theforest service.

The recycled rides were donatedduring a ceremony at Terranea Resortin Rancho Palos Verdes, CA. Bothcars were refurbished after being de-clared total losses following colli-sions.

Melanie Morales, whospent three years in the Navy,received a Dodge Avenger.Like Rose, Morales madelong bus commutes with herson, attending her classes atLong Beach City College,and getting to the baby sitterand her job working thegraveyard shift at a nursinghome.

The trip on the bus, shesaid, was the worst part ofher day.

“I don’t like taking the bus late atnight with my son,” she said.

Both former service memberswere entered into a lottery to receivecars by U.S. Vets, which partneredwith Recycled Rides to match needy

veterans with cars. The mission ofU.S. Vets is to help veterans transi-tion from the military back to civil-ian life.

“A car can make a difference inwhether a family can take that nextstep to stable employment,” said KimKimbriel, a spokeswoman for Recy-cled Rides. “Here in southern Califor-nia, public transportation is not thatreliable and you are limited in youremployment without a car.”

Since its inception in 2007, Recy-cled Rides has donated more than 800cars to needy families across the coun-try.

Esurance and the AutomobileClub of Southern California donatedthe cars that went to Morales andRose. Caliber Collision in Torrance

and LC Automotive’s Ra-mona Auto Body in Hemetrefurbished the vehicles.

“Instead of demolishingthe cars ... we are of part ofthis community effort to re-cycle them,” said MarieMontgomery Nordhues, aspokeswoman for the AutoClub. “The body shops do-nate their labor and donatetheir parts to put the car to-gether.”

At the ceremony, whichcoincided with an annual conferenceof collision repair companies and au-tomobile insurers, Rose and Moralespopped the trunks to their new carsand found more gifts donated by thebody shops—diapers, a stroller andcar seat for Rose; and gift basket filledwith goodies for Morales’ son.


Military Veterans Receive Recycled Rides in Southern California

Melanie Morales receives a refurbished car from RecycledRides. (Steve McCrank/Daily Breeze Staff Photographer)

David Rose climbs into his refurbished Toyota. (SteveMcCrank /Daily Breeze Staff Photographer)

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The Santa Clara chapter of the Cali-fornia Autobody Association met May22 in San Jose. Guest speaker wasMike Anderson with Collision Ad-vice who presented “The State of theCollision Industry in 2013.” Andersonis the former owner of WagonWorkCollision Centers in Alexandrai, VA.He is an accredited automotive man-ager (AAM), past director of the ASACollision Operations Division and hasalso served on the board of directorsfor WMABA and the VA AutomotiveLegislative Committee.

Santa Clara CAA Hosted MikeAnderson of Collision Advice

A body shop located in the Perry Dis-trict of Spokane, WA, was served asearch warrant in mid May.

Three adults males at Lonnie’sAuto Body Shop were arrested forselling meth and oxycodone. Thebusiness is located directly across thestreet from an elementary school.

According to a press releasefrom the police, the arrests markedthe end of a long, coordinated effortby Spokane Police to rid the districtof a chronic nuisance problem.Spokane Police received numerouscomplaints recently of drug activityat the repair shop.

SIU together with Neighbor-hood Conditions Officers and CodeEnforcement coordinated their ef-forts to shut down the business.About a month ago the business wasclosed by Code Enforcement due tosafety violations.

Employees were allowed in thebusiness, only to make repairs to getthe business up to code. On May 15the owner and two employees werebooked into jail on felony drugcharges.

Spokane Police thanked all thecitizens that called in suspicious ac-tivity.

Spokane Shop Busted forSelling Drugs Near School

In Emery County, UT, Castle Coun-try Auto Body and Paint LLC openedMay 7 with a ribbon cutting. Thenew business is located in Hunting-ton and is owned by Jason Ward.

Castle Country Auto Body andPaint is located in the old firehouseof Huntington. The owner is leasingthe old firehouse from HuntingtonCity and plans to purchase the build-ing from the city in the future. Theold firehouse is a large building withroom for several cars.

Ward is experienced in autobody repair, restoration of automo-biles and custom painting. He hasbeen working in the auto body andpaint business for the last 15 years.He started out working at Ward’s4X4 in Huntington and then workedfor his brother at Joey’s Body andPaint in Price.

Ward will be offering auto colli-sion repair and restoration and cus-tom auto painting.

Ward installed a special largemetal ventilated painting booth withinterior illumination for painting au-tomobiles. This special room hasseveral safety lights in the ceiling andin the walls to illuminate all sides ofthe vehicle being painted.

Auto Body Shop Opens inOld Firehouse in Utah

Almost Everything Autobody in Fre-mont, CA, has been voted the BestBodyshop in the San Francisco BayArea for 2013. They have been votedthe Best Bodyshop every year since2009 and won the 2011 ABC7 SanFrancisco A-List Award for BestBody Shop and placed second in2012.

Almost Everything was votedthe best of 118 auto body shops in theSan Francisco Bay Area. In Fremont,they have been voted “Best of Fre-mont” by readers of the Argus andFremont Bulletin five years running.

Almost Everything Autobody’scollision center utilizes a state-of-the-art auto body repair and car paintfacility to ensure the highest quality.

Almost Everything Autobodyspecializes in repairing fading andchipped paint, environmental dam-age, rust, clear coat damage and moreat its collision center. Whether the caris need of a minor touch-up or a com-plete overhaul, Almost EverythingAutobody provides expert paintingservices to ensure the vehicle shineslike new. Almost Everything’s teamof painting experts has comprehen-sive experience providing a smoothfinish.

Almost Everything Autobodyin Fremont, CA, Voted Best

In a 76-0 vote April 29, New Jersey as-sembly members voted to crack downon insurance fraud. Democrats WayneP. DeAngelo and Celeste Riley spon-sored the bill, which targets residentswho fraudulently obtain automobileinsurance in another state. “Insurancefraud is not only wrong, but it costshonest drivers money through higherpremiums,” said DeAngelo. “We’vemade a lot of progress in controllingauto insurance rates, but we still havea long way to go and cracking downon fraud needs to be a big part of thatcontinuing effort.”

NJ Cracks Down on Fraud

Three Tucson, AZ, families who hadbeen struggling and coping with dailytransportation challenges were pre-sented with Recycled Rides in a sur-prise presentation by Caliber Collisionin April.

The three recipients were selectedfrom more than 400 nominations sub-mitted by the Tucson community. Anindependent review committee com-prised of community leaders made thefinal selections.

All three vehicles were donated

by GEICO and refurbished by Cal-iber Collision associates who vol-unteered personal time to repair thevehicles as a community serviceproject.

“The response to our call fornominations was over-whelming,” said PatrickO’Neill, Vice President ofOperations for Caliber Col-lision. “We are happy topartner with GEICO to do-nate three vehicles, but itwas difficult knowing thatso many more people strug-gle every day simply to getto work and take care oftheir families without reli-able vehicles.”

Earl Chittum, RegionalAuto Damage Director forGEICO, added, “We hopethese vehicles will ease the

burden of transportation and serve asthe catalyst that helps the three se-lected recipients get through theirchallenges and back on the road to-wards a positive future.”

The three Recycled Rides recipi-ents were:

• Elena Rascon is a single mother ofthree. She and her children have gonethrough divorce, homelessness and aserious car accident in the last fewyears. Lingering effects from the ac-cident make walking painful for Ras-con.• Angel Alvarez is a land-scaper and handyman. Heoften has to ride the bus toget to his various part-timejobs, which he relies on tohelp support his family offive children and 10 grand-children. With a reliable car,he will be able to take a full-time job offer with a land-scaping company.• Chris and Terry Hernan-

dez have seven children.The youngest was bornwith chronic renal failureand received a kidney trans-plant last June. He still re-quires regular trips to thehospital for follow-up visitsand therapy. With all of themedical bills, the familycannot afford to buy a sec-ond car. Arranging trans-

portation with one car and a largefamily can be tricky, and often in-volves borrowed vehicles, buses andcar pools. Despite that, the childrenare involved in school and extracur-ricular activities.

Caliber Collision Surprises Three Struggling Tucson Families


Back row from left, Michael Quinn, NABC; Earl Chittum,GEICO; Amanda Saffer, Recycled Rides. Front row, fromleft, Apollonia, Alvaro, Alejandria, and Elena Rascon

The Caliber Collision team poses with recipient Angel Alvarez,third from left

The Hernandez family received this van thanks toRecycled Rides

“What’s this Google+ thing I’m hear-ing about?” or “Should my businesshave a Google+ page?” and “We justfigured out this Facebook thing andnow we have to worry about doingGoogle+?” are among the commentsI’ve heard recently at CAA meetings.

I’ve been paying close attentionto Google+ for more than a year now,watching it to see how it evolves andgrows and reading blogs about it. Theconsensus is that Google+ is quicklybecoming a go-to site for companiesof all sizes. People and businesses likeit because it offers exposure and inter-activity without sacrificing securityand privacy.

Instead of Facebook which has“likes,” Google+ allows the user to cre-ate “Circles,” which can be brokendown into separate groups. You cancreate as many Circles as you desire,including your college classmates, soft-ball team members, co-workers, or rel-atives, for example. Each message orinteraction can be focused and tailoredto each Circle. It’s more targeted andmore importantly, you’re not botheringpeople with news or photos of thingsthat probably won’t interest them.

Google+ also has an interestingfeature called “Sparks” which are es-sentially a list of the user’s favoritehobbies, activities or organizationsthat interest them. Once these Sparksare selected on the user’s profile,Google+ will automatically suggestappropriate content to the user. Theseinclude links to pertinent and timelyarticles, videos, photos, podcasts andsound files that are directly related tothe individual’s or company’s partic-ular interests.

Google+ also has a very popularvideo chat feature called “Hangouts”that enable the user to conduct videochats within their Circles. There arealso “Huddles,” an online chat featuresimilar to what you might find onAOL or Skype. All of these featureswork together to engage people andkeep them involved, which is the maingoal of social media in general.

To find a body shop that usedGoogle+ extensively, I found MarinaAuto Body, with two locations in LosAngeles. When I talked to the ownerTom Williamson, he had nothing but

positive things to say about his expe-rience with Google + and his results.He told me about Pixel Motion, acompany in Orange County, CA, thathe contracted to do his web and socialmedia work.

Pixel Motion is a boutique digitalagency that does marketing and webdevelopment with a focus on the au-tomotive industry. Most of theirclients are automotive manufacturersand car dealerships, but they alsowork extensively with a select numberof collision centers and body shops.

I contacted the agency’s Directorof Social Media Natalie Ricker topick her brain about social media andGoogle+ for automotive companiesand body shops specifically.

“My mentality when approachingany form of social media always is thesame—will it keep people’s atten-tion?” Ricker said. “So, I post whatpeople want to know, which can in-clude anything from the weather, localevents happening in their area, links toarticles that are related to car safety,quotes of the day, or maybe just a pic-ture of an adorable dog. My postsvary, so the fans never see the samething every day. When fans comeacross the page, they will want to likeit because of how people-friendly it is.We aren’t pushing promotions. We’reshowcasing the fact that we love ourcustomers and employees; we love tohave fun and keep you informed andentertained. That’s the message wewant to convey.”

With people getting into accidentsevery nine years on average, socialmedia like Google+ is valuable forbody shops that want to stay in theircustomers’ minds when the unfortu-nate does occur.

“When the next collision doeshappen to them or someone theyknow, what shop do you think will bethe first to pop in their head?” Rickersaid. “We use this same approach withGoogle+. If a potential customer issearching on the web for a premiercollision center near Los Angeles, willthey choose the one that has a com-plete profile with pictures and funposts, with people in their Circles, orwill they choose the one that has anincomplete profile that didn’t bother

to personalize their page?”It’s all about the presentation with

any type of social media, Ricker ex-plained. “Body shops need to have anattractive Google + page, no question.Organically, they will rank next toother business listings that haveGoogle places, so they need to standout. If someone sees a picture of just amap, they move on. They want to seea picture of the body shop. It makes itfeel more legitimate and professional.

“One of the biggest differencesbetween Facebook and Google+ isGoogle Hangouts,” Ricker said.“Body shops can use this tool to theiradvantage with other Google users.Let’s say a customer wants to see theprogress of the repair of their vehicle.With Google Hangouts, they canemail an invite to their technician to“hangout” or video chat with them.They can then see the friendly smileof the technician and interact withthem face-to-face. Should the techni-

cian have time, he can also even givethem a virtual tour of the progress oftheir vehicle with a company laptop.”

Another great thing about Googleis they offer amazing data that canhelp body shops to find out what’sworking and what isn’t.

“We recommend that our clientskeep track of their Google+ page’sprogress through Google Analytics,”Ricker said. “It’s easy to track wheretheir visitors come from, (cities, searchengines, social sites, etc.), how longthey are staying on the site and whichpages are the most popular. We trackthese analytics every month and send areport to our clients with screenshotsof different data. We then provide anin-depth analysis with recommenda-tions on how to improve. We also rec-ommend Google Webmaster Tools,which is also full of insightful data andmetrics. A lot of this information canbe overwhelming, so we simplify itand explain it to our customers.”


Google+ Is an Emerging Star for Media-Savvy Body Shops

with Ed Attanasio

Social Media for Shops

Ed Attanasio is an automotive journalist based inSan Francisco, California. He can be reached [email protected]. In

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In 2012, the Database EnhancementGateway (DEG) received more than1,300 inquiries, an increase of approx-imately 30% from the previous twoyears, DEG Administrator ArthurHarris reported. This year, DEG ex-pects to receive more than 1,500 in-quiries.

The DEG was built to help ad-dress individual estimating databaseissues on specific vehicles. As a freeservice, those who use estimate sys-tems may submit inquiries to the DEGwhen they encounter questions orconcerns relative to estimating data.The DEG acts as a go-between forshops and information providers—CCC, Mitchell and Audatex—to im-prove the quality and accuracy of thedata used to generate collision repairestimates and to provide feedback toinformation providers.

As an advocate, the DEG willprocess all submitted database in-quiries to information providers untila conclusion is reached. All issues andresponses are posted on the websiteand visible to all. Through feedbackby repairers, the DEG can help fixfootnotes, inaccurate labor times,missing parts, incorrect part numbers,and substrate identification. Upon re-ceiving an inquiry, Harris said thequestion is posted on their website andforwarded to the information providerwithin 24 hours. Many inquiries areresolved and responded to within 2-3days, depending on the complexity ofthe inquiry and responsiveness of theinformation provider. Response timesare posted directly on the website data-base for clear transparency into theprocess times for each of the three in-formation providers.

The DEG database is a valuabletool for the collision repair industry asit provides valuable feedback on miss-ing, unclear or potentially inaccuratedata within the estimate systems, Har-ris said. Often, an inquiry can result inchanges to the database or P-Pages.Shops are also encouraged to submitpictures or short videos with techni-cians performing the task in questionor related to the problem.

The DEG public database hasbeen available for five years, saidHarris, who has been with the non-profit for over two years. As the ad-ministrator, Harris is responsible fordaily operations of processing in-quiries and is assisted by a joint oper-

ating committee. With 25 years in theindustry, Harris’ background includesmanaging a collision center at a deal-ership in Rochester, NY, and in an-other position, working as a trainingand education director and liaison be-tween the collision repair shop and in-surance companies to resolve issues.

“We are really excited about the30% increase of inquiries because itmeans the industry is taking advan-tage of the resource, and that it is pro-viding a necessary and useful tool forcollision shops,” Harris said. “Thatsaid, we know we are only scratchingat the surface. If you look at the num-ber of body shops in the U.S. (ap-proximately 35,000), 1,300 to 1,500inquiries in a year is probably not rep-resentative of the full spectrum of datacorrections that need to be addressed.We think there are more areas withinthe databases that can be resolved ifmore people were exposed to howeasy it is to communicate with IPsthrough our process, and how effec-tive that communication is when esti-mators submit issues.”

In December 2012, the DEGlaunched a redesigned website(www.degweb.org) that is easier tonavigate. Users can jump right intothe inquiry process with an easily vis-ible “Open Inquiry” button located onthe home page. The most significantaddition to the website is the additionof a “Top 10 List” for each of the threeinformation providers. These lists aregenerated by the most frequent issuesposted by users or enhancementsusers would like to see.

In the Top 10 Lists for all threeinformation providers, the top userconcern listed for each is “Feather,Prime and Block”—users would liketo see the systems generate a pop-upto add feather, prime and block laborto the estimate. The user would createthe time, but the system needs the op-tion to add it, without creating a man-ual entry. Another top concern isadding an option—“add for prep rawpart”—for preparation time for plas-tic parts (in addition to bumpers) thatare shipped raw or in an unprimedstate.

In addition, the newly designedwebsite continues to includes links toestimating guides or “P-Pages” foreach estimating system.

“We are really excited about theSee DEG Inquiries, Page 23

DEG Received 1,300 Inquiries in 2012, Up 30%,Expects More than 1,500 in 2013

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Long Island Auto Body Repairmen’sAssociation (LIABRA) membersjoined New York State Auto CollisionTechnician Association (NYSACTA)members for its annual Lobby Dayheld on April 16.

LIABRA members Ed Kizen-berger, Hank Hancock and EdKizenberger Jr. visited the state capi-tol in Albany, NY, with more than 30NYSACTA representatives from allover the state, along with lobbyistPam Madeiros and staff from NYS-ACTA’s lobby law firm, GreenbergTraurig, LLP.

According to Hancock, thegroup met at 8 a.m. to get or-ganized. Pam Madeiros dis-tributed lobbying packets tothe members with a scheduleof meeting appointments.Each packet contained all thebills of concern and support-ing documents, as well astalking points. Each memberalso received similar packetsto be given to each legislatorthey visited. Madeiros dis-cussed each bill and gave themembers lobbying advice.

LIABRA/NYSACTA ExecutiveDirector Ed Kizenberger reviewed theaftermarket parts bill that requires in-surers to disclose to consumers what

type of parts they are paying for andmay only use OEM parts on currentyear cars or for two succeeding yearsthereafter.

Bob Caprara, Greg Coccaro,Mike Orso, Ed Kizenberger and PamMadeiros met with leaders of the As-sembly and Senate as well as the At-torney General’s Office and the newFinancial Services Department, for-merly the Insurance Department. Allother members were scheduled tomeet with their local legislative repre-sentatives.

The purpose of Lobby Day wasto provide an opportunity forLIABRA and NYSACTA members tomeet face-to-face with local legisla-

tive members and their staff to educatethem on the inner workings of the col-lision industry and how support forseveral pending bills—from counter-

feit air bags, capping of labor partsand materials, and aftermarketparts—would affect the day-to-daylives of shops and consumers.

In other LIABRA news, the asso-ciation met May 21 at HuntingtonHilton in Melville, NY. The meetingincluded a business development sem-inar by Sherwin Williams. Topics cov-ered included key basic KPIs,branding your business, the state ofthe industry, and measuring your busi-ness for success in a consolidating in-dustry.


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new design of the website,” Harrissaid. “It gives the user the opportunityto get to a few key areas right away.”

The DEG is equally funded by theSociety of Collision Repair Specialists(SCRS), the Automotive Service Asso-ciation (ASA) and the Alliance of Au-tomotive Service Providers (AASP) asa free service to the industry.

Sponsors include industry or-ganizations such as AutomotiveBody Repair News, PPG, Washing-

ton Metropolitan Auto Body Associ-ation (WMABA), DuPont, SherwinWilliams and Keenan Auto Body.

“While the service is free to use,we really rely on financial supportfrom the industry, both in the form ofsponsorships and donations from sat-isfied end-users. This support lessensthe ongoing financial reliance on theprimary funding associations, allow-ing them to redirect funds to new re-sources that help the industry in otherways,” Harris said. “All the servicesthat we do are free.”

For more information or to submitan inquiry, go to www.degweb.org.

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Continued from Page 21

DEG Inquiries

The Texas Franchise Tax Bill, Substi-tute House Bill 500, that will help re-solve independent repairer franchisetax issues recently passed the Houseand moved to the Senate.

Currently, automotive serviceand collision repair shops owned andoperated by new or used car dealer-ships are taxed at half the rate used totax the independently owned busi-nesses doing identical work. TheTexas state tax code classifies dealer-ship sales as “retail” and allows theirservice and repair business to be in-cluded under that banner.

Once passed in the Senate, this billwill allow automotive repair shops to betaxed the same amount that dealers,parts stores and tire stores are now taxed.

ASA requests that Texas memberssend a letter to their legislators urgingthem to support this bill. Visit ASA’slegislative website at www.TakingThe-Hill.com.

According to Charles Parker, ex-ecutive director of ASA-Texas, “Thislegislation is critical in helping the inde-pendent repair shops of Texas by cor-recting the unfair taxation of independentrepair shops throughout Texas.”

Texas Franchise Bill Passes House and Moves to Senate

One rule you’ll find in many sales andmarketing books is that the averagesale is made after the sixth visit or call,but the average sales person gives upafter the third visit or call. This infor-mation provides a reliable way to in-crease sales power. The usual sale ina collision repair shop is just gettingthe owner of a vehicle who brings itinto the shop is leave the keys and letthe shop do the repairs. But generallya shop also works to sell dealerships,fleet management companies, insur-ance companies and more on referringbusiness to the shop. While these salesefforts involve direct calls and visits,perhaps the most common violation ofthis rule is the sale to the vehicleowner who comes in for an estimate.

Back in the ‘90s, I visited a shopwhere the owner said he had a nearlyfoolproof method of capturingprospects that came in for an estimateand didn’t leave the vehicle. He had aseries of postcards he sent out after theprospect left. The first simply invitedthe prospect to come back and em-phasized the shop’s superior cycletime, paint quality, customer satisfac-tion and more. The next offered somefreebees, like a detail or wash. And thenext offered a financial consideration,like a lower rate if it was self-pay orperhaps a rebate on insurance jobs. Hesaid he captured nearly half of thosehe lost when they came in. In today’s

digital world where snail-mail isviewed as too slow to be of value, animmediate e-mail or Facebook orTwitter message might be more effec-tive. But how many shops stop afterthe first, second or third message, ifthey send anything at all. And of thosethat follow up with a phone call, howmany even go to a third call?

A lot of guys might say six callswould be ridiculous. But might therebe a good reason to make those sixcalls? Last year I wrote about the life-time value of a repeat customer. I fig-ured that in 15 years a driver mighthave a reason to visit the shop three-to-five times and generate at least$5,000 worth of business. In a shopthat depends heavily on repeat busi-ness, this should be reason enough tomake the calls or send messages.

When it comes to making thecalls, the old nemesis of sales peoplemight come into play. It’s well-knownthe biggest obstacle to persisting insales is fear of rejection. An estimatormay feel that fifth or sixth call willjust annoy the prospective customerand do more harm than good. If thefollow-up calls are just repeats of theones before and lack any new reasonto call, indeed, the prospect could getannoyed and hang-up the phone. It’strue. No call at all is better than a to-tally unplanned call with no strategicreason in mind. To make the six-call

strategy work, every one of the callsmust have a specific purpose thatrings true to the prospective customer.

Like the shop owner that sent fol-low-up postcards, the first few callsshould follow the same pattern: em-phasizing the shop’s superior cycletime, paint quality, and customer sat-isfaction. The next call could offersome freebees, like a free rental car, adetail or wash. And the next couldoffer a financial consideration. But atthis point, if there is still no sale, thenext calls have to take the push to anentirely new level.

Once again, in my previous arti-cle, I quoted marketing guru JayAbraham who says: “Until you iden-tify and understand exactly how muchcombined profit a client represents toyour business for the life of that rela-tionship, you can’t begin to know howmuch time, effort and ... expense youcan afford to invest to acquire thatclient in the first place.”

At some point you have to askyourself, how much would it be worthto get this customer for a lifetime? Someshops buy jobs from tow-truck drivers.Some shops pay dealerships a monthlyfee to get their work. How much wouldyou be willing to pay the customer to gethis or her business for life?

That fourth, fifth or sixth callcan’t be just another “canned presen-tation.” At this point there has to beenough on the table to really capturethe prospect’s attention. For example,you might ask him or her if someoneat work or among family and friendsalso needs body work on a vehicle. Ifso, it could be feasible to offer thisprospect half price or less if one of theother vehicles also comes in for repair.

Here is shot at getting severallifetime customers. Once you’ve gonebeyond the basic three calls, thesenext three calls must be creative andbuild on the prospect’s ego or desirefor the best possible deal.

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The Power of Persistence in Marketing

On Creative Marketingwith Thomas Franklin

Tom Franklin has been a sales and marketing consultant for fifty years. He has writtennumerous books and provides marketing solutions and services for many businesses.He can be reached at (323) 871-6862 or at [email protected]. See Tom’s columns at www.autobodynews.com under Columnists > Franklin

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Ray Gunder has been invited by theIndiana Auto Body Association toshare his legal journey with thestate’s collision repairers.

Tony Passwater, Executive Di-rector for the Indiana Auto Body As-sociation, has invited Ray to spend aweek traveling with him around thestate to share Ray’s legal journeywith groups of collision repairers.The daily meetings will be held in themornings and evenings throughoutone week in July.

“We are excited about gettingRay to come up here because shopowners need to see and hear from a

shop owner just like themselves thatcan take back control of their inde-pendence, and not compromise theirbusiness’ future,” said Passwater.

Ray said, “I’ve never been awayfrom my business for such a long timebut my son and daughter, along withour exceptional staff, will have thingswell in hand. I am usually accompa-nied by my wingmen, attorney BrentGeohagan and Barrett Smith ofADE, but this time I’ll be flying solo.I am proud and humbled to have beenasked to share our legal journey withothers and I hope my investment oftime and resources will help others.”

IABA Invites Ray Gunder to Hit the Road in Indiana

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Prior to owning his shop, Quintelawas an estimator for State Farm from1994–2002. His family owned bodyshops while he was growing up.

Over the past year, Quintela—in-spired by shop owner Ray Gunder ofLakeland, FL—has been taking ac-tion against insurance companies onbehalf of his customers.

“The insurance companies al-ways try to steer my customers awayfrom me anyway, no matter what,even if I wasn’t doing this. Now thatI have to fight to keep my customerto begin with, I feel like I don’t haveany reason why I shouldn’t go afterthe insurance companies for every-thing they owe,” said Quintela.

The business of making insurerspay what body shops feel they areowed is well worth the effort, timeand expense, said Quintela.

“If you were to look at this effortjust as a business itself, the return oninvestment is great because not onlyam I recovering the money I shouldhave been paid in the beginning (forproperly repairing a vehicle), I’m re-

covering my court costs and my at-torney’s fees as well. At the end of theday, I’ve recovered my investment,plus I got paid what I should have gotpaid to begin with.”

All he said he’s spending is time,and after one or two cases, the legalsteps became easy and are hardly timeconsuming.

“Once you do one or two cases, itbecomes really easy because youknow how it works. It’s very routine,”said Quintela. “The file gets put on mydesk once the work begins on the carand I scan the file over to my attorneyand that’s it. If it takes me more than15 minutes, it takes a lot of time. Andthe best thing about it is, we fix the carright away. We write our estimate, andwe don’t care what the insurancewrites. Whatever the difference is iswhat we are suing for.”

For example, Quintela and hislegal counsel, Brent Geohagan ofLakeland, FL, (also Ray Gunder’slegal counsel), recently levied a law-suit against Infinity Insurance Com-pany on behalf of a customer for theinsurer’s short pays of “reasonableand necessary” repair costs. The law-suit claims an underpayment of $611for the insurer’s arbitrary discount on

parts, failure to provide ample con-sideration for numerous necessary re-pair processes, related materials,labor rates and quality replacementparts.

Recently, Quintela received aState Farm estimate sheet that statesthe shop is responsible for conductingsafety inspections and checks.

“How can State Farm tell us thatwe’re responsible for conducting anynecessary inspection and safety checks,but refuse to reimburse their customersfor the cost of us doing them?”

Quintela and Geohagan have al-ready settled numerous short-paycases and have won them all.

What Quintela finds somewhatamusing is that the insurance compa-nies will settle one day and the verynext day, refuse to pay for the samethings they just settled in a previouslawsuit.

“We just settled with State Farm.They just paid me, plus my attorneyfees and their attorney fees and courtcosts, and the next day they comeback and do the same thing. They arestill fighting it. And, I just got a checkfrom another insurance company andthe next day I am suing them for thesame exact things. These insurance

companies go to court, they lose, theysettle, but the next day they are outdoing the same exact thing. Theywon’t give up. They try to wear youout, hoping that one day you just goaway, or they make it so hard to dis-courage other shops from doing it,”Quintela said.

However, Quintela believes it isimportant for body shops to stand upfor themselves and feels his effortsare helping the collision repair indus-try move in the right direction.


Continued from Cover

53 Lawsuits

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them. We like to work with the organ-izations, such as the California Auto-body Association (CAA) and theAutomotive Service Councils of Cali-fornia (ASCCA). When they seesomething that they believe is notproper, they call us and let us know,and then we can investigate thosecases.

Q: So, is it really as simple as a phonecall?JW:Absolutely the best way to do it isto contact the local office near you andtell us exactly what you’ve seen andwhat you believe. If you want to do itanonymously, we have no problemwith that. We really don’t need toknow who you are. It’s a tip and weappreciate every one, whether it’sabout unregistered activity going onor something like that—sure, we’dlove to hear about those. We do go outand see the potential violator in everysituation, to follow up the tip and citeif necessary. We do what’s called “citeand fine.” First, we cite them and tellthem they need to be registered. Ifthey don’t want to do that, the nextthing is the fine. We’ve been doing itthis way for over a year now and it’sbeen very successful. When we get atip, we always start looking at it thatsame week. If there’s a shop that’s op-erating late at night and early in themorning, we obviously have to makearrangements to get people scheduled.But, if the violations are occurringduring business days, we’ll be outthere right away.

Q: What types of fraud are you en-countering in the collision indus-try?JW: Body shops seem to get intotrouble by doing incorrect things withparts they install on customers’ vehi-cles. Within the last 11 months, we’vereceived 1,400 auto body-relatedcomplaints and there are a total of5,400 shops registered within thestate. Currently 36 of these com-plaints are going into formal filings,which might lead to the revocation oftheir licenses or possible fines associ-ated with them. But, to get back toyour question, what shops are gettinginto trouble typically in the collisionfield? A good example that came upthe other day was involving a bodyshop that installed a subassembly that

is used to hold a bumper on. You canonly buy this part by name and with aspecific part number. So, this bodyshop purchased the part and cutpieces off of it to attach to the vehiclethey were repairing, so that thebumper would fit. Unfortunately, thenthe shop’s paperwork indicated theentire subassembly was used. Theyprobably saved the customer’s moneyin the end, but they did not disclosethe information on their invoice. Ifthey had stated it as a “partial use,”the shop would have been coveredand the consumer would have beeninformed. It’s normally those types ofactivities that we encounter. As far asinstalling inferior parts, we don’t usu-ally get into that. You might find outthat people said, “I bought a newquarter panel and then later it turnedout to be a used panel.” Those typesof things will also get you into trou-ble. Or if you say you replaced thepanel and didn’t do it, then there’s anissue there. If you bondoed it togetherand just knocked it out and then soldit as a new part, that’s obviously not agood honest repair. That’s anothertransgression that can get body shopsinto trouble. Anyone who knowsbody work and inspects vehicles con-taining those types of issues is fairlyeasy to find. In the end, it’s all aboutjust being careful in what you fill outon your invoice. You must disclose allthe facts and document everythingyou’re doing on a car. Full disclosureto the consumer is important and ifit’s done right, the paperwork willprotect the body shop and the cus-tomer as well.

Q: So, the only way to really catchthese violators is to have the con-sumers turn them in?JW: That’s typically how it happens.Yes. In mechanical repair, you fixsomething like an alternator, wiringharness, suspension, and if it does notwork, you get a complaint. In colli-sion, you fix a dent and paint it, andshine it up, and if it fits well, the con-sumer is happy. There may well besome things under all that paint andglitter that weren’t done correctly, butif the consumer doesn’t know it, we’llnever find out about it. We tell all theshops that full disclosure is the onlyway to go. You list what you install,specifying whether it’s original equip-ment or aftermarket. Shops run intotrouble where they buy an aftermarketor used quarterpanel and then list it asnew. But, if the consumer doesn’t

know, we can’t do anything about it.It all comes down to “the eye of thebeholder” with quality. If the customeris happy, the car looks good and thedoors open and close correctly, wewon’t hear about it.

Q: Some body shop owners have sug-gested that the BAR should do im-promptu surprise inspections of bodyshops. Do you think that would be aneffective deterrent?JW: To perform ongoing random in-spections of body shops would be ahorrendous chore. If we suspect that abody shop is doing incorrect things,we will actually build cars and sendthem to the shop in question. Theseare called “undercover operations,”and it takes a pretty severe situation towarrant an operation like that. We ac-tually damage the cars a specific wayto see how these shops will respond.And we’ve caught offenders using thistechnique, so it definitely works. Thiswould be a shop that’s regularlycharging for operations that they donot perform and to the point wherethey’re a menace to society and giv-ing the industry a black eye. But thosecases are few and far between, be-cause the vast majority of the body

shops out there are clean operatorsand follow the law.

Q:You came more from the smog/me-chanical side of the industry, so whathave you learned about the collisionside of the business?JW: If you had asked me a year agowhat I-CAR stood for, I couldn’thave told you. So, my exposure tothe collision industry has been vastover this past year. I’ve learned a lotabout it, but I have a lot to learn. Ihave a great team around me, whichmakes it easier. We’ve got peoplehere with lots of experience, so it’snot difficult to just let them do theirjobs. You asked me before, “How doI manage the activities of 600 peo-ple?” I really don’t because it’s notpossible. You have to have a goodteam to succeed, and we have someof the best here across the Bureau,and I’m very pleased with them. Itold you last time that I would havean open door policy and that’s al-ways going to be the way I do things.My employees, consumer groups,collision industry leaders, and bodyshop owners—anyone can take ad-vantage of this policy and I look for-ward to meeting them.


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Prior to meeting with their localsenators, congress people and assem-bly members, the ASCCA/CAA metfor a continental breakfast and to de-vise a strategic approach to the day’slist of deliverables.

First, the two groups listened to apresentation made by Deputy Chief ofthe Bureau of Automotive Repair(BAR) Patrick Dore. Dore outlinedall of the newest developments con-cerning the California Smog Programand how the changes will affect pri-marily the mechanical repair industry.

ASCCA President Jack Crawleyalso spoke and CAA Executive Direc-tor David McClune welcomed every-one to Legislative Day 2013.

Last year at Legislative Day, thehottest potato on the table for the col-lision industry was Senate Bill 1460,known as the Automotive Repair: Re-placement Parts Bill, introduced bySenator Leland Yee. It attempted tocreate a new legal presumption that allcertified crash parts will be deemedsufficient to return a vehicle to its pre-loss condition. The CAA opposed the

bill and CAA members lobbied to killit, because it asked more questionsthan provided answers, according toJack Molodanof, who representsboth the ASCCA and CAA as its legaladvocate.

But before members were off totake on Sacramento, Jack Molodanofbriefed everyone about the proper pro-tocol to be used while encounteringtheir local representatives or membersof their staff. For veterans it was notnew information, but for first-timers itwas valuable advice.

“Don’t ever mention that you do-nated money to their campaign, even

if it’s true,” Molodanof explained.“That’s kind of tacky. Also, never tellthem that you’re a taxpayer. Get theirbusiness cards and don’t get dis-tracted. Be brief, stay on point andmove quickly, because they’ll respect

that and remember your con-versation later. Give reasonswhy you support or oppose aspecific measure and tellyour personal story if it’s ap-plicable. And don’t forgetyour ABCs (Always BeClosing). Seek a commit-ment and ask for their sup-port and never, ever misleada legislator.”

With scheduled appoint-ments throughout the Capi-tol’s offices all day long,ASCCA/CAA members as-sembled into small groups to

cover as much territory as possible.Although body shops and mechanicalshops have different perspectives, allthree of this year’s bills on theASCCA/CAA list deal with issuesthat can greatly impact both busi-nesses.

The first bill of concern to bothorganizations is an attempt to extendsales tax to include services. The

ASCCA/CAA both strongly opposethis bill, because they feel that a salestax on services will negatively impactthe economy and put an unhealthyburden on taxpayers. It also discrimi-nates against small businesses by in-creasing costs, thereby making it moreexpensive to own and operate anytype of business in California thatmarkets its services.

In addition, ASCCA/CAA’sstance is that by implementing a salestax on services, working familieswould also be negatively impacted andlower-income people would have topay a larger portion of their incomethan higher-income earners would fortaxes on services. In addition, saletaxes on automotive repair servicescould eventually lead to more do-it-yourselfers and impacting repair shopsthroughout the state, while compro-mising safety.

“This bill keeps coming around,because California needs the money,”Molodanof said. “But it could back-fire, because if it passes, we could bea state that produces products but notservices. There is absolutely no upsideto his bill and in any reincarnation it’ssomething we need to strongly op-pose.”


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ASCCA/CAA Lobbies

ASCCA Vice President Mary Kemnitz and CAA BoardMember Gigi Walker were on hand to lobby for bothorganizations at the ASCCA/CAA Joint Legislative Dayin Sacramento on April 16

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Two other bills of interest to bothmechanical and collision repairers areSB 607 (Berryhill) and AB 907 (Con-way) that deal with the issue of work-ing hours and work week flexibility.These bills would allow an individual

non-exempt employee to request anemployee-selected flexible workschedule providing for work days upto 10 hours per day within a 40-hourwork week without warranting over-time compensation. Current laws pro-hibit this flexibility and both theASCCA and CAA strongly supportboth bills.

“We like this bill, because ourmembers want to be able to accom-modate their employees,” Molodanof

said. “Workers with families or otherobligations outside of work shouldhave this flexibility, we believe. Themain problem with these bills is thatthey require a ton of paperwork andcoordination, which might make it not

feasible for smaller shops, es-pecially those that can’t af-ford a human resourcesperson on staff.”The third bill on the table is

SB 540, the Career TechnicalEducation (CTE) bill(Wyland). It is once again inplay after many previousfailed attempts and both theASCCA and CAA supportthe bill for many reasons. Es-sentially, SB 540 wouldallow a school district or

county office of education to award astudent a Career Technical Education(CTE) certificate if specified condi-tions are met. These include the par-ticipation in a structured, work-basedlearning experience related to CTEcourses, completing a minimum offour CTE courses and also completinga project related to their CTE classes.

“This bill will affect the future ofthis industry, but it has stalled in thepast due to funding problems,” Molo-

danof explained. “We need to tell ourlegislators that this is important to usand we strongly support it. Our publicschool system here in California usedto be well-known for providing stu-dents with the opportunity to acquiretechnical training that would lead tojobs in the automotive repair industry.Unfortunately, the former vocationalmodel is falling apart because it’sbeen neglected for 40 years. It’s timeto re-ignite these programs and pro-vide a viable career alternative for stu-dents without a college education.”

After the legislative appoint-ments, the ASCCA/CAA membersmet for lunch, where they listened topresentations from Betty Jo Toccoli,president of the California SmallBusiness Association and ASCCA’sLegislative of the Year Senator BenHueso, SD 40. After the luncheon,ASCCA/CAA members were invitedto again meet with their legislators orattend committee hearings.

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Fred Gebert (left), vice president for Martin Auto Color,and Allen Sutfin, owner of Golden Valley Auto Body inYuba City, were at ASCCA/CAA’s Legislative Day 2013

ABRA Auto Body & Glass added anew franchise collision repair shoplocation in Holland, MI. Previouslyknown as Chrispell Auto Body Re-pair and independently owned byNate Yonker, this is ABRA’s sec-ond location in Michigan.

“We are committed to increas-ing our presence in the markets weserve and are fueled by an opera-tional excellence philosophy thatgives us a competitive edge,” saidTim Adelmann, executive vicepresident of business developmentfor Brooklyn Center, MN-basedABRA. “Opening the Holland re-pair center is a tremendous opportu-nity to increase our presence in theGreat Lakes region and provide asuperior customer experience.”

The company now operates atotal of 173 collision repair centersthroughout 17 U.S. states—49 inde-pendently owned franchises and124 company-owned locations.

“Our growth strategy is ambi-tious and we are laser-focused onour goals,” said Duane Rouse,president and CEO of ABRA. “Weare in the process of delivering onour promise to better serve our cus-tomers and insurance partnersacross the country.”

ABRA Grows in Michigan

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costs for paint and materials havegrown by 50% since 2005, the aver-age compensation rates paid by insur-ers have risen by only 23%. Lanzasaid that even some repairers he spokewith who don’t currently have a prob-lem with the system are concernedabout the future given this continuingdisparity in the growth of costs versuscompensation.

“Of the individuals I spoke with,78% agreed that in order to keep upwith industry standards and keep pacewith future cost increases, we need todo something, and they agreed that aalternative calculation system has tobe implemented,” Lanza said.

The study, commissioned byComputerLogic (which produces thePMCLogic paint and materials cost-calculation system), included inter-views (each 30 minutes or longer) withshops, insurers, suppliers, associationexecutives, consultants and trade pub-lication editors.

Continued researchMore recently, Lanza’s firm was re-tained by Highway CARSTAR Colli-sion in Chagrin Falls, OH, a shopowned by Lanza’s father, Frank, to domore research into the alternativemethods of calculating paint and ma-terials compensation. The current sys-tem, while certainly the easiest, isprobably the least fair and accurate,Lanza said. Use of a paint scale with aratio factor for other types of materials

was seen as being less easy to use, butsomewhat more accurate and fair. Useof a paint and materials calculator alsoseemed more fair and accurate and yeteasier to use. But, Lanza said, not allpaint and materials calculators are thesame.

“We took a look at over 1,000 es-timates from more than 20 differentshops,” Steven Lanza said. “We lookedat various size jobs with various paintlines. We determined there are differ-ences between alternative paint andmaterials calculation systems.”

Some of the calculators take thesurface area of the panels being refin-ished into account, for example,Lanza said. Others are still based onrefinish hours or some other system.

Frank Lanza said he has re-searching the topic for more than threeyears, with data comparing the vari-ous systems on more than 3,000 esti-mates. He said he has tried fivecalculation systems, “finding differentflaws in each one of them,” but thatsome are better than others in terms ofoffering a “a fair and accurate solu-tion.”

For his own shop, he said, hechose a system that uses list (or “user”)prices for paint and materials. Whatshops actually pay can vary based onmany factors, he said, but list pricesare published and consistent nation-wide.

“The major issue that I found withthe calculators that I didn’t (choose) isthey were based on cost and allowedthe shop to put their own mark-up onit,” Frank Lanza said. “Well, I bet if Iasked, everyone in here has a different

cost depending on your volume andwho your distributor is and what kindof products you’re using. And every-body has a different idea of what themark-up should be. So what I tried todo was to be consistent, and so that’sthe reason I use the list price as op-posed to cost.”

Benefit to insurersHe said one thing that works in insur-ers’ favor with paint and materials cal-culators is that the system candistinguish which items have sales taxthat must be charged to the insurer bythe shop and which do not.

“In our state, the shop has to paysales tax on certain items that do notleave with the car,” Frank Lanza said.“What happens is if you group paintand materials all together into oneitem, and then it’s taxed, that is reallydouble taxation. The insurance com-pany might care about that.”

In one example shown at CIC, forexample, separating out taxable andnon-taxable paint and materials wouldreduce by $9.25 the amount the in-surer would have paid under the cur-rent system of just multiplying laborhours by a materials rate.

One shop owner at CIC said the

paint and materials calculators areprobably a more accurate and fair wayto determine compensation, but in hisexperience insurers won’t accept theitemized invoice the systems produce.

Frank Lanza disputed that as-sertion.

“There are parts of the country,where the calculator is the prevailingcompetitive price. Insurance compa-nies are accepting it,” he said. “So it’sup to us to prove to the insurancecompanies this is what we need. I’vebeen in business for 41 years. I havenever had an insurance company thatcheated me. Never. I would ratherwork with an insurance company thana customer-pay any time. Because youknow with the insurance company,you’re going to get paid. If you canprove (the costs) to them, they willpay you.”

John Yoswick, a freelance writerbased in Portland, Oregon, who hasbeen writing about the automotive in-dustry since 1988, is also the editor ofthe weekly CRASH Network (for a free4-week trial subscription, visitwww.CrashNetwork.com). He can becontacted by email at:[email protected].


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Paint and Materials

The College of Creative Studies(CCS) recently announced that FordMotor Co. will donate $1 million overthe next five years to provide educa-tional opportunities to Detroit youth.The funds are being used to establishthe Henry Ford Academy: School forCreative Studies, College and CareerTransitions Office, and start a BlueOval Scholarship fund for graduates ofthe academy to attend CCS.

The academy is the public char-ter middle and high school created asa partnership between CCS andHenry Ford Learning Institute.

Ford to Donate $1 Million1Collision Network announced thatCommunity Auto Body in CarolStream, IL, is the newest member ofthe Midwest group of independentlyowned collision repair businesses.

Community Auto Body ownerEd Zuniga said, “In looking for agroup of shops to affiliate with, Ichose the 1Collision Network becausethey offered practical and affordablesolutions to the marketing and operat-ing aspects of my business.”

The 1Collision Network in-cludes 21 locations throughout Illi-nois, Wisconsin and Iowa.

1Collision Adds Illinois Shop

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Clawson HondaFresno

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First HondaSimi Va l ley

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Galpin HondaMiss ion Hi l ls

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Honda Cars of CoronaCorona

800-557-3652951-734-9045

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Honda of HollywoodHol lywood

800-371-3719323-466-3205

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Honda of OaklandOakland

510-547-8047Dept. Hours: M-F 7-8; Sat 7-6

Kolbe HondaReseda

800-735-1424818-609-7441

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Larry Hopkins HondaSunnyvale

408-720-0221408-736-2608


Metro HondaMontc la i r

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Ocean HondaSanta Cruz

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Robertson HondaNorth Hol lywood800-508-3894818-301-3511

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San Francisco HondaSan Francisco415-913-5125

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Chapman HondaTucson

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Santan HondaChandler

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Tempe HondaTempe

800-571-7019480-421-4860


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Acura of SunnyvaleSunnyvale

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Power Acura South BayTorrance

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Santa Monica AcuraSanta Monica

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AUTOMAKER, OEM, AND RECALLAUTOMAKER, OEM, AND RECALL

, ,, , ,R OEMR OEMR, OEMAUTOMAKER, OEM, OAUTOMAKER, OEM,AUTOMAKER, OEM,AUTOMAKER, OEM, OAU OM R AU OM R AUTOMAKER AUTOMAKER, OEM,O AUTOMAKER, OEM,AUTOMAKER, OEM,AUTOMAKER, OEM,O , , M M M,U U U M M MR R R E E EE E E K K K M M M T T T K K K A A A A A A E E KE A A A AK AK AK MA MA MA U U U M M MM M M R K K K O O O AUTOMAKER, OEM, DDNNNNA DDDDANDANDDDNNNNAAAAANANDNNDDAND A C EC C R L A C EC R R R C C C RE RE R R R L L L L L L A A A E E E CA CA AL AL LL LL L L R RECALLAUTOMAKER, OEM, AND RECALL

Autobody News June 2013CALIFORNIA • NEVADA • ARIZONA


Subaru is recalling just over 10,000of its 2014 Forester wagons becausethe floor mats can interfere with theclutch, brake or gas pedals.

The recall affects Forestersmade from January 2013 throughMarch. The company says the floormats can curl when exposed to heat.The problem was discovered in carsarriving at a port in Vancouver, WA.The National Highway Traffic SafetyAdministration says the mats coulddistract the driver or interfere withoperation of the car. Subaru tracedthe problem to improperly manufac-tured backing on the mats.

Subaru Recalls 10,000 +Forester Wagons

Ford Motor Co. recently an-nounced it would hire an additional2,000 workers at its Kansas CityAssembly Plant in Missouri tomeet increased demand for F-150pickups and for the upcoming pro-duction of the new Transit familyof commercial vehicles.

The increases will come intwo phases. Ford will add 900 jobsand a third work crew in the thirdquarter to build F-150s. Starting inthe fourth quarter, Ford will hire anadditional 1,100 workers to gear upfor production of the Ford Transitcommercial van, which begins in2014.

About half the 2,000 workerswill be new hires. The other halfwill be workers who were laid offtemporarily in the second quarterof 2012 when Ford moved produc-tion of the Escape crossover fromKansas City to Louisville.

The Kansas City plant isFord’s largest in the United Statesand includes two separate bodyshops, two separate paint shopsand two final assembly lines.

Ford is spending $1.1 billionto retool and refurbish the KansasCity plant. The expansion includesa 437,000-square-foot stampingplant, which was completed in2012, and a 78,800-square-footpaint shop.

Ford to Add 2,000 Jobs atKansas City Plant for F-150

The National Highway Traffic SafetyAdministration is upgrading an in-vestigation into steering assemblyfailures on 195,000 Ford Crown Vic-toria police cars, the Detroit News re-cently reported.

NHTSA said it is upgrading aninvestigation it started in Septemberto an engineering analysis for the2005-08 Ford Crown Vic Police In-terceptor vehicles after six complaintsand 15 total reported incidents.

Ford said in a letter to NHTSAin November that it was investigat-ing whether a prior crash or vehicleservice may have an impact on thesteering system issues.

The Dearborn automaker beganinvestigating after it was contactedby the Ontario Provincial Police inMarch 2012 after the steering sys-tem failed during routine driving.Police in Montgomery County, MD,contacted Ford about two other po-lice vehicles that had steering sys-tem failures. Ford noted one of thevehicles had been in four previouscrashes.

NHTSA said the mechanicalconnection between the steeringwheel and rack and pinion steeringassembly consists of the steeringcolumn and an upper and lower in-termediate shaft.

Allegations of a loss of steeringcontrol are mostly related to a sepa-ration of the upper and lower shaftswithin the steering the column. Theincident rate involving subject vehi-cles is 7.7 per 100,000 vehicles.

NHTSA Investigates FordPolice Vehicles

The National Highway TrafficSafety Administration (NHTSA) an-nounced Chrysler is recalling 532Ram 1500 pickups to ensure thewindshields are being properly de-frosted and defogged.

Chrysler engineers observed afault code linked to the coolant sys-tem function.

The NHTSA said in the af-fected vehicles, the coolant bypassvalve may stick in a position thatdoes not allow coolant to flow intothe heater core. Thus, these vehiclesfail to conform to the requirementsof the Federal Vehicle Motor SafetyStandard No. 103, ‘Windshield De-frosting and Defogging Systems.’

The models were manufacturedJune 25, 2012, through December12, 2012, according to NHTSA.

The recall campaign impacts498 vehicles in the U.S. and 34 inCanada, according to a Chryslerstatement. More than one-third ofthe vehicles are still with dealers.

Chrysler Recalls Ram Trucksfor Windshield Defogging

A lawsuit claims that unintendedacceleration incidents are endanger-ing owners of Ford, Mercury andLincoln vehicles manufactured be-tween 2002 and 2010.

The suit, filed in Huntington,W. Va, charges that Crown Victoria,Escape, Taurus, Thunderbird andother models can surge out of con-trol and alleges that they lack a fail-safe mechanism to stop the vehicle.

The suit targets Ford vehiclesequipped with electronic throttlecontrol and says the control canmalfunction, sending the vehiclesout of control.

The suit claims Ford has re-ceived “hundreds if not thousands”of complaints from owners, includ-ing police departments, about theproblem. Ford said it has workedwith the NHTSA to address theproblem, an approach it says is “farmore scientific and trustworthy thanwork done by personal injurylawyers.”

Suit Says Fords Prone to Unintended Acceleration

Honda is recalling nearly 46,000 FitSport small cars in the U.S. andCanada to fix a problem with theelectronic stability control system.

The recall affects cars from the2012 and 2013 model years. Hondasays the stability control system canlet the car tilt too far before it appliesthe brakes to prevent a crash.

The defect was discovered ingovernment testing of models with aparticular type of tires. Honda says itdoesn’t know of any crashes or in-juries from the problem.

Honda Recalls Nearly 46,00Fit Sport Small Cars

Porsche 911 Coolant Leaks

A pressure regulator that over or un-derinflated spare tires for five daysearlier this year has led to a recall of123,308 units of the 2013 Nissan Al-tima. Sedans that were manufacturedfrom March 21-26 are those possiblyaffected by the temporary tire snafu.

Those notified of the issue cantake their sedans to their local Nis-san dealer, who will check the tirepressure and correct it if necessary.

Nissan Recalls 2013 Altimasfor Spare Tire Inflation

U.S. safety regulators are investigat-ing coolant leaks in Porsche 911sports cars that could cause roadwayspills and send vehicles careening outof control.

The probe by the National High-way Traffic Safety Administration af-fects about 10,000 models with theGT1 engine from the 2001 through2007 model years.

The agency that a hose fittingcan fail and cause rapid coolant leakswithout warning. The coolant cancover the road and cause drivers tolose control of their cars. The agencysays it has 10 complaints of coolantleaks.

More than 480,000 Chrysler Groupvehicles either are being recalled orare under investigation, according tothe NHTSA. The recall involves theJeep Grand Cherokee from 2005through 2010 model years manufac-tured from Feb. 11, 2004 throughMarch 9, 2010, as well as the JeepCommander from the 2006 through2010 model years manufacturedfrom Jan. 31, 2005 through March10, 2010. NHTSA officials indicateda transfer case electrical failure mayresult in an unintentional shifting ofthe transfer case into the neutral po-sition.

480,000 Chrysler Units Involved in Recall


Infiniti Launches Factory-Sponsored Towing ServiceInfiniti North America has launched afactory-sponsored towing service toshops participating with the InfinitiCertified Collision Repair Network. Infiniti said its new towing service de-livers damaged vehicles directly to In-finiti Certified Collision RepairNetwork shops. The purpose of thetowing program is to provide Infinitivehicle owners with confidence that therepair will meet the company’s stan-dards. Infiniti owners can call a toll-freephone number, 800-662-6200, to initi-ate the towing service following an autoaccident. The vehicle will be trans-ported to any Infiniti certified shopwithin a 50-mile radius. Infiniti said be-coming an Infinity Collision RepairNetwork facility offers key marketingadvantages for collision shops.

Infiniti said certified shops havedirect access to OEM technical infor-mation, specifications, resources andtools to ensure consistent and qualityrepairs.

Infiniti North America estab-lished the Infiniti Certified CollisionRepair Network to reward and dis-tinguish body shops that meet andexceed Infiniti standards for train-ing, equipment, customer serviceand quality repair work.

Nissan North America will delivervehicle owners directly to the shopdoor. Nissan is offering a factorytowing service to Nissan CertifiedCollision Repair Facilities, ensuringrepairs are performed to Nissan’shigh standards. The towing service isoffered at no charge to the Nissanowner or the collision shop. For theNissan owner, a simple toll-freephone call to 1-800-NISSAN-1 initi-ates the towing service. The vehiclewill then be transported to a NissanCertified Collision Repair Facilitywithin a 50-mile radius.

Nissan Gives Free TowingService to Certified Shops

Nissan is cutting prices on seven ofits 18 models in the U.S., hoping itscars and trucks will show up in moreInternet searches by shoppers.

The price cuts vary with theamount of equipment on each modeland will run from 2.7% or $580 onthe top-selling Altima midsize car to10.7% or $4,400 on the Armada bigSUV. Other models getting price cutsinclude the Sentra compact car, Jukesmall crossover SUV, Murano mid-size crossover, Rogue small crossoverand the Maxima full-size car.

Jose Munoz, Nissan senior vicepresident of sales and marketing forthe Americas, said the vehicles get-ting the price cuts account for 65%of Nissan’s U.S. sales. The stickerprices, he said, were higher thansome competitors for similar mod-els, and that kept Nissan vehicles outof some Internet searches.

“In some of the customersearches we may not appear,” Munozsaid. “This is an indication that wecertainly want to be on the shoppinglist and we want to be considered byas many customers as possible.”

The company plans to reducerebates and other discounts to offsetsome of the price cuts.

Nissan Cuts Prices onSeven U.S. Models

Chrysler Group LLC reported its pre-liminary 2013 first-quarter results, in-cluding net income of $166 million onrevenue of $15.4 billion. As anticipated,the quarter was negatively affected bythe reduced vehicle shipments that re-sulted from key product launches,namely the 2013 Ram Heavy Dutytrucks and the 2014 Jeep Grand Chero-kee, as well as preparation for the sec-ond-quarter production launch of theall-new 2014 Jeep Cherokee.

Chrysler Reports FirstQuarter Net Income

Mercedes-Benz has selected the auto-motive consulting firm SCI to developand manage its Certified Collision Re-pair Program. SCI will ensure certi-fied collision centers meet or exceedMercedes-Benz’s strict set of repairstandards in terms of shop training,customer handling and repair quality.SCI will help certified collision repaircenters meet the standards, includingongoing audits to ensure that partici-pating shops keep knowledge andskill sets current. SCI will also leadprogram management and communi-cation. Said Bob McDonald, presi-dent of SCI, “The program will notonly help shop personnel more effec-tively serve customer needs, but it willincrease operational productivity andcreate an opportunity for shops to re-alize sustainable growth.”SCI hasmanaged the BMW Certified Colli-sion Repair Center Program since2003 and has also been the adminis-trator for the Lexus Certified CollisionCenter (LCCC) Program since its in-ception in 2006.

Mercedes-Benz Selects SCIfor Certified Repair Program


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Angela Wray, 36, a former book-keeper for Celico Auto Body in Bun-nell, FL, was recently sentenced tothree years in prison and Circuit JudgeJ. David Walsh told her she was re-sponsible for paying back $58,964 shestole from Celico Auto Body.

The owner of the business, Car-los Celico, had noticed his businesswas low on cash flow but he originallychalked it up to the poor economy, hesaid.

Wray’s body went limp after theverdict was read and two bailiffscaught her before she fell to the floor.

“I do not find this to be a ridicu-lous or a silly charge,” said Walsh.“It’s a very serious charge.”

While the defendant sat in a chair,Walsh noticed she was having troublesitting up and told bailiffs to let herlean over and place her head betweenher knees. By then, a third bailiff en-tered the courtroom to assist. All threepulled her out of the chair and allowedher to lie down on the carpet with herfeet elevated. The shackles on herwrists and ankles remained.

On March 28, a six-panel juryunanimously agreed Wray had stolen

from her employer and used themoney to take trips, pay off credit carddebt and go dining and shopping. Ju-rors reached their verdict in 12 min-utes.

Wray’s employment at CelicoAuto Body ended in the fall of 2010.By the summer of 2011, authoritieswere notified of some discrepancies inthe business’s bookkeeping. Later thatyear, she was arrested by the FloridaDepartment of Law Enforcement.

In a separate case in New Jersey,Wray had pleaded guilty in June 2011in a New Jersey Superior Court to atheft charge and was sentenced to 45days in jail. She was convicted ofstealing $44,000 from a landscapingcompany she had worked for from2004 to 2006.

The story of that arrest wasbrought to Celico’s attention and hedecided to review his company’s ac-counting. He soon contacted law en-forcement with his discoveries.

“(The sentence) should’ve been alittle bit longer, but it’s OK,” Celicosaid.

Walsh also sentenced Wray to 15years of probation to be served after

she is released from prison. The judgesaid she could cut that probationaryperiod in half if she pays the restitu-tion in full by then and commits no vi-olations.

During closing arguments, Assis-tant State Attorney Jennifer Duntonsaid Wray “made the conscious deci-sion” to steal from Celico 127 timesduring a 3½-year period.

“She knew what was beingchecked and what wasn’t,” said Dun-ton. “No one was (checking) behindher and she knew it. She blamed Mr.Celico, attacked his business practicesand then said it was a loan. There’sbeen no acceptance of responsibilityin this case,” Dunton told the judge.

Celico received $25,000 in insur-ance as a partial reimbursement. Hesaid he borrowed another $35,000from a private individual. He said hedid so in order to save his business. Hestill owes money to that person, hesaid.

Six people testified on Wray’s be-half, including her husband, FlaglerCounty Sheriff’s Deputy ChristopherWray, who said he always let his wifehandle the family’s finances. He said

he never noticed changes in lifestyle—even though the family took regu-lar trips to Disney World and Sea-World—and said he believed his wifenever stole anything from Celico AutoBody.

“How could she be convictedwhen there’s nothing to show for it?”he said on the stand.

During his testimony, ChristopherWray said his wife told him not to tes-tify during her trial. He said she ad-vised him not to do so “for fear ofretaliation.”

Defense attorney Regina Nun-nally asked him about Celico’s “con-nections” within the Sheriff's Officeand whether he or his wife worriedthat was where the retaliation wouldcome from.

“(My wife) didn’t want anyonepointing fingers at me,” ChristopherWray said. “(She) didn’t want thesheriff coming after me in any shapeor form.”

Angela Wray will be credited forthe 65 days she has spent in jail. Shewill spend the remaining time in thecustody of the Florida Department ofCorrections.

Former Florida Body Shop Bookkeeper Sentenced to 3 Years

There’s a lot of information in thefield on making and testing GMA(MIG) welds, but not too much ondressing the welds after they’re madeon a vehicle. Any GMA (MIG) usu-ally requires dressing the top surfaceof the weld.

Does Dressing Reduce Strength?There is a belief by some, that dress-ing a weld reduces the strength of thatweld. If you look at a cross-section ofan undressed plug weld, it looks sim-ilar to the shape of a blind rivet, withthe crown of the weld the head of therivet (see Figure 1). Once the weld isdressed, it would be like grinding offthe head of the rivet. Is the joint asstrong? With a rivet, the answer is no,but then again a rivet is not fused tothe metal around it. A good plug weldis fused to the metal around it.

We made several plug welds onidentical size coupon strips so we couldpull them on our tensile testing equip-ment, some dressed flush and undressed.In general, there was an insignificant dif-ference in tensile strength between thosethat were undressed and those that weredressed flush. Some of the dressed weldsstarted failing on the top piece, ratherthan starting to pull a nuggetout of the base metal. Thesewelds had porosity or someother inclusion that was re-vealed after dressing and wedon’t believe the dressing to bea factor.

The ProcessSo how far do you dress aweld? The short answer is sothat it is flush with the surface.

It’s important to not reduce the thick-ness of the base metal, because thatwill weaken the structure. The onlyway to prevent that is to use light pres-sure and check your progress often.

As far as tool selection, a commoninitial tool to use is an angle grinder,with a 36 or 50 grit disc depending onthe size of the bead or nugget (see Fig-ure 3). The disc is lightly applied to theweld and moved slowly back andforth. If there are multiple welds, likea row of plug welds, they are groundone at a time. On a butt joint, again usea light touch and slow movement. Itdoesn’t matter if you move the grinderacross the weld or lengthwise downthe weld, whatever works best for you.The important part is always beingconscious and careful to not grind intothe base metal.

Another tool that can be used is acutoff wheel, but this tool is not asprecise a tool as an angle grinder (seeFigure 4). There’s a temptation to usethis tool exclusively because it’s ag-gressive, as in fast, but it’s difficult tocontrol, especially when you get closeto the base metal. If used at all, itshould only be the first step, then fol-lowed with an angle grinder.

When using a cutoff wheel, justlike the angle grinder use light pres-sure. Hold the tool with two hands forbetter control. Start at a high RPM andwalk the edge slowly across the sur-face of the weld, like you’re planingoff the surface of the bead. Stop when

there is still a slight profile left on theweld. Do not touch the base metal sur-rounding the weld at all. This shouldkeep you out of trouble. Again, followthis up with an angle grinder to getflush with the base metal.

Still another tool that can be usedis a carbide rotary file. There are acouple different profiles available (seeFigure 5). This is used when the plugweld is in a recess or access won’tallow access for a disc. This tool isdifficult to control, so use extremecaution or you could damage an adja-cent area.

You can finish the dressing with ahand file, maybe progressing througha couple different threads until the sur-face is flush as it needs to be.

ConclusionNearly all GMA (MIG) welds requiredressing. The goal of dressing GMA(MIG) welds is to make the surfaceflush. Gouging below the surface ofthe base metal not only looks bad, itweakens the steel. Keep this in mindwhenever doing this process.

For comments or suggestions onthe Advantage Online, please contactI-CAR at [email protected].

Dressing GMA (MIG) Welds

I-CAR Tech

This article first appeared in the I-CAR Advantage Online, which is published and distrib-uted free of charge. I-CAR, the Inter-Industry Conference on Auto Collision Repair, is anot-for-profit international training organization that researches and develops qualitytechnical education programs related to collision repair. To learn more about I-CAR, andto subscribe to the free publication, visit http://www.i-car.com.


Figure 1

Figure 2

An undressed plug weld (left) and a dressed plug weld(right) being pulled with tensile test equipment

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

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GCIA Completes 2013 Collision Labor Rate SurveyThe Georgia Collision Industry Asso-ciation (GCIA) recently completedtheir 7th Annual Labor & MaterialsRate Survey for Metro Atlanta andGeorgia. The Survey was conductedby CSi Complete to ensure unbiaseddata collection. CSi Complete is aprovider of customer satisfaction in-dexing to collision repair, insurancecompanies and other service indus-tries and you can learn more informa-tion about the company by visitingtheir website at www.csicomplete.com.

GCIA’s goal in conducting thisannual survey and sharing the resultsis twofold:►To utilize an impartial company toidentify and communicate statisticallyvalid figures representing the prevail-ing labor and material rate for colli-sion repair services offered inGeorgia, and►To communicate the results of theresearch to both collision repair facil-ities, insurance carriers and the ap-propriate parties involved in servingthe consumer in the repair and claimshandling process.

The GCIA encourages all ClaimsManagers and insurance company ex-ecutives to thoroughly review the2013 GCIA Labor Rate Survey Re-

sults and urges you and your companyto join the GCIA in our efforts to alle-viate the variances between the actualprevailing rates (as shown in our sur-vey) versus the rates some carriers arecurrently compensating collision re-pair shops for materials and labor inGeorgia.

The GCIA has conducted thissurvey for seven (7) consecutiveyears. No other industry association inthe US has collected this amount ofaccurate data on collision materialsand labor rates. This year, 305 shopsparticipated across, and the resultsclearly demonstrate the actual pre-vailing rate in the Georgia market-place.

It is the GCIA’s intention that theinformation offered, be used to ensureyour company is fulfilling its obliga-tion to the policyholder, by reimburs-ing for the actual prevailing rates inMetro Atlanta and Georgia. If youhave any questions about the GCIA,or the results of this survey, contactGCIA Executive Director, HowardBatchelor, at [email protected].

For complete survey results go togcia.org/about/labor-rate-survey/. Au-tobody News will summarize the datain our next Southeast issue (July,2013).

Mississippi Legislature Lures Auto Parts PlantGov. Phil Bryant called the Missis-sippi Legislature back into specialsession in late April to consider eco-nomic incentives for what lawmakerssay is a tire manufacturer that wantsto open a plant near West Point.

He and other leaders are trying tokeep a lid on details of the project, in-cluding what incentives—or howmuch—they want taxpayers to fund,the Clarion Ledger recently reported.

“This is an exciting project and agreat testament to the quality of ourworkforce,” said Bryant.

Despite the efforts at secrecy,lawmakers have been talking about apotential auto supplier project nearWest Point for weeks.

Rep. Gary Chism, R-Columbus,whose district includes part of WestPoint, said he’s heard a Japanese tiremanufacturer wants to locate in a“megasite” created just outside WestPoint in Clay County. He said he’salso heard the project would bring

600-800 jobs to an area that badlyneeds them, with unemployment atmore than 18% after a meat plantclosed six years ago.

House Ways and Means Chair-man Jeff Smith said, “Let’s just put itthis way, the Nissan project had a$363 million incentives package fromthe state, counting everything. Thisrequest (for incentives) is much, muchsmaller, but the overall investment isalmost as much as Nissan.”

About $1.4 billion to date hasbeen invested in the Nissan plant nearCanton, Smith said.

Smith said state taxpayers endedup investing about $78,000 per jobcreated at Nissan. He said this projectwould be “much, much less than$78,000 per job.”

“We learned a lot from Nissan,”Smith said. He added that with Nissanand Toyota plants, plus expansions onthe horizon, “We’ll soon be the De-troit of the South.”

Safelite Opens Chicago StoreSafelite AutoGlass recently opened anew store located at 6538-40 OgdenAvenue in Berwyn, IL.

Safelite now has a total of 10 lo-cations in the Chicago area.

The 4,000-square-foot facilityhouses up to 200 auto glass products,according to the company.

Hector Perez serves as the storemanager.

c ( c to s p a to c h k

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The Mississippi Collision Repair As-sociation (MCRA) and the AlabamaAutomotive Repair Industry Societyof Excellence (ALARISE) co-spon-

sored the first Southern AutomotiveRepair Industry Conference and Ex-hibition in Biloxi, MS, on April 26-27.

Presenters included Aaron Schu-lenburg of SCRS, Rick Leos withToyota Motors, Ray Gunder and hisattorney Brent Geohagen.The inaugural event was held at the

Beau Rivage Casino and Hotel inBiloxi, MS, and kicked off Fridaynight with a reception and exhibitionfeaturing more than 18 vendors

demonstrating their products and serv-ices to over 200 attendees from colli-sion repair shops from across theSoutheast.

“The event can be best de-scribed as an unqualified suc-cess, both in terms ofinformation presented and theimpressive number of atten-dees from seven states,” saidBill Fowler, MCRA memberand president of Bill Fowler’sBodyworks Inc. in Southaven,MS.On Saturday morning, ven-dors and collision repair shopowners and managers partici-

pated in classroom presentations spe-cific to their respective segments ofthe industry. While the vendors dis-cussed various approaches to effec-tively marketing their products,collision repairers enjoyed presenta-tions by Tony Nethery, Business De-velopment Manager for Colormatch,and Mike Ganske, Regional BusinessDevelopment Manager for PPG.

Fowler reported that Nethery pre-sented information designed to assistthe shop in increasing their bottom

line by recognizing many of the seem-ingly insignificant operations andparts that have been referred to as “theforgettables.” Items like re-settingelectronics, tinting colors, masking in-terior surfaces, and many other com-monly overlooked labor operations, aswell as parts typically not consideredsignificant enough to document, likeclips, bulbs, and seam sealers, cancontribute substantial amounts to salesfigure when consistently invoiced.Blueprinting repairs before they com-mence, instead of simply writing thetypical estimate, can streamline the re-pair process, allowing for increasedvolume in workload.

Mike Ganske’s discussion,“Leading Change 2013,” gave usefulstatistical information that made shopsmore keenly aware of recent changesin the industry as well as some that arecoming in the near future to helpshops be up-to-date and competitive.According to Ganske, there is cur-rently a $16 billion over capacity inthe collision repair business, meaningthere are too many shops vying for thesame dollar, which will lead to evenmore shops leaving the marketplace in

the near future. Using a figure of $1million to represent average gross an-nual sales per shop, 16,000 shops willhave to close in order for shops thatmanage to remain in business to main-tain that average. Given that there arecurrently fewer than 40,000 repairshops in business today, that is an

alarming figureand a difficult re-ality to face. Addto that the increas-ing complexity ofmaterials and col-lision avoidancesystems being in-corporated into

vehicles currently under design, andthe picture is even bleaker. There willbe considerably fewer vehicles thatqualify as candidates for repair, re-sulting in substantially fewer repairsto go around. In addition, substantialinvestments will have to be made inequipment, training and businessmanagement in order for any collisionrepair shop to remain competitive andviable.

After lunch, Aaron Schulen-burg, Executive Director of the So-


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First Southern Automotive Repair Industry Conference Held in Biloxi, MS, April 26–27

John Mosley with Aaron Schulenburg Tony Nethery

ciety of Collision Repair Specialists(SCRS), reported on topical issuescurrently in the industry. The firsttopic was an overview of concernssurrounding insurance mandatedparts procurement programs, suchas PartsTrader. Schulenburg spoketo feedback the association has re-ceived on how the various programshave been received in various mar-kets.

Schulenburg pointed out that, de-spite being in place for over a year insome markets, there has still been noevidence presented that the Part-sTrader program is providing any ofthe suggested benefits to collision re-pairers. Schulenburg’s presentationgave an overview of communicationsfrom a variety of carriers utilizing dif-ferent procurement platforms to repairfacilities operating under their pro-gram, further demonstrating howcumbersome and intrusive these man-dated programs can be into the repairbusiness when it comes to managingvendors and parts. In one instance, thecarrier recognized the “frustration” re-pair facilities experienced from beingobligated to order a variety of partsfrom different suppliers in differentstates.

Schulenburg also addressed theongoing dialogue between I-CAR andrepairer organizations regarding therecognition of OEM published repairprocedures as the industry’s standardof repair. His presentation demon-strated the importance of such discus-sion as Schulenburg pointed tocontrasts between “standard” pro-grams in the U.K. and the U.S. In lightof recent legislation filed in the U.S.House and Senate seeking to repealparts patent laws, he additionally gavea slide show presentation illustratingcommon problems shops experiencewhen procuring both used and after-market parts that lead to parts returns.From the audience perspective, thedemonstration was very effective atexposing the incredible waste of timeand money shops are subjected towhen attempting to incorporate unfitparts into the process.

Rick Leos, Toyota Motor SalesCollision Repair Program Developer,previewed the Predictive EstimatingProgram that could prove to revolu-tionize the way estimates are written.Under development for years, the pro-gram is much more comprehensive inpresenting labor operations and partsthat have traditionally been over-

looked. Leos said additional informa-tion is scheduled to be released inJune, with a possible roll-out at theend of the year. Interest in the programhas been expressed by several othermanufacturers and it could prove to bea real game changer in the way esti-mates are prepared in the future by in-creasing efficiency and decreasingcycle times.

Steve Lanza with Richfield Asso-ciates, and his father Frank gave a jointpresentation that focused on improvingnegotiating skills and the urgent needto change the way shops collect for col-lision repair materials. Steve has ex-tensively studied the paint and materialbilling method currently in use andgave the audience solid reasons why achange is needed. He cited the fact thatsince 2005, shops have experienced a61.9% increase in the cost of materialswhile only managing a 27.1% increasein compensation. Steve stressed theneed to incorporate one of the materialcalculating programs currently avail-able and predicted that failure to do socould ultimately lead to the demise ofone’s business.

Frank Lanza, a repair facilityowner from Chagrin Falls, OH, gave acolorful lesson in negotiating skills

and related several personal storiesabout negotiating with insurers. Hestressed the importance of never los-ing one’s temper and being profes-sional at all times. He shared one ofhis “Frankisms”—when negotiatingwith insurance personnel, always keepin the back of your mind: “I love you,but I love me more.”

Ray Gunder, with his attorneyand friend Brent Geohagen, were thelast speakers of the day, addressing acrowded room about taking back the

industry. They discussed their journeyin taking on the insurance industry in amodern day David-and-Goliath battleto get fair and reasonable resolution toindustry wide problems—short pays,steering and rate suppression. Gunder

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spoke of his days of desperation thatled him to believe he had but twochoices—take a stand and fight backor close his doors once and for all.Geohagen told the audience of hisoriginal skepticism with Gunder’sstory and observed that few peopleoutside the collision repair industrywould believe such an incredible story,one that is all too familiar to people inthe industry.

“Gunder’s successes are the stuffof legend and he serves as an inspira-tion to the rest of us. Despite over-whelming adversity, it is possible toprevail. It just takes determination,”said Fowler. “It was a perfect endingto a perfect conference.”

John Mosley, President ofMCRA and owner of Clinton BodyShop in Richland, MI, said the first-ever southern industry event was a bigsuccess with outstanding speakers anda great turnout. He especially enjoyedRick Leos’ presentation about the Toy-ota predictive system and urges allbody shop owners and managers notfamiliar with the new program to dotheir research, as the new program willbe a “game changer.” He hopes nextyear’s event will be twice as large.

Steve Plier, acting president ofALARISE, was extremely pleasedthat the first southern conferenceturned out to be such a huge success,with repairers coming from Alabama,Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Missis-sippi and Tennessee.

“Not only were the attendeesfrom repair facilities pleased and en-thused about the conference, but we

also received great comments fromour participating vendors,” said Plier.“To be the first joint effort betweentwo state organizations resulting in aturnout that represented six southernstates I feel speaks volumes that re-pairers are understanding issues mustbe addressed and the route to changeis through awareness and educationwithin and of the industry.”

Without the sponsors, Plier saidthe conference would not have beenable to take place. “I would like tovery much express my gratitude to thesponsors for their participation forwithout them the conference wouldnot have taken place.”

Sponsors included: EdwardsChevrolet, PPG (Rozars and Automo-tive Paint Supply), Automotive Color,Gray Daniels, National Coatings Sup-ply, Overnights Part Alliance, AdvanceEquipment Solutions, All Star AutoLights, Byrd’s Automotive Inc.,CARS, ComputerLogic/PMC LogicInc., DuPont Performance Coatingsand O’Reilly’s Auto, English Colorand Supply, Enterprise, LKQ, Mitchell,The Clip Man, and Urethane SupplyCompany.

Plans for the 2014 conference arebeing made for April 11–13 with stateorganizations in Georgia, Alabama,Mississippi, Tennessee, and possiblyFlorida, working together to coordi-nate the second annual Southern Au-tomotive Repair Industry Conferencein Biloxi, MS.

Special thanks to Bill Fowler forproviding summary information forthis article.

A gas station in Bucktown, IL, wasapproved for a business permit tocompletely renovate the space andeliminate the body shop located at2357 W. Fullerton Ave.

The gas station owner con-firmed a structural overhaul will startsoon to expand its market selections,get rid of its auto body shop and adda Subway restaurant.

The BP gas station is slated fora complete makeover estimated to

cost roughly $80,000, according tothe Chicago business permit.

BP’s owner said he doesn’tplan to increase the footprint of thebuilding, but remove the auto bodyshop on the east side of the busi-ness completely. Crews will thenhave room to make the food marketlarger and add the Subway restau-rant.

Construction is estimated totake about two months to complete.

Illinois Body Shop to Close for SubwayFranchise

at www.autobodynews.com



Ohio Shop Owner Convicted of AggravatedTheft, Including from County ProsecutorKeith Shellhouse, 46, owner of Inde-pendent Autobody in Shelby, OH, wasconvicted May 7 of aggravated theft,a third-degree felony, and theft of amotor vehicle, a fourth-degree felony,at the Richland County Courthouse.Shellhouse was arrested on April 11,2012, under more than a dozen cus-tomer complaints from as far back as2002, claiming that customers wereswindled out of nearly $300,000 inpayments for the restoration of theirhot rods. Shellhouse will be sentencedon May 20.

Gary Bishop, a RichlandCounty assistant prosecutor, was oneof several victims who reported los-ing thousands of dollars to Independ-ent Autobody owner KeithShellhouse.

Bishop dropped his 1967 Mus-tang GT Fastback at Independent Au-tobody and Pro Restorations inAugust 2006 along with a $3,500down payment. It was the first car hehad ever owned, since the age of 16.

“These weren’t just cars to manyof us,” he said. “These were ourdream cars. People were taking intheir classic cars that meant the worldto them, paying thousands, only to

have them set out in the weeds andexposed to the elements.”

Because of Bishop’s position, theattorney general’s office was called into handle the case.

In December 2012, local offi-cials say they were prompted by com-plaints from 17 customers whoclaimed that combined they lost morethan $300,000.

Richland County Sheriff’s MajorDale Fortney said there were morethan 30 victims, but only 17 caseswere brought to a grand jury. A num-ber of other people have civil judg-ments outstanding against Shellhouse.

Several victims reported thatShellhouse continually dodged theircalls and visits. Bishop said he evenvolunteered in Shellhouse’s garagefor months to speed up the process.

“I was helping him on a dailybasis, just hoping that eventually we’dget to mine,” he said. Bishop said hedid finally get his car back, in worsecondition than when he dropped it off,and now has it at a restoration shop.

“I’m very happy with the out-come today,” Bishop said. “But a realprofessional would have never treatedpeople the way Shellhouse did.”


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April saw some unprecedented haildamage due to near record size hail-stones in parts of Mississippi, espe-cially metro Jackson, and Louisianathat Autobody News wrote about in ourMay issue.

On May 10, the Mississippi In-surance Department (MID) issued abulletin to insurers regarding labor andmaterials associated with feather,prime and block, in particular. MID re-inforced a similar bulletin comingfrom Attorney General Jim Hood onthe same subject (see p. 45, this issue)which was issued on April 19.

The MID bulletin reads in part:“After the March 18, 2013, severe

hailstorms hit the Jackson metropolitanarea, an unusually large number of au-tomobile claims were filed with insur-ance companies. The MississippiInsurance Department (MID) has re-ceived complaints from some policy-holders and auto body repair shopsconcerning issues related to the repairof insured vehicles. Therefore, MID isissuing this Bulletin to provide insur-ance companies and their adjusterswith information regarding the han-

dling of these automobile claims.”“MID has become aware that

there have been issues between ad-justers and auto body repair shops re-garding specific repairs that areconsidered necessary by these manu-als. Specifically, there have been is-sues regarding the coverage offeathering, prime and block of dam-aged vehicles. Currently, this repair isconsidered necessary by these manu-als, and it is the opinion of MID that,when necessary in view of the dam-age, this is a repair that should be cov-ered by insurance companies.”

“Therefore, MID directs insurancecompanies to inform their adjusters toreview billing statements and approveany repairs and charges necessary to in-demnify policyholders, including ap-propriate charges for feathering, primeand block of damaged vehicles, whetherdiscovered as part of the written esti-mate or as part of the repair process.With respect to feathering, prime andblock procedures, appropriate chargesshould be approved whether included inthe paint/materials rate or broken out asa separate charge.”


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George Avery, chairman of the Colli-sion Industry Conference (CIC), hasappointed several new individuals tooversee the organization’s StandardsCommittee in a final effort to researchpossible solutions for the developmentof industry repair standards before thecommittee is permanently shut down inNovember. Michael Quinn, seniorvice president of business developmentfor uParts Inc. and past CIC chairman,has been named chairman of the com-mittee. Mike LaVasseur, president andchief operating officer of Keenan AutoBody, and Paul Krauss, president andCEO of Craftsman Autobody, havebeen named vice chairs of the commit-tee. Brett Bailey, owner of A&BCARSTAR, will also play a key role onthe committee.

George Avery provided anoverview of the work that the CIC Stan-dards Committee has been charged withfor the remainder of 2013 during themost recent CIC meeting in Phoenix.“The Standards Committee membershave worked hard over the past fewyears and I don’t want that good workto go to waste. I would like to thankthose who worked hard to get us this farand encourage anyone who has a pas-sion for the subject to join the commit-tee,” Avery said. “Having past CIC chair

Michael Quinn step in as committeechair, as well as Mike LaVasseur andPaul Krauss as vice chairs, is exciting.They bring the repairer’s perspectiveand overall understanding of all stake-holders in the auto body repair industry.”

Avery said key issues that theStandards Committee will research in-clude examining shop equipment andcapabilities requirements, OEM repairprocedures and recommendations, andpossible facility inspection and verifi-cation processes.

The Standards Committee willmake a report on shop equipment andcapabilities requirements, and will clar-ify issues surrounding OEM repair pro-cedures during the next CIC meeting,which is scheduled for July 23-24 at theWestin Boston Waterfront hotel inBoston.The committee will finalize itsstandards work this fall. It will presentfindings on the research it has com-pleted and suggest possible repair stan-dards solutions for the future duringCIC’s November meeting in Las Vegas.

“After November, the committee’swork will conclude,” Avery said. “We’renot going to ‘saw sawdust’ any morewith the topic because, as the CIC Mis-sion states, ‘the forum [communicates]findings and possible solutions, andwhen it comes up to that point it stops.”

Avery Names New CIC Standards Cmte Leaders

State Farm Insurance is building abig regional office campus inRichardson, TX, near State Hwy.190. It is reported to become thelargest office development in theDallas-Fort Worth area.

Late last year, developer KDCsaid the State Farm office complexwould be about 1.5 million squarefeet.

But in the almost six monthssince word of the project came out,the office complex has grown by al-most another 1 million square feet,real estate sources say.

That will make it one of thelargest corporate office projects everbuilt in the Dallas area–on par withthe huge Electronic Data Systemsheadquarters built in Plano starting inthe 1980s. A campus that size caneasily house somewhere up to 8,000workers.

General contractor Austin Com-mercial is building the State Farmproject, the first phase of which willbe ready in the fall of 2014.

The almost 10-acre project isbeing financed by J.P. MorganChase. Looking around Texas, onlyExxon Mobil’s new Houston campusis bigger than the State Farm project.

State Farm’s Campus Project in Texas is Growing

An Oklahoma appellate court rejecteda trial court’s decision that had foundFord Motor Company “vicariously li-able” to disgruntled customers of anow-defunct dealership. The case in-volved an Oklahoma dealer that closedits business only seven months afterFord approved its purchase of the deal-ership. During its operation, thedealer’s employees executed boguschecks and failed to deliver vehicles,title certificates, or to pay balances ontrade-in vehicles. The disgruntled cus-tomers sued, and the trial court foundFord vicariously liable under an agencytheory and directly liable for approvingthe transfer of the business to an inex-perienced and undercapitalized dealer.The appellate court reversed, holdingthat Ford’s reasonable control over itstrademark did not create an agency re-lationship that rendered Ford liable forthe dealer’s bad acts. The appellatecourt relied on decisions that a “manu-facturer/franchisor may exercise somecontrol or protect its national identity,reputation, and trademark from aban-donment without creating an agencyrelationship with its dealer/franchisee.”The appellate court decided that Fordowed no duty to the disgruntled cus-tomers under Oklahoma law.

OK Court Reverses Findingon Ford and Dealership

MID Issues Bulletin to Insurers: Cover, Feather,Prime and Block for Hail Damaged Cars

“In addition to ensuring that poli-cyholders are treated fairly with respectto the payment of claims, MID also hasthe duty and responsibility to ensurethat insurance rates remain fair and rea-sonable for all Mississippi policyhold-ers. Consequently, MID wishes to makeclear that by issuing this Bulletin, it isnot encouraging payment for repairsthat are not necessary, appropriate orcovered by the insurance contract.”

To download the full story go towww.autobodynews.com and search“Mississippi Insurance DepartmentMemo.”

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In the wake of a hailstorm that cre-ated havoc for Mississippi residentsleft with damaged homes and cars,Mississippi Attorney General JimHood sent a letter to all insurancecompanies on April 19 instructingthem to cover specific proceduresonvehicles damaged by the hail-storm.

In the letter, Hood asks all insur-ance companies conducting businessin the state to pay for necessary pro-cedures to restore recently damagedvehicles to their pre-accident condi-tions.

After the recent hailstorms leftnumerous Mississippi residents withdamage to their businesses, homesand vehicles, Hood’s office receivedreports that some insurance compa-nies were not including certain pro-cedures that would restore vehicles topre-accident condition in their esti-mates.

Essentially the same messagewas given by the Mississippi Insur-ance Department (see cover story.)

The body shops have stated thatthey will not make these repairs with-out payment from the insurance com-panies. The letter from Jim Hood isaddressed to “General Counsel of In-

surance companies” and reads as fol-lows:

A recent hail storm in Mississippicaused significant damage to manyMississippians’ businesses, automo-biles, and homes. Our office has re-ceived reports that some insurancecompanies are issuing estimates thatdo not include certain automobile re-pair procedures specified by the in-surance companies’ own manualsand/or software as necessary to re-turn vehicles to their pre-accidentcondition.

Furthermore, our office has sur-vey responses from over thirty auto-body repair shops. The survey resultsindicate that claims for certain repairsspecified as necessary by the insur-ance companies’ own manuals and/orsoftware, such as feather, block andprime, denib and finnese, masking ofjambs, broken glass clean up, andmore are not being included in esti-mates issued to the insureds. Theseauto-body repair shops have notagreed to make these required repairswithout payment by the insurers.

The refusal to include in an esti-mate the work required by the insur-ance companies’ own manuals and/or

software to return vehicles to theirpre-accident condition has created anenvironment for companies poten-tially to take unfair advantage of in-sureds and/or auto-body repairshops. The inconvenience and finan-cial damage to property caused bythe hail storm should not be com-pounded by the shift of covered ex-penses onto the automobile owner orauto-body repair shop. All insurancecompanies should be aware that suchpractices could subject the companiesto civil or criminal penalties.

Therefore, I am asking you totake whatever steps are necessary tocorrect this inconsistency in your busi-ness practices. Please communicate toyour staff the necessity to consult theprocedure pages provided by yourchosen manual and/or software andyour responsibility to pay for repairsaccording to the labor allowancesprovided by your databases. Your co-operation in protecting Mississippi in-dividuals and businesses is greatlyappreciated. If you have any ques-tions, please contact the ConsumerProtection Division at 601-359-4230.

Sincerely yours,Jim Hood, Attorney General

Mississippi’s Attorney General Hood Tells Insurance Companies to Cover Feather,Prime & Block, Denib and Finesse, Masking of Jambs, Glass Clean Up, Etc.

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A woman who says she lost both her hus-band and young daughter in a rollovercrash in which the windshield allegedlyseparated from the vehicle has filed suitagainst Safelite, whom she claims re-placed the windshield in the vehicle. Thesuit was filed in U.S. District Court inClark County, Nev., according to courtdocuments obtained by glassBYTEs™ .The suit was filed by Iwona Patnaude,who is listed as the surviving spouse ofJason Patnaude and Victoria Patnaude,and Nancy Patnaude, Jason’s mother.

The suit alleges that on December27, 2011, Jason Patnaude was drivinga Toyota Tundra westbound on I-94 inNorth Dakota when he began to “slideupon contacting a patch of snow and

ice on the roadway.” Both Iwona andVictoria Patnaude were passengers inthe vehicle at the time of the accident.

“Directional control of the subjectTundra was lost and could not be re-gained,” attorneys write in the court doc-uments. “The subject Tundra crossed thehighway’s median and rolled over acrossthe eastbound lanes and off the roadway.During the incident, the windshield of thesubject Tundra separated from the vehi-cle. During the incident, the roof of thesubject Tundra collapsed. Jason R. Pat-naude and Victoria Patnaude sustainedfatal head injuries in the crash. Jason R.Patnaude and Victoria Patnaude died atthe scene.” During the incident, attorneysallege “the windshield separated from the

rest of the vehicle, contributing to the de-gree of crush sustained by the subjectTundra’s roof structure. … The Safelitedefendants’ negligent installation of thewindshield on the subject Tundra resultedin its failure in the rollover incident.”

In addition to the Safelite Groupand its third-party administration arm,Safelite Solutions, Anthony J. Stark islisted as a defendant in the suit. His ad-dress is listed as Safelite AutoGlass, 62Spectrum Blvd., Las Vegas, NV 89101.

Patnaude’s attorneys allege that“as a direct and proximate result of theincident addressed in this complaint,plaintiff Iwona Patnaude sustained se-vere nervous shock and emotionalupset secondary to her close proximity

to and observation of her fatally injuredand suffering husband and daughter.”

The claimants are seeking a jurytrial and reimbursement for injuries aswell as damages in excess of $50,000.Safelite PR manager Melina Metzgerhas confirmed the company performeda windshield replacement on the vehi-cle six years prior to the accident, butdecline to comment further.

Other defendants listed in the law-suit include Toyota Motor Corp., ToyotaMotor Sales USA, Toyota Motor Engi-neering & Manufacturing North Amer-ica, Toyota Motor Manufacturing ofIndiana, AutoNation USA Corp., DesertScion/Toyota, Steve Romeo and LisaArmstrong, as well as Centennial Toyota.

Safelite Named in New Lawsuit Alleging Windshield Separation Due to Poor Installation

I-CAR® announced that Chrysler GroupLLC Director of Regulatory Affairs,Reginald R. Modlin, will serve askeynote speaker during the I-CAR Inter-Industry Conference in Boston. As Di-rector of Regulatory Affairs, Modlin isresponsible for all aspects of productsafety and environmental compliance.His key responsibilities include policydevelopment to guide reaction of legis-lation and regulations in the NAFTA re-gions vehicle emissions certification,

fuel economy strategy and reporting, andvehicle safety compliance demonstra-

tions and resolutionof compliance is-sues with EPA andNHTSA. ReginaldModlin has beenserving in this ca-pacity for 14 yearsand has been withChrysler for 38years.

On July 24 and 25, renowned Au-toline TV host and author John McEl-

roy will serve asmoderator leadingthe I-CAR Con-ference attendeesthrough the fast-paced, compre-hensive “30,000-ftview” agenda on“The ChangingWorld of Vehicle

Technology & What it Means to You.”The conference concludes with a panelwho will discuss the repair and busi-ness impacts associated with today’srapidly evolving vehicle technologylandscape. I-CAR speakers includetechnical leaders from NHTSA, IIHS,the Center for Automotive Research(CAR), vehicle OEMs, and OEM sup-pliers.

I-CAR Announces Keynote Speakers Reginald Modlin and John McElroy for Boston July Meeting

John McElroyReginald Modlin

www.autobodynews.comC


Subaru’s 2014 Forester was the onlyvehicle to get the top “good” rating inthe results released by the Insurance In-stitute for Highway Safety (IIHS). The2013 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport wasrated as “acceptable.” But fast-sellingmodels such as the Ford Escape, HondaCR-V and Jeep Wrangler received only“marginal” or “poor” ratings from theIIHS.

Small and midsize SUVs, whichget decent gas mileage and have thecargo and passenger space of largerSUVs, are among the fastest-growingsegments of the U.S. auto market. Salesgrew 50 percent from 2005 to last year,when U.S. consumers bought morethan 2.5 million of them, according toWard’s AutoInfoBank.

The IIHS ratings are influentialbecause many auto shoppers find themwhile researching vehicles on the In-ternet. The group says its crash testsand ratings are designed to get au-tomakers to improve crashworthinessof their vehicles.

The ratings are for the institute’s“small overlap” crash test that coversonly 25 percent of a vehicle’s front end.The test was added to the IIHS evalua-tions last year, with the institute aimingto push automakers into bolstering the

crash resistance of their vehicles.The group’s tests are more strin-

gent than the U.S. government’s full-width front crash test. The institute saysthat in many vehicles, a crash affectingone-quarter of the front end misses themain structures designed to absorb theimpact of a crash. Yet such crashes ac-count for nearly a quarter of the colli-sions that cause serious or fatal injuriesto people in the front seats, IIHS said.

The new Ford Escape, the top-selling small SUV so far this year, gota “poor” overall rating, while Honda’sCR-V, the No. 2 seller, got a “mar-ginal” rating. Toyota’s RAV-4, anotherbig seller, hasn’t done the testing yetbecause Toyota asked for a delay to im-prove the vehicle’s structure, the IIHSsaid.

Other SUVs getting “poor” rat-ings were the Jeep Patriot, Buick En-core, Kia Sportage and HyundaiTucsons, the institute said. The BMWX1, Nissan Rogue, Mazda CX-5, Volk-swagen Tiguan and Jeep Wrangler two-door all got “marginal” ratings.

The Forester and Outlander Sporteach received the IIHS’ coveted “TopSafety Pick Plus” award because theyperformed well in multiple tests in-cluding the small offset crash.

Only Two Small 2014 SUVs Performed Well in Front-EndCrash Tests According to IIHS


dustry effort.“I think the key take-away is that

the industry can be assured that therewill be solutions for you,” he said.“Where we go is predicated only onthe needs of the repairers who areusing these procedures.”

The discussion of insurer-man-dated parts procurement system alsofocused on potential ways to addresswhat one Arizona shop owner termed“the death knell of the industry.”

Several attendees discussed ex-isting or proposed state legislation thatcould limit such programs. A bill in-troduced earlier this year in Maryland,for example, would prohibit an insurerfrom requiring a shop to use a specificvendor or process for the procurementof parts or materials necessary for re-pair of a vehicle.

A number of attendees also dis-cussed the importance of shops edu-cating their local parts vendors.

Although several attendees saidthat based on their conversations withState Farm they felt it was now in-evitable that the insurer will move

ahead with PartsTrader, Schulenburgsaid he’s not so sure.

“I think ‘resistance is futile’ wouldbe a position I would want to take, too,if I wanted to get people who were re-sisting to stop resisting,” Schulenburgsaid. “‘We’re moving forward with itregardless…’ is a great approach to en-courage people to stop questioning it. Ijust don’t know that that’s true. I wouldcaution anyone hearing those messag-ing points to take it with a grain of salt.”

Schulenburg ended the meetingby saying he looks forward to eventu-ally having hundred of repairers in theroom for future meetings.

“I see the discussion in the in-dustry moving to more proactive strat-egy versus just a reiteration of warstories and gripes and complaints,” hesaid. “That’s really healthy for our in-dustry to make that transition.”

John Yoswick, a freelance writerbased in Portland, Oregon, who hasbeen writing about the automotiveindustry since 1988, is also the edi-tor of the weekly CRASH Network(for a free 4-week trial subscription,visit www.CrashNetwork.com). Hecan be contacted by email at:[email protected].


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Key Industry IssuesThe Maine legislature recently held ahearing on LD 788, Right to Repairlegislation, titled “Vehicle Owners andRepair Facilities.” The hearing washeld in the Joint Committee on Labor,Commerce, Research and EconomicDevelopment.

Ken Boyce, the owner of Ken’sAuto Repair Inc. in Buxton, ME, pre-sented testimony on behalf of the Au-tomotive Service Association (ASA).He has 29 years of experience in autorepair. Boyce made arguments in op-position to the Right to Repair legisla-tion throughout his testimony. He said:

“There are lots of conflictingopinions about the right to repairissue. In my opinion, this legislationhas no purpose. All it would do is cod-ify an agreement that was reachedover a decade ago at the behest of theU.S. Congress after they expressedtheir desire to not inject themselvesinto the middle of the situation.

“The existing agreement betweenautomakers and the aftermarket wasreached in 2002. It has been around solong that some of the original manu-facturers involved—such as Pontiac,Mercury, Saab, Saturn andSuzuki—no longer even exist. Withthe formation of the National Auto-motive Service Task Force (NASTF),

and the introduction of the SecureData Release Model (SDRM), theagreement is strong and in a state ofcontinual improvement. The threatthat the manufacturers might takeaway the information is the last-ditchcry of the flat world, yet the manufac-turers’ support for NASTF has onlystrengthened over the past decade.There is no evidence of that everchanging. All evidence points to theircontinued support.”

Boyce concluded his testimonywith strong remarks: “I see nothingpositive that will come from this legis-lation. It will do nothing to compel theflat world to subscribe to informationor purchase tooling that the OEs al-ready have to offer, nor will it compelany technician[s] to get the trainingthey need. Instead, all that I can see ithas to offer, through unintended cir-cumstances, is to flatten out the roundworld of shops like mine. I don’t wantthat and my customers don’t want that.The key is proper education, propertooling, and support of the agreementthat is already in place, not legislation.If our voluntary, industry service infor-mation process fails, we will be the firstin line asking for the state of Maine’shelp. We see no signs of failure to date.ASA opposes ME LD 788.”

Maine Legislature Holds Hearings on Right to Repair

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I-CAR has re-engineered its annualevent to focus on topics relevant tothe entire Inter-Industry including re-pair organizations, vehicle OEMs, in-surers, educators, suppliers and relatedservices providers.

The conference will be held atThe Westin Boston Waterfront inBoston, MA.

I-CAR’s July 2013 Inter-IndustryConference theme is: Driving Excel-lence… In Technology: The ChangingWorld of Vehicle Technology & What itMeans to You. The conference is de-signed to benefit industry leaders whorecognize that vehicle technologychanges are significant, moving quicklyand broadly, and represent significantchanges for the collision repair industry.

To this end, I-CAR is invitingtechnical leaders from NHTSA, IIHS,the Center for Automotive Research,vehicle OEMs, and OEM suppliers toshare their knowledge on the vehicletechnology developments comingsoon to the collision repair industry.According to I-CAR CEO & Presi-dent, John Van Alstyne, “Our focus forthe conference is to help our industrybetter understand the impact associ-ated with rapidly evolving vehicletechnologies such as collision avoid-ance, telematics and CAFE driven ve-

hicle lightweighting and architecturechanges, and to learn about these di-rectly from the technologists that arehelping to create the future.”

This fast-paced conference be-gins with a luncheon on July 24 at12:30 p.m., and then proceeds into ageneral session with speaker presenta-tions and a recap panel until 5 p.m.That evening, attendees will have theopportunity to attend the I-CAR Net-working Reception and SponsorShowcase Event.

Day Two kicks off at 8 a.m. withI-CAR Business over Breakfast,where four national awards will bepresented along with presentationsfrom John Van Alstyne, I-CAR CEO& President as well as I-CAR Boardof Directors Chair, Bill Brower. TheDay Two general session follows at 9a.m. with more technical insights andconcludes at 11 a.m. following anInter-Industry panel that will discussthe impact vehicle technology changeswill have on industry repair and busi-ness practices.

Those interested in attending mayregister, and reserve a room at TheWestin Boston Waterfront by going to:www.i-car.com/events&meetings.

I-CAR’s goal is to provide theInter-Industry important information

related to automotive technologytrends that impact vehicle design andultimately repairability. It is critical forthe Inter-Industry to gain insights di-rectly from those engaged with the fu-ture of vehicle technology to betterunderstand where the vehicles of to-morrow are going and when, so that asan industry, we are properly prepared.

I-CAR has invited technically fo-cused leaders from organizations suchas NHTSA, IIHS, Center for Automo-tive Research (CAR), vehicle OEM’sand OEM suppliers, who will discusstopics such as advancements in inte-grated vehicle safety systems, evolvingvehicle-to-grid and vehicle-to-vehiclecommunications, occupant and pedes-trian safety, the impact of CAFÉ on ve-hicle design, and the potential forautonomous vehicles. Additionally, anInter-Industry thought leader panel willdiscuss the repair and business impactsassociated with today’s rapidly evolv-ing vehicle technology landscape.

Given the technical focus of thisconference, only one conference hour,over Thursday’s breakfast, will pertainto I-CAR business with speeches fromI-CAR CEO & President, John VanAlstyne and I-CAR Board Chair, BillBrower, including presentation of fourtraditional I-CAR national awards.

I-CAR Plans New-Format Industry Conference in July in BostonPartsTrader LLC announced April 23that its latest release includes a newfeedback function which allows re-pairers and suppliers to provide feed-back on the performance of theirtrading partners. In meeting withPartsTrader users across the initialfive markets, repair facilities andparts suppliers consistently requestedthe capability to provide measurablefeedback within the product. “It’scritical for us to deliver the ability toprovide real-time feedback on per-formance,” said Dale Sailer, Part-sTrader’s Vice President of BusinessDevelopment.

Within the ordering functional-ity of the PartsTrader application,each party will—on randomly-se-lected transactions— provide quan-titative feedback on how well theother party performed. Users mayalso provide proactive feedback ona business partner, if desired. In a fu-ture release of PartsTrader, this feed-back will be utilized to present astar-based rating on each repairerand supplier.

PartsTrader Announces NewFeedback Function Release




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SEMA Show Enhances Services for Collision Repair Market, Adds Up to 20,000 Sq. Ft. for 2013The 2013 SEMA Show will includeenhanced features for the Collision Re-pair & Refinish market, including anexpanded show floor area, targeted ac-tivities both inside and outside the LasVegas Convention Center, and an un-surpassed educational program. Theupgrades come as a result of the fast-growing interest from both exhibitorsand buyers in the collision market seg-ment.

“As interest grows and the land-scape changes, we continue to evolveand are excited about the plans for2013,” said Peter MacGillivray, SEMAVP of events and communications.

Last year’s SEMA Show featured330 exhibitors in the Collision Repair& Refinish area and the Tools &Equipment area, the two sectionswhere many exhibitors feature prod-ucts for the collision market. These ex-hibitors were housed in over 88,000square feet in North Hall of the LasVegas Convention Center. For 2013,the Collision Repair & Refinish sec-tion will expand into an adjacent areaof the LV Hotel, accommodating up to

20,000 square feet of additional space.“The expanded floor section

makes it really easy and convenient forbuyers to see all the products in thecollision market within a definedarea,” said MacGillivray. More than20,000 SEMA Show buyers expressedan interest in collision repair products,and 87% of all buyers have buying in-fluence.

Those in the collision market arealso able to network and expand theirknowledge during several industrymeetings and educational events tak-ing place. The Collision Industry Con-ference (CIC), the National Auto BodyCouncil (NABC) and the Society ofCollision Repair Specialists (SCRS)are amongst the groups hosting meet-ings during the SEMA Show.

A comprehensive Repairer DriverEducation program is also presentedby the SCRS.

“From the impressive growth ofexhibitors, to attendees who are reach-ing out to SCRS already looking toregister and ask questions about oureducation, it is clear the collision in-

dustry is really excited about thisyear’s show,” said Aaron Schulen-burg, SCRS Executive Director. Schu-lenburg says that the 2013 RepairerDriven Education program will in-clude fresh and inspiring content,while continuing to remain relevant tocollision repairers.

“Each year we have taken feed-back from past attendees and used it toamplify our upcoming offerings,” hesaid, noting that 2013 will be thegroup’s fourth year partnering withSEMA to present the educational pro-gram. “This year, we are adding to theformat with designated tracks that canguide repair industry professionalsthrough the week-long program basedon their core interests in what theyneed for their business. Some want tobetter understand how to manage theirbusiness, and what makes it tick, whilesome are looking for ways to enhanceand grow it through new business op-portunities or untapped customerbases; others may be looking for waysto best position their business to makeit more attractive when they wish to

sell it, or learn how to compete in aconsolidating marketplace. Regardlessof interest, there is something foreveryone and the objective remains thesame: to address real issues faced bycollision repairers, while providingtangible information that they can di-rectly apply to their business whenthey return home.”

SEMA Show exhibitors began se-lecting the location for their boothsduring the Priority Booth SelectionProcess, beginning with exhibitors inNorth and Central Halls, followed bythose in upper and lower South Halls.

The 2013 SEMA Show is set forTuesday-Friday, November 5-8, 2013,in Las Vegas, Nevada. The annualevent typically attracts more than130,000 individuals from 125 coun-tries, making the annual show the pre-mier automotive trade event in theworld. Manufacturers come to theevent to showcase products that en-hance the styling, performance andfunctionality of cars, trucks and SUVs.

For details, visit www.SE-MAShow.com.

Car-O-Liner®, a leading globalprovider of collision repair equip-ment to the automotive aftermarket,hired Peter Richardson as a KeyAccounts Manager.

In his new role, Peter will workclosely with thec o m p a n y ’ sOEM and MSOpartners acrossNorth America.

“We are ex-cited that Peteris joining theCar-O-L ine rfamily. He is a

powerful addition to our team,” saidJeff Kern, Car-O-Liner President ofthe Americas. “Establishing a strate-gic partnership with our customers isof high importance to us. Peter’sknowledge of the industry is an assetto reinforce our relationships with keyOEM and MSO partners.”

Peter joins Car-O-Liner after10 years at Shure Manufacturingwhere he was responsible for sales,marketing, and customer service.Before that, he spent 12 years atSBC Telecommunications in vari-ous sales and account managementpositions.

Car-O-Liner Names PeterRichardson to Management

Peter Richardson

American Family Insurance and En-compass have joined the ranks ofinsurance companies requiring in-spections prior to authorizationgiven for auto glass repair and re-placement claims via outside net-works, according to reports.

Dora O’Brien, owner of LongStar Auto Glass in Coolidge, AZ,says both American Family Insur-ance and Encompass are now requir-ing inspections prior to authorizationof repair and replacement. She saysSafelite processes claims for bothAmerican Family and Encompass.

“It started with American Fam-ily Insurance with us and in the lasteight or so months it now involvesseveral other companies that Safeliteprocesses glass claims for,” saysO’Brien.

“Most recently, our first En-compass insured was told he willneed to have a random inspection.He has a vehicle that requires awindshield that is only availablethrough the dealer,” she added.

Two More Insurers RequireInspections for Glass Repair

Stacy Bartnik Joins Team PRP as Executive DirectorTeam PRP has named Stacy Bartnikas its new executive director. Bartnikmost recently served as VP of opera-

tions for CARSTAR. She is the im-mediate past president of the NABCand as a trustee for CREF.




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Mitchell ITR Says Collision Parts Index DeclinedLast Year For First Time in Ten YearsThe average price paid for collisionparts took a dip in the latter half of2012—according to Mitchell’s Q22013 Industry Trends Report—thefirst time that the indexed price forparts has decreased in 10 years.

“When we created the MitchellCollision Parts Price index (MCPPI)in 2003, we wanted to track infla-tionary trends in parts use over a pe-riod of time,” said Greg Horn, VicePresident of Industry Relations ofMitchell. His recent article providesthe first 10-year-long review of in-flationary trends in parts pricing.Mitchell developed the index by firstcreating a “market basket,” similar tohow governments determine theConsumer Price Index of the com-monly used goods and services.Mitchell created the market basketby selecting the 20 most frequentlyreplaced collision parts.

“Interestingly, for the first time,we saw a decrease in the indexedprice for the market basket,” wroteHorn. “The 2012 decrease was notevident when we ran the index reportearly in 2012, so the decrease was inthe latter half of 2012. That led us tothe next question: what type of partor vehicle origin is driving the de-

crease?” Horn says that althoughthere were moderate increases in theAsian and European market basket,the domestic vehicle parts marketbasket experienced such a decreasethat it offset this. Estimates have ahigher number of new, OEM partson average than any other part type,such as recycled or aftermarket.

“The decrease in the averageOEM part price for domestic vehi-cles was a mere $6.33 ($245.12 for2012 vs. $258.12 for 2011) but thatdrove a 0.14 decrease in the overallmarket basket index,” writes Horn.The expansion of the competitionparts price matching programs fromthe domestic OEs is driving the de-crease in the overall index becauseof the large number of domestic ve-hicles in the U.S.... and the over-whelming dominance of new OEMparts selected on the average re-pairable estimate.”

Horn notes that whether or notthe decrease will continue dependson a number of factors, such aswhether the total fleet of repairablevehicle claims continues to age andwhether the OEs continue to aggres-sively price match to retain marketshare in part sales.

Industry Demonstrates Early Confidence in SEMAShow with Six Percent Exhibitor IncreaseNearly 2,000 exhibitors are con-firmed to participate in the SEMAShow Priority Booth SelectionProcess taking place later this month.The number represents a six percentincrease over the number of compa-nies that participated in the processin 2012.

“With the increased commit-ment exhibitors are demonstratingearlier in the year, it’s apparent theSEMA Show provides unmatchedbrand-building visibility and salesexposure in one venue,” said PeterMacGillivray, SEMA VP of eventsand communications.

Manufacturers exhibit at thefour-day event each year to show-case new automotive parts and ac-cessories, and to connect with morethan 60,000 buyers from throughoutthe world. Through programs andfeatures such as the New ProductsShowcase, product demonstrationsand sectionalized floor plan, ex-hibitors are able to connect with themost relevant buyers.

“The earlier a company signsup, the more likely they are to takepart in all the added-value programswe have available,” MacGillivraysaid. “We’ve seen direct connections

between the amount of planning acompany does to the level of successthey achieve.”

Nearly 70 percent of buyersvisit the SEMA Show with a planand identify the exhibitors they wantto meet with in advance, accordingto a 2012 SEMA Show survey. Themost influential factors that buyersreported as having an impact on theirdecision to visit an exhibitor wereparticipation in the New ProductsShowcase, the Show directory list-ing, and pre-Show contact from anexhibitor.

Companies may still sign up toexhibit at the upcoming show atwww.SEMAShow.com/buyabooth.Attendee registration will be avail-able from the site in early May.

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On April 22 the Automotive ServiceAssociation (ASA) announced thatDan Risley had been named interimexecutive director. The announcementcame a little over a month after Risleyjoined ASA as Executive Vice Presi-dent. Risley began his 24 year careerin his family’s collision repair businessin Illinois, and has worked for AllstateInsurance for six years since leavingSCRS, an experience he says gave him“a completely different perspective”on insurers and how they operate,something that will benefit the associ-ation and ASA members.

“My perspective on insurers ischanged,” Risley told a trade industrymedia source recently, “I walked inthere with my preconceived notionsabout what insurance companies do,why they do it, what influence theyhave, what they try to influence andwhat’s important to them. And some ofthose things were true, and a lot ofthem really weren’t. A lot of themwere completely different than what Ithought they would be.

Risley’s most recent position withAllstate involved overseeing part ofthe insurer’s DRP network. “I was themarket claim manager for the GoodHands Repair network. Basically, Ihad oversight [of the shops] in half of

the country and the staff that overseesthem. Again, it was a very unique per-spective that I was able to attain, be-cause I got to see firsthand what wasreally important to insurance compa-nies.

“What motivates [insurers] withsome issue, may be the completely theopposite of what you might read in thetrade press or what you might hearfrom the industry in general. Thebroader perspective [I gained fromworking at Allstate], when we ap-proach a particular issue, is going toallow me to maybe have a little bit dif-ferent strategy and tactic in terms ofhow we might address that and maybebring it to a resolve a little bit quicker.”

One of those insurer related is-sues the association is currently en-gaged with is State Farm’s PartsTraderinitiative.

Risley believes there has beensome confusion around ASA’s positionon PartsTrader. He explained, “ASAdoes not support PartsTrader and, by theway, nor should we. As an associationit’s not our role to support or endorse agiven product. ASA does not supportState Farm and nor should we.”

“We view PartsTrader in a verysimilar vein as we do an estimatingsystem or a CSI vendor. We didn’t

support any insurance company man-dating those. So this falls in that samebucket. We don’t endorse or supportany insurance company mandatingthe use of specific products.” Risleysaid.

Risley said that members thathave participated in the pilot haveshared concerns about how the systemworks, and that while they have con-cerns, they are working with Part-sTrader and State Farm to improve thesystem. Risley explained that the as-sociation has maintained an active di-alog with both PartsTrader and StateFarm on the issue and he believes thisongoing dialog has led to some confu-sion about ASA’s position.

Risley said, “We’ve very clearlyheard from our membership that thishas been a product that has not been avalue-add. It has actually cost themmore in administrative time, it’s moreof a burden.”

Commenting on parts e-com-merce generally, Risley believes theconcept is here to stay regardless ofthe outcome of State Farm’s pilot withPartsTrader.

“We’re not going to stop partsprocurement. We’re not going to stope-commerce. That stuff is going tohappen. But we can play a role in mak-

ing it better,” explained Risley.Right now, though, there are con-

cerns about the value these new prod-ucts and processes bring to thecollision repairer.

“Someday could it be possiblethat those products are driving morevalue back down to the repairers? Theanswer is ‘yes.’ It will eventually getthere. But when that does happen, re-pairers are going to adopt them all bythemselves because it’s going to helpthem be more efficient,” explainedRisley. “If it’s not helping them bemore efficient today and we’re beingtold we have to use them, that’s a com-pletely different context for us. Whywould we support that?”

Risley has also said that ASAviews the use of Most Favored Nation(MFN) clauses in DRP contracts as amuch bigger concern for repairers thanPartsTrader.

“We’ve heard a lot of noise onPartsTrader, and heard relatively noth-ing on the most favored nation clauses[but] the PartsTrader piece probablyaffects a smaller subset of the indus-try, when the most favored nationclause not only affects your StateFarm business, but it has the possibil-ity of impacting every job that comesthrough your shop.”

Dan Risley Appointed Interim Executive Director of ASA, Outlines ASA Position on PartsTrader

In Rhode Island, the annual StateHouse auto body shop war has re-newed, with an exasperated Jina Pe-trarca-Karampetsos telling wearysenators — more than four hours intoa late-night hearing: “Body shops suf-fer from an image problem.

“And that image problem is per-petuated by individuals who don’tknow the facts, who portray us asgreedy thieves,” the sister of formerRep. Peter Petrarca — and lawyer forher father’s Providence Auto Body —told the Senate Judiciary Committee.

“We’re body-shop people. Weprotect your second-biggest asset,”but “we are not doctors. We are noteven carpenters. We’re body-shoppeople so we actually are, amazingly,people that make victims of insurancecompanies.

“Some people actually feel badfor insurance companies when theycompare them to us.”

She suggested the senators seethe insurers instead as “unreasonable”people who “refuse to negotiate.”

However, the hours-long hearingand debate drew little attention outsidethe two affected industries. The hear-ing ran more than 5½ hours. It drewexecutives and lobbyists from Nation-wide Mutual, PCI, Amica, the Ameri-can Insurance Association, amongothers, and from the other side, theAuto Body Association of Rhode Is-land and a number of its members, in-cluding John Petrarca.

The battle centered on this year’sversion of the right-to-sue legislationthat cleared the General Assembly at2:58 a.m. in the final hours of lastyear’s session, which Governor Chafeeultimately vetoed.

The bill co-sponsored by SenateMajority Leader Dominick Ruggerioand Majority Whip Maryellen Good-win would require insurers to negoti-

ate payment rates with body shopowners and give the body shops theright to sue the auto insurance compa-nies if these negotiations do not resultin an “agreed price.”

This year’s bill is not identical.For example, the rewritten bill wouldno longer require an insurer to pay thelegal bills of an auto body shop thatprevailed in court.

But it is substantially the same.And so are the arguments pro and con.And people affiliated with the bodyshops gave at least $18,850 from Jan.1-March 31 to the campaign funds ofHouse Speaker Gordon Fox and Sen-ate President M. Teresa Paiva Weedand their top deputies.

Campaigning for a veto last year,the American Insurance Association(AIA) issued this statement: “No otherstate in the nation allows auto bodyshops to set non-negotiable rates andattempt to force them on third partypayers under threat of litigation.”

In his subsequent veto message,Chafee said: “While I understand thedesire to ensure auto body employeesare adequately compensated for theirskills and attention to safety, I believethis bill would hurt Rhode Island con-sumers by raising their auto insurancerates and impairing their existing con-tract agreements with their insurancecompanies.

“With many Rhode Island fami-lies continuing to struggle as our stateeconomy recovers, I do not believe itis appropriate to pass on any unneces-sary additional costs to consumers,”Chafee said.

Rhode Island drivers already paythe fifth-highest collision insurancepremiums in the nation, $351 herecompared with $290 on average na-tionwide, according to a March 11“Special Report” from the PropertyCasualty Insurers Association of

America.But Petrarca-Karampetsos told

the senators that more than 70 of the700 companies that write property ca-sualty insurance in the state “paymuch higher than $45 an hour. Muchhigher. They pay over $70 an hour.”

“All it asks them to do,” she saidof the legislation, “is negotiate. … Itis beyond me how this is such an un-conscionable controversial thing thatmakes us look like greedy thieves.”

Goodwin is sympathetic. “I justbelieve [for] the auto-body industry,it’s a matter of fairness,” she saidTuesday. “These have been ongoingdisputes for years and years and yearsbetween the auto-body industry andthe insurance industry.”

Asked why the state should inter-vene in a private dispute over howmuch repair shops should be paid,Goodwin said: “People have the rightto sue all the time when they can’tcome to some type of agreement.What is so wrong about going intocourt and having a court settle some-thing that cannot be settled?”

As for warnings that higher rateswill follow, Goodwin said the insur-

ance industry “has some of the deep-est pockets in America. They can bat-tle back. … I am looking out for thesmall business owner, the little autobody shop and the consumer at thesame time.”

Added Ruggerio: “I am not con-cerned about it because, personally Ithink if the auto bodies have thatleverage, then the insurance industrywould deal a little more fairly if theyhad something like that hanging overtheir head.”

In the weeks leading up to thisyear’s hearing, the Property CasualtyInsurers Association of Americalaunched a $30,000 radio ad cam-paign.

“If you think this all sounds alltoo familiar, you’re right — the autobody shops are at it again!,” the ad be-gins.

If passed, the bills “could beharmful to drivers by increasing thecost of having a vehicle repaired fol-lowing an accident, potentially forc-ing you to pay even more for yourinsurance coverage.”

“Let’s stop the auto body repairrip-off, once and for all,” the ad said.

Rhode Island Industry Attorney: “Body Shops Suffer From an Image Problem”


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So.CaliforniaThe U.S. Supreme Court has ruledunanimously that federal truckinglaws don’t preempt a state claimagainst a New Hampshire towingcompany. The court ruled in a Man-chester case involving RobertPelkey, who had to go to a hospitalfor an infection and then suffered aheart attack. He used a handicappedparking spot, and left his car parkedthere while he was hospitalized. Thecar was towed by Dan’s City AutoBody when it wasn’t moved during awinter parking ban and then sat in the

towing business’s lot for two months.The shop believed it was abandoned.It eventually took ownership of thecar and traded it. Pelkey sued Dan’sCity Auto Body under the ConsumerProtection Act. The case ended up inthe New Hampshire Supreme Court,which overturned a superior court’sfinding and ruled in his favor.

The attorney for the tow com-pany appealed, citing federal truck-ing laws that were passed in the1980s to unify trucking and tow reg-ulations among all the states.

U.S. Supreme Court Rules Against Towing Company

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The Automotive Service Association(ASA) held its annual business meet-ing April 19–20 at the Hurst Conven-tion Center in Hurst, Texas. Thethemes of the meeting were: Unity,transparency, inclusiveness and col-laboration.

“The board is committed to notonly working more closely with eachother, but also with our affiliated as-sociations. In fact, we shortened theopen board meeting to accommodatean interactive session with the affili-ates in attendance,” said Darrell Am-berson, AAM, vice president ofoperations at LaMettry’s Collision,Minneapolis, and ASA’s new chair-man. “We recognize the strength of anational association goes hand inhand with the strength of our affili-ated associations.”

“The changes that took place atthe national business meeting showthat ASA is a member-driven associ-ation, and the direction and excite-ment that came from this meetingdemonstrate that ASA is headed inthe right direction and the membersare in good hands with the newboard,” said Jeff Lovell, AAM, exec-utive director of ASA-Northwest.

“ASA-Midwest is pleased tohave had the opportunity to meet withthe ASA board and Dan Risley (in-terim executive director) during theannual business meeting. As a result

of those conversations, we are excitedabout the direction and opportunitiespresented by the new leadership,”said Sheri Hamilton, AAM, executivedirector of ASA-Midwest.

ASA’s board of directors also em-phasized the importance of the associ-ation’s governmental affairs efforts.ASA plans to increase its visibility asthe industry’s leader in the develop-ment of public policy for independentautomotive repairers. In addition to theexisting tools in place for ASA’s mem-bership—grassroots support, the ASAPAC and the Washington, D.C., officelocated on Capitol Hill—the board re-viewed a new design for ASA’s publicpolicy advocacy website, TakingThe-Hill.com, which will launch soon.

“We finished building the foun-dation for a new era at ASA and nowwe will be aggressively pursuing thosewho want to be part of the future of theautomotive repair profession. Theboard is eager to collaborate with ourexisting industry partners, and excitedabout the potential to build new rela-tionships within the industry that willbenefit the members of ASA,” saidRon Nagy, AAM, owner of Nagy’sCollision Centers in Ohio and ASA’simmediate-past chairman.

“We also have laid the founda-tion for a radical new ASRW withpositive changes in the works for bothNACE and CARS.”

ASA Business Meeting Emphasizes Unity,Transparency, Inclusion & Collaboration

CARSTAR Auto Body Repair Ex-perts is supporting 3M’s efforts inpartnering with the Collision RepairEducation Foundation’s Hire OurHeroes campaign. The initiativeprovides scholarships and supportfor collision repair training, with agoal of driving employment in thecollision repair industry for Amer-ica’s veterans. Enrollment to winscholarship funds from the CollisionRepair Education Foundationopened on Jan. 1, 2013, and remainopen through May 15, 2013. The3M Hire Our Heroes program alsowill help fund rehabilitation for thewounded veterans through Opera-tion Comfort’s Automotivation pro-gram. It provides opportunities forwounded soldiers to channel theirautomotive skills, or learn new ones,to restore vehicles through the Na-tional Auto Body Council (NABC)Recycled Rides program for othermilitary veterans. ParticipatingCARSTAR shop owners throughoutthe U.S. will support the campaign.

For every qualifying purchaseof 3M products by a CARSTARshop owner, 3M will contribute tothe campaign to reach a $250,000goal.

CARSTAR to Support “HireOur Heroes” Campaign

The Automotive Management Insti-tute (AMI) is now accepting applica-tions for the Richard Cossette/ GaleWesterlund Memorial Scholarship.The scholarship honors the contribu-tions these individuals made to AMI,ASA and the collision repair industry.The scholarship recipient will receive$1,000 toward the recipient’s ex-penses to attend the 2013 InternationalAutobody Congress & Exposition(NACE) in Las Vegas, Oct. 16–18. Tobe eligible for the award, the follow-ing requirements must be met:► Applicant must work in the colli-sion repair industry► Applicant must demonstrate aninterest in self-improvement throughmanagement education► Applicant must own or work fora business that is an ASA collisiondivision member in good standing► If the applicant is not the busi-ness owner, he or she must be rec-ommended by the business owner.

To request a scholarship appli-cation, call AMI at (800) 272-7467,ext. 101, or online at www.amion-line.org. Applications must be re-ceived by AMI on or before Aug.23, 2013. Winners will be notifiedby Aug. 30, 2013.

AMI Accepting Applicationsfor Cosette/Westerlund Award

Colorado legislators voted to ap-prove a bill that requires all auto-mobile manufacturer franchiseagreements to conform to currentfranchise law rather than to meet thelegal requirements when the con-tract was signed, despite officialsfrom the Alliance of AutomobileManufacturers (AAM) calling themeasure an “extraordinary” and“shocking” shift of the balance ofpower. This is the fourth time in thepast five years that the ColoradoAutomobile Dealers Association(CADA) has brought a bill to givedealers more power in their negoti-ations with the national and interna-tional companies that supply themtheir products. They included billsto bar manufacturers from requiringmajor dealership upgrades morethan once every seven years and torequire that auto makers that closeddealerships due to bankruptcy togive those dealers first right of re-fusal if they reopen a franchise inthe area. The right-of-refusal bill re-sulted in a lawsuit against the state.

Colorado Auto Dealers FindSupport in State Legislature

The Carlyle Group is selling itsstake in Hertz Global Holdings, Inc.,approximately 50,000 shares heldby investment funds associated withThe Carlyle Group. Goldman Sachswill act as underwriter in a regis-tered public offering of those shares.Hertz said the sale of stock by theinvestment firms represents practi-cally the entire interest the fundsheld in Hertz stock. Reuters reportedthat prior to the sales, CD&R andCarlyle were the second and thirdlargest shareholders in Hertz, re-spectively, according to ThomsonReuters data. The three investmentfunds bought Hertz from FordMotor Co. in 2005 for $5.6 billion.Hertz operates its car rental businessthrough the Hertz, Dollar andThrifty brands from approximately10,460 locations worldwide. Thecompany claims to have the secondlargest market share in the off-air-port car rental market in the UnitedStates. The Carlyle Group pur-chased DuPont’s Performance Coat-ings and Service King this year.

Carlyle Group to Sell 50,000Share Stake in Hertz


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The Collision Repair Education Foun-dation (CREF) announced the firstround of winners which are $300,00 inscholarships given out in May 2013 bythe Foundation. The Scholarship is inits sixth year and is funded by the en-tire collision industry through the Col-lision Repair Education Campaign.The Scholarships offer students finan-cial assistance with tuition and othercosts.

Winners of the GEICO nationalscholarships and tool grants are: KyleWright, Chantilly STEM Academy,Chantilly, VA; Olivia Barszczewski, Al-fred State, Alfred, NY; ShannonBraswell, Sarasota County Technical In-stitute, Sarasota, FL; and Gerardo Oliv-era, Cerritos College, Norwalk, CA.Each receives $1,000 cash and $1,000(retail) in tools.

Winners of the Gerber Colli-sion & Glass student scholarshipsand tool grant winners are: LinoMeraz and Asare Boatneg, both ofLincoln College of Technology, Mel-rose Park, IL. The students received$2,000 scholarship and $1,000 intools.

Winners of the PPG IndustriesFoundation scholarships are: Joseph

Crawford, Arkansas State in MarkedTree, Marked Tree, AR; Justin Furman,Washtenaw Community College, AnnArbor, MI; Jessie Jensen, BridgerlandApplied Technology College, Logan,UT; and Ryan Stenzel,Ridgewater Col-lege, Willmar, MN. These students re-ceived a $5,000 scholarship. In addition,Jonathan Thigpin, Rolla Technical In-stitute, Rolla, MO, won $750 for thePPG MVP Industry Student Scholar-ship.

Winners of the Service Kingspring tool chest grant are: SierraPellettieri, EVIT (Mesa, AZ); MatthewAdams, Universal Technical Institute,Belton, TX; Jovanny Jimenez, TexasState Technical College, Waco, TX;Sherdrick Russell, Universal Techni-cal Institute, Houston, TX; and An-dreass Berryman, EVIT Trade School,Mesa, AZ. These five students each re-ceived a 7-drawer roll cabinet andfive-drawer top chest, valued at $2,00each.

Winners of the Alliance of Auto-motive Service Providers Massa-chusetts (AASP-MA) tool grants are:Paul Ballota, Shawsheen Valley Tech-nical High School, Billerica, MA;William Clough, Shawsheen Valley

Technical High School, Billerica, MA;and Yscasia Cummings, SoutheasternRegional Vocational Technical HighSchool, South Easton, MA. Winnersreceived $1,200 in tools.

Winners of the CCC MichaelSalvatore Memorial Student RepairTechnician Scholarships: BrianStevenson, Francis Tuttle TechnologyCenter, Oklahoma City, OK. Brianwon the top scholarship of $5,000; andtwo students won the $2,000 scholar-ships: Stephanie Franklin, LansingCommunity College, Lansing, MI; andDiego Trujillo, Wiregrass GeorgiaTechnical College, Valdosta, GA; EvanScott, Pennsylvania College of Tech-nology, Williamsport, PA.

CREF also awarded severalscholarships. The secondary studentwinner of a $5,000 award is ShelbyWilliams, Applied Technology Center,Rock Hill, SC. The post-secondary$5,000 award recipient is Shena White,Cape Fear Community College, Wilm-ington, NC.

Three students won the Lon Bau-doux Legacy Scholarship. Recipientsof the $1,000 award are: Erick Esco-bar, Norwalk High School, Norwalk,CA; Tyler Hardin, OSU Institute of

Technology, Okmulgee, OK; and An-tonio Fondren, Hennepin TechnicalCollege, Brooklyn Park, MN. The LonBaudoux Legacy Scholarship was cre-ated to honor Lon Baudoux, I-CARDevelopment Manager, who passedaway in 2008. Lon highly valued edu-cation, especially for secondary andpost-secondary students. This scholar-ship is funded mainly by I-CAR staffand I-CAR instructors who workedwith Lon at I-CAR.

Additional scholarships includethe Board of Trustees Scholarship.This $2,000 award went to secondarystudent Brian Stade, Applied Technol-ogy Center, Rock Hill, SC, and topost-secondary student Zach Reisner,Hennepin Technical College, Brook-lyn Park, MN.

The Domenic Brusco–Wyo-TechCollision Repair Student Scholarship,a $850 award, went to Zachary Gullion,WyoTech, Blairsville, PA. The DomenicBrusco Scholarship is funded by Colli-sion Repair Education FoundationBoard of Trustee member Domenic Br-usco.

The Collision Repair EducationFoundation will announce additionalscholarship and tool grant winners.

Collision Repair Education Foundation and Partners Announce First of $300,000 inStudent Scholarships, Will Be Announcing More Shortly


Sixteen people have been arrested ona federal indictment charging 21 de-fendants involved in a multi-state cartheft conspiracy. The conspiracy is al-leged to have utilized several differentschemes to steal and misappropriatevehicles, commit bank fraud in orderto obtain vehicles and obtain insur-ance proceeds by staging accidentsand filing false theft reports, theClaims Journal reported on May 1.

The indictment alleges that thedefendants stole luxury vehicles,SUVs and pickups from individualsand automobile dealerships in theEastern District of Missouri, Iowa,Illinois and Indiana, which they trans-ported to the Eastern District of Mis-souri. They disabled any trackingsystems, like OnStar, on the stolen ve-hicles so that they couldn’t be tracedby law enforcement.

In addition, it is charged that thedefendants themselves, or “straw”purchasers, made false statements onloan applications and submitted fraud-ulent earnings statements in support toobtain loans to purchase typicallyhigh-end vehicles. The defendantsused and then sold or disposed of the

vehicles, while the loan defaulted, ei-ther immediately or after a short pay-ment history.

According to the indictment, thedefendants also practiced fraud relatedto the titling of vehicles, obtaining byfalse statements apparently legitimateownership to vehicles they had stolenfrom individuals. On many occasions,the defendants falsely claimed to havedone repair work which wasn’t actu-ally performed on vehicles submittedto their businesses, inducing lien hold-ers to pay the defendants money toavoid the issuance of a mechanicslien. Over 100 vehicles have beenfully identified as being involved inthe criminal activity, although inves-tigators believe many more were ac-tually involved.

Charges include conspiracy, bankfraud, mail fraud and receipt of stolenmotor vehicle. If convicted, thesecharges carry penalties ranging from5 to 30 years in prison and/or fines upto $1,000,000. In determining the ac-tual sentences, a Judge is required toconsider the U.S. Sentencing Guide-lines, which provide recommendedsentencing ranges.

16 Arrested in Multi-State Car Theft and Fraud Conspiracy,Dealerships and Individuals Targeted

Axalta Coating Systems Launches Rival™ Economy BrandAxalta Coating Systems, formerlyDuPont Performance Coatings, has in-troduced a new single stage polyurethaneenamel called Rival™, formulated toprovide just the right mix of price andvalue for the economy commercial trans-portation segment.

Rival™ is designed for dealers,independent shops, fleets and munic-ipalities who want a cost effective fin-ish that features good performance,good color capability, and good ap-pearance at a maximum applied VOCof 3.5 or 2.8 lbs/gal.

Designed using mixing tonersfrom an advanced technology platform,Rival™ delivers good hiding with onecross-coat for most colors. The breadthof the Rival™ color offering includessolid and metallic colors to provide theability to match thousands of commer-cial fleet color positions. Rival™ iscompatible with other Axalta commer-

cial finishes undercoats and offers atwo-year warranty to AOQ-Commer-cial refinisher shops.

“We have expanded our com-mercial finishes product line to givepainters the flexibility to choose thebest system needed for the job: from apremium quality Imron™ finish to ournewest economy segment offering,Rival™, there’s a system specificallydesigned to deliver the performanceand value they’re looking for.” saidFran Cassidy, Axalta Coating Sys-tems commercial segment manager.

In addition to providing high-performance products to the commer-cial segment for more than 40 years,Axalta Coating Systems productshave earned more commercial andOEM approvals than any other paintmanufacturer.

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AkzoNobel Automotive & Aero-space Coatings Americas is now ac-cepting nominations for the 2013FIT Sustainability Awards. Ak-zoNobel launched the FIT Programin 2009 in an effort to bring aware-ness and create a desire for changewithin the collision repair industryrelated to this critical global issue.FIT which is an acronym for Focus,Innovation and Talent, the three keycriteria for the award, was estab-lished as an expansion of the MostInfluential Women in the CollisionRepair Industry Program.

The FIT award is presented toorganizations and institutions thatare seeking to advance sustainablebusiness practices within the colli-sion repair industry. Past recipientshave included the California Auto-body Association, Enterprise Hold-ings and Keenan’s Autobody. Eachof which have been forerunners intheir respective areas of the industrypertaining to the issue of sustain-ability.Nominate by June 30, [email protected].

AkzoNobel Opens its FITAwards for Nominations

ABRA Awarded FarmersMSO of the Year AwardABRA Auto Body & Glass has beenawarded the Farmers Insurance Na-tional MSO Group of the Year. Theaward recognizes ABRA for its su-perior customer service, low cycletimes, commitment to innovation,company cooperation, overallfriendliness and staff professional-ism, along with facility appearance.“We are extremely proud of ourpeople, processes, and perform-ance,” said Tim Adelmann, execu-tive vice president of ABRA.

The GEICO Philanthropic Founda-tion recently donated $46,000 to theCollision Repair Education Founda-tion to provide $6,000 in collisionstudent scholarships and $25,000 inspecial school grants in 2013. Anadditional $15,000 will go towardsthe general fund, the Collision Re-pair Education Campaign, whichsupports all Education Foundationactivities including the UltimateCollision Education Makeovergrant. The scholarships and schoolgrants will go to support studentsand schools located in the specificGEICO markets of southern Cali-fornia, southern Florida, Washing-ton, D.C., and New York.

GEICO Foundation Donatesto CREF in CA, FL, DC & NY

Thirty-eight new parts were addedto Ford Customer Service Divi-sion’s (FCSD) Collision PartsTruckload Program, with the listprice reduction averaging 16 per-cent. Ford says the program plays akey role in helping collision repair-ers deliver “high-quality, cost-effec-tive repairs” to their customers.The 38 part additions include eighttail lamps, six mirrors, two head-lamps, four valances, four wheels,four grilles/GORs/GOPs, three iso-lators, three fascias, two parkinglamps, one radiator and one bumperbracket. The Truckload Programcurrently covers more than a dozenreplacement part types, includingbumper fascias, steel bumpers,bumper bars, exterior lighting, mir-rors, car and truck radiators, wheels,header panels, grilles/GORs/GOPs,isolators/impact pads/shafts andvalances. Ford states that by offer-ing Ford and Lincoln wholesalingdealers competitive prices on bulkpurchases of high-volume collisionparts, the Truckload Program allowsthem to compete more effectivelyagainst non-OEM copy parts andother parts specified by insurancecustomers. “The truckload programstarted 2013 with great sales mo-mentum, after completing a record2012,” said George Gilbert, Truck-load Program manager for FCSD.“We’re competitive with the after-market imitation parts, which meansmore vehicles can be repaired withthe parts that were exclusively engi-neered for their specific vehicle’smake and model.”

Ford Adds 38 New Parts toCollision Parts Program

Minnesota Senate PassesNew Paint, Materials Tax LawThe Minnesota Senate has passed anomnibus tax bill that includes a newsection on sales tax for the collisionrepairers in the state. The MinnesotaHouse passed the bill on April 24.

The 354 page bill adds the saleof motor vehicle repair paint andmaterials to the definition of a tax-able retail sale and would imposesales tax is on the gross receiptsfrom the retail sale of paint and ma-terials. The bill provides a long listof materials that would be consid-ered taxable under the law includingprimer, paint, clear coat, thinner,abrasives, body filler, buffing pads,grinding discs, degreasers, maskingtape, sealer, tack cloth, waxes, weld-ing rods and more.

If signed into law, the new taxlaw for collision repairers wouldbegin on June 30.

The Department of Labor’s Bureau ofLabor Statistics (BLS) estimates thatthe number of shops in the countrygrew by about 130 shops each quar-ter since the beginning of 2012. Thechange appears significant becausethe number of collision repair facili-ties has not grown, year over year, inany quarter since the first quarter of

2002, when it was a mere 34 shopsnationwide. The latest BLS estimatesshow that the U.S. industry grew by402 shops in the first three quarters of2012 alone and the trend projectsmore than 500 by the end of the year.The number of shops is still approxi-mately 1500 less than it was in 2008,including the 400 new locations.

BLS Stats Show Increase in Number of Body Shops


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16 Arrested in Multi-State Car Theft and Fraud Conspiracy,Dealerships and Individuals Targeted A Duncanville, TX, man faces federal

charges in an alleged multi-million dol-lar staged accident fraud scheme, theInsurance Journal recently reported.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for theNorthern District of Texas reportedthat Leroy Nelson was arrested byfederal agents on felony charges, out-lined in an indictment returned by afederal grand jury in Dallas.

The indictment charges Nelsonwith six counts of mail fraud and sixcounts of engaging in illegal monetary

transactions, according to the announce-ment by U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Sal-daña of the Northern District of Texas.

The indictment alleges that from atleast 2005, Nelson and others devised ascheme to defraud multiple insurancecompanies by submitting false claimsfor fictitious automobile accidents. Aspart of the scheme, Nelson promisedcash payments to individuals he re-cruited for them to falsely report to theirautomobile insurance company that,while driving, they damaged a piece of

equipment that was on the road or thatwas being hauled by a trailer, accordingto the federal prosecutors. Nelson pro-vided scripts to these individuals thatinstructed them on how to report thedamage to their insurance company.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office allegedthat Nelson fabricated the written claimsand submitted them to insurance com-panies. The damaged equipment wasdescribed as very technical in nature,such as: a “Remote Aircraft LandingMarker,” a “chemical Pipeline Exam-

iner” or a “Seismographic Probe.”The claims would include a ficti-

tious repair estimate and a photographof the equipment. The claimed repairexpenses would usually be from$16,000 to $19,000.

When insurance companies paidthe claims, checks would be mailed toa warehouses he owned in Duncanvilleor to private mail boxes he had openedin Minnesota, Missouri, Mississippi,Washington, Arizona, Connecticut and

Texan Charged with $3.5 Million Dollar Fraud

See Texan Charged, Page 62

Estimate Management Standard(EMS) is the open, non-proprietarysystem for electronic communicationthat was first deployed in 1994, and isnow the non-proprietary estimate for-mat used by the three major estimatingsystems. EMS is analogous to the olddial-up modem communication, and isobsolete.

The newer Business MessagingSpecifications (BMS) standard is poisedto replace the over-extended EMS. Itcan communicate massive amounts ofdata in a secure and efficient manner.BMS offers collision businesses theability to control what data is madeavailable to the recipients. BMS utilizesthe very flexible XML (markup lan-guage), which provides a consistent in-ternet communication standard, vs. themore limited scope of EMS.

As Fred Iantorno, Executive Di-rector of CIECA, has said in the past:“Implementing the BMS will makeeveryone more efficient and will savethe industry money.”

BMS offers shops three primarybenefits to the Collision Repair indus-try, according to Michael Lloyd,CIECA’s Vice Chairman:

Security—BMS allows users tocontrol data exchanged between itstrading partners. Businesses can trans-mit only the data needed by its suppli-ers, thereby retaining the confidentialityand security of the data that is in theirpossession.

Scalability—In the same way thatthe internet was designed to supportthe communication needs of all users,BMS simultaneously supports theneeds of both small and large busi-

nesses. As a result, BMS allows allbusinesses to exchange data usingcommon data fields or definitions. Re-gardless of size, BMS can meet theneeds of any business.

Efficiency—Since BMS followsthe XML standard, BMS can operatein any environment—server, main-frame, Microsoft Windows, MAC, etc.BMS eliminates the expense and inef-ficiencies associated with re-keyingdata. Once data is part of the BMSrecord, it does not need to be re-en-tered. All transaction history is re-tained, which allows the re-creation ofan estimate from a prior time period,according to Fred Iantorno. BMS is“backward and forward” compatible,meaning that new releases and mainte-nance are easily implemented, provid-ing a lower cost of operation.

Participants at the April CollisionIndustry Conference (CIC) expresseda clear opinion that it’s time for infor-mation providers and others accessingshop estimate data to convert from theEMS standard to the BMS standard.

A poll of more than 200 CIC at-tendees at the Phoenix meeting foundthat 84% supported such a move, how-ever a similar poll at the CIC meetingin January found only one in three CICattendees said they actually understoodthe key difference between the twostandards.

Education participants about thetwo standards has been led by DataPrivacy Committee chairman TonyPasswater, who said the change couldhave significant impact for shops, in-surers, parts suppliers and other indus-try vendors.

Passwater noted that while theolder EMS standard transfers all datafrom the estimate—including cus-tomer, vehicle, parts and labor infor-mation—the BMS standard providesshops with more control over whatdata gets shared, thus making it easierfor them to protect the privacy of datafor customers, business partners andthemselves.

The current EMS standard canonly transmit all the estimate data atonce, no matter how little informationis wanted or needed. The new BMSstandard has the ability to transmitonly the specific data necessary to getthe particular task accomplished, suchas order a part, or notify a car rentalcompany. The BMS is also a more se-cure message which provides a confi-dential data exchange.

A parts vendor, for example, canbe sent just the vehicle information andparts list—not the customer’s name,address and phone number. A rental carcompany or CSI provider doesn’t needevery line item of the estimate.

Passwater said of the industry’scontinued use of EMS, “There’s just

unnecessary personal and businessdata that is being transmitted and cap-tured by other parties that’s not neces-sary.”

He pointed out that EMS, whichwas developed in 1994 and not up-dated in over a decade, lacks standard-ized transfer of email addresses or cellphone numbers, which weren’t asubiquitous back then.

While some information providershave moved to BMS for some or all datatransfer, the vast majority of transactionsare still handled through EMS, Passwa-ter said. By the end of Passwater’s pres-entation, 84 percent of CIC attendeessaid they had a better understanding ofthe key differences between EMS andBMS and that same percentage said in-formation providers should move toBMS and eliminate EMS.

That change, and the eliminationof EMS entirely should happen quickly,according to CIC attendees; one-thirdsaid it should happen in the next sixmonths, another third said it shouldhappen in a year, and 22% said withintwo years seems reasonable. Only 10%said EMS should never be eliminated.

CIC Attendees Overwhelmingly Support BMS Data Standard Over EMS but SomeVague on the Differences, EMS is Functionally Obsolete


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VeriFacts Academy has announcedthat AirbagSolutions and VeriFactsAutomotive have joined together tocreate three new educational clinicsin Restraint Systems. The clinics arenow available through the VeriFactsAcademy for $29 each. The clinicsare designed to give technicians,damage assessors and managers theunderstanding of how the systemswork and the skills necessary forsafe repair of restraint systems.

Said VeriFacts CEO, FarzamAfshar, “The worldwide recall ofairbags demonstrates the importanceof safe installation and repair ofSafety Restraint Systems.”

VeriFacts & Airbag SolutionsCreate Restraint Systems Clinic

uParts Gets $2M in FinancinguParts, Inc. an independent cloud-basedcompany which indentifies, locates, andprocures automotive parts, has an-nounced completion of $2M in financ-ing led by GRP Partners and otherlenders. “It is astounding that in the year2013, repair facilities are [still] placingtheir part orders using the phone & faxmachine” said Alex Adegan, uParts’Founder, President & CEO.

“Can you imagine faxing a listof your destination cities to airlines,then waiting for them to call backwith possible routes, pricing andavailability? Our powerful and intu-itive platform solves this problem byallowing all part orders to be placedwith a single click.”

Estimate Management Standard(EMS) is the open, non-proprietarysystem for electronic communicationthat was first deployed in 1994, and isnow the non-proprietary estimate for-mat used by the three major estimatingsystems. EMS is analogous to the olddial-up modem communication, and isobsolete.

The newer Business MessagingSpecifications (BMS) standard is poisedto replace the over-extended EMS. Itcan communicate massive amounts ofdata in a secure and efficient manner.BMS offers collision businesses theability to control what data is madeavailable to the recipients. BMS utilizesthe very flexible XML (markup lan-guage), which provides a consistent in-ternet communication standard, vs. themore limited scope of EMS.

As Fred Iantorno, Executive Di-rector of CIECA, has said in the past:“Implementing the BMS will makeeveryone more efficient and will savethe industry money.”

BMS offers shops three primarybenefits to the Collision Repair indus-try, according to Michael Lloyd,CIECA’s Vice Chairman:

Security—BMS allows users tocontrol data exchanged between itstrading partners. Businesses can trans-mit only the data needed by its suppli-ers, thereby retaining the confidentialityand security of the data that is in theirpossession.

Scalability—In the same way thatthe internet was designed to supportthe communication needs of all users,BMS simultaneously supports theneeds of both small and large busi-

nesses. As a result, BMS allows allbusinesses to exchange data usingcommon data fields or definitions. Re-gardless of size, BMS can meet theneeds of any business.

Efficiency—Since BMS followsthe XML standard, BMS can operatein any environment—server, main-frame, Microsoft Windows, MAC, etc.BMS eliminates the expense and inef-ficiencies associated with re-keyingdata. Once data is part of the BMSrecord, it does not need to be re-en-tered. All transaction history is re-tained, which allows the re-creation ofan estimate from a prior time period,according to Fred Iantorno. BMS is“backward and forward” compatible,meaning that new releases and mainte-nance are easily implemented, provid-ing a lower cost of operation.

Participants at the April CollisionIndustry Conference (CIC) expresseda clear opinion that it’s time for infor-mation providers and others accessingshop estimate data to convert from theEMS standard to the BMS standard.

A poll of more than 200 CIC at-tendees at the Phoenix meeting foundthat 84% supported such a move, how-ever a similar poll at the CIC meetingin January found only one in three CICattendees said they actually understoodthe key difference between the twostandards.

Education participants about thetwo standards has been led by DataPrivacy Committee chairman TonyPasswater, who said the change couldhave significant impact for shops, in-surers, parts suppliers and other indus-try vendors.

Passwater noted that while theolder EMS standard transfers all datafrom the estimate—including cus-tomer, vehicle, parts and labor infor-mation—the BMS standard providesshops with more control over whatdata gets shared, thus making it easierfor them to protect the privacy of datafor customers, business partners andthemselves.

The current EMS standard canonly transmit all the estimate data atonce, no matter how little informationis wanted or needed. The new BMSstandard has the ability to transmitonly the specific data necessary to getthe particular task accomplished, suchas order a part, or notify a car rentalcompany. The BMS is also a more se-cure message which provides a confi-dential data exchange.

A parts vendor, for example, canbe sent just the vehicle information andparts list—not the customer’s name,address and phone number. A rental carcompany or CSI provider doesn’t needevery line item of the estimate.

Passwater said of the industry’scontinued use of EMS, “There’s just

unnecessary personal and businessdata that is being transmitted and cap-tured by other parties that’s not neces-sary.”

He pointed out that EMS, whichwas developed in 1994 and not up-dated in over a decade, lacks standard-ized transfer of email addresses or cellphone numbers, which weren’t asubiquitous back then.

While some information providershave moved to BMS for some or all datatransfer, the vast majority of transactionsare still handled through EMS, Passwa-ter said. By the end of Passwater’s pres-entation, 84 percent of CIC attendeessaid they had a better understanding ofthe key differences between EMS andBMS and that same percentage said in-formation providers should move toBMS and eliminate EMS.

That change, and the eliminationof EMS entirely should happen quickly,according to CIC attendees; one-thirdsaid it should happen in the next sixmonths, another third said it shouldhappen in a year, and 22% said withintwo years seems reasonable. Only 10%said EMS should never be eliminated.

CIC Attendees Overwhelmingly Support BMS Data Standard Over EMS but SomeVague on the Differences, EMS is Functionally Obsolete


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The owners of 120 auto dealershipshave filed a federal lawsuit againstCarfax Inc., alleging that the vehiclehistory reporting company engages inanti-competitive practices and violatesantitrust laws.

The suit, filed in U.S. DistrictCourt for the Southern District of NewYork, seeks damages of more than $50million. It also alleges that Carfax,through exclusive agreements withauto companies and popular classifiedauto Web sites, is “monopolist in thesale of vehicle history reports.”

Larry Gamache, a Carfaxspokesman, said the company is “notable to comment” on the suit. Carfaxis a unit of R. L. Polk & Co.

In an interview with media last De-cember, Gamache said Carfax drawscustomers because it works hard to buildits brand and deliver a quality product.

“We have to prove over and overagain that the Carfax vehicle historyreport is the vehicle history report ofexcellence,” he said. “And if we don’tdo that, our partners are free to choosealternatives.”

The Automotive News article wasabout how some dealers were angeredby Carfax’s success as the dominantused-vehicle history reports provider.

The lawsuit’s plaintiffs include

dealership owners from California toVermont. Their attorney, LeonardBellavia, a partner at Bellavia BlattAndron & Crossett in Mineola, NY,says more plaintiffs are expected.

“I have about 25 or 50 more deal-ers that have sent paperwork express-ing a desire to join the suit,” Bellaviasays.

The lawsuit alleges that Carfaxprovides “cash or noncash marketingsupport” to auto manufacturers and toclassified sites Autotrader.com andCars.com as part of exclusive agree-ments that shut out its competitors.The suit also alleges that Carfaxcharges dealers “a significantly higherprice” for its vehicle history reportsthan other providers charge.

Dealers typically pay $16.95 perreport or a flat monthly fee for an un-limited number of reports per dealer-ship location, the suit alleges. “Themonthly fee ranges from $899 perdealership location for some dealers to$1,549 per dealership location forother dealers,” depending in the num-ber of vehicles in the dealership’s in-ventory, according to the suit.

It alleges that Carfax forces deal-ers to buy its vehicle history reports asa result of its exclusive agreements with37 of 40 manufacturer certified pre-

owned programs. Virtually all of theagreements require dealers to provideCarfax reports as a condition of partici-pating in the programs, the suit alleges.

Also at issue is that Carfax hasexclusive agreements with Cars.comand AutoTrader.com. Those agree-ments stipulate that dealers who listused vehicles for sale on those sitescan only post vehicle history reportsfrom Carfax, according to the suit.

Ten firms are approved on theNational Motor Vehicle Title Informa-tion System, a national data base ofvehicle title information to which 41states contribute, according to the U.S.Department of Justice Web site.

Carfax’s main competitor is Au-toCheck, owned by Experian Auto-motive Inc.

Mentioned, but not a focal pointof the suit, is the alleged inaccuracyfound in some Carfax reports. Bellaviasays that is a concern of dealers andcan be cured as a byproduct of a “freemarketplace.”

The lead plaintiff in the suit isMaxon Hyundai-Mazda in Union, NJ.Its dealer principal, Mike Ciasulli, whois allegedly furious with Carfax butsubscribes to the reports as a conditionof the Hyundai certified used-vehicleprogram in which he participates.

CARFAX Hit by $50M Federal Lawsuit Filed by 120 Automotive Dealerships

Allstate, the largest publicly tradedU.S. car and home insurer, said first-quarter profit fell 7.4 percent ascosts tied to the most expensivestorms rose. Superstorm Sandy,which lashed New York and NewJersey six months ago, cost the in-dustry $18.8 billion, according totrade group Insurance InformationInstitute. Chief Executive OfficerTom Wilson, 55, has been raisingprices for some coverage andchanging policy terms to improveunderwriting profit at Allstate’smain unit, which sells residentialand auto coverage under the in-surer’s namesake brand. That’shelped boost returns as he seeks togenerate better results at a life unitpressured by low interest rates andspends to expand online car-insur-ance seller Esurance. “The Allstatebrand is starting to rebuild,” Wilsonsaid. Premium revenue in Allstate’sproperty and liability business roseto $6.77 billion from $6.63 billion ayear earlier as the company addedcustomers at Esurance.

Allstate’s Profit Dips 7.4%,Expands Esurance

ABRA Auto Body & Glass an-nounced that it has acquired 23 Pre-cision Collision Auto Body repaircenters in the Seattle metro area andthroughout Washington State. Thedeal marks the company’s entry intothe Northwest region. Eighteen ofthe repair centers are centrally lo-cated in the Seattle metro area, withfive additional centers in the citiesof Burlington, Mount Vernon, We-natchee, Kennewick and Spokane.“This is a game-changing acquisitionfor us,” says Duane Rouse, presidentand CEO of ABRA. “We have an ex-tremely strong management team, ascalable integration platform, a fan-tastic brand, and extensive expertiseand experience in the collision repairindustry. Acquiring these repair cen-ters is just one more step in ABRA’songoing growth strategy to betterserve our customers and insurancepartners.” Greg Wright, president ofPrecision Collision, will join thecompany and assume a leadershiprole in the region.

ABRA Has Acquired 23 WAPrecision Collision Centers


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Hermanek and Ricciotti JoinCREF Board of TrusteesSr. VP and Chief Client OfficerDon Hermanek of Insurance AutoAuctions and National Sales Man-ager Renee Ricciotti of 3M havejoined the Collision Repair Educa-tion Foundation Board of Trustees.

The Board of Trustees con-sists of industry members who pro-vide guidance in the organization’sefforts to support secondary andpost-secondary collision studentsnationwide.

CREF Seeks Employers ForSummer StudentsCollision industry businesses seek-ing secondary or post-secondarycollision students for summer em-ployment are asked to contact theCollision Repair Education Foun-dation, who will communicate theemployment opportunities to localcollision instructors and students.Collision industry members seekingcollision students for summer em-ployment should email [email protected] with the positiondetails, location, and contact per-son.


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Progressive Sues Other Insurers For Alleged Patent InfringementProgressive Insurance has filedpatent-infringement lawsuits againstState Farm Mutual Automobile Insur-ance Co. and Hartford Financial Serv-ices Group Inc. over auto coverageand premiums based on vehicle usage.

According to the lawsuit, the insurersare infringing three patents that relateto vehicle monitoring and ways themonitoring is used to determine insur-ance rates. Both complaints were filedin federal court in Cleveland.

Louisiana. Nelson then directed thatthe mail be forwarded to his addresson Explorer Street in Duncanville.

If convicted, each of the mail

fraud counts carries a maximumstatutory penalty of 20 years in fed-eral prison and a $250,000 fine; eachof the counts of engaging in an illegalmonetary transaction carries a maxi-mum statutory penalty of 10 years infederal prison and a $250,000 fine.


Texan Charged


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