Autobody News June 2011 Western Edition

In a bid to capture more business fromcustomers who shop online, AllstateCorp. has agreed to buy two popularonline insurance sellers—Esuranceand the associated site, Answer Finan-cial. Allstate will pay a total price ofabout $1 billion– $700 million plus thetangible book value of the two firmsacquired at close.

Esurance is the third-largestprovider of online auto insurancequotes through its website and a 24/7call center. It sells in 30 states. Overthe past five years, Esurance has morethan doubled policies in force andgrown premiums on average 20 per-cent per year, according to the com-

pany, which advertises heavily. It alsosells other personal lines coverages.

Answer Financial provides autoinsurance quote comparisons from 20brand-name auto insurance companiesto buyers in all 50 states. The carriersit represents include Esurance, Travel-ers, Progressive, Safeco, Met LifeAuto & Home, Unitrin and The Hart-ford. In July, it reported having324,000 policies in force.

Alltstate is buying the firms fromWhite Mountains Insurance Group,Ltd., a Bermuda-domiciled financialservices holding company with inter-ests in property/casualty insurance and

Aftermarket Chrome Compromising WheelLeads to $2.75M Judgment in CaliforniaOn October 11, 2006, at 6:00 a.m.,Martin Nagel was driving his new2006 Nissan 350Z northbound on the405 freeway in Los Angeles just asLAPD motorcycle officer StevenJohnson was approaching him in theopposite lanes. At approximately 65mph, the left front wheel of Nagel’s carfractured, separated from his vehicle,flew over the center divider and struckJohnson’s motorcycle.

Johnson was knocked from hisbike and slid approximately 150 feet.He suffered a number of injuries to hisknees, hips, arms and back as well asdislocation of two fingers, a broken fin-ger, a right shoulder injury and an in-

tervertebral disc injury.Nagel had purchased his vehicle

fromAntelope Valley Nissan. The courtestablished thatAntelope Valley Nissanhad applied after-market factorychrome to OEM wheels even thoughthey should have known that this appli-cation could change the metallurgicalproperties of the wheels, including theirhardness and tensile strength.

Fourteen years prior to the acci-dent (1992), Nissan NorthAmerica hadissued a technical service bulletin stat-ing that dealers should not sell OEMwheels with aftermarket chrome, butAntelope Valley Nissan had done so.

Allstate Will Buy Esurance and Answer Financial

See Allstate Buys Esurance, Page 57

In April this year Judge James Wareof the U.S. District Court for theNorthern District of California deniedthe summary judgment motions ofseveral car insurers in a class actionalleging they created a sham organi-zation to eliminate competition in themarket for repair parts.

The plaintiffs in Perez et al. v.State FarmMutual Automobile Insur-ance Co. et al. are California automo-bile insurance policyholders whoallege that defendant car insurers setup the Certified Automotive Parts As-sociation to provide inferior replace-ment parts in violation of California’sCartwright Act and Unfair Competi-

tion Law. The plaintiffs also allegethat the insurers unlawfully conspiredto stifle competition in the auto repairmarket by agreeing to offer exclu-sively policies that provide inferior re-pair parts and to exclude otherinsurance companies.

The original complaint was filedin 2006, and a third amended com-plaint was filed in November 2010.Defendants argued that the amendedcomplaint should be dismissed be-cause the plaintiffs did not meet theTwombly standard to establish a con-spiracy. Judge Ware disagreed andheld that the facts, if taken as true,

See AfterMarket Antitrust, Page 12

REGIONAL STORIES in this issue...Local Repairers, Vendors Finish San Diego Marine’s Mustang . .p. 4Suspect Wanted in Killing of Repair Shop Owner . . . . . . . . . . . . .p. 6BMW North America Files to Dismiss Jobber Suit . . . . . . . . . . . . .p. 9Farmers Insurance Shop of Year Hosts Extrication Training . . . .p. 14Calif. May Consider Statewide Crash Tax Ban . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .p. 16Nevada Low Cost Insurance Bill Moves to Senate . . . . . . . . . . . .p. 18Women’s Industry Conference Held in San Diego . . . . . . . . . . . .p. 48

Shop and ProductSHOWCASE

SPECIALINSERT

Aftermarket Parts Antitrust Action AgainstInsurers to Proceed After Five Year Delay

See AM Chrome Page 25

COLUMNS in this issue...Amaradio — The Good Old Days . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .p. 20Espersen — The Value of Service Repair Information . . . . . . . . .p. 22Franklin — Focusing Marketing Efforts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .p. 26Weaver — Shift Happens: The Story of Three Transmissions . . .p. 29Insurance Insider — Allstate Deserves Credit for DRPs . . . . . . .p. 36Schroeder — The Body Shop Garage Opens in Woodward, OK .p. 38Yoswick — Repairing a Quarter Panel, Bumper, and Molding . . .p. 50Evans — Repairing a Quarter Panel, Bumper, and Molding . . . .p. 52Chess — Getting OSHA-Compliant Part 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .p. 54

CaliforniaNevadaArizona YEARS www.autobodynews.com

2929ww.autobodynews.comww

WesternEdition

VOL. 29 ISSUE 6JUNE 2011

PresortedStandardUSPostage

PAIDOntario,Ca.PermitNo.1

P.O.BOX1516,CARLSBAD,CA92018

ChangeServiceRequested

2 JUNE 2011 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

www.autobodynews.com | JUNE 2011 AUTOBODY NEWS 3

REGIONAL9% of Californians Talk or Text While Driving

According to Study. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8Aftermarket Chrome Compromising Wheel

Leads to $2.75M Judgment in California. . . 1Bill Aimed at Lowering Insurance Premiums

in NV Moves to Senate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18BMW North America Files Another Motion

to Dismiss Case Involving California PaintJobber . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

CA May Consider a Statewide Ban on‘Crash Taxes’ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

CA Senate Committee Blocks Bill ThatWould Boost Insurance Commissioner’sPenalty Powers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

CA Senate Passes Airbag Fraud Bill DoublingPotential Penalties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

California Casualty Selects Mitchell as NewProvider of Physical Damage Solutions. . . 16

East Bay CAA Hosts 25th Annual GolfTournament . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Farmers Insurance Shop of the Year to HostExtrication Training . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Fix Auto USA Adds Five Franchise LocationsIn Q1 2011. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Local Repair Shops, Vendors RefinishSan Diego Marine’s Mustang . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Man Wanted in Killing of San Diego AutoRepair Shop Owner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Mercedes-Benz Announces Plans to Open FirstMB Driving Academy in Los Angeles, CA . 13

Montana Estimating Bill is Now Law . . . . . . . . 9Pick A Part Opens New Auto Recycling Yard

in Tolleson, AZ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12Poway, CA, to Get New 33,000 sq ft

Body Shop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6School Auto Body Programs Compete for

$50K Makeover, Winners to be Announcedat 2011 SEMA Show . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Sterling Autobody Partners With AllstateInsurance to Provide Cars and Tools toLocal Students . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

COLUMNSAmaradio - The Good Old Days . . . . . . . . . . 20Chess - Getting OSHA-Compliant on Signage,

Electrical and Power Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . 54Danalevich - Total Loss Fees Are Profits to

be Gained, Not Given Back . . . . . . . . . . . . 24Espersen - The Value of Service Repair

Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22Evans - Repairing Quarter Panel, Bumper,

and Molding: No Time, No Money. . . . . . . 52Franklin - Focusing Marketing Efforts on a

Narrow Demographic Yields More Results . 26Insurance Insider - Allstate, Founder of DRPs,

Deserves Some Credit for ImprovingRepair Industry. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

Schroeder - The Body Shop Garage Opensin Woodward, Oklahoma. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

Sisk - Great Bear Auto Teaches CustomersWhat They “Auto Know” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

Sisk - Keenan Cares About Cars, Charityand Environment, Part 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

Weaver - Shift Happens: The Story of Three

Transmissions and a Limp Kia SUV. . . . . . 29Women’s Industry Network Conference Held

in San Diego. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48Yoswick - Industry Trends and Changes in

Future Vehicles at WIN Conference . . . . . . 50

NATIONALAASP Awards Grants to NABC and Auto

Education Institute . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21Aftermarket Parts Antitrust Action Against

Insurers to Proceed After Five Year Delay . . 1AkzoNobel to sell all 40 Company-owned

Distributors of Sikkens, Lesonal, U-Tech,to LKQ Corp. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Allstate Will Buy Esurance and Answer Financial. 1Americans Oppose Accident Response Fees. 55ARA, Congress to Ensure Flood Damaged

Vehicles Don’t Enter Used Market . . . . . . 27Array of Collision Associations Serve

New York Regionally and Statewide . . . . . 34ASA Announces its 2011 Government

Affairs Committee. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21ASA Announces its Collision Operations

2011 Committee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21ASA Discusses New Refinish Regulation

with EPA Officials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21Auto Glass Replacement Safety Standards

Council Promotes Fixing DamagedWindshields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

BASF & AASP Official Sponsors of RepairerDriven Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

Boyd Group Reports Strong 1Q Numbers,Sales Up 48.5% . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

CCC Announces 2011 Crash Course in April . 25Chrysler Will Repay All Govt Bailout Loans

this Year . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55CIF Makes Donation to Japan Tsunami Relief . 51Farmers Insurance’s New DRP Changes

Upset Some Owners. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28Ford Has Located Replacement for Merck-

Supplied Japanese Paint Component . . . . 28Gunder Supporters Release Infinity Insurance’s

Voice Recordings, Insurer Apologizes . . . . 56Infinity Insurance Apologizes for Gunder’s

Auto Center Customer Recordings . . . . . . 56Northwest Louisiana Collision Repair

Association Hosts Local SkillsUSAWinning Students, Hertz Reps Speak . . . . 42

OK Attorney General and Insurance CommissionerAnnounce Joint Focus on Fraud . . . . . . . . . 35

Oklahoma Technical Students Place InFord/AAA Student Auto Skills ContestHeld in Okmulgee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

SEMA Show Registration is up Over Last Year . 28State Farm to Phase out 24 Field Offices

in Midwest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58The Houston Auto Body Association Hosts

Body Shop Owners and Managers atAppreciation Event to Meet New Members. 19

Tornadoes Devastate South, Halting LocalAutomakers’ Plants, Inundating Insurers . . 46

Toyota Profits Dive in 4th Qtr After SevereSupply Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Xirallac® Pigment Plant to Relocate fromJapan to Germany Following Tsunami . . . . 32

Contents

Publisher & Editor: Jeremy HayhurstGeneral Manager: Barbara DaviesAssistant Editor: Erica SchroederContributing Writers: Tom Franklin, David Brown, JohnYoswick, Lee Amaradio, Rich Evans, Janet Chaney, TobyChess, Mike Causey, Tom McGee, Ed Attanasio,Chasidy SiskAdvertising Sales: Joe Momber, Sean Hartman(800) 699-8251Sales Assistant: Kristy MangumArt 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. ©2011 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 . . . . . . .50

Autoland Scientech . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29

Automotive ID . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16

BASF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5

BMW of Vista . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4

BMW Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . . . .41

Buerge Chrysler-Jeep-Dodge . . . . .10-11

California Superstores Automotive Group .15

Carlsen Volvo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34

Chief Automotive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19

Classifieds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .58

Completes Plus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39

Crevier BMW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12

Downtown Motors of LA

(Audi, VW, Porsche) . . . . . . . . . . . . .13

Drew Hyundai-Volkswagen . . . . . . . . . .24

Elk Grove Toyota . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34

Enterprise Rent-A-Car . . . . . . . . . . . . . .55

Equalizer Industries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46

Ford Wholesale Parts Dealers

AZ, CA, & NV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37

Galpin Motors . . . . . . . . . . .25, 30-31, 35

Garmat USA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22

GM Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . . . . .43

Harbor Hyundai . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26

Honda/Acura Wholesale Parts Dealers .57

Hyundai Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . .42

Kia Motors Wholesale Parts Dealers . .45

LKQ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .59

Matrix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8

Mazda Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . . .49

Mitsubishi Wholesale Parts Dealers . . .48

MOPAR Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . .23

Nissan/Infiniti Wholesale Parts Dealers .38

Normandin Chrysler-Jeep-Dodge . . . .18

PartsCheck Live . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .60

Power Chrysler-Jeep-Dodge . . . . . . . . .7

PPG . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2

Quality Stainless Products . . . . . . . . . . .6

Rare Parts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40

RBL Products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36

Rely-On Technologies . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14

Replica Plastics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44

Riverside Metro VW-Honda-Hyundai-

Nissan-Mazda . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27

Safety Regulation Strategies . . . . . . . .26

SATA Spray Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . .9

Scorpion Coatings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21

Sierra Chevrolet-Honda-Mazda-Subaru .32

Subaru Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . .33

Timmons VW-Subaru . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20

Toyota Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . . .56

VIM Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .52

Volkswagen Wholesale Parts Dealers .47

Volvo Crash Wholesale Dealers . . . . . .51

Weatherford BMW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17

Inde

xofAdvertisers

Western

Sgt. Edward Flak II returned fromhis third tour in Afghanistan on April22 to find his ‘94 Mustang GT miss-ing from his garage.

The 26-year-old Marine based inTemecula, CA, had purchased the carsecond hand from a friend about 4years ago and couldn’t afford to repairthe vehicle between his tours to theMiddle East.

“When he left, the first thing hesaid about money was save money soI can get my car done when I getback,” Flak’s wife, Krissy told 10News San Diego.

Unbeknownst to Flak, Krissy andJanet and Jim Bird of Bird FamilyTire and Auto in Temecula decided torepair the car for him while he wasgone.

The Birds’ daughter attendsschool with the Flak’s daughter andthe subject of refinishing Flak’s Mus-tang came up one day. Krissy hadbeen getting quotes of upwards of$10,000 to repair the Mustang whileFlak was overseas.

The crew at Bird Family Tire andAuto repaired the car’s engine andBob and Shelley Kantin of PrecisionPaint and Body Works signed on to dothe refinishing through a mutual con-tact with Jim Bird.

“My original estimate for thebody work on the car was $7,800 andI told Krissy if she could pay for abouthalf of that, then the rest I would do-nate,” said Bob.

Precision repaired some accidentdamage done to the vehicles left, rearquarter panel, hand-made a body kitFlak had purchased for the car fitproperly, bought and installed newfenders, painted the vehicle and redid

the interior with some carpet and seatupholstery from Flak’s uncle.

Kantin was able to get Smitty’sAuto Paint to donate some clear,primer and silver paint for the vehicleas well.

Audio Addictions, All Out Paint-less Dent Removal, Acappella HairDesign, Rancho Auto Parts, All Sea-son Tint, SoCal Jax Wax, Pole Posi-tion and the local VFW Post alsomade donations and helped in the re-finishing process to get the Mustangready for Flak’s return.

“Thank you guys so much, it’s sobeautiful,” Flak said of the car’s reveal

to San Diego’s North County Times.The car took about 5 weeks to

complete, with many overtime andweekend hours put in to get the carready for Flak’s return; the crew atPrecision Paint and Body Works evenworked Easter Sunday to finish thevehicle in time.

“I think we took one day off inthe 5 weeks it took to repair the car,”said Kantin.

“Eddie was so surprised and it wasso hard to keep this a secret for 2months,” said Krissy, “Thanks to ... allwho made this dream come true for myhusband, he deserves every bit of it.”


California Senate Bill 869 was passedin committee (9-0) on April 25. Thebill modifies the state’s Business andProfessions Code saying that a re-pairer who “fails to repair and fullyrestore the airbag to its original oper-ating condition,” where the customerhas paid for the airbag as provided inthe estimate, is guilty of a misde-meanor punishable by a fine of$5,000 or by one year in prison, orboth. Existing law caps penalties at$1,000, by imprisonment not exceed-ing 6 months, or by both fine and im-prisonment.

It is already fraudulent and a vi-olation of the Automotive Repair Actto state on an invoice that an auto re-pair shop will repair or replace a partif it fails to do so. This bill strengthensthe existing penalties on that violationspecifically for airbags which arebeing replaced.

The Senate analysis of the meas-ure suggests that possibly in the fu-ture some consideration should begiven to strengthening the law evenfurther. The analysis asks, “Shouldthere be a requirement to repair or re-

place a deployed airbag?” Currently,there are no statutes requiring that anauto repair shop replace a deployedair bag, but the analysis suggests alaw requiring that any vehicle enter-ing an auto repair shop which has adeployed airbag must leave that repairshop in good working order.

A previous bill SB 427, tabled in2009 would have established thesame misdemeanor with the samepenalties for a violation as this billand would have additionally requiredthe parts invoice for any replacementairbag installed to be attached to thefinal repair invoice.

That bill was vetoed by the Gov-ernor, citing that it was duplicative ofexisting law and, therefore, addedvery little additional benefit to con-sumers.

The California Autobody Asso-ciation (CAA) and the CaliforniaNew Car Dealers Association(CNCDA) opposed the 2009 measureciting the same administrative issuesacknowledged by the Governor.

The CAA and the CNCDA sup-port this new measure.

CA Senate Passes Airbag Fraud Bill Doubling Potential Penalties

1715 Hacienda Dr.,Vista, CA 92081www.bmwofvista.com

Monday - Friday 7am - 7pmSaturday 8am - 5pm(No Saturday Deliveries)

Bill CoxBill CoxParts Manager:Parts Manager:(760) 208-2350(760) 208-2350Main Phone:Main Phone:

[email protected]@bmwofvista.comE-mail:E-mail:Mark CruegerMark Crueger

WholesaleParts Manager:WholesaleParts Manager:

(760) 940-6395(760) 940-6395Fax:Fax:(760) 208-2341(760) 208-2341Call Direct:Call Direct:

BMW of Vista

Original BMW Parts

bmwusa.com

Extensive original BMW parts inventoryFast, friendly service and delivery

Original BMW Parts

Local Repair Shops, Vendors Refinish San Diego Marine’s Mustang

Flak’s Mustang before refinishing work

Almost the entire front end of the vehicle’sbody had to be replaced

Sgt. Edward Flak shakes hands with the groupof people that helped to refinish his car

The mustang’s racy paint job made the carstand out on the day of its big reveal


Authorities are asking the public forhelp in finding a man suspected of fa-tally shooting his former boss at a SanDiego auto repair shop the victimowned and operated on April 19.

A customer of the business whowas dropping off her car came acrossthe body of Jalal “Joe”Abou around7:30 a.m. in the parking lot of hisshop, Joe’s Auto Repair, located on1930 Rosecrans Street.

Abou’s body was found next to asilver Toyota with the driver side doorstill open.

Witnesses reported hearing gun-shots at the location at around 7:15a.m. Nicolas Rosales, 47, a formermechanic at Joe’s Auto Repair onRosecrans Street, allegedly shot 63-year-old Abou to death at the garage

around 7:30 a.m that morning, ac-cording to San Diego police.

Officers arrived to find the victimlying in a parking lot at the garagewith several Good Samaritans tryingto revive him with CPR, homicide Lt.Ernie Herbert said. Paramedics tookover the lifesaving attempt before pro-nouncing the man dead at the scene.

Family members said he was ahusband and father of three whomoved to the U.S. from Iraq nearly40 years ago. They described him asactive in the local Chaldean commu-nity.

“He was a good person, hardworker, he have no enemy. I don’tknow what happened,” Raad Han-nosh, the victim’s nephew told10 NewsSan Diego.

Witnesses reported seeing a manparked near the shop in a dark greensedan with primer spots on it beforethe shooting and driving away shortlyafter the gunshots rang out, San DiegoPolice Department Lt. Kevin Rooneytold 10 News San Diego.

OnApril 28, detectives obtained anarrest warrant charging Rosales withmurder in the death of Abou. Rooneydeclined to disclose what led investiga-tors to identify Rosales as the suspectedkiller.

Rosales left his job at the victim’sbusiness in October of 2010. Policedeclined to state specifically if Rosales

quit or was fired,though he did sayRosales returnedto the garage sev-eral times betweenthe date of his ter-mination and theslaying.

R o o n e ywould not elabo-rate on the reasonsfor those visits or

discuss anything that may have tran-spired during them.

Rosales, who is known to fre-quent the Tijuana area, may be driv-ing a green 1997 Honda Accord,California license plate No. 5YRJ935,or a white 2000 Ford Explorer, Cali-fornia license plate No. 6NZN776, ac-cording to police. The suspect is 5 feet4 inches tall and weighs about 180pounds and should be consideredarmed and dangerous, Rooney said.

Anyone with information onRosales’ whereabouts is urged to call

San Diego County Crime Stoppers at(888) 580-8477.

Abou has owned Joe’s Auto Re-pair for about six years, and customerswere saddened to hear about whathappened.

“He was a really sweet guy andreally honest. That’s why we bring ourcars here,” customer Yvonne Prouttold 10 News San Diego.

“This is horrendous… I can’timagine why anyone would shoot Joe.This is just nuts,” said Customer PhilipEvans. “This is the worst thing that’sever happened in this neighborhood.”

On April 19, friends and cus-tomers left flowers, candles and sym-pathy cards in front of the auto repairshop.

“People don’t do that for a me-chanic,” neighbor Troy Hernandeztold 10 News San Diego. “These areclients and customers who have beenloyal to him for a long time, not justbecause he was good mechanic, butbecause he was a special guy.”

Funeral services for Abou tookplace April 26 at St. Peter’s Church inEl Cajon.


www.qsponline.com

888-473-5378314-699-9617 FAX

• Makes easy work of changing struts• Can handle the heaviest of

“Coil Over Shocks”• Safe: The system of contacting this

spring in four points during thecompression process assures evendistribution of spring pressure

tsuts

sis

enn

Air Operated Strut CompressorModel DB-8000

Modern Safe Tools forToday’s Modern Shops

Man Wanted in Killing of San Diego Auto Repair Shop Owner

The murder took place at Joe’s Auto Repair onRosecrans St

Ex-employee NicolasRosales is wantedin connection with

the slaying

The Poway City Council granted per-mission in a 4-1 decision at a meetingMay 3 to allow a new auto body cen-ter to set up shop in the business park,located in the south of the city. Powayis a large suburb in northern SanDiego county.

Representatives from otherPoway repair shops opposed grantingChrome Collision Auto Body Repaira permit to open up at 13175 GreggStreet, saying a repair shop theregives an unfair advantage and thatthey had been told they couldn’t runtheir businesses in that area.

Competition among auto bodyrepair shops had been a controversialat City Council meetings before. AnAugust deal to relocate Toyota ofPoway across the street on PowayRoad included an auto body repairshop.

That plan allows the dealershipto use city-owned land rent free aslong as it generates at least $3 millionin revenue over the term of a 15-yearlease.

Auto body representatives atthose hearings said that was an unfairgovernment subsidy.

Several council memberspointed out that this was different, asthe city was not subsidizing ChromeCollision.

City officials said using propertyin the business park for auto body re-pairs is allowed as long as vehiclesare stored and repairs are done in-doors, which Councilman JohnMullin noted could increase costs forthe shop.

Councilman Jim Cunningham,who ultimately opposed granting thepermit, wanted the city to look intowhether other such shops had beendenied permission to open shops inthe business park. That desire failedto gain support on the dais.

Some council members, includ-ing Dave Grosch and Cunningham,worried that the the shop would be in-consistent with the character Powaywants for the business park, notingthat large technological firms wouldbe more desirable.

Mayor Don Higginson said theuse conformed to city regulations andthat Poway needed to conform withthe demands of the market to avoidleaving lots vacant.

Poway, CA, to Get New 33,000 sq ft Body Shop


An estimated 9 percent of Californiadrivers talk or text on their cell phonewhile driving—despite state laws thatprohibit such actions, a recent study hasshown. In the first-ever survey of itskind, the California Office of TrafficSafety found that an estimated 9 per-cent of California drivers talk or texton their cell phone while driving.

Officials also announced that,with approximately 55 percent of lawenforcement agencies reporting in, atleast 20,455 were cited for handheldcell phone use and texting during thefirst two weeks of a Distracted Driv-ing Awareness Month campaign.

“This study is highly significantfor California,” said OTS DirectorChristopher J. Murphy. “It gives usa base to measure against in years tocome as we combat this serious threatto safety on our roadways.”

The observational study had re-searchers fan out to more than 130 in-tersections in 17 counties to observewhether drivers had a phone to theirear, were wearing a Bluetooth orheadset device, were manipulating ahandheld device, or were talking

while holding a phone in their handbut not to their ear. Of the 5,413 driv-ers observed across the state:•2.7 percent were talking into a hand-held phone, either at their ear or in theirhand.•4.7 percent were talking into a visibleBluetooth or headset on their right ear.•1.7 percent were texting or otherwisemanipulating a mobile device.

Officials consider the results tobe the low-end indications of thoseengaged in these dangerous behaviors,since it’s not always possible to tell ina short, limited view observationwhether someone is using a phone.

A similar nationwide survey con-ducted by the National Highway Traf-fic Safety Administration in 2009showed the same combined usage of 9percent.

Referring to the enforcement to-tals, California Highway Patrol Com-missioner Joe Farrow said, “Thisshows how engrained the use of mo-bile devices have become. Even facedwith laws, studies, and stories oftragedy, too many are not able to putdown their cell phones. We have to

convince people of the dangers beforethey become the next heartbreakingstory.” With fees and assessments, thetotal ticket for a first offense for talk-ing or texting while driving in Cali-fornia is at least $159, and $279 forsubsequent offenses.

More than 275 local police agen-cies and 103 CHP offices have beenmounting special zero tolerance en-forcements against hand-held cellphones and texting by drivers in thestate since April 4.

Additional findings from the ob-servational survey include:•Central California had the highestrate of usage – 12 percent, followedby Southern California at 9.8 percentand Northern California at 6.9 percent•Suburban usage leads the way towarddanger with 10.3 percent overallusage, compared to 7.6 percent inrural and 8.7 percent in urban areas.•82.8 percent of all drivers observedas distracted by a hand held devicewere alone in their vehicle. The higherthe number of passengers in the car,the less likely is the use of a hand-helddevice by the driver.


9% of Californians Talk or Text While Driving According to Study Fix Auto USAAdds Five NewFranchise Locations In Q1 2011Fix Auto USA has announced the ad-dition of five franchise locations. Thenew locations represent Fix Auto’sexpansion in the San Diego market toeight locations. Fix Auto USA, whichadded a franchise model to networkmembership in January 2011, cur-rently has 39 franchise locations op-erating in three states: California,Colorado and Oregon.The new Fix Auto locations include:•Fix Auto El Cajon, formerly EastCounty Auto Collision•Fix Auto Escondido, previouslyHenson and Son•Fix Auto La Mesa, operated atDrewCollision Repair Center•Fix Auto Mira Mesa, formerly Mi-ramar Collision Center•Fix Auto National City, previouslyowned by Ball Auto Group

Greg Carter, owner of Fix AutoNational City, Fix Auto Santee andFix Auto Mission Valley said thepower of a larger network, poweredby independent owners played a bigrole in his decision to franchise.

“We are pleased to expand ourfranchise group with these operatorsin San Diego,” said Paul Gange,President and COO of Fix Auto USA.


BMW North America filed anothermotion for judgment on the pleadingsin a case involving a California paintjobber. The jobber, Nicolosi Distrib-uting Inc. (NDI), alleges that BMWNorth America intentionally inter-fered with a contract NDI had with aBMW-certified shop.

BMW North America beganmaking its BMW certified repairshops use only BMW certified paintduring their repairs while the repairshop in question, German MotorsCollision Center, was still under con-tract with NDI for their paint materi-als.

NDI contends that “BMW inten-tionally interfered with NDI’s con-tractual relationship with GermanMotors Collision Center... by the fol-lowing conduct: BMW has decided toproduct its own paint line ... BMW re-quires auto body shops painting aBMW automobile to only use BMWpaint. BMW forced German MotorsCollision Center to enter into a writ-ten agreement ... which requires Ger-man Motors to use BMW paint onany BMW car painted at German Mo-tors.”

NDI is also accusing BMWNorth America of interfering with aprospective economic advantage, vio-lation of California’s Anti-Competi-tion Act, Business and ProfessionsCode Section 17200 and violation ofBusiness and Professions Code Sec-tion 16727 in which a business’s ac-tions lessen competition and create amonopoly on a trade or line of com-merce.

Nicolosi is asking for damagesof $75,000 for the first and secondclaim, exemplary damages from Fed-eral Court, injunctive relief from thethird and fourth claims, attorneysfees, other relief from the Businessand Professions Code violations,court costs and other relief as judgedby the court.

On April 20 BMW filed a secondmotion for judgment on the pleadings;the company had filed one in Febru-ary of 2011 which was dismissed.

US District Judge Susan Illstonagain denied BMW’s motion forjudgment on the pleadings.

The full text of the court docu-ments can be seen at www.autobo-dynews.com.

BMW North America Files Another Motion toDismiss Case Involving California Paint JobberMontana’s House Bill 265, signed

into law by Gov. Brian Schweitzeron April 28, gives heightened author-ity to estimating systems, requiringevery operation and all costs identi-fied by the estimating systems to beconsidered by insurers.

The bill means that insurers can-not pick and choose which operationsor costs they wish to accept or deny.

Bill 265 is formally titled: AnAct Providing That An InsuranceCompany May Not Unilaterally Dis-regard A Repair Operation Or CostIdentified By An Estimating SystemThat The Insurer And An AutomobileBody Repair Business Or LocationHave Agreed To Utilize In Determin-ing The Cost Of Repair.

The bill was sponsored and sup-ported by the Montana Collision Re-pair Specialists, said Bruce Halcro,president of MCRS and owner ofCapital Collision Center in Helena,“Montana shops rallied to the causeand made multiple contacts to ourstate legislators when asked by the as-sociation. We are very proud of all ourmembers in Montana. They made thedifference.”

Writing in support of the legisla-tion in February, Denny Menhollt,

owner of Denny Menholt Chevrolet,in Billings (and a body shop owner),said: “HB265 is written to support asafe and economically sound collisionrepair. Insurers require usage of adatabase provider that identifies re-pair procedures. Many times, insurersthen disallow or refuse to pay forthese required procedures leaving thepotential for unsafe repairs. Repairersthen complete the required proce-dures, leaving no choice by to chargethe consumer co-pay in addition totheir deductible.”

Menholt also expressed supportfor HB264, a bill to allow all Montanabusinesses as well as consumers tofile a complaint with the state audi-tor’s office if they see code violationsthat negatively impact consumers.The bill would provide a mechanismto seek code enforcement. The billwas opposed by insurance lobbygroups, but not necessarily by inde-pendent insurers.

Ed Melcher, an insurance agentin Billings, supported the bill, saying:“ HB265 would help eliminate the po-tential for consumers having to payadditional monies above their de-ductible.” Melcher also supported HB264.

Montana Estimating Bill is Now Law



were sufficient to show that the insur-ers conspired to eliminate competitionfor auto parts.

The defendants include StateFarm Mutual Automobile InsuranceCompany, Geico General InsuranceCompany, Liberty Mutual Fire Insur-ance Company, and Allstate Insur-ance.

The following legal analysis ap-pears in a Legal blog by WilliamsMullen law firm, written by James M.Burns

In late March, a long-simmeringantitrust action filed against severalauto insurers and the Certified Auto-motive Parts Association (CAPA) inthe Northern District of California, inwhich the defendants are accused ofconspiring to promote the use of infe-rior quality repair parts for insured re-pairs, was finally cleared to begindiscovery by District Court JudgeJames Ware. Judge Ware’s ruling inPerez v. State Farm Mutual Auto In-surance et al, finally permits the plain-tiffs’ action to move forward intodiscovery, a full five years after the

case originally was filed and after twoprior dismissals of the case by the dis-trict court were reversed by the NinthCircuit.

Unlike Judge Ware’s earlier rul-ings in the case (that plaintiffslacked Article III standing to asserttheir claims—reversed by the NinthCircuit in 2009—and a subsequentruling that plaintiffs’ claims fellunder the exclusive authority of theInsurance Commissioner, reversedin 2010), the defendants’ most re-cent motion to dismiss plaintiffs’ ac-tion focused on more pedestrianlegal theories—whether plaintiffs’Third Amended Complaint allegedsufficient facts to satisfy the plead-ing requirements of the SupremeCourt’s Twombly decision and

whether the alleged agreement, evenif proved, actually constituted a re-straint of trade.

Turning first to defendants’Twombly argument, Judge Warenoted that plaintiffs had alleged thatthe defendants had “conspired to sup-press competition on the basis of thequality of repair parts,” and that the al-leged conspiracy had been furtheredby “an agreement to create, financeand direct CAPA as a sham organiza-tion whose true purpose is to certifyinferior-quality parts.”

Acknowledging that “at thisstage of the litigation, the Court doesnot determine whether actual proof ofthese facts is probable,” but only“whether a plaintiff has done morethan offer a bare assertion of con-

spiracy,” Judge Ware ruled that plain-tiffs had sufficiently alleged a con-spiracy to suppress competition anddenied defendants’ Twombly argu-ment.

Next, Judge Ware assessedwhether defendants’ alleged agree-ment, if proved, constituted a re-straint of trade under the CartwrightAct, the California antitrust lawunder which plaintiffs’ action wasbrought. (Notably, plaintiffs’ claimswere pled under the Cartwright Act,and not the federal antitrust laws, be-cause similar claims—brought by thesame plaintiff’s attorney—werefound to be McCarran-exempt by the11th Circuit Court of Appeals in 2004in Gilchrist v. State Farm AutomobileInsurance).


Crevier BMW

www.crevierbmw.com(714) 835-2025

Mon - Fri: 7:00 am - 7:00 pm Sat: 7:00 am - 6:00 pm Sun: 10:00 am - 6:00 pmParts Hours:

Original BMW Parts

1500 Auto Mall Drive, Santa Ana, CA 92705www.crevierbmw.com

(800) 945.1618 Wholesale Direct(800) 945.1618 Wholesale Direct(714) 835.4359 Wholesale Direct Fax(714) 835.4359 Wholesale Direct Fax

CREVIER BMW

The most awarded BMW dealership inthe United States is here to help you withall your Original BMW Parts.

Experienced, Knowledgeable and Friendly Staff

5 Delivery Vehicles

$3,000,000 Parts Inventory means great partsavailability and quicker vehicle turn rate for you

Serving All of Orange County & Beyond

Kevin: [email protected]: [email protected]

— 2008 winner of BMW’s “Center of Excellence”.

Our parts. Your peace of mind

BMWZ4 ‘10

Pick A Part Opens New AutoRecycling Yard in Tolleson, AZPick A Part, an automobile recyclingcompany headquartered in Phoenix,has announced the expansion of itsself-service division with the additionof a new location at 83rd Avenue andSherman in Tolleson, Ariz.

Pick A Part is a Phoenix autowrecker who allows customers to re-move used auto parts using their owntools after browsing inventory for a 2dollar entry fee, saying the self serv-ice concept ensures the absolute low-est prices (up to 70% off retail).

Pick a Part, which opened in2006, also has locations Phoenix andMesa, for a total of three yards.

The company claims the largestinventory of used auto parts and autobody parts in Arizona with thousandsof of vehicles on site.

Pick A Part says its newest facil-ity will allow the company to meetthe growing demand for self-serveauto parts. It also purchases virtuallyany scrap metal offered.

JSL Management, Phoenix,owns Pick A Part. The company alsois the corporate holding company foreight companies in the auto recy-cling, towing and scrap metal indus-tries.

Continued from Page 1

Aftermarket Antitrust


AudiGenuine Parts

Audi of Downtown LA1900 S. Figueroa St., Los Angeles, CA 90007Tel: (213) 747-7248 Fax: (213) 222-1261

www.audiofdowntownla.comParts Manager: Fausto G.

Service Hours: 8:30 am – 6:30 pm

Best Delivery Service (Twice Daily) to LA County$750,000 Genuine Audi Parts Inventory8,000 + Parts in Stock

• Best Delivery Service (Twice Daily) to LA County• $500,000 Genuine Porsche Parts Inventory• 6,000 Numbers in Stock

OF DOWNTOWN LA

1900 S. Figueroa StreetLos Angeles, CA 90007Parts Manager: Marlon L.

www.porschedowntownla.com Service Hours: 8:00 am - 6:30 pm

Tel: (213) 748-4624 Fax: (213) 222-1278

• Best Delivery Service (Twice Daily) to LA County• $750,000 Genuine VW Parts Inventory• 8,000 Numbers in Stock

1900 S. Figueroa Street • Los Angeles, CA 90007Parts Manager: Carlos L.

www.vwdowntownla.comService Hours: 8:00 am - 6:30 pm

Direct: (213) 747-7246 • (213) 747-7247Fax: (213) 222-1272

CA Senate Committee BlocksBill That Would Boost InsuranceCommissioner’s Penalty PowersThe California Senate InsuranceCommittee has blocked SB 631, arestitution bill that would give explicitauthority to the California InsuranceCommissioner to order restitution aspart of an enforcement action againstan insurance company, as of May 9.

The insurance agent and brokercommunity opposed Senate Bill 631,arguing it would have given the com-missioner “unprecedented new pow-ers to punish broker-agents and otherlicensees ‘in all instances’ where hefinds any violation of the CaliforniaInsurance Code,’” according to Insur-ance Brokers and Agents of the West.

According to Sen. NoreenEvans, who sponsored the bill, exist-ing law permits the commissioner toorder restitution in some circum-stances. Commissioner Dave Jones’office believed that even when thereare legal violations in which Califor-nians are entitled to refunds or resti-tution, in many circumstances thecommissioner had no specific au-thority to order refunds or restitutionunder current law.

Mercedes-Benz USA announced thatit is opening the company’s first Mer-cedes-Benz Driving Academy in LosAngeles in October 2011, offering afully integrated driver’s education pro-gram and school that incorporates on-line, classroom and behind-the-wheeltraining for Los Angeles-area teens.

The Mercedes-Benz DrivingAcademy unveiled details for its teendriving school at the annual CaliforniaState PTA Convention, where approx-imately 2,500 California PTA mem-bers attended conferences from April28 to May 1, 2011 in Long Beach, CA.

Mercedes-Benz is appointingCarolyn Duchene as Director for theMercedes-Benz Driving Academy,and she will be responsible for thelaunch and management of daily op-erations. A Mercedes-Benz USA em-ployee since 1994, Duchene has heldseveral positions in the areas of mar-keting, digital media, training and ed-ucation, and customer service.

“Our highly qualified staff will bea key differentiator for the Mercedes-Benz Driving Academy. We are re-cruiting and hiring the best talent for allareas of operation,” said Duchene.“The Mercedes-Benz Driving Acad-emy will connect with students andparents using a personalized, customer-centric approach that truly creates aunique offering among driver’s educa-tion services for new teen drivers.”

Mercedes-Benz AnnouncesPlans to Open First MB DrivingAcademy in Los Angeles, CA

Toyota Profits Dive in 4th Qtr After Severe Supply ProblemsToyota has announced 4th quarterprofits that are 77% lower after se-vere supply disruptions caused by theJapanese earthquake and tsunami.This is the lowest profit figures dur-ing any time in the past year and ahalf.

Toyota announced that its de-clared profit for the three monthsending 31st March 2011 was 25.4 bil-lion yen. Sales also dropped by 12%to 4.64 trillion yen. The supply dis-ruptions could cause Toyota to dropbehind Volkswagen AG and GeneralMotors in worldwide sales this year.

Toyota said that the companyexpects local and international pro-duction to start recovering by June.This is earlier than the initial forecastof July to August. The company

added that production will be roughly70% of normal levels.

Toyota was able to resume pro-duction at all of the company’s Japan-ese plants on the 18th April, althoughat only half of the normal capacity. Atthis stage production is still severelyhampered by shortages of rubber andplastics and electronic components.

Honda said at the end of Aprilthat its fourth quarter net income de-creased by 38% to 44.5 billion yen.

Judge Ware noted that “theCartwright Act, like the ShermanAct, makes a conspiracy amongcompetitors to restrict output un-lawful per se,” and that “output re-duction does not simply refer tothe number of units produced, butalso involves a qualitative judg-ment.”

Applying this principle, JudgeWare concluded that plaintiffs’ alle-gation of an agreement “to restrictoutput to a product of inferior qualitycounts as an output restriction,” andthus plaintiffs had stated an action-able antitrust claim under theCartwright Act.

After five years in the Californiacourts, the case will now proceed intofull merits discovery.

Search:Autobody News

on Facebook

On Friday, May 13th, Pan AmericanCollision Center in San Jose, Califor-nia was awarded the designation as“shop of the year” by Farmers Insur-ance Company. As part of the celebra-tion for this achievement, theCollision Center collaborated withFarmers Insurance to host an ad-vanced vehicle extrication training forlocal area fire departments, as part oftheir ongoing efforts to support thelocal community base they serve.

Pan American has enjoyed agrowing relationship over the past 18years with Farmers, participating as adirect repair shop in the carrier’s “Cir-cle of Dependability” program sinceits inception.

“It’s always a difficult decisionfor us to nominate the shop of theyear,” shared Farmers C.O.D. Super-visor of Northern California, WilliamWalsh. “The reality is that all of theCircle of Dependability Shops aretruly best in class, so we’re taskedwith the responsibility to award thebest of the best; and Pan AmericanCollision Center was our choice forthe Pacific Zone Shop of the YearAward.”

The designation for the PacificZone includes repair facilities in bothCalifornia and Nevada.

Walsh continued, “This year wasparticularly tough because we not onlylooked at the key performance indica-tors like cycle time and customer serv-ice, but also the shop’s ability to be

forward thinkers. We consider a shopexceptional if they are able to alignthemselves with our vision to provideunsurpassed customer service, and PanAmerican fits this mold. Their revo-lutionized call center, dedicated CSIprogram, multiple locations, on-siterental car-company, certifications, ad-vanced training and the wide range ofservices they are able to provide to ourmutual customers further reinforcesthat they are ahead of the game. We’refortunate to have them on our programand we want to recognize their dedica-tion and hard work.”

“It’s really quite an honor for usto be recognized for this distinction,because we know how tough the com-petition is, commented President ofPan American Collision Centers, LuisAlonso. “It’s a well-deserved recogni-tion for our team, who works so hardfor our customers and continuouslygoes above and beyond the call ofduty to assure that they’re providedwith the very best service. Our part-nership with Farmers has allowed usto expand into multiple locations andby closely working with our C.O.D.consultant we have been able to offerour customers a better repair experi-ence. Farmers and Pan Americanshare the same philosophies and be-lieve in putting the customer first.”

Although Pan American hasgrown from a small two stall bodyshop, to a diversified multi-locationcollision repair service center, it still

reflects its roots as a family ownedand operated business. The business isowned by the three children of theoriginal founder, Melchor Alonso,and now even the third generation hasjoined the team to help expand ontheir grandfather’s dream of creatinga first class repair experience for theircustomers.

“It’s touching to see our kidsworking alongside us,” added MaggieLesende, CFO of Pan American Col-lision Center. “It feels like just yester-day we were in their shoes helping ourparents with the family business.”

Pan American believes in givingback to the community, and as an ex-tension of that model the repair facil-ity has enlisted the expertise ofwell-known industry educator TobyChess to provide extrication trainingfor the local Fire Department.

Chess said that “today’s vehiclesare more complex than ever, and thefire departments are faced with diffi-cult challenges when they respond toemergency calls involving trapped oc-cupants resulting from a vehicle colli-sion. Our goal is to help them be better

prepared to deal with these challengesby providing hands on training. Weteach safety and stabilization, hybridvehicle precautions, how to deal withlate model ultra-high strength steel, aswell as 6 different extrication tech-niques. I’m proud to be part of this ef-fort and I applaud Pan American forputting this event together.”

“We are very fortunate to be in aposition to be able to give back to thecommunity that has supported us forover thirty years and I want to thankFamers for their generous contributionand their commitment to see thisthrough,” concluded Alonso.

Pan American and Farmers In-surance introduced the first of whatwill be a series of extrication trainingand exercises during the May 13thAward Presentation. Two truck com-panies from San Jose Fire departmentcut apart vehicles donated by Farmers,in a mock collision scenario. Theevent also featured demonstrations ofairbag deployment which the repairfacility hopes can helpfirefighters be-come better prepared for the toughchallenges they face on a daily basis.


Farmers Insurance Shop of the Year to Host Extrication Training

The East bay Chapter of the Califor-nia Autobody Association will holdits 25th annual golf tournament at theDiablo Creek Golf Course in Con-cord, Ca, on Saturday June 4th.

This is one of the largestfundraising events the associationdoes each year and donations col-lected go towards supporting localscholarships for students and instruc-tors in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Your entry fee per foursome in-cludes: lunch, 18 Hole of Golf, GolfCart, Chance for a Raffle Prize, Din-ner and Dessert immediately follow-ing Tournament.

Prices range from $520 per Four-some for Members ($130 per single)to $620 per Foursome for Non-Mem-bers ($155 per single) to Dinner &Raffle Only $35.00 per person.

Any questions please contact:Lisa at 925-699-2031 or email:[email protected].

Sponsorship opportunities are

also available. In return for yoursponsorship the organization willplace your name on a sign at yoursponsored hole and announce yourname during the dinner.

Sponsorship pricing ranges from$200 for a single hole to $2500 fordinner. More information and regis-tration forms can be found atwww.ebaanow.com.

East Bay CAA Hosts 25th Annual Golf Tournament

Start Your FREEMail Subscription.

CALL 800-699-8251

The source for timelyinformation that every

body shop needs!



California’s Senate Public SafetyCommittee held a hearing May 3which evaluated the need to ban localgovernments from charging accidentresponse fees or “crash taxes” foremergency responses to vehicle acci-dents. These crash taxes have becomea popular choice with cities strappedfor cash with government budgetscontinuing to shrink.

SB 49 (Strickland) would pro-hibit a city from charging a fee to anyperson regardless of residency for theexpense of an emergency response,except where a fee is otherwise au-thorized. This bill would not apply toa special district unless the district re-ceives revenue from transaction anduse taxes.

“As local governments grapplewith shrinking budgets, over 60 citiesturned to charging for emergency re-sponse services in the form of accidentfees or “crash taxes,” said Mark Sek-tnan, president of the Association ofCalifornia Insurance Companies,which supports a ban. “However thesenew fees have not been a magic potionfor cash-strapped cities. Several com-munities including, Roseville, Vista,Oceanside and Sacramento repealedtheir local ordinances because the pro-jected revenue did not materialize,while their reputations with visitorsand businesses were tarnished.”

Each city designs their ordinancein a different way. Most cities con-tracted with a third-party vendor thatwould bill residents or non-residentsinvolved in an auto accident. The ven-dor would retain 17 percent of whatis collected. Some ordinances targetthose that follow the law and haveauto insurance, the at-fault driver andothers just target out-of-town drivers.

“These ordinances are very con-fusing for drivers who just experi-enced a car accident and then have toface a second blow when an unex-pected bill arrives,” Sektnan said.“The fees charged range from $100 toover $2,000 for different services; theaverage bill is $200.” He said if in-surers are forced to cover the bills, thecosts would affect consumers’ premi-ums.

A Harris Interactive poll foundthat three out of four consumers be-lieve their taxes cover the time andservices provided by emergency re-sponse providers following a trafficaccident. As a result, most drivers be-lieve additional accident responsefees charged by local governmentsare excessive. Arizona and Utah areamong other states approving legisla-tion to ban these fees during 2011 leg-islative sessions. A similar bill isawaiting action on the governor’sdesk in Kansas.

CAMay Consider a Statewide Ban on ‘Crash Taxes’

Mitchell International, Inc. an-nounced that California Casualty, anational provider of automobile andhome insurance for individuals inthe fields of education, law en-forcement and public safety, has se-lected Mitchell as its new long-termprovider of repairable estimatingand total loss valuation solutions.Under the terms of the multi-yearagreement, California Casualty willimplement Mitchell WorkCenterTotal Loss and Mitchell’s repairableestimating solution. WorkCenterTotal Loss was developed in con-junction with customer satisfactionand vehicle pricing expert J.D.Power and Associates.

Michael Lloyd, material dam-age manager for California Casualty,said, “We selected Mitchell as ourauto physical damage solutionsprovider of choice due in large part toWorkCenter Total Loss’s accuracy,ease of use and transparency. The so-lution provides valuation reports thatconsumers trust and readily accept,enabling California Casualty to settletotal loss claims more quickly andwith higher levels of customer satis-faction.”

“Mitchell is gaining rapid mo-mentum in the insurance market withleading-edge solutions such as Work-Center Total Loss, which is quickly be-coming the industry standard forconsumer-friendly vehicle valuations,”said Scott Kozak, senior vice presi-dent, Insurance Sales & Service forMitchell International. California Ca-sualty will also implement Mitchell’sappraisal solution for its estimatingneeds. The solution connects field ap-praisers with estimating, aftermarketand recycled parts sourcing through asingle screen to determine the mostcost effective repair decision.

California Casualty Selects Mitchell as NewProvider of Physical Damage Solutions

On May 4, Allstate Insurance Com-pany and Sterling Autobody Centerswill put cars and tools in the hands ofLas Vegas vocational students so theycan use their skills to make a differ-ence for local families.

Sterling, through the CollisionRepair Education Foundation, willdonate more than $10,000 in tools toSoutheast Career Technical Academyand the College of Southern Nevada.Along with the tools, Allstate will do-nate a salvage vehicle to each schoolfor students to repair to “like new”condition. Once the rides are refur-bished, the vehicles will be donated toLas Vegas families in need.

The donation to the schools tookplace on May 4, 10 a.m., at SterlingAutobody Centers, 3343 North Ran-cho Drive in Las Vegas.

“Sterling’s donation of tools andequipment is an investment in the fu-ture of the students at Southeast Ca-reer Technical Academy and theCollege of Southern Nevada,” saidNick Notte, president of Sterling Au-tobody Centers. “Supporting theirtechnical training and seeing them usetheir skills to provide the gift of trans-portation to two deserving families is

very rewarding.”Notte added, “This is an oppor-

tunity to highlight the Collision Re-pair Education Foundation and theNational Auto Body Council(NABC), organizations that both All-state and Sterling support. Our part-nership with Family Promise helps uswith that giving. Sterling hopes toemploy many of the students who willbenefit from our gift.”

The two Las Vegas vehicles arepart of Allstate’s commitment to do-nate a total of 60 refurbished automo-biles to the NABC Recycled RidesProgram.

Sterling Autobody locationsaround the country will be refurbish-ing more than 30 cars. The recycledrides will then be given to families ornon-profit organizations at multipleevents later this year.

“Our participation in the Recy-cled Rides Program is an extension ofAllstate’s commitment to serve thecommunities in which we do busi-ness,” said Bill Daly, Allstate Claimsvice president.

Terry Lindemann, ExecutiveDirector of Family Promise, was alsoon hand for the presentation.

Sterling Autobody Partners With Allstate Insuranceto Provide Cars and Tools to Local Students


CALL 800-699-8251


body shop needs!


750 Potter Street, Berkeley, CA 94710www.weatherfordbmw.com

Weatherford BMW

Original BMW Parts

Weatherford BMW

www.weatherfordbmw.com(800) 995-9269

(800) 995.9269(510) 841.5996 Fax(800) 995.9269(510) 841.5996 Fax

Toll Free:Toll Free:

[email protected]

Over $1 million parts inventoryExtremely Knowledgeable Parts CrewOur fleet of vehicles will get your order deliveredwhen you need itAt Weatherford BMW we are 100% committedto your complete satisfaction

Original BMW Parts and Accessories

335is Coupe, 2011


Residents of Nevada will have to con-tinue to struggle to pay high insurancepremiums because Assembly Bill 299was defeated in a vote April 25. As-semblyman Kelvin Atkinson ofNorth Las Vegas had sponsored As-sembly Bill 299 to help residentsstruggling to pay their mortgage andmedical bill be able to afford their carinsurance. It is been found that thosewho are struggling financially willoften make sure to pay their mortgageand medical bills but will have toforego their car insurance premiumssimply because they cannot affordthem.

Current Nevada state law re-quires a vehicle owner to purchase aninsurance policy that includes cover-age of bodily injury or death in theamounts of $15,000 per person or$30,000 for two or more people peraccident. Atkinson’s bill would lowerthose amounts to $10,000 and $20,000respectively. Assembly Bill 299 wouldset forth the requirements a low in-come car owner must meet beforebeing granted access to the cheaperauto insurance policy. While the state

insurance commission would set therates for the low income car insurancepolicies, it is known that an extra fiftycents would be added to all auto in-surance policies in the state of Nevadato help cover administrative costs.

Even though the bill fell to a 26-16 vote, which was only two votesshort of the two-thirds majority re-quired, the bill did receive enoughvotes and nominations for re-consid-eration. This means that the bill willcontinue to be worked on and im-proved so that both sides can come toan agreement regarding low incomecar owners being extended lower carinsurance rates.

However, on April 26 supportersof the bill were able to swing somekey votes and pass the bill out of theAssembly on a 29-13 vote. The battlehas now shifted to the Nevada Senate,where Democrats have a mere one-seat advantage.

Under existing law, an owner ofa motor vehicle in this State must pro-vide liability insurance for the motorvehicle. Such liability insurance mustinclude, at a minimum, coverage for

bodily injury or death in the amountof $15,000 per person and $30,000 fortwo or more people per accident andcoverage for property damage in theamount of $10,000 per accident.

Section 6 of this bill creates theLow-Cost Automobile Insurance PilotProgram. Section 8 of this bill pro-vides that a low-cost automobile in-surance policy issued through theProgram must include coverage forbodily injury or death in the amountof $10,000 per person and $20,000 fortwo or more people per accident andcoverage for property damage in theamount of $3,000 per accident.

Section 9 of this bill establishesthe factors that the Commissioner ofInsurance must consider in setting therate for a low-cost automobile insur-ance policy. Section 9 also providesthe methods that an insured may useto pay the rate for a low-cost automo-bile insurance policy and prohibits thefinancing of the rate with a third party.

Section 10 of this bill establishesthe requirements that a person mustmeet to purchase a low-cost automo-bile insurance policy. Section 11 of

this bill requires that a low-cost auto-mobile insurance policy be purchasedthrough a producer of insurance.

Section 12 of this bill prohibits aproducer of insurance, servicing car-rier and the Administrator of the Pro-gram from charging any additional feeor requiring the purchase of any addi-tional product or service in connectionwith the sale of a low-cost automobileinsurance policy. Section 13 of thisbill establishes the conditions underwhich a low-cost auto insurance pol-icy may be cancelled or not renewed.

Section 14 of this bill prohibits aperson who purchases a low-cost au-tomobile insurance policy through theProgram from purchasing additionalliability coverage or from purchasingliability coverage other than a low-cost automobile insurance policy forany additional vehicles in his or herhousehold. Section 14 allows a personto purchase up to two low-cost auto-mobile insurance policies for his orher household and to purchase othertypes of coverage, such as collision orcomprehensive coverage.

Bill Aimed at Lowering Insurance Premiums in NV Moves to Senate

See Premiums, Page 19


Section 15 of this bill requires aninsurer who sells motor vehicle liabil-ity policies in this State to participatein the Program. Section 16 of this billauthorizes an assessment of not morethan 50 cents on each private passen-ger vehicle covered by a motor vehi-cle liability policy sold or renewed inthis State. Sections 17-21 of this billprovide that a low-cost automobile in-surance policy satisfies the minimumrequirements for liability coverageotherwise required by law.

Section 22 of this bill requires theCommissioner to report to the Legis-lature before the 2013 Legislative Ses-sion on the effectiveness of theProgram.


PremiumsThe Houston Auto Body Association Hosts Body Shop Ownersand Managers at Appreciation Event to Meet New MembersThe Houston Auto Body Associationhosted their first annual Body ShopOwners and Managers Appreciation

event at the Cadillac Bar in Houstonon May 19 at 7 pm.

The event drew about 150 in at-

tendance according to HABA’s Presi-dent James Brown. HABA decidedto host this event in lieu of theirmonthly members’ meeting thismonth in order to show prospectivemembers and local industry peoplemore about the organization and theirmembers’ interests.

The event was such a success thatthe HABA has decided to conduct theevent annually.

“The HABA wanted to host thisevent to show our appreciation to thebody shop owners and managers inHouston and the surrounding areas,”said Brown. “We also wanted to pro-vide the opportunity for everyone tosee what the HABA was all about in afun and relaxing atmosphere.”

The association also had six newshops sign up for membership after at-tending the event.

For more information about theHouton Auto Body Association pleasevisit www.habaonline.org.

Over 150 people attended the AppreciationEvent, covering the Cadillac Bar’s dance floor

Active HABA member Larry Cernosek enjoysthe reception

You can help your local secondaryand/or post-secondary collision pro-gram receive a $50,000 Makeoverthrough the Collision Repair EducationFoundation’s 2011 Ultimate CollisionEducation Makeover school grant. Theapplication is available to download

online and must be postmarked by Au-gust 31, 2011. The winning school willbe announced during SEMA 2011. In2009, the non-winning Makeover grantapplicant schools received close to$200,000 in product donation. Yes, thenon-winners!

Through the Makeover’s applica-tion, the schools must list an itemized$50,000 wish list and through these lists,the Foundation can seek out industrysupporters and companies to donatethese requested items for the schools.Over 50 schools from across the coun-

try applied for the 2010 Makeover grant.In total, 35 schools each received

an average of $5,000 in products, sup-plies, and equipment for a total valueover $175,000. Please contact BrandonEckenrode at [email protected] or 847.463.5244.

School Auto Body Programs Compete for $50K Makeover, Winners to be Announced at 2011 SEMA Show

The danger in focusing on the past isthat we sometimes forget to deal withthe present in a productive manner. Bythis I mean that we want everything tobe as is was and keep thinking thatthings soon will return to the way theywere pre-recession.

I’m not trying to say things won’treturn to our past prosperity but wecannot let it control our actions today.I took a look at my shop recently andrealized that I was putting off neces-sary maintenance on almost every-thing. My mindset was ‘as soon as weget the extra money I will get thatdone’ or ‘I will buy that extra piece ofequipment.’Without realizing it, I hadput everything on hold.

I was also unconsciously sendinga message to my staff that things weremuch worse that they actually were.This in turn created a trickle down ef-fect that affected the morale of the en-tire shop. I didn’t realize any of this

until I heard some rumors that wewere in financial trouble. People hadbegun to draw their own conclusionsbecause we had tightened up so much.

Yes, we needed to adjust andtighten things up, but we were farfrom any financial trouble. Other thancomplaining about my credit lines get-ting cut nothing I said ever impliedthat we were in any financial trouble.But simply because we had begun towatch everything and make everyoneaccountable people drew their ownconclusions.

The danger is that perception canbecome reality, to many people, so tosay, “don’t worry, we are fine” didn’tseem to boost my staff’s confidence. Ihad an employee meeting to try to killany rumors. That seemed to help butthere was still a sense of uneasinessamongst my staff. This was amazingbecause what concerned them themost was something that I hadn’t even

thought about, which was their futureemployment.

As a leader, I was so focused ontightening up that every time anyoneask to spend money on anything I justcomplained and said ‘no.’ So the resultof my attitude created insecurityamong those I employed. The attitude Ihad taken to belt tightening gave themthe feeling that they may be my nextcut, which was not the case at all. Thisdoesn’t mean that I wouldn’t terminatea deadbeat employee but unconsiouslyI was making everyone nervous andthis was not my intention. I was addingadditional stress to my crew and I wasneither a good leader nor helping themproduce, as they should.

I’ve realized now that eventhough times are different they are re-ally better than any of us want to admit.What I mean is that things could bemuch, much, worse. Everything comesdown to how we look at things. The

message we send our employees withour attitude as owners can reallychange how they see things. I starteddoing some much-needed maintenanceand purchased some more key piecesof equipment. I haven’t thrown cautionto the wind because we need every-thing we have done or purchased but Ilet employees know it was happening.

The payoff is already evident be-cause I am watching my staff’s attitudebecome more focused and more re-laxed. I am seeing that no matter howoften told them ‘everything is fine’they needed to see action to feel com-fortable about their future with me. Iwas sending the wrong message by notmoving ahead because I was lookingback all too often. Now, all of myplans are for the future and where weare heading. Because the “good olddays” will only be the “good old days”as long as we allow them to be. Lookto the “Good New Days” Ahead…


Miles ahead withMiles ahead withMiles ahead with$850,000 inventory...$850,000 inventory...$850,000 inventory...

Surf with us for a GreatSurf with us for a GreatDeal on Collision Parts!Deal on Collision Parts!Surf with us for a GreatDeal on Collision Parts!

Surf with us for a GreatSurf with us for a GreatDeal on Collision Parts!Deal on Collision Parts!Surf with us for a GreatDeal on Collision Parts!

3940 Cherry Ave., Long Beach, CA 90807

1-888-489-50011-888-489-5001TollTollFreeFree

FaxFax 562-426-3550562-426-35501-888-489-5001Toll

Free

Fax 562-426-35503940 Cherry Ave., Long Beach, CA 90807

1-888-489-50011-888-489-5001TollTollFreeFree

FaxFax 562-426-3550562-426-35501-888-489-5001Toll

Free

Fax 562-426-3550

Miles ahead inMiles ahead inMiles ahead incustomer service...customer service...customer service...

Ask for Tee or Bill3 delivery trucks serving South Bay, L.A.,

Orange County — Irvine to Brea

[email protected]

M-F 7-6, Sat 8-4 (No Delivery)

Ask for Miguel or Dana3 delivery trucks serving South Bay, L.A.,

Orange County — Irvine to Brea

[email protected]

M-F 7-6, Sat 8-4 (No Delivery)

Forester ‘11

Passat CC ‘11

Action Countswith Lee Amaradio Jr.

Lee Amaradio, Jr. is the president and owner of “Faith” Quality Auto Body Inc. in Murrieta,California. Lee is president of the CRA as well as an advocate for many other industrygroups. He can be contacted at [email protected]

The Good Old Days


ASA Discusses New RefinishRegulation with EPA OfficialsASA collision leaders met recentlywith top EPA Office of Complianceofficials to discuss the EPA automo-tive refinishing regulation. ASAmembers also briefed members ofCongress on the new paint regula-tion. ASA supports the regulation buthas been concerned about some en-forcement efforts. Some state agen-cies oversee enforcement of theregulation while others are leavingcompliance to the U.S. EPA. This en-forcement diversity has created someissues relative to the regulation. Oneof the concerns is the regulation ex-emption for “Coatings applied from ahand-held device with a paint cup ca-pacity that is equal to or less than 3.0fluid ounces.” ASA worked with theU.S. EPA in preparing backgroundfor the auto refinishing regulation.ASA hosted the EPA at its trade show,the International Autobody Congressand Exposition (NACE), and in vari-ous ASA member shops around thecountry to help educate the EPAabout shop systems, training andproper equipment. ASA will continueto work with EPA and state agencieson compliance issues for the auto re-finishing regulation.

AASP Awards Grants to NABCand Auto Education InstituteThe Alliance of Automotive ServiceProviders (AASP) has awarded In-dustry Improvement Grants to theNational Auto Body Council(NABC) and the Automotive Educa-tion & Policy Institute (AEPI). Thegrants were approved at the AASP’snational board of directors meeting inRaleigh, NC in April. The NABCgrant will go toward helping create aSpanish-language glossary of colli-sion repair terms for Spanish-speak-ing shop employees and customers.The money for the AEPI will assist increating a Web-based collection oflegal decisions made in favor of col-lision repairers.

The AASP also voted to partici-pate in the Society of Collision Re-pair Specialists’ Repair DrivenEducation (RDE) series at SEMA inLas Vegas in November.

“After experiencing last year’sRDE first hand, I was impressed withthe caliber of the content provided,”said AASP President Rick Starbard.“It was great to be able to experienceeducational seminars that are truly re-pairer driven, and our association isproud to be a part of that experiencein 2011.”

ASAAnnounces its CollisionOperations 2011 CommitteeASA has announced its 2011 CollisionDivision Operations Committee. DanStander, Fix Auto Highlands Ranch, Lit-tleton, CO, continues his two-year termas Collision Division director. As such,Stander serves on ASA’s board of direc-tors and is chairman of the ASA Colli-sion Division Operations Committee.

Additional members of the opera-tions committee announced by ASA’sboard of directors include Ronald ScottBenavidez, Mr. B’s Paint & Body ShopInc., Albuquerque, NM, who is servingas assistant division director; Stacy Bart-nik, CARSTAR Franchise Systems Inc.,Overland Park, KS; Jeff Brunz, MasterEuropa Paint & Collision, Fort Worth,TX; Tommy Clayton, Tommy’s DentService, Gibsonville, NC; Virginia Dun-can, AAM, Duncan’s Collision Inc.,Boardman, OH; Dustin Eckhart, AAM,Hernandez Collision Center, Hinesville,GA; Mike LeVasseur, Keenan AutoBody Inc., Clifton Heights, PA; andSteve Tomaszewski, Alpine CollisionCenter, Grand Rapids, MI.

Members of ASA’s Collision Divi-sion Operations Committee representshops of varying sizes from across theUnited States. The committee works onbehalf of all ASA collision members.

ASAAnnounces its 2011Government Affairs CmteASA has announced its 2011 Govern-ment Affairs Committee (GAC).Members of the GAC include RoySchnepper, AAM, board representa-tive and committee chairman, Butler’sCollision Inc., Roseville, MI; DavidLanspeary, AAM, affiliate representa-tive, Dave’s Auto Repair, Youngtown,AZ; April Hernandez Miller, AAM,collision division representative, Her-nandez Collision Center, Savannah,GA; Douglass Kirchdorfer, AAM,mechanical division representative,Downing Street Garage, Denver, CO;and Charles Elder, AAM, member atlarge, Ray Gordon Brake Service, Tal-lahassee, FL.

Members assumed their positionsat the close of ASA’s annual businessmeeting May 9–11 in the Washington,DC, area.

ASA’s board of directors estab-lished the Government Affairs Com-mittee to assist in developing state andnational legislative objectives on anannual basis. The committee worksclosely with Bob Redding, ASA’sWashington, DC, representative.

For more information aboutASA’s legislative objectives and ac-tivities, see www.TakingTheHill.com.

The Value of Service Repair InformationWith the ever changing complexity oftoday’s vehicles that confront you andyour team on a daily basis, access tomanufacturer’s repair information isand will be one of the most importanttools you will utilize on a daily basis.Whether you are an Estimator, Man-ager, Insurance Adjuster, Technicianor part of the Production Team,proper repair procedures from themanufacturer will allow you to iden-tify, negotiate and explain key repairplan thought processes. It will also as-sist and manage critical business In-dicators such as cycle times, hoursper day, sublet repairs, technician ef-ficiencies, overall productivity andprofits.

Many considerations arise whenpreparing a repair plan for your cus-tomers whether they are your Insur-ance Partners, everyday customers, orTechnicians. Issues such as minimalsupplements, factory recommenda-tions correct documentation, customersatisfaction and a cost effective repairare only a few issues that one needs toconsider.

Questions such as these will con-front you or your staff daily.● Should I section this or replace theentire panel?● How do I handle this Hybrid?● What SRS parts do I need to replaceafter the accident?● Can we reset the Tire Pressure Mon-itoring System?● Does my Technician know how toremove the trim panel on this vehicle?● Can we repair this suspension hereat our shop?● How can I provide my customersdetailed repair documentation if theyrequire it?

Documentation will be the mostcritical link you will have when deter-mining a repair strategy.

So when is the best time to accessor source this valuable repair infor-mation? Pre-Production or During theProduction phase of repair?

The answer to both of these is‘yes,’ based on your collision opera-tion and processes.

Accessing Manufacturer repairinformation during the Pre-Productionphase or at the time of the repair planis an effective way of properly identi-

fying critical repair decisions. You no-ticed I said “repair plan” and not esti-mate?

Often times a certain repair pro-cedure may be available and if youdon’t know it, the vehicle can halt inproduction due to supplements, au-thorizations, parts orders, or sublet re-pairs. Whenever a vehicle is stoppedor delayed during the productionprocess, cycle times will increase, ef-ficiencies decline and overall shopprofitability is affected.

If thought was given to proper re-pair techniques, locations and prac-tices during the repair plan or prior toproduction, these critical performanceindicators would ultimately benefit.

For example:You are developing an estimate

on a 2007 vehicle that has structuraldamage to the front. Do you know ifthe structural component can be re-paired or should it be replaced? If youhave to replace it, can it be sectionedand where? Without the correct repairprocedure, you may develop your es-timate based on prior experience, heresay, Industry accepted practices or theever popular guess.

As the vehicle moves into pro-duction, parts have been ordered, theestimate has been sent or uploadedand approved and the technician isdiligently disassembling it. Upon fur-ther examination after disassembly,your technician states that the dam-aged structural component cannot berepaired with the method on the esti-mate due to the fact that he or shethinks the component is made of ad-vanced high strength steel.

Production stops, a supplement isgenerated, approval for additional re-pairs are pending and parts are re-or-dered.

If the proper repair and identifi-cation procedures were accessed from

the Manufacturer at the time of the re-pair plan, this scenario could havebeen avoided. Now ask yourself,“How much time are you now spend-ing reacting to the estimate that wasprepared incorrectly utilizing the priorscenario” and would you ultimatelygenerate less work for yourself if youperformed repair research prior to pro-duction or when developing a repairplan?

During the production phase, atechnician ultimately benefits bybeing efficient or keeping his hands onthe vehicle.

Locations of components, test-ing procedures, disabling operations,material identification and overallproper repair procedures are only asmall portion of what today’s colli-sion technicians face day in and dayout.

By providing them with access toManufacturer’s information, can they

increase their overall productivity andefficiencies?

Ask yourself this question thenext time that your technician cannotlocate a component or remove a cer-tain part without instructions.

If they had access to the proce-dures would they limit or eliminatethese time consuming scenarios?

In summary, vehicle complexityis changing at a rapid pace and inorder to be current with all of the com-plexities, we need to utilize the latestrepair strategies and procedures thatare available to us.

A proactive approach, a properrepair plan and an awareness and uti-lization of published procedures fromthe manufacturer are effective ways tomanage our time and your team. Thiswill ultimately provide a safe and ac-curate repair to our valued customers.Isn’t this what we are all in businessfor?


with Dan EspersenALL OEM Information Dan Espersen is ALLDATA® CollisionSM Program Manager. Dan is a Gold Pin

Member of the Collision Industry Conference (CIC) and holds an AA Degree inAutomotive Technology. He has 35 years of experience split between the colli-sion industry and in the mechanical automotive industry.



• Large Inventory • Fast & Free Delivery• 12 Trucks Serving San Diego County, Imperial County

and parts of Riverside County• Experienced Wholesale Specialists Ready to Serve You

• Large Inventory • Fast & Free Delivery

San Diego’s Best Selection of Hyundai

New & Re-manufactured Parts!New & Re-manufactured Parts!San Diego’s Best Selection of Hyundai

New & Re-manufactured Parts!

p y

1-888-839-07771-888-839-07771-888-839-0777

Monday - Friday: 7:00 am - 6:00 pmSaturday: 8:00 am - 5:00 pm

Hours:

8850 Grossmont BoulevardLa Mesa, CA 91942

HYUNDAIHYUNDAIDREWDREWHYUNDAIDREW

www.drewhyundai.comEmail: [email protected]

omuto.com

1-619-668-7782 Direct

Genuine OEM Volkswagen Parts!Genuine OEM Volkswagen Parts!Genuine OEM Volkswagen Parts!

VOLKSWAGENVOLKSWAGENDREWDREWVOLKSWAGENDREW

www.drewvolkswagen.comEmail: [email protected]

Monday - Friday: 7:00 am - 6:00 pmSaturday: 8:00 am - 5:00 pm

Hours:

8850 Grossmont BoulevardLa Mesa, CA 91942

1-888-839-07771-888-839-07771-888-839-07771-619-668-7782 Direct

en.comwauto.com

m

• Large Inventory • Fast & Free Delivery• 12 Trucks Serving San Diego County, Imperial County

and parts of Riverside County• Experienced Wholesale Specialists Ready to Serve You

Total Loss Fees Are Profits to be Gained, Not Given BackAs an auto body shop owner for over30 years, I understand total loss vehi-cles are a part our industry’s day today business. With the addition ofmore and more electronic gadgets,gizmos, and the installation of addi-tional air bags it is not unusual to havean insurance company choose to totala vehicle, and retain the auction sal-vage, rather than roll the dice on thepossibility of a multi-thousand dollarsupplement and being held responsi-ble for other liability issues. This isusually the standard insurance gameplan unless you come across a naiveinsurance appraiser who does notvalue his job.

Recently our body shop in SantaBarbara, California, was involved inan insurance claim involving a cus-tomer’s 2005 limited edition ScionXB which accidentally ran into ashopping center wall while exiting ashopping mall parking structure. The

driver must have experienced oneheck of a distraction to cause so muchdamage to the right front of his vehi-cle.

Upon closer inspection we dis-covered the right front frame waskinked enough to require replacementof the frame rail. The engine wouldneed to be removed to install theframe rail which resulted in additionallabor placing the car in the total losscategory.

While the appraiser was leavingour repair facility he commented hisinsurance company is very attracted tolow mileage fuel-efficient compactvehicles such as this one. Later thatday, I went out to the Scion and no-ticed there was a tag on the windshieldstating the vehicle now belonged tothe insurance company. I asked myselfhow this could be when the vehicleowner has not been notified or giveninformation on his options of retain-

ing the vehicle or accepting full retailvalue from his insurance company.

Even more intriguing, the nextday I received a phone call from theInsurance Salvage Auction companyrequesting to pick up the Scion. I wassurprised at what felt like a decisionto essentially steal the low mileageScion instead of getting notificationfrom the owner on what he has de-cided.

Soon after receiving the 24-houris-the-vehicle-released call from thesalvage auction company, I contactedour customer and reported the aggres-sive efforts by his insurance companywho seemed to have overlooked pro-viding us with a completed itemizedrepair estimate. Neither did they makea reasonable offer of retail value set-tlement to their insured. The customerresponded he would prefer having hiscar repaired. I advised him to requesta copy of their repair estimate. I also

recommended he do his homework inobtaining some comps on the value ofhis low-mileage vehicle. I advised himnot to be “intimidated” or feel rushedby the insurance company who had al-ready sent him an e-mail declaringthey will “limit their storage fees toonly two days.”

A couple days later, the customerreceived the insurance repair estimateand forwarded the attachment to ourshop where we confirmed the vehicleas a total loss. Vehicle valuation #1was also sent to the insured who askedif I would assist in the settlementprocess.

Upon reviewing the valuation re-port I noted there were several listedcomps, which were not from our area,resulting in a lowering the settlementvalue offered to the insured.

Another major item, to the insur-ance company’s advantage, was therewas no mileage posted on any of the

with Walter DanalevichShop Strategies for Savings Walter Danalevich, AAM, has been the owner of Santa Barbara

Auto Refinishing since 1979. Contact him at:[email protected].


(818) 778-2090 FAXHOURS: M-F 7AM-6PM, SAT 8AM-5PM WWW.GALPIN.COM

OOOOOOOOONNNNNNNEEEEEE OOOOOOOFFFFFF SSSSSSSSSOOOOOOOUUUUUUUTTTTTTHHHHHHEEEEEERRRRRRNNNNNNN CCCCCCCCCAAAAAALLLLLLIIIIIIFFFFFFOOOOOOORRRRRRNNNNNNNIIIIIIAAAAAA’’’’SSSSSSS LLLLLLLLAAAAAARRRRRRGGGGGGGEEEEEESSSSSSSTTTTTTLLLLLLARGESTL CCCCCCCCCOOOOOOOLLLLLLLLLLLLIIIIIISSSSSSSIIIIIIOOOOOOONNNNNNN PPPPPPPPAAAAAARRRRRRTTTTTTSSSSSSS IIIIIIIINNNNNNNVVVVVVVEEEEEENNNNNNNTTTTTTOOOOOOORRRRRRIIIIIIEEEEEESSSSSSSONE OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA’S LARGEST COLLISION PARTS INVENTORIES

5

5

210

405

27118

101 170

ROSCOE BLVD.

5

210

170

N

• 50,000 parts in stock and ready to ship• We do bulk buying so we can pass the savings

on to you• 16 professional parts associates ready to help you• 30 delivery trucks serving the San Fernando

Valley and surrounding areas• We ship around the U.S. and the world• Online ordering through OEConnection

— Call for details

We are authorized to sell Ford’sRecovered Original Equipment (ROE).

(866) 665-2365Call DIRECT

Wholesale HotlineGALPIN WHOLESALE7868 Orion Ave. • Van Nuys, CA 91406

FORD FIESTA ‘11

vehicles reported. This alone can sig-nificantly reduce the value of the in-surance company’s settlement offer. Ireviewed the posted locations and val-ues with five of the proposed compa-rable listings and discovered fourvehicles had significantly highermileage and sold for almost $1,000more than what was reported in their#1 valuation report.

This got the attention of our cus-tomer and he proceeded with his ownfollow-up on the posted listings. I rec-ommended he speak to the insurancecompany, report his findings, and de-clare several of their valuations notvalid. A second valuation was soon re-ceived allowing for a $1,500 buy backfrom his final settlement cost to retainthe vehicle.

The customer e-mailed the in-surance company creating a papertrail of their inaccurate comps and re-quested valuation #3. About four dayslater the customer forwarded me a

copy of a new valuation which pro-vided an increase of over $500 fromthe first valuation which the insurancecompany insinuated he accepts.Here’s something to think about, cal-culate how much would result if eachinsurance company total loss claimwas shorted by $500—Gee, what anice investment fund that would cre-ate.

The customer was still undecidedabout accepting the full insurance set-tlement offer or go with a ‘buy back.”After a few days he came to a decisionto let his baby go to the “Auto Auc-tion Heaven” and accept the increasedsettlement offer.

This month’s article savings mes-sage is about assisting your customerin their time of crises and not being in-timidated by the insurance “SCREWU CUSTOMER CARE HOTLINE.”You have now gained a customer forlife while adding to your bottom linefor teardown, labor, and storage fees.

at www.autobodynews.com

Register Your Email for Our

Free Monthly NewsletterFree Monthly NewsletterFree Monthly Newsletter

The civil case was heard in LosAngeles Superior Court in front ofJudge Melvin D. Sandvig and suit wasbrought by law offices of Ian Herzogfor plaintiff Johnson. Damages awardedwere settled at $2.75 M.

The Nissan Dealership claimedthat any defects were actually the faultof other defendants who performed thechroming, stripping and plating of thewheels, and numerous parties were in-volved in complaints and cross com-plaints. Additional settlements mayoccur with these parties.

Continued from Front Page

AM ChromeIn April CCC Information ServicesInc. announced the availability of its2011 Crash Course, titled “ChangingExpectations of the Connected Con-sumer.” In addition to an analysis oftraditional market trends, the docu-ment developed by CCC Lead Ana-lyst Susanna Gotsch focuses on newtechnology’s ability to provide trans-parency to the companies and cus-tomers doing business in the auto-physical damage industry.

“Peoples’ willingness to bemuch more transparent as potentialcustomers, means they expect theirdemands/needs at a minimum will bemet,” said Gotsch. “But companiesthat go beyond simply meeting de-mands to delight their customers willsee their efforts rewarded. A com-pany demonstrating that it knows acustomer’s needs/desires, meetsthem, and exceeds them, is creatingan experience that the customer willwant to talk about with family andfriends.”

In addition to the Adobe® PDFversion of 2011 Crash Course avail-able on the CCC News and Insightpage, Gotsch presented a CrashCourse webinar on April 21st.

For more visit www.cccis.com.

CCC Announces 2011Crash Course in April


CALL 800-699-8251


body shop needs!

Many years ago I went through atraining program offered by a com-pany called Expansion Consultants,Inc. One of my instructors offered thehypothesis that “any unwanted situa-tion can be resolved with sufficientcommunication.” He used the expres-sion “universal solvent” to describehow communication can dissolveproblems.

I’ve often tested this idea, espe-cially in marketing. At one point Icame up with the idea that “any failureto thrive is a combination of not reach-ing out widely enough, frequentlyenough or cleverly enough.”

Then one day I spoke to a bodyshop owner who disproved at leastone part of my idea. He had reachedout as widely as anyone could in hisarea. He sent out a piece of promo-tional literature to 10,000 homes in hisarea. But he said he had not gotteneven one job from that mailing.

Today marketing professionalsare focusing on a narrow demo-graphic rather than a wide one. Bytracking customer purchases, websitesearches, and publications read, ad-vertisers target very specific types ofprospects.

A collision repair center follow-ing this approach would avoid a vastgeneral mailing to all prior customers,and instead focus on specific typeslike senior citizens, young drivers,parents with children who drive,women who drive specific makes ofvehicles, and more.

Another narrow approach usedby marketing professionals is a seasonand time focus. Mothers Day promo-tion for adult women, Labor Day pro-motion for working men, and alsostart-of-school-year promotions forparents.

For collision shops, collecting in-formation on customers’ teen-agers can

be valuable. Young drivers cause a highpercentage of accidents. For shops get-ting involved in the new cosmetic carupgrade market, a Valentines Day pro-motion could be effective. Self-causedminor damage may be overlooked untila time comes to travel. A pre-vacationMemorial Day promotion could bringin those vehicles.

The Internet has become so mucha part of our lives these days, we maysometimes forget that most of that“free” information we get on-line ispaid for by advertisers.

If you watch carefully, you’ll no-tice how the ads on websites changewith the time of year. You may alsonotice how companies that track youron-line searches are able to send youe-mail ads that reflect your personalinterests. How might you use this ap-proach to creating more effective pro-motional reaches out to your customerand prospect base? It all comes back

to your effectiveness at collecting andusing customer information.

Collision repair shops are gener-ally high velocity workplaces. Esti-mators are in a hurry to get the keysand get the car in the shop to beginwork. The vehicle driver may be in ahurry to drop off the car and get towork or back with the kids.

A better time to collect informa-tion may be when the customer ispicking up the repaired vehicle andpleased with the quality of the repair.If these don’t net information aboutthe customer’s job, family, organiza-tional ties and personal interests, anon-line or phone survey may get whatis needed to do targeted promotions.Shop owners are justified in wantingto minimize the number of front officeemployees and related costs. But acareful analysis of how many addi-tional vehicles a good data collectionperson could bring in should reveal


SAVE TODAY!

3740 Cherry Ave., Long Beach, CA 90807

888886666666666-999997777766666-44444000007777700000866-976-4070 [email protected]

wwwww.w.hhaha brbrboror h-hhyuyu dndnd iaiai.c.comomwww.harbor-hyundai.com

Daryle Jones, Parts Manager

Mon-Fri 8am - 5:45pm • Sat 8am - 1:45pm

Daryle Jones Parts Manager

• Huge Inventory• Experienced and Qualified Staff• Fast Delivery• Genuine Hyundai Parts

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] Tom’s columns at www.autobodynews.com under Columnists > Franklin

Focusing Marketing Efforts on a Narrow Demographic Yields More Results

that the benefits could greatly out-weigh the costs.

The days of waiting for repaircustomers to drive in are long gone.These days the certainty of sufficientinsurance referrals is diminishing. It’stime for shop owners to catch up withthe times and begin using profes-sional marketing tools to bring in newbusiness.

Take a look at the variety of adsaimed at you. You may sometimeswonder why you are the target of aparticular ad. Advertisers are justguessing what will interest you, butobviously they guess right oftenenough to justify the cost of the ads.It’s time for you to become more cre-ative with your promotion. Who haveyou not reached out to? Who haveyou considered not worth reachingout to? Who have you given up onreaching out to? (If no response, trysomething else).

Don’t set limits. Everyone canbe reached with some message. If youcollect enough information up front,the odds are good that you’ll connectwith your prospects a large percent-age of the time and that will morethan pay for your time and trouble.


GreatService.

GreatPrices.

GENUINE SERVICE & PARTS

951.509.2125951.509.2123 Fax

Direct Line:

951.509.6574951.509.6575 Fax

Direct Line:951.509.6577951.509.6578 Fax

Direct Line:951.509.6577951.509.6578 Fax

Direct Line:

951.509.6550951.509.6523 Fax

Direct Line:Riverside Volkswagen

Riverside Honda Riverside Hyundai Riverside Mazda

Riverside Nissan

8330 Indiana Ave., Riverside, CA 92504

99

DFREE DELIVERY TO

MOST OF THE INLAND EMPIREMention this ad for

a free gift!Hours: Mon-Fri. 7-7; Sat. 8-5

CompetitiveParts Pricing!

We UseCollision Link!

GenuineOEM Parts!

HugeInventory!

QualifiedStaff!



8330 Indiana Ave., Riverside,CA 92504

8330 Indiana Ave., Riverside, CA 925048330 Indiana Ave., Riverside, CA 92504

The Automotive Recyclers Associa-tion (ARA) is calling on Congress toreview implementation and enforce-ment of the National Motor VehicleTitle Information System (NMVTIS).As many of the nation’s waterways hithistoric crests, thousands of motor ve-hicles from Illinois to Mississippihave been submerged under these wa-ters.

Now more than ever, it is essen-tial that NMVTIS be fully imple-mented and the underlying statuteenforced to help prevent the unknow-ing sale of these flood-damaged vehi-cles.

NMVTIS, a national electronicsystem that provides consumers withvaluable information about a vehicle’scondition and history, can play a cru-cial role in helping ensure that theseflood-damaged vehicles are not soldto unsuspecting consumers in theused-car market.

“After Hurricane Katrina, theDepartment of Justice (DOJ) reportedthat truckloads of flooded vehicleswere being taken out of Louisiana toother states where they were dried out,cleaned, and readied for sale to unsus-pecting consumers in states that do notbrand flood vehicles”, said MichaelWilson CEO of the ARA . “NMVTIS

must be fully implemented and uti-lized now so that similar events arenot repeated, and flood damagedmotor vehicles can be efficientlytracked before unsuspecting con-sumers purchase these vehicles”, Wil-son added.

Flood damaged vehicles are con-sidered ticking time bombs, slowlybeing eaten away as water corrodesonboard computers and other vitalcomponents like airbags systems.These vehicles are deemed unfit by in-surance companies, but too often aregiven token repairs and sold to unsus-pecting consumers.

NMVTIS helps prevent vehiclehistories from being “washed” or con-cealed because it serves as a nationalrepository of vehicle brand informa-tion. Fully implemented, NMVTISwill have data from every state andwill be queried before any state issuesa vehicle a new title, making it ex-tremely difficult to wash a “flood”designation from a motor vehicle.

Such fraudulent and unsafe prac-tices can only be stopped if all statesparticipate fully in NMVTIS and all“individuals” and “entities” that arerequired to report to the system areheld accountable. “Regrettably, DOJhas limited resources to do this. Con-

gress should intercede and permit in-dividual state enforcement agencies towork more closely with DOJ to iden-tify and implement efficient methodsto increased participation.

One way to enhance the pro-gram’s success is to allow the finescollected from NMVTIS violators tobe directly allocated back into the pro-gram and its law enforcement activi-ties. Only with sufficient resourcescan DOJ and the appropriate state lawenforcement colleagues target allbusinesses/individuals whom are op-erating under the radar and fulfill theirobligations under the statute”, Wilsonasserts.

Since 1943, the Automotive Re-cyclers Association (“ARA”) repre-sents an industry dedicated to theefficient removal and reuse of “green”automotive parts, and the proper recy-cling of inoperable motor vehicles.

ARA represents the interests ofover 4,500 auto recycling facilities inthe United States and fourteen othercountries around the world. With pro-grams such as the Certified Automo-tive Recycler Program (CAR) andother partnerships, ARA memberscontinue to provide consumers withquality, low-cost alternatives for vehi-cle replacement parts.

ARA, Congress to Ensure Flood Damaged Vehicles Don’t Enter Used Market

www.autobodynews.comwww.autobodynews.com

NEWSNEWSNEWSNEWSService, Diagnostic

and MechanicalService, Diagnostic

and Mechanicalcci Di ii Di iService, DiagnosticService, DiagnosticS i i iService, DiagnosticService, DiagnosticService, DiagnosticS i i iggService, Diagnosticg, DService, DiagnosticDService, DiagnosticService, DiagnosticD cccccceeeeee sssoService, DiagnosticoService, DiagnosticService, DiagnosticService, Diagnosticoaaa tttggg iiinnnnnnaaService, DiagnosticaiiiiiirrrvvService, DiagnosticService, Diagnosticv ga tSSS DService, DiagnosticggService, Diagnostic

ndandda dddddaaa ddanddnnnnnnaaandanda daandddandd hanicalech n caMd Mec a calllhanical Mechanicali Mechanical Mechanical Mechanicalicnhecg

Mechg

MMd Md cccccce Mechanicale Mechanicale aaaaaa lllaa Mechanicalaiiinnnnnnaa MechanicalahhhhhhMM Mechanical MechanicalM aaMMechanicalg

MechanicalddandService, Diagnostic

and MechanicalWestern Edition June 2011CALIFORNIA • NEVADA • ARIZONA


AkzoNobel Automotive & AerospaceCoatings Americas will sell all of itscompany-owned paint distribution lo-cations in the United States to LKQCorp. After the deal is effective May27, 2011, LKQ will carry the Sikkens,Lesonal and U-Tech brands. The deal ispart of a plan to broaden AkzoNobel’sNorth American distribution. The com-pany said it remains committed to theU.S. market and believes a vibrant anddiverse distribution network is manda-tory for success in the rapidly evolvingcollision repair industry.

“LKQ Corporation is one of themost recognized and respected namesin the automotive industry,” noted Ak-zoNobel A & AC Americas GeneralManager ABGhosh. “We are proud tohave them as a part of our growingNorthAmerican network of distributionpartners.”

Ghosh continued, “We are con-stantly challenging ourselves to im-prove our global leadership position.Our strength exists in our core compe-tencies which are providing exceptional

products, technology, and service to thecollision repair industry. By moving to-ward independent distribution in NorthAmerica, we can now bring evengreater focus to those areas which makeus unique and set us apart from ourcompetition.”

“We have long admired the bodyshop solutions offered by AkzoNobel,”noted LKQ’s co-CEO Robert L. Wag-man. “Their ability to deliver valueadded solutions in combination withbeing a color technology leader makesit an honor to partner with the world’slargest coatings company.” Wagmancontinued, “LKQ currently has rela-tionships with thousands of collision re-pair shops throughout the UnitedStates. We are excited about the oppor-tunity to work with the AkzoNobelteam. This transaction reflects LKQ’scommitment to being a one-stop-shopsolution to the collision repair industryby providing superior products andservices. By adding AkzoNobel’s port-folio of brands to our product offeringsvalidates that commitment.”

AkzoNobel to sell all 40 Company-owned Distribu-tors of Sikkens, Lesonal, U-Tech, to LKQ Corp.

Shop owners are reacting stronglyand negatively to the latest DRPagreement from Farmers Insurance’s“Circle of Dependability” program.Long-term members say that theDRP agreement says shops must per-form criminal background checks ofemployees and not employ anyonewho has been convicted of a felony.Shops must purchase and use CSIservices and an electronic estimateauditing tool approved by Farmers.Like State Farm program membersmust now charge Farmers based onthe most favorable rates offered toany other insurer. Most controvesialof all is a requirement that the shopmust at any time allow Farmers to in-spect and audit the company’s booksand records, including balance sheetsand income and cash flow state-ments. Last year, Farmers InsuranceGroup limited consumer and colli-sion repair facility choice by direct-ing its DRP shops to sublet PDR jobsexclusively to two national PDRfirms, PARS and Dent Wizard.

SEMA Show Registration is upOver Last YearCompanies are taking SEMA boothspace much earlier this year, as indi-cated in a recent report by Show man-agement. Exhibit space sales in netsquare footage is up 14% year-to-dateand total exhibitors are up 18% year-to-date. This brings the total numberof exhibitors as of May 17, to1,615—a strong indicator that in2011, the SEMA Show is a top prior-ity for manufacturers and buyers.

The growing collision-repairsection of the 2011 SEMA Show isnow branded “Collision Repair &Refinish.” The area will be one of 12floor sections featured at the 2011SEMA Show, Tuesday–Friday, No-vember 1–4, 2011, in Las Vegas.

“The number of exhibitors andeducational seminars for the collisionrepair and refinish market increasesyear after year,” said PeterMacGillivray, SEMA vice presidentof communications and events. “Thenew name, Collision Repair & Refin-ish, is just one way that the SEMAShow is evolving to better and moreaccurately reflect the growing pres-ence of this market.” Details aboutthe SEMA Show are available atwww.SEMAShow.com.

Farmers Insurance’s New DRPChanges Upset Some Owners

Ford said May 2 that it has found non-metallic black and metallic red paintsto replace colors that were not availableafter the March 11 Japan earthquake.“Our team has done a wonderful job ofputting in replacement colors and thosewill be produced in the June and Julytime frame,” Mark Fields, Ford’s pres-ident of the Americas told AutomotiveNews. “The order bank is now openagain.” On March 25, Ford told deal-ers they could not order any moremetallic tuxedo black and severalshades of metallic reds.

German supplier Merck KGaA,the sole producer of a paint pigment forautomakers such as Ford and ChryslerGroup, hasn’t been able to operate its

Japanese factory because it is too closeto a nuclear reactor crippled by thequake (see related story this issue.)Merck’s Onahama factory could takefour weeks or more to restart oncecompany engineers can gain access tothe facility.

Six other metallic colors in FordMotor Co.’s lineup will go out of pro-duction in the next few weeks andmonths because of the shortage of Xi-rallic, Ford spokesman Todd Nissensaid. Those are: Bordeaux reserve, lavared, Kona blue, sangria red, earth andbright magenta, Nissen said. Ford willreplace those colors with similar metal-lic shades, he said. “In the end dealersand customers will still have a full

range of colors to pick from,” Nissensaid. The color replacement will not af-fect vehicle pricing.

Ford and Lincoln dealers will re-ceive specifics about when certain ve-hicles and those various colors will goout of production, and when they canorder replacement colors. The updateswill come in the next few weeks andmonths, Nissen said.

For now, Ford will replace tuxedoblack on 2011 models with a non-metallic color simply called “black.”It’s similar to the black Ford offers onthe 2011 Mustang.

Tuxedo black is featured on theFord F-150 and Super Duty pickups,the Ford Expedition and Lincoln Nav-

igator SUVs, the Ford Explorercrossover and the Ford Taurus and Lin-coln MKS sedans. The metallic redsare available on the Super Duty, Expe-dition, Navigator, 2012 Ford Focuscompact, the Ford Econoline van andthe Ford Ranger pickup.

The color red fire will be replacedby toreador red, Nissen said. He did nothave other replacement color namesyet.

The other outgoing colors withXirallic affect most of the Ford andLincoln lineup but Ford will slowlyphase those out as it offers the replace-ment shades, Nissen said.

All of Ford’s replacement colors

Ford Has Located Replacement for Merck-Supplied Japanese Paint Component (see related p. 32)

See Ford Paint, Page 33


Jo was a new customer referred by anold-time regular. Her little Kia SUVhad a transmission problem thatseemed to be getting the best of thetransmission shop.

The story goes that the Kia wasconstantly in limp mode, and wouldnever shift properly—ever. As alwaysseems to be the case when a simpleproblem can’t be solved simply,somebody started the diagnostics offin the wrong direction. Little did Iknow this was a simple problem.

But, as I see it, each and everytype of diagnostic work that you dorequires a certain step by step proce-dure that you must follow. Missing astep, or completely overlooking astep, usually means you’re going tomiss that simple problem all together.This was no exception.

From what information I couldgather the person who diagnosed it atthe transmission shop wasn’t the

same person who installed it. So afterthe tech put the last bolt in the trans-mission, he set the car out front, andtold the front office, “Got the trans-mission in that Kia.”

The front office considered itdone, and the call went out for Jo topick it up. She didn’t make it aroundthe block before she was back at thefront counter in a “not-so” pleasantmood. You can just imagine the situ-ation at the counter, not happy I’msure.

After some deliberation, andvery little diagnostics the transmis-sion shop came to the conclusion thatit must be a bad transmission. Luck-ily, the ride that had brought Jo therewas still in the parking lot, so she leftthe Kia for them to re-do the wholejob.

A week later, it was supposedlydone. This time a different tech hadinstalled the second transmission. Un-

fortunately, he made the same mistakeas the first tech. When Jo came topick up her car the shop owner tookher for a ride to be sure that the re-pairs were made to her satisfaction. Itwas a short drive.

This time, the owner said he wasgoing to pay for the transmission, andwould even purchase one from thedealership just to be sure it wasn’ttheir mistake in rebuilding it. Buteven the dealer transmission failed toshift properly. The tranny shop was ata loss, they decided to make a fewcalls for some help, and that’s whenmy phone rang.

Now, I’m not one to diagnoseanything over the phone. I just don’tthink it’s a smart way of taking careof such problems, because you neverquite know what you’re getting into.

But the tranny shop ownersounded desperate, and now the repaircosts were coming out of his pocket.

From his frantic explanations of nocodes, no shift, and no idea of theproblem, he kind of put me on thespot, so … I suggested a computer.

Heck, why not… ya changed thetranny three times for Pete’s sake, ob-viously that ain’t it. I probablyshouldn’t have done that, but I thinkhe wanted to try and save as muchmoney as possible without resortingto taking it to another shop.

Well, a new TCM didn’t work ei-ther. Now, the car is finally comingmy way. Jo was a little unsurewhether or not there was anyone outthere who could find the problem, buther friend told her that it couldn’t hurtto let me see what I could do for her.I’ll give it a try.

When the car showed up at theshop I took it around the block onceto verify the condition, and then put itup on the lift. While it was on the lift

Shift Happens: The Story of Three Transmissions and a Limp Kia SUVwith Gonzo Weaver

Gonzo’s Toolbox This is a new story by Scott “Gonzo” Weaver as posted on his website,www.gonzostoolbox.com. See his book “Hey Look! I Found The LooseNut”, which provides a Good Laugh for Mechanics of Any Age. The bookis available at amazon.com. Contact Gonzo at [email protected]

See Three Transmissions, Page 32


Call us now at 866-665-2365 or order on-line at FORDPARTS.COM /GALPIN

OEM PARTSAT AFTERMARKET PRICES!!!


Call us now at 866-665-2365 or order on-line at FORDPARTS.COM /GALPIN

OEM PARTSAT AFTERMARKET PRICES!!!

Recovered Original Equipment (ROE) aregenuine Ford collision parts with cosmeticblemishes that make them unusable for new-vehicle production or new service part use.ROE Collision Parts meet genuine Fordreplacement collision part standards for fit,structural and dimensional integrity, andfunctionality.

ROE Collision Parts are identified in non-OEM part categories in all major electronic collisionrepair-estimating systems, as well as to collision repairers using CollisionLink.

• Reduced Repair Cycle Time. Simplify your ordering process and expedite parts delivery by dealingwith a single, knowledgeable parts supplier.

• Improved Insurer Relations. You can meet all quotas from insurers for non-OEM parts use with ROECollision Parts and, as a bonus, help insurers reduce overall claims severity.

• Improved Vehicle Owner Satisfaction. These parts are produced on OE tooling, so you will meetthe expectations of your customers.



5

5

210

405

27118

101 170

ROSCOE BLVD.

as well as to col

5

10

N

ROE. The perfect alternativeto aftermarket parts.

I decided to drop it into gear andcheck it against the scanner.

To my surprise, it shifted per-fectly. I’m not kidding—absolutelyperfect. I dropped it back on theground, and went for a ride again. Ididn’t even make it around the firstcorner before it got stuck in limpmode just as it was before, this dangthing can’t pull itself out of a pot hole.

Back up on the lift, and wouldn’tya know it, shifts perfectly—AGAIN!What’s the deal here? I did it severaltimes, just so I could be sure of the re-sults I was getting. After a few trips Ichecked the wiring to the transmissionwhile it was on the ground.

Uh-oh, the main ground to theTCM wasn’t there. How in the worldwas it there when it was in the air?Ah-ha! It’s moving the wire! Yes, itwas moving the wire all right, and afew more than just the TCM groundlead.

The locator page showed theTCM ground wire was bundled withseveral other ground leads that were

all attached to the main chassisground, which wasn’t attached to athing, but was dangling by the batterybox.

Turns out the whole problemstarted when she had her batterychanged at a department store repairshop, and they didn’t have the rightsize to fit the car. They disconnectedthe chassis ground wire, so the tallerbattery would fit.

When I told Jo what I found, thetwo of us pieced together the how andwhy it happened. Her only commentwas, “Well, shift happens.”

All said and done with, the trans-mission shop paid for the entire repair,and gave her back what she spent withthem. Everyone involved was glad tohave the problem solved, and the carback on the road as good as new.

I like this gal, she’s become aregular at the shop these days. What acard! Always has some sarcastic com-ment for me, but at the same time avery understanding nature and takeslife in stride. I’d love to have a coupleof dozen customers just like her.

As she always tells me… “If youcan’t live on the bright side of life…start polishing the dull one.”


CHEVROLET1450 South Shamrock Ave.Monrovia, California 91016

• Exceptional Service• Full-time Experienced

Wholesale Specialists• Ready to Serve You• Genuine OEM Tires

626-249-0032Parts Dept.:

Hours:Mon.-Fri. 7am - 6pm; Sat. 8am - 4pm

Fax: 626-932-5660www.sierraauto.com

[email protected]

SUBARU1450 South Shamrock Ave.Monrovia, California 91016

• Wide Delivery Area• Competitive Pricing• Ready to Serve You• Genuine OEM Tires

Fax: 626-932-5660


626-359-8291Parts Dept.:

[email protected]

HONDA1450 South Shamrock Ave.Monrovia, California 91016

• Open Saturdays• Serving all of San Gabriel

Valley for over 30 Years• 5 Delivery Trucks• Genuine OEM Tires

Fax: 626-932-5660


800-320-9065Parts Dept.:

[email protected]

MAZDA735 East Central Ave.

Monrovia, California 91016

• Extensive Inventory• Free Delivery• Dedicated Wholesale

Parts Staff• Genuine OEM Tires

Fax: 626-932-5660


800-245-8509Parts Dept.:

[email protected]


Three TransmissionsXirallic® pigments from Merck createglitter and sparkle in automotive coat-ings and provide a distinct shimmer toenhance color intensity and color pu-rity. Xirallic® pigments are suited forexteriors due to their additional layer,which provides improved weather re-sistance. The only place where Xiral-lic is made is in Onahama, Japan,about 45 km from Tokyo ElectricPower Co’s Fukushima reactor, whichwas closed soon after the March 11magnitude 9.0-earthquake.

The shutdown of the plant af-fected many of the world’s auto mak-ers, including Ford, Chrysler,Volkswagen, BMW, Toyota and GM.Previously Chrysler told dealers thatthe company plants to limit orders forvehicles in 10 different colors that em-ploy Xirallic pigment. Ford had al-ready told dealers it could no longertake orders for F-150 trucks and othermodels using “tuxedo black” andthree shades of red.

The plant will be one of the firstJapanese parts facilities that will moveelsewhere as a result of the disaster.Germany’s Merck said May 10 it willshift production of Xirallic pigmentsfrom Japan to Germany.

Tsunami and radiation damageforced Merck to halt production inMarch. Operations at Onahama re-sumed May 8. Regular productionoutput is expected by June. It willcontinue until Merck has readied itsplant in Germany.

According to The Nikkei, timingand location for the new site have yetto be determined.

“Our top priority is to ensure assoon as possible an uninterrupted sup-ply of Xirallic pigments to our cus-tomers around the world,” said PeterHalas, Head of the Pigments and Cos-metics unit at Merck.

These parameters no longer fit aplant 35 miles from the Fukushima re-actor, and in a town, where tsunamiwaves as tall as buildings were ob-served.

Xirallac® Pigment Plant to Relocate fromJapan to Germany Following Tsunami

Search:

Autobody Newson Facebook


Galpin SubaruVan Nuys

(818) 778-2005(818) 778-2090 Fax

www.galpin.com

Kearny Mesa SubaruSan Diego

(800) 548-9124(858) 300-3331 Fax

Mon.-Fri. [email protected]

www.kearnymesasubaru.com/parts

Subaru of GlendaleGlendale

(818) 550-1500(818) 549-3850 Fax

Mon.-Fri. 7-6; Sat. [email protected]

Sierra Subaru ofMonroviaMonrovia

(626) 359-8291(626) 932-5660 Fax

Mon.-Fri. 7-6; Sat. [email protected]

Timmons SubaruLong Beach

(888) 489-5001(562) 426-3550 FaxTue. 7-8; Mon., Wed.-Fri. 7-6;Sat. 8-4, Sat. No Delivery

[email protected]

Marin SubaruSan Rafael

(415) 257-4690(415) 257-4684 FaxMon.-Fri. 7:30-5:30; Sat. 8-4

[email protected]

Subaru of Santa CruzSanta Cruz

(800) 549-8490(831) 420-1402

(831) 420-1923 FaxMon.-Fri. 7:30-6; Sat. 8-5

[email protected]

Anderson SubaruLake Havasu City(928) 764-5177

(928) 764-2574 FaxMon.-Fri. 7:30-5:30; Sat. 8-2www.andersondeals.com

www.andersondealssubaru.com

Power SubaruScottsdale

(480) 425-2950(480) 425-2948 Fax

Mon.-Fri. 7-6; Sat. 7-4

ARIZONA

NO. CALIFORNIASO. CALIFORNIA

The following dealerships are eager to serveyour needs. Call your local Subaru collision

parts specialist today!

SO. CALIFORNIA

are paints Ford has used in the past oroffers now on certain vehicles, such asthe Mustang’s black.

“We’re still using the same paintsuppliers,” Nissen said. “The metalliclook doesn’t only come from Xirallic.We’ve used pigments before that gavemetallic looks.”

In the case of tuxedo black, Forddidn’t have a similar metallic formula-

tion that could be developed in a shortperiod of time, Nissen said. That’s whyFord is using the same black it has else-where in the lineup while it works on ametallic replacement, Nissen said.

Ford does not anticipate the hic-cup in the outgoing metallic colors willhurt sales. And Ford plans to bring theoriginal metallic colors back eventu-ally.

Said Nissen: “As that supplier,Merck, comes back on line, we’ll con-tinue to work to see if that pigment canbe phased back in.”


Ford PaintBoyd Group Reports Strong 1Q Numbers, Sales Up 48.5%Sales increased by 48.5% to $81.6 mil-lion from $54.9 million in Q1 2010;True2Form Collision Repair Centers,Inc. and eight other new locations con-tributed $22.5 million of sales. Same-store sales increased by 11.5%,excluding the impact of foreign ex-change translation.

Gross margin improved to 45.2%compared with 44.9% in Q1 2010. Ad-justed distributable cash increased to$3.0 million compared with $2.8 mil-lion in Q1 2010.

Payout ratio of 38.2% comparedwith 31.3% in Q1 2010, due to higherlevel of distributions.

Net earnings were $0.9 million,compared with $1.9 million in Q12010.


on Facebook

by David M. BrownSpecial to Autobody News

New York is well represented by re-gional and statewide collision associ-ations. The largest is the Centereach,NY-based New York State Auto Colli-sion Technician Association with1,500-plus members, including smalland large shops, industry-related busi-nesses and 10 regional collision-repairassociations.

These regional affiliates repre-sent shops in Greater Binghamton;Syracuse; Rochester/Buffalo; the Cap-ital District, in the Albany area;Rome-Utica; Greater Newburgh; andthe Hudson Valley.

Another NYSACT affiliate, TheWestchester-Putnam-Rockland AutoBody Association, also serves DuchessCounty and the Bronx. Two others arethe Long Island Auto Body Repair-men’s Association (LIABRA) and theAutobody Craftsmen’s Guild coveringthe five boroughs of New York City.

Founded in 1982, NYSACT isguided by Executive Director EdKizenberger and an elected board of

directors led by a president, currentlyMike Orso, owner of Nick Orso’sBody Shop and Service Center inSyracuse. Staff also includes legalcounsel and a legislative lobbyist.

The organization influences andeffects state legislation through itslobbyist as well as with grass rootsapproaches such as members’ lettersand e-mails to representatives andother public relations efforts. “Wehave a full legislative program andenjoy broad-based bipartisan supportin both the state assembly and senatein Albany,” explains Kizenberger,with two decades-plus in the collisionindustry.

“Our goal at the state capital is tosupport legislation that protects con-sumers and independent auto bodyshops from unfair claims practices,”notes Orso, who is elected by theboard and conducts NYSACT regularmeetings.

Toward that end, one of thegroup’s recent efforts has been to helpcreate an advisory group comprisingthe state’s Department of Motor Vehi-cles, its Insurance Department, the in-

surance companies and the repair in-dustry. The group also sponsors an an-nual Lobby Day, providing membersan opportunity to speak individuallywith their legislators at the capital.A fair and equitable marketplace forall collision repair professionalscomes about as a result of education,Orso explains. “We are educating ourmember shops to best serve their cus-tomers with safe proper repairs by el-evating their awareness of liability,”he explains.

“Education also means keepingshops reminded as to who the ‘truecustomer’ is—the consumer,” headds. “When shops understand theneed to remain independent and notacquiesce in the whims of an insur-ance company, the consumer benefits,too.”

Kizenberger also heads theLong Island group. Founded in1975, LIABRA is the oldest andlargest trade association for collisionrepair professionals in New York,with 500 members, including shops,dealerships and other related busi-nesses. Its shops are located from

the Queens border along the northand south shores of Nassau and Suf-folk counties to Montauk, 90 mileseast.

The group is similarly adminis-tered as NYSACT, with an electedboard of directors directed by an ex-ecutive board, legal counsel and a lob-byist in Albany.

Working to further industry andconsumer interests, LIABRA is aframework for unifying shop interestssuch as discontinuing unfair claimspractices, Kizenberger explains. WithNYSACT, the organization interactswith government regulators to benefitshop owners. In addition, the associa-tion recently helped promulgate an in-dustry code of ethics in pursuance ofits goal to ensure the public the high-est quality and safety standards in autocollision repair.

LIABRA schedules about eightmeetings annually as well as offers anumber of educational programs onsubjects such as time-management,OEM materials, estimating, employeemanagement and environmental com-


• Dedicated WholesaleStaff with Over 100Years Experience

Parts800-952-5307

Fax916-405-8045

Direct916-405-4700

9640 W. Stockton Blvd. • Elk Grove, CA 95757

Hours:Mon-Fri 7-7 • Sat 7-5

9640 W. Stockton Blvd. •

• Large Inventory

• Daily Local Deliveries

• Large Inventory of Volvo Genuine Parts• Extensive Parts Experience• 3 Delivery Trucks with Cell Phones Making Two

Deliveries Daily to Most North and South Bay

Call Today! 800-70-VOLVO Parts Direct 650-493-3205Fax 650-493-1516

4180 El Camino Real, Palo Alto, CA 94306

Hours: Mon - Fri 7:30am - 5:30pmwww.carlsenvolvo.com

Passion for Performance

Array of Collision Associations Serve New York Regionally and Statewide

See NY Collision Assns, Page 39


(818) 778-2090 FAXHOURS: M-F 7AM-6PM, SAT 8AM-5PM WWW.GALPIN.COM (818) 778-2090 FAXHOURS: M-F 7AM-6PM, SAT 8AM-5PM WWW.GALPIN.COM



5

5

210

405

27118

101 170

ROSCOE BLVD.

5

210

170

N

OOOOOOOONNNNNNEEEEE OOOOOOFFFFF SSSSSSSSOOOOOOUUUUUUTTTTTHHHHHEEEEERRRRRNNNNNN CCCCCCCCAAAAALLLLLIIIIIFFFFFOOOOOORRRRRNNNNNNIIIIIAAAAA’’’SSSSSS LLLLLLLAAAAARRRRRGGGGGGEEEEESSSSSSTTTTTLLLLLARGESTL CCCCCCCCOOOOOOLLLLLLLLLLIIIIISSSSSSIIIIIOOOOOONNNNNN PPPPPPPAAAAARRRRRTTTTTSSSSSS IIIIIIINNNNNNVVVVVVEEEEENNNNNNTTTTTOOOOOORRRRRIIIIIEEEEESSSSSSONE OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA’S LARGEST COLLISION PARTS INVENTORIES

• 50,000 parts in stock and ready to ship• We do bulk buying so we can pass the savings

on to you• 16 professional parts associates ready to help you• 30 delivery trucks serving the San Fernando

Valley and surrounding areas• We ship around the U.S. and the world• Online ordering through OEConnection

— Call for details

ou SUBARU LEGACY ‘11

OK Attorney General and Insurance Commissioner Announce Joint Focus on FraudOklahoma Attorney General ScottPruitt and Insurance CommissionerJohn Doak announced plans to re-vamp how insurance fraud is investi-gated and prosecuted in Oklahoma.

“Our two offices are statutorilybound together when it comes to in-vestigating fraud,” Doak said. “Byworking together, we can improve theinvestigation and prosecution of thosewho perpetrate fraud and better pro-tect insurance ratepayers.”

Pruitt and Doak’s offices havebegun analyzing how best to coordi-nate resources and refine the processby which both offices initiate, prepareand complete claimant fraud investi-gations for prosecution.

The Insurance Department in-tends to focus on higher-level fraudand other insurance crimes committedby agents and company executivesthat costs Oklahoma’s ratepayers mil-lions of dollars annually. The AttorneyGeneral’s Office will expand prosecu-tions and investigations of claimantfraud.

“I want to make Oklahoma a dan-gerous place to be an insurance crim-

inal,” Doak said. “If you are an agentor a company executive who is violat-ing the trust of Oklahoma’s insuranceconsumers and the laws of this state,you can expect to be investigated andprosecuted by the Oklahoma Insur-ance Department and the AttorneyGeneral’s Office.”

As the cornerstone in building hisanti-fraud crime team, the AttorneyGeneral has hired former prosecutorVincent Antonioli to head the Work-ers’ Compensation and InsuranceFraud Unit, and plans to hire addi-tional investigators and prosecutors tobegin vigorously pursuing and prose-cuting claimant fraud in workers’compensation and insurance at large.

Michael Copeland has joinedthe Oklahoma Insurance Departmentas a fraud attorney. Copeland will de-velop and direct investigative proce-dures that deliver on Doak’s promiseto better protect Oklahoma consumersfrom insurance fraud. Copeland pre-viously served as an assistant attorneygeneral and later as special prosecutorfor the Republic of Palau, a formerUnited States Protectorate.

“We are confident our plan willresult in increased prosecutions ofhigh-level fraud committed by a fewbad actors in the industry and reduceeveryday fraudulent claims that aredriving up the cost of insurance anddoing business in our state,” Pruitt said.

The Oklahoma Anti-Fraud Unitalso employs experienced Council onLaw Enforcement Education andTraining (CLEET) certified law en-forcement officers that conduct inves-tigations of various white-collarcrimes related to insurance fraud. TheAnti-Fraud Unit works closely with anumber of local, state and federal lawenforcement agencies and prosecutorsto bring offenders to justice.

The Anti-Fraud Unit also con-ducts regulatory investigations of civilviolations within the insurance indus-try. The Anti-Fraud Unit worksclosely with the OID Legal Divisionin these administrative proceedings todiscipline those entities engaged inwrongdoing.

Oklahoma is a “mandatory re-porting” state when it comes to sus-pected or alleged fraud. This means

that insurance companies doing busi-ness in the State of Oklahoma are re-quired by law to immediately reportsuspected insurance fraud to the Anti-Fraud Unit.

Report insurance fraud and re-lated white-collar crimes to the Anti-Fraud Unit by calling (800) 522-0071or (405) 521-6614.

Advertise in ourCLASSIFIED SECTION

for $50 percolumn inch!

And get a FREEOn-line Ad!

[email protected]

Place an ad in ourAutobody Marketplace

section of Autobody News.

“The Insider” is an auto insurancecompany executive who wishes to re-main anonymous in order to speakfreely. This column offers an unvar-nished look at various issues impact-ing the collision industry from theinsurance perspective—Ed.

Who benefits the most from di-rect repair programs? Insurers will tellyou the consumer. Repairers will saythe insurance company. The consumerhas no idea and doesn’t care. They justwant their car fixed correctly andquickly.

In my humble opinion, the shopreceives the biggest benefit. The in-surance company does benefit but notmore than the shops on the program.

Yes, many insurance companiesreport millions in profit every quarter,but do you really think they maketheir money by not paying for thingssuch as block, prime, and fill or forOEM parts? If you believe that, youshould do some research before yousay it. A wise man once said, “Betterto keep your mouth shut and let every-one assume you’re stupid, rather thanopen your mouth and remove alldoubt.”

Insurers aren’t raking in double-digit profits on the backs of the bodyshops. Insurance companies capitalizeon a marketplace that has shops will-ing to provide discounts for volume.You wouldn’t do anything different ifin a similar position.

Do insurance companies profitfrom insureds using the direct repairprogram? Of course they do. Insurersbenefit from the reduction in severityand rental car expense, for example. Ifinsurance companies weren’t makingmoney, DRPs wouldn’t exist.

Do the shops make money fromparticipating in a given DRP? You bet.If shops weren’t making money par-ticipating in direct repair programs,they wouldn’t be working with thatcarrier.

For every shop owner I see strug-gling to keep their doors open, I canprovide a secondary list of those thatare very well-heeled. Don’t misinter-pret what I’m saying: I don’t begrudgeanyone financial success and inde-pendence. But I don’t have the pa-tience or desire to listen to a shop

owner complain about losing moneyas he or she drives to the airport in anew Mercedes for their vacation in theBahamas.

Even though insurance compa-nies make a lot of mistakes, DRPsaren’t one of them. DRPs took an ar-chaic body shop trade and trans-formed it into the collision repairindustry. For decades, the body shoptrade didn’t change. In fact, it has beensuggested that the early caveman pro-vided the same level of service thatcustomers received from shops pre-DRP. I was unable to validate that, butit’s difficult to argue a lack of differ-ences between the caveman and the1970s shop owner.

For those who are long in thetooth, it seemed like yesterday that thebody shop trade with rife with unedu-cated technicians running their ownbusinesses. There was a “mom andpop” body shop on every corner. Thetraining you received as a body manwas from the old guy coughing up alung as he sanded a 10-foot-long quar-terpanel that was supposed to be re-placed, according to the handwritten,illegible estimate.

Insert DRP here. That’s when theindustry was transformed. In otherwords, every shop owner in this coun-try should personally thank Allstatefor starting what is largely viewed asthe industry’s first nationwide DRP.DRPs have done more to change andimprove this industry than any othersingle factor.

You may dispute it, but shopswithout DRPs are like Sonny withoutCher or the Patriots without TomBrady. Okay, I’m being a little over-dramatic. But the fact remains that if

you had a toolbox and a cave, beforeDRPs you too could be a shop owner.

DRPs caused the body shop tradeto grow into a legitimate business and

industry. You had to change theway you did business or youcouldn’t compete. Insurancecompanies were looking forprofessional, well-maintainedshops.

Most shops, for example,purchased an electronic esti-mating system because it wasrequired as part of a DRP. Whypurchase the equipment andsoftware to upload electronicimages of the damaged vehicle?If you guessed that an insurance

company required it, you are right.Hopefully, you are starting to see

a pattern. The collision repair industrydoesn’t change very quickly, espe-cially when there is an associated cost.Unless an insurance requires some-

thing as part of a DRP, most bodyshops won’t do it.

Before anyone drops to theirknees to praise Allstate, I should statethat the advent of DRPs also spawneda monster called the unethical ad-juster. That probably warrants an arti-cle itself. I guess you need to take thegood with the bad, but to me, the goodthat DRPs brought significantly out-weighs the negative impact caused bythe unethical or immoral behavior ofsome.

The point of this article was tomake you think about one thing: Whohas benefited the most from the directrepair programs that some shopsswear were the demise of this great in-dustry? The answer is obvious: Bodyshops.

Collision repairers would still beusing a hammer and chisel if it wasn’tfor insurers demanding a quality, cost-effective repair.


Allstate, Founder of DRPs, Deserves Some Credit for Improving Repair Industrywith The Insurance Insider

Inside Insurance The Insider is a corporate-level executive with a Top 10 auto insurerin the U.S.. Got a comment or question you’d like to see him addressin a future column? Email him at [email protected]


Hit a HOME RUN!Hit a HOME RUN!with our Genuine Ford Parts

When it comes to Ford Genuine Parts,go with a winning team.

Use Genuine Ford Parts for yourcustomers’ late model Ford,Lincoln and Mercury vehicles.

You're always guaranteed thatthey will �t right the �rsttime, every time.

Hit One Out of the Park!Hit One Out of the Park!Call your local AuthorizedFord Wholesaler today!

ss

Shelby GT350 2011

SO. CALIFORNIA NO. CALIFORNIA

Airport MarinaFord

LOS ANGELES888-590-6622

310-306-2899 [email protected]

Antelope Valley FordLANCASTER

Wholesale Parts Dept.661-945-0881

661-945-3501 Faxwww.avford.com

[email protected]

Bob Wondries FordALHAMBRA

Wholesale Direct888-238-5415


Buerge FordWEST LOS ANGELES310-820-1431

310-826-0221 Fax

Citrus FordONTARIO

909-390-0948909-390-0982 Fax

[email protected]

Colley FordGLENDORA

Wholesale Parts877-441-3673

909-592-8577 FaxE-mail your [email protected]

Drew FordLA MESA

800-648-7431619-668-7765

619-668-7719 Faxwww.drewauto.com

Fairview FordLincoln MercurySAN BERNARDINOWholesale Direct909-386-0220

909-889-1741 Fax

Ford of MontebelloMONTEBELLOWholesale Direct888-566-5240


Future Fordof ClovisCLOVIS

800-350-2552559-294-0816 Fax

Fritts FordRIVERSIDE

951-343-7556951-687-3044 [email protected]

Galpin FordVAN NUYS

818-778-2005818-778-2090 Fax

Kearny PearsonFord

SAN DIEGO858-560-5033800-635-6669

858-560-9648 FaxLargest wholesaler in SanDiego with 17 delivery trucks.

Ken Grody FordCARLSBAD

760-438-2892760-431-0803 [email protected]

Pacific FordLONG BEACH800-353-7224


Palm Springs MotorsCATHEDRAL CITY760-328-7149

760-328-5092 Fax

Super FordLincoln Mercury

(Formerly Puente Hills Ford)CITY OF INDUSTRY800-965-1055


Tuttle-Click FordLincoln Mercury

IRVINE949-472-5230

949-472-0327 Fax

Vista FordLincoln Mercury

OXNARDWholesale Direct805-983-4551

805-278-0554 Fax

WorthingtonFord

LONG BEACH800-622-4225562-421-4033


Harrold FordSACRAMENTO916-922-8355


Serramonte FordCOLMA

Wholesale Parts Dept. Phone:650-301-7190

Wholesale Parts Dept. Fax:650-301-7087

www.serramonteford.com

Sunnyvale FordLincoln Mercury

SUNNYVALE408-738-1530

408-738-3125 Faxwww.fordautodirect.com

The Ford Store ofSan LeandroSAN LEANDRO800-690-6906

510-347-4160 Fax

Walnut Creek FordWALNUT CREEK925-932-2901

925-937-7460 Fax

Findlay LincolnHENDERSON702-982-4765

702-457-2375 Faxwww.findlaylm.com

[email protected]

Ford CountryHENDERSON702-558-8100

702-566-7037 Faxwww.fordcountrylv.com

Friendly FordLAS VEGAS702-877-6546

702-870-6280 Fax

Gaudin FordLAS VEGAS702-796-2762

702-792-5370 Fax

Team FordLincoln Mercury

LAS VEGASWholesale Parts Dept.702-395-5144

702-395-5196 Faxwww.teamfordparts.com

Camelback FordLincoln Mercury

PHOENIX602-248-8396

602-240-5645 Fax

Earnhardt FordCHANDLER

480-763-6233480-783-4655 Faxwww.earnhardtford.com

Power FordNorth Scottsdale

SCOTTSDALE480-998-0652

Sanderson FordGLENDALE

800-367-3673623-842-8762

623-842-8799 Faxwww.sandersonparts.com

ARIZONA

NEVADA

NO. CALIFORNIA

NEVADA

Make us your one-stop shop today!

These dealers are Genuine Ford Parts wholesale specialists.

Kevin Ham looks at his shop—TheBody Shop Garage—in rural Wood-ward, OK, and sees a lifelong dreamcoming true. While it took almost fouryears for the 45-year-old body man toget his own shop running, it’s some-thing that he’s wanted to accomplishsince he was 16.

“I’ve just always known I wantedto have my own shop,” said Ham.

Ham has worked for other bodyshops in the area for the duration of hiscareer and really began making stepstowards having his own business in2007. He bought a building on the endof Main Street from his cousin’s wife’sgrandfather and began the lengthyprocess of getting the shop ready forhis business. Ham rewired the entireplace, installed better lighting, sand-blasted brick pillars and repainted.

During the 3 years it took Ham torefinish the shop he continued to workfor another shop in the area and built cus-

tom hot rods out of the shop-in-progress.Woodward is a small town of

about 10,000 with only 3 competingrepair shops in the area, so buzz thatHam was trying to own his own shopsoon started to circulate the town.

One year ago, Ham bought the

building connected to the one he wasrestoring to make his shop space bigger.Then after almost four years of refin-ishing the place, the small business loanhe applied for went through and he was

able to finally get his place running.“Since it’s been going I’ve hardly

stopped,” said Ham, “It doesn’t evenseem real.”

The business now sits at about6,100 square-feet, although Ham isalso eyeing another adjacent building

and may expand there in the near fu-ture. Ham, one other full-time repairman and one part-time repair man,have seen 6–8 cars each week sincethe shop opened in the first week ofMarch. Ham’s son Kurt also helps

with the shop work.Ham projects that the business

will be able to gross about $500,000per year, based on two years of esti-mates and invoices of his own work hesaved while working at another shop.Ham wanted to estimate how muchwork he could produce by himselfwhile finding out if owning his ownshop would be financially feasible.

“I’m really an ‘Owner/Operator’—the business depends on my pro-duction too,” said Ham.

The business has really taken offsince it opened, and Ham has decidedthat he won’t be taking any DRP con-tracts in his shop. “I’ve really resistedthat [DRPs]; there’s supposed to be nosteering but as far as I’m concernedthat’s what it is,” said Ham.

Ham feels as though DRP pro-grams put the insurance adjuster’s jobon the body shop, and that the qualityof his work is all he needs to rely on to


Genuine Nissan and Infiniti OEM WholesaleParts are superbly crafted to strict qualitystandards. Use of genuine OEM WholesaleParts is a shift in the right direction towardtrouble-free repairs and quicker turnaround.The following dealers proudly stock genuineparts for your Nissan or Infiniti repairs. Callyour local distributor today!

2011 Juke Shift into Genuine Nissan and Infiniti OEM Parts

CORONA NISSANCORONA

800-553-7438(951) 549-6564 FaxServicing L.A., Orange,

Riverside & San Bernardinocounties

INFINITI OFBAKERSFIELDBAKERSFIELD

661-617-2020(661) 617-2039 Fax

M-F 8-5www.infinitiofbakersfield.com

MOSSY NISSANNATIONAL CITY

800-300-7251(619) 474-4347 FaxSame Day Delivery

Throughout All San DiegoLargest Inventory in San Diego

NISSAN OFBAKERSFIELDBAKERSFIELD

888-402-6915(661) 835-0389 FaxM-F 7-6, Sat. 8-5

www.nissanofbakersfield.com

DIRITO BROTHERSNISSAN

WALNUT CREEK800-865-5792

(925) 934-8459 &(925) 934-8221 Fax

LITHIA NISSANFRESNO

800-870-7779559-436-6040 Parts Direct

559-438-0183 FaxM-F 7-6, Sat. [email protected]

DOWNEY NISSANDOWNEY

888-444-1355(562) 334-1195 Fax

Billy Smith-Parts ManagerM-F 7-6, Sat. 7-5

www.downeynissan.com

METRO NISSANINFINITI OF MONTCLAIR

MONTCLAIR800-243-5575(909) 625-4087 FaxAsk for Rita or Steve

Large inventory available

S. CALIFORNIA N. CALIFORNIA

The Body Shop Garage Opens in Woodward, Oklahomawith Erica Schroeder

Shop Showcase Erica Schroeder is a writer and editorial assistantfor Autobody News in Oceanside, CA. She can bereached at [email protected].

The front of The Body Shop Garage buildingin 1946

The front of The Body Shop Garage today

bring plenty of work into his shop.Ham also feels that the ‘benefits’

of a DRP for a shop—the supposed in-crease in business from insurance com-panies driving customers to their DRPshops—isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.

“How do they know I wouldn’tget 80% of the business they’re sup-posedly driving to my shop on myown?” asks Ham.

Ham says he is confident in hisabilities and his work as well as hisability to get work into his shop.

“I’ve already got so much goingon, I can’t do the adjusters’ job forthem too,” said Ham.

Ham grew up in Woodward andmet a lot of industry people while work-ing for nearby shops over the years,making finding new customers andvendors for his own shop much easier.

Ham relied on English Color andSupply (see Autobody News May2011) to supply him with all hispaint needs, but they went aboveand beyond what was expected.

“They’re people that will reallystand behind you,” said Ham.

Ham buys his paint—BASFbrand—as well as a spray boothand a used frame machine fromEnglish Color. They also suppliedhim with some items he needed onconsignment; a new paint bank,cabinet, scale, a computer and paintshaker. Ham thought they weregoing to provide these materials

used but they came through with allnew supplies for the shop.

The biggest obstacles Ham raninto while getting his business startedmostly had to do with securing a smallbusiness loan. He applied for the loanin May and was not approved untilNovember.

“I really wanted to get thisthing started in the summer because

I knew the winter would slowthings down,” said Ham. But withthe bank loan taking so long Hamhad no choice but tostart getting the busi-ness running in thewinter.

Starting in the win-ter slowed a lot of thesupply deliveries Hamneeded and made someof the final building ren-ovations difficult. Capi-tal improvements likepouring new concreteand laying a new roofwere put on hold becausethey are temperature-sensitive tasks.

Ham also found alot of the local and statecoding enforcement to be a hurdle foropening the business, but ever sinceit’s been open Ham has had a steadystream of work.

“There’s just been this buzz,”said Ham, “I never thought I could doit—and now I’m getting to do it.”

Ham’s hot rod business has notstopped either. Although he’s been try-ing to focus more on the commercial,

body shop end of the business he’sstill been getting calls and requests forhis hot rod services—the chief reason

for his desire to purchase a third con-nected building and further expand hisbusiness.

“I can’t turn off the hot rod busi-ness,” said Ham, “It’s part of me.”

The Body Shop Garage518 Main StWoodward, OK 73801(580) 334-4071


888-500-6557

OPEN HOUSEand Manufacturer Trade Show!

10425 S. La Cienega Blvd.,Los Angeles, CA 90045

Come see our NewWarehouse Next to LAX!

Come Meet the Representatives from the Key Radiatorand Condenser Manufacturers in the Industry!

• Laker Girls - Pictures & Autographs!• Customer Raffle - Tons of Great Prizes!• Original Tommy’s - World Famous Burger Truck!• Manufacturer Trade Show - See the Latest & Greatest Products

from our Cooling and Hard Parts Vendors!

A CustomerAppreciationEvent!

Wednesday,June 22nd,

5:30pm - 9:00 pm

pliance.The association also publishes a

monthly magazine for its membersand offers workers comprehensiveand health care insurance. By joiningthe Long Island group, shops also be-come members of NYSACT, Kizen-berger explains.

“Associations struggle in thetough economy as all businesses do,”he says. “We’re confronting chal-lenges such as the overcapacity ofshops against the amount of workavailable. Consumers are driving less,and that means a reduction of repairopportunities.”

Westchester-Putnam-Rockland AutoBody AssociationHarrison, N.Y.-based, Westchester-Putnam-Rockland Auto Body Associ-ation was founded in 1952 as theWestchester Auto Body Associationand today comprises 100 bodyshops. Even 60-plus years ago, theshops realized that together they couldbetter affect legislation and insurancecompany problems as well as ex-

change ideas and common problems,explains its executive director, FrankFerraro.

Its mission emphasizes informa-tion dissemination and education: “tokeep shop owners informed of theconstant changes and technologicaldevelopments in the auto industry”and “to provide education and updateson… new laws and regulations… ”Also, to that end, the association pro-duces a monthly magazine detailinglocal, state and national news, andregulations relating to the industry, in-cluding Environmental ProtectionAgency changes and updates.

Autobody Craftsmen’s GuildOfficing on Staten Island, the Auto-body Craftsmen’s Guild was foundedin 1960. Membership in the guild in-cludes membership in NYSACT, ex-plains one of its three executivedirectors, Joe Amato.

Training is one of ACG’s goals.“Typically our general meetings areorganized around a topic or a task,” hesays. “We’ll have a vendor or jobbercome in to speak with the members orwe will have a class on estimating orabout a new product such as water-


NY Collision Assns

(l-r) Body man Steven Ferguson, Body man Hunter Wellman,Kurt Ham and owner Kevin Ham all wore Marines T-shirts topay tribute to our armed forces

The inside of the shop floor area; the Coca-Cola signon the left wall was in the building originally andHam has decided to restore it to preserve some ofthe buildings history

See NY Collision Assns, Page 43

From the street, Great Bear Auto inFlushing, NY looks like a typical auto

body shop, but the shop is anythingbut typical as I found out after a fewminutes of conversation with owner,Audra Fordin.

Great Bear Auto has been in thesame location for nearly 80 years andhas been run by the same family; how-ever—concurrent with Audra’s own-ership as its first female owner andoperator—the shop’s focus has ex-panded to include education as well asrepairs.

Great Bear Auto was founded in1933 at its present location. Four gen-erations of the Fordin family, headedby Oscar Fordin, was involved in theauto salvage yard business and openedthe shop when he grew more inter-ested in auto repair. Originally, thefamily owned many shops in theQueens area, but the rest of the fam-ily have sold their shops, leaving only

Great Bear which was taken over byhis son, Larry, then Oscar’s grandson,Bill, and now, Bill’s daughter, Audra.

Audra has been in the automotiveindustry for most of her life. Her pro-fessional licenses and certifications in-clude ATTP, NY State Motor Vehicleand Motorcycle Inspector, ASE certi-

fication and certification in AC Re-frigeration.

A d d i t i o n a l l y ,Audra serves on the advi-sory committees forFarmingdale AutomotiveTechnology andGoGreen Auto. She hasalso received many cer-tificates from Profes-sional Technician’sSeminars.

Great Bear Autoemploys five people,

boasting specialists in every field in-cluding diagnostics, auto body andmechanical repair. The shop utilizescomputerized diagnostics and up-to-date equipment throughout its 15,000square feet including a state of the artalignment machine, chassis cooler, tenlifts as well as modern paint mixersand booths. Great Bear is ASE certi-fied and is currently working on be-coming I-CAR certified.

Great Bear does not participate inany direct repair programs as theywork for the customer; however, theyaccept all insurance and are happy todeal directly with the customer’s in-surance company. They also acceptmost extended warranties and offerdiscount car rentals.

As part of their efforts to sustainthe environment, Great Bear Auto re-cycles tires, metal, anti-freeze, oil and

batteries. Additionally,they have recently com-pleted hybrid and alter-nate fuel training and nowservice and repair hybridand electric vehicles.

Not only is thework completed at GreatBear Auto fully guaran-teed, the customer is alsoeducated about the repairsneeded and performed.

In order to betterserve their customers, they

also boast free Wi-Fi, easy access toshopping and transportation and a chil-dren’s play area in the waiting room.English, Greek, Spanish and Korean isspoken in the shop to best serve theircosmopolitan customer base, and theshop sends email reminders to theircustomers to keep them updated on the

status of their repairs.Seeking to empower women and

put control back in the drivers’ hands,Audra also teaches a free monthly

workshop: “What Women AutoKnow.” Using an analogy to compareparts of the car to parts of the humanbody, her comprehensive courseteaches women about maintenance,safety, tires, brakes, emergencies,

power steering, bulbs, coolant, fluids,and wipers, as well as anything her au-dience may have questions about. Stu-dents also learn some easy do-it

-yourself car repairs toenable them to savemoney.

The course has re-cently expanded to in-clude an iPhone app,available through iTunes,as well as clothing and aDVD which are availableat www.womenauto-know.com.

Due to her generalexpertise in the automo-tive industry, Audra

Fordin also sits on a panel of expertswhich participate in a weekly show,Autolab, on ABC radio.

During their show on March 5,2011, the panel discussed the recent


Great Bear Auto Teaches Customers What They “Auto Know”with Chasidy Rae Sisk

Shop Showcase Chasidy Rae Sisk is a freelance technical writer from Wilmington, Delaware, whoworks in a variety of fields and subjects, and grew up in a family of NASCAR fans.She can be contacted at [email protected].

See Great Bear Auto, Page 58

Great Bear Auto’s 15,000 square-foot building in Flushing, NY

Owner Audra Fordin stands under a lift on the shops work floor

Audra also participates in a weekly radio show through ABCcalled Autolab


Original BMW Parts

bmwusa.com

When you repair a BMW, use the parts that are identical to those used in Seriesproduction – and just as reliable. Choose Original BMW Parts. Because youcan’t repair your reputation.

Southern California BMW Centers

BMWof EscondidoEscondido(800) 544-4269

BMWof PalmSpringsPalm Springs(760) 324-8314

BMWofSan DiegoSan Diego858-560-0268FAX (858) 277-7928

BobSmith BMWCalabasas(818) 340-9640FAX (818) [email protected]

CenterBMWSherman Oaks(818) 990-9518

Crevier BMWSanta Ana(714) 835-2025

LongBeach BMWSignal Hill(800) 794-4269(562) 427-5494www.longbeachbmw.com

NewCenturyBMW, IncAlhambra(626) 576-2867

Savage BMWOntario(800) 241-4269

South BayBMWTorrance(310) 939-7342(310) 939-7343

Sterling BMWNewport Beach(949) 645-8729

Niello BMWSacramento(916) 486-1299

Sonnen BMWSan Rafael(415) 482-2040

Weatherford BMWBerkeley(800) 995-9269

Northern California BMW Centers

You only get one chance at the first repair.Original Thought #78

Original BMW Parts

The Northwest Louisiana CollisionRepair Association held their monthlymeeting in the Collision Repair Class-room at Louisiana Technical Collegein Shreveport, LA on May 3. Themeeting was brought to order by Pres-ident Chris Fielder by reading theanti-trust statement, which is requiredto begin every NWLCRA meeting.Also hosting the meeting was Secre-tary-Treasurer Bill Burnside.

The group discussed the recentSkillsUSA Competition and asked forall the local winners that were attend-ing the meeting to stand, introducethemselves and tell a little about them-selves. Joshua Taylor is a Senior atNorthwood High School and is a Colli-sion Repair student of Caddo Career &Technology Center. Joshua took FirstPlace in the Collision Repair Technol-ogy category. He is currently workingat Shouse Collision Repair & FrameCenter. Jerry Shouse, owner of ShouseCollision Repair & Frame Center, saidJoshua is currently working with esti-mating. Joshua is going to compete at

the National Skills competition.Hunter Lyman is a Senior at

Captain Shreve High School, and is aCollision Repair student of Caddo Ca-reer & Technology Center. Huntertook First Place in the Auto RefinishTechnology category. He has beenworking with Red River Chevroletwhile at school and has been offered afull-time permanent position withthem after graduation.

Next, was Ryan Hickman, aSenior at Airline High School and astudent of Bossier Parish TechnicalSchool. Ryan took Third Place in theCollision Repair Technology category.He is currently working at BellevuePaint & Body in Haughton, LA.

Lastly was Marquette Tolbert, aSenior at Woodlawn High School anda student at Caddo Career & Technol-ogy Center. Marquette took SecondPlace in the Collision Repair Technol-ogy category. He has been working atMoffitt Mazda Porsche Audi Volkswa-gen Body Shop. He is going to be at-tending Louisiana College, with future

plans to also attend Louisiana TechUniversity.

George Jackson, Instructor forthe Collision Repair Program atCaddo Career & Technology Center,and Mark Monroe, Instructor for theCollision Repair Program at BossierParish Technical School were also atthe meeting.

Jackson praised the efforts of allthe students that participated in thisstatewide competition. He said the stu-dents used their Spring Break to pre-pare for the Skills Competition. He alsostated that the students are now prepar-ing for Nationals. He made a request toany Collision Center for help with anytype—training, painting, etc.—thatwould be helpful to a student preparingfor the Nationals, to contact him toarrange times. If anyone wants to do-nate funds, this also would be greatlyappreciated and welcomed.

If anyone would like to offerhelp to the students headed to Na-tionals, please e-mail Bill Burnside [email protected]

Bill Burnside, Secretary-Trea-surer for the NWLCRA, stated thatthe NWLCRA historically has do-nated funds for the First Place winnersthat go to Nationals. A motion wasmade and seconded to pay $100 foreach First Place winners in each cate-gory of the competition. Congratula-tions to Joshua Taylor, First Placewinner in the Collision Repair Tech-nology category, and Hunter Lyman,First Place winner in the Auto Refin-ish Technology category.

Many of the NWLCRA membersthat also helped by judging this eventwere present at this month’s meeting,and were recognized for their continuedservice to the Collision Repair Industry.

Bill went on to discuss an Indus-try Day meeting that will be held onJune 14, 2011. This Industry Day willcenter around speakers includingChuck Sulkala, a widely recognizedspeaker and spokesperson for the Col-lision Repair Industry, and MikeSprinkle, Texas Business Develop-


See these Hyundai dealers below for all your collision parts needs!

QUALITY IS ALL WETHINK ABOUT. THAT

AND QUALITY.

Hyundai Sonata 2011

NEVADA

Kearny Mesa HyundaiSAN DIEGO

800-469-9731858-300-3331 Fax

Mon-Fri 7am - 6pmSat 8am - 5pm

[email protected]

Henderson HyundaiSuperstore

LAS VEGAS - METRO AREA702-565-9643

702-564-7756 FaxMon-Fri 7am - 6pm

Sat 7am - [email protected]

San Leandro HyundaiSAN LEANDRO

510-347-3010510-895-1027 Fax

Lithia HyundaiFRESNO

800-462-2231559-436-6041

559-436-0743 FaxMon-Fri 7am - 6pm

Sat 8am - [email protected]

SO. CALIFORNIA

NO. CALIFORNIA

Tuttle Click HyundaiIRVINE

800-428-7485949-472-7430

949-586-5104 Fax949-586-7093 Fax

Mon-Fri 7am - 7pmSat 8am - 5pm

[email protected]

Harbor HyundaiLONG BEACH

866-976-4070562-989-1317 Fax

Mon-Fri 8am - 5:45pmSat 8am - 1:45pm

[email protected]

Drew HyundaiSAN DIEGO

888-839-0777619-668-7782 Direct


www.drewhyundai.com

Northwest Louisiana Collision Repair Association Hosts Local SkillsUSAWinning Students, Hertz Reps Speak

See NWLCRA, Page 47


818-832-1660Fax: 818-832-1692

[email protected]: 6:00 AM - 7:00 PM

Saturday: 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM

We are YOUR Source for GM Partsin Los Angeles!

Extensive inventory — Delivery trucks are in your area

Accountable, responsible & unconditionally

dedicated to excellence

AUTOMOTIVE GROUP

San Fernando Valley

WWW.CITY-CHEVROLET.COM

• Large Inventory of Mechanicaland Collision Parts

• Fast Delivery/7 Delivery Trucks

• Over 250 Years Combined Parts

Experience

San Diego

800-927-2277Toll Free:619-276-6900Parts:619-276-2414Fax:

Hours:Mon-Fri: 7:30am - 6pm;Sat: 8am - 5pm

CITYCHEVROLET

OUR PARTS IN THE TRAINED HANDS OF A PROFESSIONALTogether it’s a Masterpiece!GM Parts

Finish Second to None.

www.gmgoodwrench.com©2010 GM Corp. All rights reserved

Wholesale Direct: 925-828-8251Fax: 925-829-2941

Chevrolet•Cadillac•GMC•Buick•PontiacOldsmobile•Saab•Saturn•Hummer

4200 John Monego Ct., Dublin, CA 94568

Hours: Mon. - Fri. 7am - 6pmSat. 8am - 4:30pm

Serving Contra Costa, Alameda,San Joaquin Counties.

An Authorized Saturn Wholesaler.

borne paints.” The group schedulesabout six of these annually, he notes.

Gas & Repair Shop Association of NYIndependent of NYSACT is the Gaso-line & Repair Shop Association of N.Y.,based in Albany. GRANY represents330 members in the eastern part of thestate, from Westchester County to theCanadian border and Herkimer County

to the Vermont, Massachusetts andConnecticut borders.

The association is one of five af-filiates of the Albany-based New YorkState Association of Service Stations& Repair Shops, which lobbies onmembers’ behalfs at the capital andworks with state agencies. This groupis an affiliate of the Service StationDealers of America—Allied Trades.

GRANY was founded in 1972 byservice station dealers during the firstenergy crisis, explains its associate di-rector, John Casazza. The executive

director is Ralph Bombardiere.Today, the membership includes 35percent convenience stores, 45 percentrepair shops and 20 percent bodyshops.

In addition to providing membersa variety of insurance and other bene-fits, GRANY offers professional train-ing for automotive technicians andinspectors.

“Our overriding goal is to protectthe interests of these independent busi-nesses as well as the motoring public,”Casazza says.

The biggest challenge in the futurefor the auto-repair industry, includingcollision shops? According to Cazazza,it’s clear: “Insurance companies.”


NY Collision Assns

e-mail:[email protected]

800-699-8251

To advertisecall Joe Momber at:

This is a continuation of our articlestarted in April’s Autobody News. Toread part one, see www.autobo-dynews.com

Keenan Autobody makes effortstoward using green, not just in theirlogo, but also in their business prac-tices as part of their effort to protectthe environment. Keenan at Middle-town, Delaware is the only shop oftheir eight locations which boastssolar panels, demonstrating Keenan’sefforts to protect the environment.

Few shops in the country usesolar energy to operate, butKeenan opened their Middletownshop in 2009 as a prototype with thehopes of expanding the use of solarpower to the rest of their shops in thefuture. Per Craig Camacho, Market-ing Director of Keenan Autobody,“we are in growth mode at the mo-ment and are looking to acquire an-other shop or two prior to expandingour solar, but yes, we will be movingforward with solar at more of ourshops”.

Using 248 solar panels whichtransfer solar energy into usable elec-tricity, Keenan at Middletown utilizessolar power for 65% of their energyneeds. When they are not operating,they resell the recycled energy creditsback to the grid. According to VicePresident of Keenan Autobody,Michael LeVasseur, “this was notonly the right thing to do for the envi-ronment but it was also a solid busi-ness decision”.

Several of the solar panels are lo-cated on the front left side of thebuilding, but the majority of the pan-els are installed in the half acre fielddirectly behind the shop. Keenanplans to expand this project to the rest

of their shops eventually; however, inthe meantime, Keenan Autobody con-tinues to make other efforts as part oftheir Green initiative aimed at con-serving the environment. All Keenanshops use water-borne paint systemsand participate in recycling as part ofKeenan’s Green Initiative.

The Middletown shop consists of14,000 square feet and employs four-teen workers. Like Keenan’s othershops, Keenan at Middletown utilizesall of the latest equipment, such as thecar-o-liner, the evo-system and the lat-est inverter-type resistance spotwelders. In addition to being ASEcertified, they are considered I-CarGold and a CIC Class A facility.

All of Keenan’s shops are Veri-facts VQ shops and are in compliancewith Envirosafe. Keenan is affiliatedwith ASA, CIC, SCRA, NABC, FixAuto and DuPont Performance Al-liance.

Keenan processes insuranceclaims according to CMS standardsper the industry standard, and theyparticipate in up to 21 direct repairprograms at each shop.

Keenan Autobody utilizes a 10-step production process in order toprovide their customers with qualitywork, and they also offer a nationallife-time guarantee, promising to cor-rect any future problems regardless ofwhere the customer moves throughoutthe nation. Keenan also participates inmany fundraisers for local charities,such as the Ronald McDonald Houseand Recycled Rides, among manyothers.

In 2010, Keenan at Middle-town was one of the shops which wereinvolved for the first time with theFirst Responder Extrication Eventwhich benefits firefighters, police and

EMTs. During this event, professionaltrainers instructed these civil servants

on the proper ways to extract peoplefrom cars in order to avoid explosivesand ensure safety practices. Keenan

plans to participate in this event annu-ally.

Keenan was founded in 1952 byJoseph Keenan in the back of hisgarage, but the organization has ex-panded to include eight shops. Al-though Don Keenan is not oftenpresent at the shop, he is the majorityowner and President of Keenan Auto-body, and he is available for consulta-tion when necessary.

Keenan Auto Body's 13th An-nual Charity Golf Outing will beheld June 9, 12 pm to 8 pm at PennOaks Country Club. It is benefittingboth the Russella Education Fundand Little Smiles. For more informa-tion contact Craig Camacho, or callthe shop at:

Keenan at Middletown5077 Summitt Bridge RoadMiddletown, DE 19709(302) 279-1007


Keenan Cares About Cars, Charity and Environment, Part 2with Chasidy Rae Sisk

Shop Showcase Chasidy Rae Sisk is a freelance technical writer from Wilmington, Delaware, whoworks in a variety of fields and subjects, and grew up in a family of NASCAR fans.She can be contacted at [email protected].

Solar panels sit off to the left of Keenan’sMiddleton, DE, location

Keenan Autobody is the only shop of 8 locationsto use solar panels

Not only is Keenan Autobody’s road signgreen, but so are their shop practices


ARIZONAMark KiaScottsdale

(480) 425-5318Watts Line (866) 800-6045

(480) 663-7503 FaxM-F 7:30am - 6:00pm, Sat 8:00am - 4:00pm

Local & Out of State Delivery

NO. CALIFORNIADublin Kia

DublinWholesale Direct (925) 828-8251

(925) 829-2941 FaxM-F 7:00am - 6:00pmSat 8:00am - 4:30pm

Elk Grove KiaSacramento/Elk Grove(888) 244-3404(916) 753-1040(916) 753-1045 Fax

www.elkgrovekia.com

San Leandro KiaSan Leandro

(510) 347-3010(510) 347-3003(510) 895-1027 FaxFree Local DeliveriesShipping Available

SO. CALIFORNIACar Pros Kia

CarsonToll Free (800) 553-0940Parts Direct (310) 221-9101

(310) 816-9811 Parts Fax#1 Wholesale Dealer Serving So. California

Citrus KiaOntario

(800) 583-7042(909) 390-0948(909) 390-0982 Fax

[email protected] - Sat 7:00am - 6:00pmFree Local Delivery

Ask for Ike, Jimbo, Chris, Juan, Sean, JeffSe Habla Español

First KiaSimi Valley

1-888-531-4785(805) 306-1085 FaxFree Local DeliveryM-F 7:00am - 6:00pmSat 8:00am - 5:00pmSe Habla Español

Ask for David or Julio

Fullerton KiaFullerton

(714) 871-6300(714) 738-0665 Fax

Kia of El MonteEl Monte

(626) 450-0500(626) 443-9800 FaxM-F 7:30am - 6pmSat 7:30am - 3pm

www.kiaofelmonte.com

Precise fit and finish, easy instal-

lation and a limited warranty

direct from KIA — all genuine

advantages of genuine KIA

parts.Your local KIA retailer

has all the parts you need.

Tornadoes ripped across the south-east portion of the US brought de-struction in April and May. Stateshardest hit were Alabama, Missis-sippi, Tennessee, Georgia, Virginiaand Arkansas, and now Missouri. Al-abama was the hardest hit in Aprilwith over half of the fatalities. As ofend of April 28 the confirmed deathtoll was at least 250, but that will riseas of the May 22 Joplin monster tor-nado.

“It looked like it was probably amile wide,” Birmingham, AL, MayorWilliam Bell said of the funnel cloudto CNN. Tuscaloosa, AL, mayor Wal-

ter Maddox predicted it would takemonths for the town to recover.

President Barack Obama had al-ready expressed condolences by phoneto Alabama Gov. Robert Bentleywhen he approved his request for emer-gency federal assistance on April 28.

In Hueytown, AL, shop ownerJason Wilson was in his business—Jimmy’s Auto—when he heard the tor-nado warning sirens. He gathered his

family, including his two children, anddecided to ride out the storm in the shop.

About an hour afterward, Wilsonstood in the parking lot, stunned, look-ing at the roof of the store. The roofhad been blown off the building asthey huddled inside, he said.

“We was fixing to go home andheard the siren,” he said to Alabamawebsite al.com. “We took cover. It’sabout all you can do. And then it justblew the roof off.”

Wilson, his wife, his father and histwo children escaped without a scratch.

Coats Auto Body and Paint inRaleigh, NC, experienced an intense

tornado on April 16 that caused majordamage to the shop.

“Even though the building hasbeen condemned and is now gone, weare blessed,” said Co-Owner Tana

Malerba, “No one was inthe building at the timethat the tornado hit. Wealso found a temporary lo-cation six miles down theroad from where we werelocated while we rebuild.”

The tornado tookoff the entire roof of Coats brickbuilding and both side walls of thebuilding collapsed. The bays and shopfloor were no longer separated fromthe outdoors after the storm.

One thing that did survive thestorm was the shop’s Garmat spraybooth. The booth did sustain somedamage, but all mechanical compo-nents and the attached mixing roomwere saved despite the all but de-

stroyed building that housed thebooth. Between Coats’ employees andlocal vendors, Coats was able to movetheir business to neighboring Garner,NC, within eight days. Malerba saidthe business is just waiting on someoutside vendors to complete theirwork before the shop will be back run-ning at 100%. The Garner locationwill be a temporary home for the busi-ness until they can rebuild their origi-nal Raleigh location.

Insurers also began the daunt-ing task of tallying the home andauto damages of their clients onApril 29.

Alabama Insurance Commis-sioner JimRiding said that he is reach-ing out to the state’s property insurersto provide a coordinated response tothe storms as soon as possible.

“We want to hit the ground run-ning to deliver an effective responseto all Alabamians affected by thesetragic storms,” he said to InsuranceJournal. “As soon as the companiessettle on locations for their disaster re-sponse headquarters, we will sharethat information with the public.”

State Farm Spokesperson JimMcCullen said that said by April 28the insurer already had 3,300 claimsin Alabama and the count continues torise, according to Insurance Journal.He said that the company was some-what fortunate in that it already hadteams working in Arkansas in thewake of a series of tornadoes thatwent through the South Central por-tion of the country in early April and aquick response should ensue.

The dangerous conditions alsohalted production at the Toyota andMercedes-Benz plants in Alabama asof April 28.

A Mercedes plant spokeswomansaid April 29 that Mercedes had haltedoperations because suppliers were un-able to deliver parts due to the storms,according to the Tuscaloosa News.

A spokeswoman for the au-tomaker also told Automotive Newsthe plant would remain down untilMay 2 following the tornado. Toyotaspokesman Mike Goss said the engineplant stopped work April 27 when itlost power. He said the power couldbe out at least through May 1.

Other automotive factories in theregion, including Hyundai MotorManufacturing Alabama in Mont-gomery, and Honda of Alabama Man-ufacturing in Lincoln, reported nodirect damage from the tornadoes.However, representatives for Hondasaid the automaker is evaluating thestorms impact on their suppliers allacross Alabama, which may affect thecompany’s output later this spring.

Coats Auto Body and Paint434A US 70 Highway EastGarner NC 27529(919) 833-6877


Tornadoes Devastate South, Halting Local Automakers’ Plants, Inundating Insurers

See storm video at autobodynews.com

The front of Coats’ Raleigh location before the storm hit

Inside Coats’ Raleigh location before the storm hit

The front of the building after the storm

ment Manager for DuPont.There will be four sessions for

the NWLCRA sponsored event. Eachsession will have four classes that willcover Computers, Measuring for Esti-mating, Parts and Allied ProductTracking. Daniel Wheeler of Soft-ware Works Consulting will discussthe computer changes that are goingto occur in the next 12 months. Meas-uring for Estimating will be discussedby Marvin Garcia of Car-O-Liner.3M will discuss their upcoming partsprogram concerning the repair/replaceconsiderations, and managing Alliedmaterials cost. Dupont will have aspecial class in the morning on Build-ing Customer Pay and an afternoonclass on Blueprinting.

The Industry Day is going to belimited to the first 100 people that signup for the seminars in order to keepclass sizes small and interactive. TheNWLCRA will also be partneringwith the National Auto Body Council(NABC) during the Industry Day inorder to collect cell phones for theCell Phones for Soldiers Program. The

NWLCRA will have a drop-off areafor the phones during the IndustryDay and will also be handing out ma-terials to attendees about having adrop-off location at their own busi-nesses. The program collects used cellphones and turns them into cash,which is used to buy calling cards forsoldiers to call home with.

Bill also discussed the currentlegislature that’s meeting in Louisianaand the issues before them. Some ofthe Bills are 338 and 583. Bill 338 isto prohibit the use of handheld cellu-lar devices while driving. Bill 583 isto prohibit the use of after-market highintensity lights.

Bill also talked about degweb.org,the Database Enhancement Gateway,developed to help improve the qualityand accuracy of collision repair esti-mates, through proactive feedback fromthe collision repair industry and other“end users” to the Information Providers(IPs) that supply the supply databasesfor the various estimating products.

This month’s guest speakers wereStephanie deCalongne and CarolineHaraguchi from Hertz Local Edition.They were invited to speak by DonBrown of Precision Autobody.

deCalongne began by discussingthe well-known car rental companyand how they have changed over theyears. One of the changes has beenhow they have branches that focus onthe Collision Industry. She said thattheir location, 2119 Airline Drive,Bossier City, LA, works with the localCollision Industry to provide vehiclerentals for the owners of the vehiclesbeing repaired.

They have been working closelywith the Collision Repair Industrysince 2003. Before this, Hertz made awell-known name by offering vehiclerentals at airports.

What makes the Local Edition dif-ferent than renting at the Airport, is alower rental charge because they don’thave to charge the Airport Use Taxwhich is required for all airport rentals.

The average savings is around 10%on normal charges. deCalongne statedthat they are able to offer a large varietyof vehicles because they are able toshare fleets with all locations of Hertz.

They are able to truck vehicles allover the region to meet the needs of heircustomers. Caroline Haraguchi addedthat they are the first company to offera lower age to rent a vehicle; they are

able to rent to people 20 years of age.They are able to rent one way,

with unlimited mileage, no hidden fees,and direct billing. They can offer a col-lision repair facility a direct billing forcases such as a redo. In most cases,they are able to offer direct billing tothe insurance company, if they are pro-vided with a claim number.

Deposits can be waived in someinstances for certain insurance com-panies. Their deposit, when one is re-quired for direct billing, is only $50.State Farm Insurance and ProgressiveInsurance companies allow Hertz torent to 20-year olds, and for 18-yearolds to drive the rental.

Stephanie closed the meeting bypassing out flyers that allows NWL-CRA members to get a discount whenusing Hertz. This will give a 20% offweekly/weekday rates, weekend ratesstarting at $21.49/day, free pickup andreturn service, and age 20+ renting.

Members can visit their Hertz lo-cation and mention they are a memberof the Northwest Louisiana CollisionRepair Association, and provide a CDPnumber to receive a member discount.

Visit www.nwlcra.org for moreinformation.


Want every jobWant every jobto be a bang-up job?to be a bang-up job?Want every jobto be a bang-up job?

WE WANT TO BE YOUR SOURCEFOR REAL VOLKSWAGEN PARTS.

These dealers are Genuine VW Parts Wholesale Specialists.

We have the Real Volkswagen CollisionParts that make your job easier andyour customers happier. With your skilland our parts, every collision repair willbe a bang-up job. And that will add upto more repeat business for both of us.Call your order in today.

So. California

City VolkswagenSAN DIEGO

880000--992277--22227777FAX: 619-276-2414

M-F 7:30am - 6pm;Sat 8am - 5pm

www.cityvolkswagen.com

Volkswagen ofDowntown LA

LOS ANGELES

221133--774477--77224466FAX: 213-222-1272

Ask for Carlos or Erasmo

No. California

Dirito Bros. WalnutCreek Volkswagen

WALNUT CREEK

11--880000--VVOOLLKKSSWWAAGGEENNFAX: 925-934-0786

[email protected]

TimmonsVolkswagenLONG BEACH

11--888888--448899--55000011FAX: 562-426-3550

[email protected]

Drew VWSAN DIEGO

888888--883399--00777777DIRECT: 619-668-7782

FAX: [email protected]


NWLCRA


The Women’s Industry Network(WIN) held their 5th Annual Confer-ence May 1–3 at the Westin GaslampHotel in San Diego. WIN was organ-ized to enhance the collision repair in-dustry—and the role of women withinit—through education, networking,and sharing of resources.

Attendance for this year’s con-ference was up 30–40 percent, ac-cording to Chairwoman Kim White.The event attracted over 150 attendeesand featured speeches from motiva-tional and industry experts as well asbreak out sessions where attendeescould receive detailed, personalizedtips for their businesses. The eventwas attended by Autobody News’As-sistant Editor, Erica Schroeder, andBarbara Davies, General Managerand Co-owner.

Speakers discussed a variety oftopics designed to enhance businessand personal skills as a whole.

“We are proud to offer sessionsthat will spark new ways of thinking,better performance, and greater un-derstanding of industry issues,” saidWhite.

In the opening session White alsothanked the current board for theirwork this year including the organiza-tions first, and very successful, boothat the International Autobody Exposi-tion and Congress (NACE) in 2010.

The organization was able to in-crease their membership and exposurewith the booth as well as theirWomen’s Track Classes that they of-fered during NACE.

Executive Coach Jennifer SertlThe informationsessions startedwith keynotespeaker JenniferSertl discussingBusiness Strategyand Leadership inthe 21st Century.Sertl is president

and founder of Agility3R, an organi-

zational effectiveness company whichfocuses upon the optimization of cus-tomer value by aligning corporate ob-jectives with the individualsresponsible for delivering results. Theco-author of Strategy, Leadership, andthe Soul gave her thoughts on businessstrategy in a male-dominated arena.

Sertl gave copies of her book toeveryone attending the keynote andawarded audience member, AmandaShelly of Saint-Gobain Abrasives,with the ‘Ms. Anthony’ award, repre-sented by a contemporary version ofSusan B. Anthony’s trademark alliga-tor bag. Sertl had spoken about An-

thony’s influence on her life and thelives of women everywhere during herspeech. She supports the Susan B. An-thony House in her hometown ofRochester, NY.

Mitchell’s Greg HornGreg Horn, from Mitchell Interna-tional, gave an Industry Trends updatefollowing Sertl’s keynote. Horn beganby giving some statistics about ourdriving habits over the last few years.

Accidents are at their lowest ratesince 1950 and that Americans havebeen driving less as gas prices continueto soar—two factors that will no doubteffect the collision repair industry.Horn gained nods and chuckles fromthe predominantly female audiencewhen he compared statistics on maledriving habits vs female driving habits.Male drivers are more reckless andcause the vast majority of accidents.

Horn also recounted that the dis-ruption for Japanese automakerscaused by the earthquake and tsunamiin March could result in more thanjust scattered and short-term partsshortages. The most popular Japanesesedans are assembled in U.S. plantsusing locally sourced parts, Horn said,but parts shortages are more likely forthe higher-end brands, such as Lexus,and for smaller vehicles such as the

Honda Fit and Toyota Prius, which arestill built and imported from Japan.But Japan also is the third-largest pro-ducer of automotive-grade steel, andexports 43 million tons of it a year.

Decreases in output from thosefactories (all Japanese companieshave been asked to reduce their elec-trical use by 25 percent) are raisingsteel prices globally, Horn said. Thatwill likely affect pricing for all sheetmetal parts, OEM and non-OEM, andas those prices rise, prices for usedparts likely will rise as well.

“So you’re going to see thisevent’s impact stretch well into nextyear,” Horn said. “We’ll have to waitand see what the final tally is, butwe’re going to see inflation overall inaverage repair severity because of ris-ing parts prices.”

He also talked about the viabilityof alternative-fueled vehicles in thecoming years due to a federally man-dated mpg average of 35.5 by 2016for all new cars and trucks. This willchange the way cars are repaired andthe cost of repairs due to new technol-ogy and materials used in new vehi-

cles to make them meet these stan-dards, said Horn.

WIN then held their AnnualMembership Meeting during lunch onMay 2, where they acknowledged thework done by their separate commit-tees this year and announced their newboard for 2011-2012.

Current Board Member MaryKunz not only won the Cornerstone2011 Award for her contributions in2010, but was also honored as one of thedeparting board along with Kim White,Jeanne Silver and Geri Kottschade.

The 2011–2012 Executive Com-mittee was named as follows; Victo-ria Jankowski, Chair, JenniferJustice-Haley, Vice-Chair, MargaretKnell, Administrative Vice-Chair,Denise Caspersen, Secretary, andTeresa Bolton, Treasurer. OtherBoard Members for 2011 will be an-nounced shortly. The goals for the2011–2012 Board will be to grow thenetwork, build a sustainable fundingbase and align and build an infrastruc-ture to support WIN’s vision.

The six students who won schol-arships to attend WIN this year were

Women’s Industry Network Conference Held in San Diego

GeGeGeGeGeGeGeGeGeGeGeGeGeGeGeGeGeGeGeGeGeGeGeGeGeGeGeGeGeGeGeGeGeGeGeGeGeGeGeGeGeGeGeGeGeGeGeGeGeGenununununununununununununununununununununununununununununununununununununununununununununununuininininininininininininininininininininininininininininininininininininininininininininine e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e MiMiMiMiMiMiMiMiMiMiMiMiMiMiMiMiMiMiMiMiMiMiMiMiMiMiMiMiMiMiMiMiMiMiMiMiMiMiMiMiMiMiMiMitstststststststststststststststststststststststststststststststststststststststsububububububububububububububububububububububububububububububububisisisisisisisisisisisisisisisisisisisisisisisishihihihihihihihihihihihihihihihihihihihihihihi r r r r r r r r r r r r r r repepepepepepepepepepepepepepepepepepepeplalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalacececececececececececececececececececececececececece----mememememememememememementntntntntntntntntntntntntntntntntnt C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C Crararararararararararararashshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshsh P P P P P P P P P P P P P P Pararararararararararararararartstststststststststststs a a a a a a a a a a a a a arerererererererererererererere c c c c c c c c c c c c clololololololololololosesesese a a a a at t t t hahahahandndnd t t thrhrhrouououghgh t thehehehe f f f folololollolololowiwiwiwiwingngngngng ququququququququalalalalititity y y dedededealalalerererershshshipipipipips.s.s.s. T T Thehehehey y y y y y o!o!o!o!o!o!erererererer exexexexexexexexexexexexexexexcececececececececececececeptptptptptptptptptptptptptioioioionanananal l l l cucucucucustststststststomomomomomererer s sererererervivivivivicecececece, , , , wiwiwiwiwiwiwiwiwiwidedededededededededededededededededededededede s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s selelelelelelelelelelelelelelelelelelelelelelelececececececececececececececececececectitititititititititititititiononononononononononon o of f ininin-s-s-s-stotototototockckckckckckckck papapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapartrtrtrtrtrtrtrtrtrtrtrtrtrtrtrtrts s s s s s s s ananananananananand d d d d d d d d d d ththththththththththththththththththththththththththththththththththththththe e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e exexexexexexexexexexexexexexexexexexexexexexexexexexexexexexexexexexexexexexexexexexexexexexexexexexexexexexexexexexexexexexexexexexexexpepepepepepepepepepepepepepepepepepepepepepepepepepepepepepepepepepepepepepepepepepepepepepepepepepepepepepepepepepepepepepepepeperiririririririririririririririririririririririririririenenenenenenenenenenenenenenenencecececececececececececececece nececececececececececececececececececececessssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssarararararararararararararararararararararararararararararary y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y tototototototototototototototototototototo e e e e e e e e e e e e e e ensnsnsnsnsnsnsnsnsnsnsurururururururururururure e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e yoyoyoyoyoyoyoyoyoyoyoyoyoyoyoyoyoyoyoyoyoyoyoyoyoyoyoyoyoyoyoyoyoyoyoyoyoyoyoyoyoyoyoyoyoyoyoyoyoyoyoyoyoyourururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururur

nenecececececececessssssssssssssssssssssararararararararary y y y y y totototototototo e e e e e e ensnsnsnsnsnsnsnsnsurururururururururure e e e e e e e e e yoyoyoyoyoyoyoyoyoyoyoyoyoyoyoyoyourururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururur rerererererererererepapapapapapapapapaiririririririrs s s s s s prprprprprprprococococococeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeed d d d d d d d d d d smsmsmsmsmsmsmsmsmoooooooooooooooooooooooooothththththththththththththththlylylylylylylylylylylylylylyly....

Genuine Mitsubishi replace-ment Crash Parts are close at hand through the following quality dealerships. They o!er exceptional customer service, wide selection of in-stock parts and the experience necessary to ensure your repairs proceed smoothly.

PPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttsssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss yyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyoooooooooooooooooouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeddddddddddddddddddddddd...PPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeooooooooooooooooooooooooopppppppppppppppppppppppppppllllllllllllllleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee yyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTrrrrrrrrrrruuuuuuuuuuuuuuusssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttt...Parts you Need.People you Trust.

2011 Lancer

Veracom MitsubishiSAN MATEO

866-509-0642(650) 340-6108 Fax

M-F 7:30 am - 5:00 pmSat 8:00 am - 5:00 pm

[email protected]

CCAALLIIFFOORRNNIIAA

The Westin Hotel Gaslamp

Jennifer Sertl

Keynote speaker Jennifer Sertl and ‘Miss An-thony’ award winner Amanda Shelley

also acknowledged; Ozarks TechnicalCommunity College’s Hannah Nick-les, Southeast Community College’sKendy Maddox, Center of AppliedTechnology North’s Rickia Mines,College of Western Idaho’s JessicaCrowley, Green River CommunityCollege’s Jessica Gauthier, andSoutheast Community College’sMollee Lunkwitz.

Student Jessica Crowley also wonthe Cornerstone Scholarship Award, anaward presented by Teresa Bolton thatconsists of a financial contributionfrom WIN to continue school.

“Being awarded the CornerstoneScholarship is a gift. I plan to use this

gift to give back to others,” saidCrowley. “I aspire to emulate eachand every woman that I came in con-tact with at the 2011 WIN Confer-ence.”

Two Instructor Scholarships toattend WIN were given this year toMichele Charlebois-Didrecksonwith Ozarks Community College andRodney Bolton with The Center ofApplied Technology North.

Two additional scholarships weregiven to collision repair center em-ployees to attend WIN, winners wereTona Haywood with Gautier’s AutoBody and Glass, Inc. in King George,VA, and Teresa Super with TGIFBody Shop in Fremont, CA.

Day two of the conference beganwith the Annual Scholarship WalkPresented by Enterprise; over 100women attending the conference par-

ticipated in thewalk and wereable to raise over$5,000 throughindividual andcorporate dona-tions.

On thelast day, keynote

speaker Lauren Fix opened with adiscussion entitled ‘Using Your Fe-male Force for GoodCar-Ma.’ Fix is anautomotive writer(Guide to LovingYour Car, The CarCoach) as well as aformer race cardriver, mechanic,and driving instruc-tor, known for manymedia appearances.

Fix focused on‘what comes around,goes around’ and that women in amale dominated industry need tofocus on empowering themselves.

“The glass ceiling is only there ifyou put it there,” said Fix.

Fix said she was impressed withWIN and the conference itself, shehad excellent feedback from attendeesafter her speech and said the group re-ally represented all different aspects ofthe industry.

“I’d never heard of the group[WIN] before being asked to speak atthe conference—but I was thoroughlyimpressed,” said Fix.

Napping is a Good ThingThe last keynote speaker of the con-ference was Dr. Sara Mednick, Dr.Mednick is an Assistant Professor ofPsychiatry at UC San Diego, who re-viewed research on sleep deprivationand naps. Eliciting chuckles from theaudience when she announced she

would be dis-cussing ‘napping,’Mednick ex-plained the linkbetween adequateREM sleep andproductivity andcreativity. Show-ing that adequate

sleep drastically affects their work-force’s productivity had the audiencetaking the topic a bit more seriouslyby the speech’s close.

Mednick showed charts from herresearch showing that REM sleep dur-ing a daytime nap can make up forsleep deprivation at night, and en-couraged businesses to allow appro-priate rest breaks, including napping.With more productivity demanded bybusinesses, Mednick showed that get-ting adequate REM sleep is not onlycritical, but is a much more permanentsolution then downing a cup of coffee.More information about Dr. Med-nick’s research can be found at

www.takeanap.info.The conference also consisted of

networking breakfasts and activitiesdesigned for members to get to knoweach other better as well as severalone-hour break out sessions in 5 topicareas.

Leadership From the Inside OutKeynote speaker Jennifer Sertl spokein a breakout session using themetaphor of a light bulb’s wattage todescribe how to ‘separate your focus.’She told everyone to decide a ‘wattage’of focus they have in a given incrementof time (weeks or months) and to sep-arate that wattage into a certain portionfor each category including internal re-lationships, external relationships, or-ganization, implementation, industryeducation and reflection.

Sertl also encouraged attendeesto make a list of 18 people they hopeto meet in their lifetime. This list is

not so much about meeting the per-son, but about knowing how to han-dle the situation if you were to meetthe person.

“You can’t admire a quality insomeone without having that qualityor the potential for that quality inyourself,” said Sertl.

Social MediaSocial Media guru Helen Todd gave abasic overview of how a business’ so-cial networking presence can reachmore clientele if used correctly. Shegave tips on how often to post on so-cial media pages, what to post andother advertising options within socialmedia that can garner attention for


Genuine Mazda parts are specifically designed, engineered and tested for Mazda vehicles. Customers and repair professionals prefer the quality and satisfaction that only comes from genuine Mazda parts.

Galpin MazdaVan Nuys818-778-2005Fax 818-778-2090www.galpin.com

Give your customers what they deserve... The Best.

SO. CALIFORNIA

Order your Genuine Mazda Parts from one of these parts specialists in your area.

Mazda 3 ‘11

Jessica Rose Crowley (L) receiving theCornerstone Scholarship Recipient Awardfrom Teresa Bolton (ASA) and Mary Kunz (R)

Lauren Fix

All 2011 scholarship winners lined up at the Opening Session

With attendance of over 150, sessions andnetworking games were quite busy

Dr. Sara Mednick

See WIN, Page 51

Current industry trends—and a lookahead at the electric, fuel-efficient andChinese vehicles that could be show-ing up in collision shops in the comingyears—were the focus of onespeaker’s presentation at the recentWomen’s Industry Network (WIN)conference.

Greg Horn, vice president of in-dustry relations for Mitchell Interna-tional, told about 160 attendees at theWIN event in San Diego, that onepositive trend for collision repairershad been the rebound through earlythis year in the total miles driven byU.S. motorists.

“But we’re starting to see the ef-fect of gas prices impact the miles wedrive,” Horn cautioned.

He said that MasterCard Spend-ingPulse, which tracks gas purchasesat hundreds of U.S. locations, reportedin early May that the 4-week averageof retail gas demand had dropped forthe sixth consecutive time.

“So we’re potentially in for apretty significant impact as we get toearly summer in the reduction of acci-dents and repairable cars,” Horn said.

He said insurer data indicated anuptick in claims in the third- andfourth-quarters of last year, boosted inpart by some extensive hail and stormdamage in several regions of the coun-try.

Shops also have benefited from asizable rise in the value of used vehi-cles, which allows for higher repaircosts before a vehicle reaches the totalloss threshold. Horn said the averagevehicle appraised in the first quarter of2011, for example, had an actual cashvalue of $12,772, up from the samequarter a year earlier even though theaverage age of the vehicles appraisedin 2011 was almost a year older thanthat in 2010.

“So a car is older but worth morein value,” Horn said. “That’s a goodthing for us in the collision repairbusiness because that means we havemore opportunity to repair the cars.We’ll put more in the repair columnthan we will the total loss column.”

The percentage of vehicles de-clared a total loss dipped slightly in2010, and Horn and others expect thattrend to continue this year. Higher gas

prices and the vehicle production dis-ruption caused by the earthquake andtsunami in Japan continue to buoy de-mand and prices for used vehicles, hepointed out.

“That 3-year-old Honda Accordis 20 percent more valuable than itwas last September, and the 3-year-old(Nissan) Sentra is up 12 percent,”Horn cited as examples.

Horn also discussed the impactthat increases to federal fuel economy

standards are hav-ing on automak-ers. In late 2009,the Corporate Av-erage Fuel Econ-omy (CAFE)requirements werechanged to requireeach automaker by2016 (rather thanby 2020, as earlier

established) to sell a fleet that aver-ages 35.5 miles per gallon.

“That is an ambitious goal,” Hornsaid. “A lot of auto manufacturers forwhom it takes four years to get fromthe drawing board to the showroomfloor, are in a state of panic.”

Global automakers, Horn said,are looking at the most fuel-efficientcars they sell elsewhere in order tobring those vehicles into the U.S. mar-ket. Though its late summer debut hasbeen delayed indefinitely by the situ-ation in Japan, the Scion IQ is one ex-

ample of new micro-cars coming toU.S. streets. The tiny vehicle, poweredby a 90-horsepower, 1.3-liter 4-cylin-der engine, will be sold as a 4-passen-ger vehicle even though the headrestsfor those in the backseats butt upagainst the back glass. Horn said tohelp the vehicle meet federal safetystandards, it has nine airbags.

“The good news is you’re goingto survive the crash. You’ll suffocateafterwards, but you’ll survive thecrash,” Horn joked.

Similarly, Chevrolet is introduc-ing the Sonic, a less-well-equippedversion of the Aveo, Horn said, andNissan is introducing the $9,000Micra (on which the radio and air con-ditioning are options). Chrysler willbring in the Fiat 500, which is fourinches shorter than a Mini Cooper,and Mini is showing a concept vehi-cle that is a foot shorter than its exist-ing vehicles.

The problem with many such ve-hicles for collision repairers, Hornsaid, is their low values will tend toput them into the total loss categoryeven with only minor damage.

The Ford Fiesta is coming backinto the U.S. market at about $14,000,Horn cited as one example. One of thevehicle’s distinctive features are its

long Xenon headlights, which stretchmuch of the length of the fender and,as Horn said, “are about half an inchfrom the edge of the front bumpercover.” Replacements sell for $480each.

“In a couple years when thosecars are valued at about $10,000, rear-ending someone and having the bagsblow and the windshield and both ofthose headlights go? You’re not goingto be fixing a lot of those Ford Fies-


AudiGenuine Parts

Order Audi Genuine Parts from these select Dealers

Nothing else measures up.

Audi ofDowntown LALOS ANGELES213-747-7248213-222-1261 FaxAsk for Carlos or Fausto

Circle AudiLONG BEACH800-675-2472562-597-2854 FaxAsk for Eddie or Nate

So. California

with Ed Attanasio

Shop and Product Showcase

with Ed Attanasio

Shop Showcase

with Erica SchroederShop Showcase

The Right Causewith Mike Causey

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].

Industry Trends and Changes in Future Vehicles at WIN Conference

Ford Fiesta’s replacement headlights cost$480 each

Greg Horn,Mitchell VP,

Industrial Relations

ScionIQ, a new microcar was to have sold inthe US in late summer, has nine airbags

your business.Todd favored social media giant

Facebook during the presentation, cit-ing that most of the conference atten-dees used Facebook above othersocial networking mediums to pro-mote their businesses.

She also favored a social mediapresence over a traditional websitechiefly due to the fact that a website is

really a ‘brochure’ about your servicesand business while a social mediapage is interactive and allows users tocreate a conversation about your serv-ices and business—a marketing toolthat cannot be quantified. Socialmedia questions can be directed [email protected]

You Are Your Business CardAnn Fulton presented a lively discus-sion about how important it is to dressappropriately for your own profes-sional, age and lifestyle and how to

important your own personal coloringis in selecting clothes and accessories.Ann is the owner of Never Pay Retailin Denver, CO.

Lean in the Front OfficeEmphasis has been placed on focusingon lean processes in body shops how-ever going lean also applies to processesand organization in the front desk areaof any business. There is a large amountof paperwork involved in any repairshop, and assuring that the paperwork isflowing quickly and correctly through-out the job is essential. Eliminating re-dundancy and clutter and accuratelylabeling all supplies is a quick way toget started. The quickest, most efficentway paperwork can flow is the path itshould take.

Hot Button Employment IssuesJim Webber, an experienced employ-ment lawyer and human resources man-ager from Washington state, led thissession focused on legal requirements

for employers. Thesession covered ha-rassment issues andprevention, work-place ethics, andtips for supervisors.Webber pointed outthat investigating

harassment and discrimination com-plaints can be stressful and frightening.The outcome of an investigation pro-vides the basis for critical employmentdecisions and a prompt, thorough andunbiased review is an essential part ofboth preventing liability and maintaininga healthy workplace. Webber created theblog Evil Skippy at Work to provide anentertaining view of what makes work-places great and not-so-great. See thisblog at www. evilskippyatwork.com andalso at www.jimwebber.net.

SponsorsThe WIN event was sponsored by Ak-zoNobel, Allstate, ASE, BASF Refin-ishing, Enterprise, DuPont, State FarmInsurance, Hertz, 3M, Sterling Auto-body Centers, GEICO, Fix Auto,CARSTAR, PPG, Marco’s CollisionCenters, CSi Complete, ABRA AutoBody and Glass, LKQ, CAPA, FinishMaster, Symphony Advisors, 1-800Radiator, Sherwin-Williams Automo-tive Finishes, Mitchell Internationaland CCC Information Services.

“WIN has accomplished so muchthanks to the support from our mem-bers and sponsors ... we are incrediblyfortunate and ever grateful for theirgenerosity,” said Kim White.

For more information visitwww.womensindustrynetwork.org.

tas,” Horn told the audience at theWIN conference.

Automakers also will continue totry to shed weight from vehicles in aneffort to meet tougher fuel economystandards, Horn said. That’s whyshops are already seeing increased useof exotic alloys, titanium and alu-minum. BMW cut 50 pounds from its5-series by making the engine cradleout of plastic, Horn said.

“This is going to change how weput cars back together,” Horn cau-tioned. “The B-pillar for the Volkswa-gen Passat comes from the factory

laser-welded in. Most techs wouldopen the doors, look at the number ofwelds, drill out the welds and try toweld it back in. Volkswagen does notallow for that. In the collision repairenvironment, their requirement is thatyou use adhesive bonding to put thetwo pieces, the inner and outer B-pil-lar, back together. Because it’s aboron-alloy steel, if you weld it backin and you apply too much heat to itin the MIG welding process, you canactually weaken the structure of thatmetal, throw off the pillar airbag sen-sors, and potentially cause some se-

vere harm to the passengers in a sub-sequent collision.”

Horn closed his presentation witha look at some of the vehicles thatChinese automakers—a number ofwhich have plans to enter the U.S.market—currently produce. Horn saidGreat Wall Motors is predicting a U.S.launch in 2015, following the modelused by Kia some years ago, withsales in several states and entry intothe rental fleet. The company will usefeedback from that limited launch tomake improvements before selling ona broader scale.

Horn said the expected low cost ofearly Chinese vehicles in this countrywill likely lead to more totals than re-paired vehicles. But the success of anyof the Chinese automakers here willlargely be dependent on their ability toset up the replacement parts infrastruc-ture that is needed, Horn said. SterlingMotors and Daihatsu, he said, failedlargely because a lack of parts availabil-ity led to repair delays and total losses.

“The folks that have the best in-frastructure for supporting their brandwill be the Chinese brands that sur-vive going forward,” Horn said.


Your Source for Wholesale Volvo Parts

Right Part. Right Price.Right Now.

Trust your order to the collision parts specialists at these fine Dealers

volvo Genuine parts

No.California

Carlsen VolvoPALO ALTO

650-493-3205800-70-VOLVOwww.carlsenvolvo.com

Sanderson Volvo of PhoenixGLENDALE

888-249-3673623-842-8799 [email protected]

Galpin VolvoVAN NUYS

818-778-2005818-778-2090 Fax

www.galpin.com

So.California

Arizona

Jim Webber


WIN

The Collision Industry Foundation(CIF) is proud to announce its dona-tion of $1,650 to the American RedCross to benefit the victims of theJapan tsunami from the donationsmade through the Collision IndustryConference (CIC).

The donations were collected atthe CIC meeting held at the Meadow-lands Expo Center in New Jersey thispast March after industry memberToby Chess suggested a collection

for those in need.“It’s always heartwarming to see

people, even in these hard times,reach out to help others who have lostso much” said Bill Shaw, Presidentof the CIF Board of Trustees.

Relief and clean-up efforts areongoing in Japan due to the cata-strophic levels of devastation that re-sulted from the earthquake andsubsequent tsunami back on March11, 2011.

CIF Makes Donation to Japan Tsunami Relief

Challenges—they seem like they’realways coming up. Since I did the CarWarriors TV show, where we were al-ways fighting the clock with only 72hours to build a complete car, it seemslike everybody wants to hit me with atime challenge. My buddy, Diggity

Dave, you might know him from thePimp My Ride TV show, called me upto throw out a challenge.

Dave backed his 2002 Escaladeinto a brick wall and ripped about athree inch tear down the right quarterpanel. He also hit the rear bumper andtore the right molding. Here’s the realproblem: Dave’s got to have his SUVback the following day, which is ex-actly 24 hours, because he’s got a bigmeeting for a new movie he’s doingand he can’t show up with his ridedamaged.

Now he’s asking to get this fixedin 24 hours (seemingly impossible,right?) so I’m thinking how to create aprocess that can make this happen in24 hours. I’ve got to replace the quar-ter panel, the rear bumper and themolding. To top it off, he says, ‘I’vegot zero budget’ so this is a ‘bro deal.’I’ve got to do what I’ve got to do anduse what I have on the table.

Here are the steps and theprocesses that I used to beat the clock.You can judge if I was successful. Thefirst thing I decide is ‘no parts,’ we’vegot to fix everything. I see that I needto cut a window—try to keep every-thing as small as possible—especiallyto cut and replace a piece with anotherpiece of metal. The metal was actually20 gauge, so I checked the gauge ofmetal to make sure I was replacing itexactly.

I cut a piece out of the quarterpanel, then cut the ripped area out ofthat so I can flatten the panel. I wasable to get inside it and get the struc-ture part of it straight using a slide

hammer. When I cut my panel I madesure that the top and the lower part ofthe quarter panel still had a spot weldholding it to the inner structure. Thisway when I come in with the slidehammer the quarter panel is still goingto move, because otherwise I’ll have

to put this up on the frame rack andpull it. I needed to avoid all that be-cause of the time constraints.

This actually worked out prettywell. I got my window in there, cutout the damaged piece of metal. NowI can flatten out the piece that I cut outto use as a pattern. I get another pieceof metal, I use the break and bend it. Iclamp the piece I cut out of the metalon there, scribe it, come back, cut itout. I actually keep them both togetherand use the nibbler to follow around itas close as I can get it and then followup with the grinder. That means it’sexactly the shape and size I need.

If you’re putting your template onthe outside, you’re going to be a littlebit smaller on the inside because ofwhere that break is. It’s actually goingto cause you to be a 20 gauge short somake sure you keep the length at theend if you’re coming from the inside.If you want to use the pattern on the in-side then you’ll be an 1/8th inch longerbecause you want this piece to fit.

So you can either TIG weld it orMIG weld it. You’ve got to take yourtime either way. I’m going to TIGweld it. I’ll actually put it in with theMIG welder just to get it set where Ineed it and then come back with theTIG welder but before that I need toshape the metal with the EnglishWheel and flatten it all out. To get itthe right shape you’re going to needto fit it a couple times, go back andforth, fit it until you’ve got your con-tour right.

As soon as it’s fitting as close asyou can get it, you’re ready to tack it

in. Take your time as you weld it.Weld very small areas, keep heat con-trol because you don’t want it to warpand then you’ve got to watch the restof the metal. If you see it start to suckin, get your nail gun and pull out yourlow areas. Every time you weld it,

check it. This will save you a lot oftime and a lot of Bondo™. A lot ofguys want to slap Bondo™ over it buttry to outsmart the metal. That givesyou more seat time under your belt towhere you can utilize this process onanother project.

So after getting it welded in, Ihave a little metal finishing to do. I’lldo a skim coat of mud over it just totrue it in, get some of those low spotsbecause I don’t have a lot of time tometal finish it completely with a file.So I shape it with a skim coat.

I usually never skim coat any-thing any more than twice—once justto get the 36 grit scratches out and anypinholes. Using the 3M DynamicMixing System is key for me. Eversince I started using it I don’t have anypinholes. I don’t have to mix


Repairing Quarter Panel, Bumper, and Molding: No Time, No Money

Custom Cornerwith Rich Evans

On Creative Marketingwith Thomas Franklin

Action Countswith Lee Amaradio Jr.

with Sheila LoftusYour Turn

Opinions Countwith Dick Strom

Shop Showcasewith Janet Chaney

Industry Overviewwith Janet Chaney

Industry Interviewwith Janet Chaney

Industry Insightwith John Yoswick

Rich Evans is the owner of Huntington Beach Bodyworks and an award winning painter andfabricator. He offers workshops in repair and customization at his facility to share his uniquetalents. For contacts and design samples visit www.huntingtonbeachbodyworks.com


Bondo™, I don’t have to worry aboutthe mixture, don’t have to worry aboutair making the pinholes. If you don’tknow about the 3M Dynamic MixingSystem, check it out. It’s a big timesaver and gives you better quality re-sults, less waste, more productivity.It’s everything you need in one gun.

Once I get the body work done,I’m come back in with some PCLPrimer. I’m going to load the primerup and hit it with some 80 grit, 3Mlongboard. Then I’m going to comeback and get rid of the 80 grit

scratches with 150. Then I guide coatit again, come back with 400 wet.Now I’m ready for paint.

I’m going to apply the sealer, thebase coat and the clear coat. Whateversystem you guys are using in yourshop, go with that.

I still have the bumper and theside molding to fix. I don’t know howmany guys are using the 08115—thepanel bonding adhesive—but I lovethis stuff. Every day I find a new usefor it. This stuff sands really well, itdries and hardens really true, and it’sflexible—so I’m using it as a plasticrepair product. It usually takes 24hours to cure but if you hit it with aheat lamp you can get it to cure withinan hour or two. I know a lot of guysuse it for putting quarter panels on,which is a better process, less weld-ing, less work. It’s a better repair at theend of the day because when you’repriming each side of the panel and theinner structure of the quarter panelthen it’s taking the place of corrosion

protection, less welding, less sparks,less interior that has to come apart. It’sactually a stronger bond then a weld.This stuff is amazing. Technology ischanging and you’ve got to changewith it. The gun makes it a lot easier toapply it. I’m usually feeling prettyspoiled by 3M, they’re definitely thego-to for me when it comes to newproducts, anything and everything.3M just about carries it all.

Getting back to the body work, Ilay the panel bonding adhesive on thedamage area—the bumper—instead

of using Bondo™. This is going to ad-here and it’s not going to shrink. Isand it with 80 grit on the plastic. Ishape it just like the Bondo™. Youwant to heat these panels first, shapeit, get its best shape, take all the lowareas out, file it down with some 80.Come back for the cracks and any lowareas, and fill it with the panel bond-ing adhesive. I sand it with 80, feathereverything with 150, then 320 aroundthat. Then back with the PCL flexibleprimer. It’s more a flexible, durableproduct for anything moving. Youwant to make sure you use the rightproducts, especially on a project likethis where I don’t have any extra roomto breathe. I can’t take any chances ofsomething messing up on me.

Next is getting into the paintbooth, getting my color on, come backin with my Transtar clear with the HThardener, zap that on there. I didn’tuse a two-hour clear which is a bitmore yellowish. I apply my threecoats as I always do.

Now we’re down to about threehours before Diggity comes to pickthis vehicle up and that gives me justenough time to put the bumper and thebumper sensors on, apply the mold-ing, and get the tail light back in.

That’s another project, anotherclock, another challenge under mybelt. Diggity comes and is just blownaway that I ‘pulled another rabbit outof the hat’ as he put it. I tell people‘never think negative, always go withthe positive.’ Think “hey, I can dothat,” put yourself to the challenge.

Make sure you keep your quality be-cause that’s everything. Make sureyou do your fits, stay at your level, askquestions. I’m glad I was able to helpa good buddy out, Diggity Dave fromPimp My Ride.

Hopefully, this will help some ofyou guys in similar situations whenyou get into a time constraint or evenif you want to save a few bucks if

you’re doing this for a friend or fam-ily or somebody that doesn’t have the

money to fix it or if you owe a favor tosomebody, this is a good way to uti-lize the money because this job wouldrun about $4,000 maybe $4,500 by thetime you got done buying the rearbumper, quarter panel, tail light, mold-ing, and all the materials involved init.

So Diggity Dave came up $4,500to the good. He owes me a favor nowso I’ll hit him up when I’m ready formy favor and maybe I’ll have to puthim through the same test he put methrough. A challenge on the table, race

against the clock, at the end of the day,his car’s done in 24 hours and I’m onto the next one—that’s what I live for.Live, breathe and eat building cars,fixing them—never too good to workon anything.

My daily focus is waking up andhaving something else to work onand always trying to get the coolerprojects. If you don’t use it you loseit, that’s the key to my game. I’mnever too good to do something and Iexpect you guys to be the same way,always try to better yourself at whatyou do, everyday try to learn some-thing new.

I want to thank 3M for their prod-ucts, especially what I call the ‘Bondogun’: the 3M Dynamic Mixing Sys-tem, and the panel bonding adhesive.

Tune into Car Warriors everyWednesday night on Speed channel,go to my Facebook fan page, RichEvans Designs, and stay up with meon my daily challenges and projects.We’ll talk to you next month!

Rich shows Diggity Dave the cutouts he did torepair the quarter panel

As shop owners and techs know, carmaintenance isn’t just under the hood.A cracked windshield is a safety risk.It can impair the driver’s vision and putpassengers at risk.

Most automotive safety expertsrank the windshield as the third mostimportant safety component in today’svehicles, behind seatbelts and airbags.Laws require seatbelt use and preventtampering with airbags, but there areno laws that govern replacement wind-shield installation.

The Auto Glass ReplacementSafety Standards Council (AGRSS)promotes safe auto glass industry stan-dards, which an auto glass technicianshould follow. Consumers should askthese questions before a replacementwindshield installation:• Will the old adhesive be removedfrom the vehicle frame? If the adhesiveisn’t removed down to the adhesivemanufacturer’s recommended level,the fit may not be tight and the new ad-hesive won’t bond correctly.

• Will the technician wear gloves tokeep from contaminating the glass? Ifoil and dirt get on the edges, the newadhesive (called urethane) may notbond correctly.• Will the new urethane adhesivestand up to the high deployment pres-sure of airbags? The best availablemanufacturer equivalent urethane ad-hesive should be used, not butyl tape.Ask for adhesive made by Dow, Sikaor the original car maker’s adhesivesupplier.

• How long does the urethane adhesiveneed to set until the vehicle can bedriven? Every urethane has a “safedrive-away time.”

For more information, visitwww.glassdoctor.com.

Auto Glass Replacement Safety Standards Council Promotes Fixing Damaged Windshields


on Facebook


The other day I was teaching I-CAR’sworkers protection program and I hadthe techs show me their blowers. (I’mreferring to the nozzle blowers on airhoses here, not hand-held dryers.) Ifound 3 illegal ones. I asked the ques-tion “How much is the OSHA fine forthese blowers?” and the productionmanager said it was $7000. I was inArizona, not California, at the time. Iinquired if the shop had been fined andhis reply was “I read your article and Iam in the process of getting OSHA ap-proved blowers.” It made me feel thatall this work is worthwhile. Let’s getstarted on the second installment of thearticle.

Electrical• Check all extension cords for dam-age (repaired with electrical tape andbroken grounds are a big no no).• All high voltage boxes labeled witha DANGER Sign• All outlet covers installed• Are all energized parts of electricalcircuits and equipment guardedagainst accidental contact by ap-proved cabinets or enclosures?• Make sure there is a 3 foot barriermarked around all electrical boxes

Walkways• Make sure that all in ground pullingpots are flush with surface when notin use. Most of the time the covers are

bent and they are out on the floor,which creates a tripping hazard.

• Do you have a spill containmentcontainer (absorbent material in asmall garbage can works, but it mustbe marked and placed in accessiblearea.)

Safety & Signage

• Do you have an OSHA approvedfirst aid kit?

You will also need the proper sig-nage.Speaking of signage, here are some of

the more common ones that areneeded in the body shop.Flammable and Combustible Materials• Is proper storage practiced tominimize the risk of fire includingspontaneous combustion?• Are all hazardous drums withflammable materials grounded?• Are all flammable liquids kept in

closed containers when not in use?• Are stored oxygen tanks sepa-rated by 25 feet from flammablestored gas cylinders?• Does the facility have enough fireextinguishers as per city ordinances?• Are all fire extinguishers chargedand are properly tagged (you alsohave someone in the shop check and

Tech Notes

National News in BriefWEB WINDOW: - www.autobodynews.com

Regional News in BriefWEB WINDOW: - www.autobodynews.com

with Jeremy HayhurstPublisher’s Page

with Karyn HendricksShop Showcase

with David M. BrownShop Showcase

Shop Showcasewith Jeremy Hayhurst

Hey Toby!with Toby Chess

California Autobody Associationwith David McClune

Collision Repair Association of CA.with Richard Steffen

Insurers Excel at Steeringwith Richard Steffen

Year in Quoteswith John Yoswick

Transition Planningwith John Yoswick

Mainstream Media

My Turnwith Joe Momber

Toby Chess is an I-CAR program instructor, Welding specialist, and former salvage yardoperator. Toby is universally known in the collision industry for his charitable works,worthy causes, and magic tricks. He can be reached at [email protected]

Getting OSHA-Compliant on Signage, Electrical and Power Tools

sign the tags once amonth)?• Do you have aclass D fire extin-guisher for a magne-sium fire?

Here is a chart of thesymbols on the fire ex-tinguisher and what ma-terials it can be used.• Are all fire extin-guishers free from ob-struction?• Is a fire extin-guisher mounted within10 feet of any insidestorage area of flamma-ble materials?

Power Tools• Are portable fans providedwith full guards or screens having

openings of ½ inch or less?• Are all power tools havegrounded cords?

Batteries• Are batteries stored on a spillcontainment tray?

The next article will deal with MSDSsheets and safety programs that arenecessary for OSHA compliance.


The Insurance Research Council(IRC) found in a survey that 68% ofadults oppose local governmentscharging accident response fees to in-dividuals involved in traffic accidents,according to their insurance industrysurvey. Requiring insurance compa-nies, rather than the individuals in-volved in an accident, to pay accidentresponse fees had little impact on thelevel of support for accident responsefees. Lawmakers in a dozen stateshave enacted legislation prohibitinglocal governments from imposing ac-cident response fees. Several morehave debated similar legislation. Theinsurance industry generally opposeslocal response fees. When told that re-quiring insurance companies to payaccident response fees could meanhigher auto insurance costs, 69 per-cent of survey respondents disagreedwith the idea of local governmentscharging accident response fees.

“Efforts to fund emergency re-sponse services through accident re-sponse fees stand in direct conflict withthe fundamental notion that certaingovernment services should be paid for

by all taxpayers—not just those whoare unlucky enough to actually needthe services,” said Elizabeth Sprinkel,senior vice president of the IRC.

The study, Public Attitude Moni-tor 2011, Accident Response Fees,was based on telephone interviewswith 1,012 adults countrywide con-ducted in January 2011 by the marketresearch firm Harris Interactive.

The IRC results track with an-other survey by Harris Interactive forthe Property Casualty Insurers Asso-ciation of America that also foundthese fees unpopular. In that survey,three out of four adults (76 percent)said they believe their taxes cover thetime and services provided by emer-gency response providers following atraffic accident and additional acci-dent response fees charged by localgovernments are not necessary. TheIRC results track with those of an-other survey by the Property casualtyInsurers of America (PCI). Three outof four adults believe their taxes coverthe time and services provided byemergency response providers fol-lowing a traffic accident.

Americans Oppose Accident Response Fees

Chrysler Group repaid $7.6 billion inloans to the U.S. and Canadian govern-ments on May 23, nearly two yearsafter the No. 3 automaker was rescued.The company said it made a paymentof $5.9 billion to the U.S. Treasury and$1.7 billion to Export DevelopmentCanada, retiring loans that allowedChrysler to exit bankruptcy in June2009. Chrysler completed repaymentof the loans six years ahead of sched-

ule. “Less than two years ago, we madea commitment to repay the U.S. andCanadian taxpayers in full and todaywe made good on that promise,” Ser-gio Marchionne said. Previously Mar-chionne announced, “Chrysler isundergoing an extraordinary industrialand financial turnaround, and Fiat isready to take control, in order to bringeven greater stability and strength to therelationship in the interests of both.”

BASF& AASP Official Sponsors of Repairer Driven EducationSCRS says BASF is the first officialsponsor of SCRS’ 2011 RepairerDriven Education (RDE) program atSEMA 2011.

It is the second year in a row thatBASF has been first to commit sup-port to RDE, which will take place inthe afternoons on each day of theSEMA Show in Las Vegas this No-vember. The resources sponsors pro-vide serve as a foundation for theprogram, and demonstrate the com-mitment participating companies havein regard to industry education.

“For over a decade, we have beenincreasing our support for collision re-pair educational and improvementprograms,” explained BASF Managerof OEM and Industry Relations JoeSkurka, whose company is commit-ting to RDE at the Master’s level. “Wewant our customers to thrive, not justsurvive, and helping provide the toolsto make this happen is one of our corestrategies. We see both SCRS and theRepairer Driven Education series asviable opportunities to support thisstrategy.”

Chrysler Repays Government Bailout Loans Six Years Ahead

Barrett Smith, with Autodamage Ex-perts, has released a voice recordingof a call made by a representative ofInfinity Insurance to one of Ray Gun-der’s customers. Listen for yourselfby downloading the WAV file atwww.autobodynews.com.

The recordings have been widelyquoted in the appealed case which wasrecently resolved in favor of StateFarm.

Smith comments: “This type ofunderhanded practice goes on moreoften than most are aware or wouldlike to believe and needs to be cur-tailed, and one sure way is for it to beexposed to the masses and for thosewho conduct themselves in this wayto fear exposure.

“For those of you who know RayGunder and the manner in which Gun-der’s Auto Center operates, listeningto this recording will likely make yourblood boil... it did mine. This “sup-posed” claim professional is tryingtheir best to interfere with and under-mine the relationship between Gun-der’s and at least one of its customers.Who knows how many times thistakes place?

Continues Smith, “One has to askthemselves, what type of person hasthe lack of conscience and nerve to lieto a customer about a shop in which

this claim-person has never dealt withor have first hand information to sup-port what they say?

“The simple fact is she doesn’tand it is apparent she is merely doingas told and reading from a preparedword track intended and designed todisparage Gunder’s good name anddestroy the confidence the customerhad in selecting Gunder’s. A selectionbased upon their experience in havingtheir vehicles repaired at Gunder’smore than once in years past, and haveearned their respect!

“This so-called claim profes-sional likely considers herself to be ahonest and ethical person who caresfor her family and attends church onSunday; but on Monday, goes to workand does things that she is told….re-gardless if right or wrong and does sodespite her personal, ethical or moralconvictions, just as a mercenary or apaid assassin would go about theirbusiness, hiding behind the corporateInfinity Badge.

“So one has to ask why a large in-surance company would do this? Sim-ple, because they have an agenda tocontrol the collision industry and theyhave done so without being held ac-countable and have reaped huge prof-its. Profits that were once the collisionrepairers.

“The very scary part; they andothers who chose to conduct businessin this manner will continue to do soto discourage any repairers whochoose to step up and say no to un-derpayments for necessary processesand materials needed to properly servetheir clients.”

Ray Gunder adds, “Know thisand take serious heed. As long as therewards outweigh the risks, like a childsneaking cookies, insurers will con-tinue to increase their efforts to profitoff the backs of others’ hard work andsweat while avoiding the liabilities thatcome with underpaid repairs. And ifyou don’t merely submit and allowthem free reign over your business,you too will become a victim of thisvile and unethical practice of lies anddeceit about you and your business.

“Just like slapping the child’s handfor taking too many cookies, or punch-ing the bully in the nose when he comesto take your lunch money, it’s onlywhen the risks begin to outweigh the re-wards that bad behaviors will change.

“Each repair professional outthere needs to make a conscientious

choice to either become a part of thesolution or remain part of the problem.The choice is yours. Use it wisely.

“As for Gunder’s, we will con-tinue to do our part to instill account-ability and deter insurers fromharming us and our customers. Thereis strength in numbers and together wecon conquer these types of practicesin a short time frame… regardless,you can be assured I’ll continue to“Pound That Rock.” The person orpersons responsible for these slander-ous, outrageous lies (Lisa Whitehurstbeing one of them) will be held per-sonally accountable. I have to wonderif she knows the effect her hurtful liescould have the twenty-five familiesdependent on work at Gunder’s AutoCenter, all of which are honest, hard-working, ethical people. Is it okay tohide behind her “Infinity CorporateBadge” and attack anyone she’s toldby management to suppress theirvoice? Opinions welcome.”

Ray GunderGunder’s Auto Center(863) 688-7897


THESE DEALERS ARE GENUINE WHOLESALE PARTS SPECIALISTS.

CALIFORNIA

Elk Grove ToyotaELK GROVE

916-405-4700800-952-5307916-405-8045 FaxMon. - Fri. 7am - 7pm;Sat. 8am - 5pm

www.elkgrovetoyota.com

Gunder Supporters Release Infinity Insurance’s Voice Recordings, Insurer Apologizes

On May 3, Infinity Insurance’s Re-gional Claims Manager, Tim Wal-dron, called and spoke to RayGunder of Gunder’s Auto Center inLakeland, FL, and repeatedly apolo-gized for the recent comments madeby an Infinity claims person to one ofGunder’s customers who captured iton a recorder.

The voice heard is that of Infin-ity Insurance Claim Person, LisaWhitehurst saying the followingword track to one of Gunder’s AutoCenter’s customers: “I spoke with ourre-inspector, who went out and re-in-spected the vehicle at the body shop,”Whitehurst said in the message. “Hesaid that this body shop has beenknown to give us issues in the pastwith other vehicles that they’ve re-paired and apparently they are knownfor overcharging a great deal for theamount of damages and trying to addthings that aren’t relevant to, youknow, the repairs. They’re alsoknown for holding the vehiclehostage until all the payment ismade.”

As a result of the egregiousstatements made by Infinity’s repre-sentative, Ray Gunder immediatelycontacted his legal counsel, BrentGeohagan, who promptly sent a let-ter placing the insurer’s claims man-ager on notice and demanding thatInfinity Insurance agree and confirm,in writing within 10 days, that suchwrongful conduct on behalf of anyInfinity Insurance representative willcease and desist immediately with nore-occurrences. In response, TimWaldron, Infinity Insurance Com-pany’s Regional Claims Manager,called and spoke to Ray Gunder per-sonally and repeatedly apologizedfor the recent comments and conductof the claims person and her man-ager and advised Ray that this wasan isolated incident and further as-sured him that the matter would beaddressed and that no such conductwould take place in the future withGunder’s nor any other repairersstating: “this is not the way Infinityconducts its business.” Ray Gundersays he has accepted the apology.

Infinity Insurance Apologizes for Gunder’sAuto Center Customer Recordings


Acura & Hondaof the DesertCathedra l C i ty

760-770-0828 Honda

760-321-2700 Acura

760-328-2489 Shared FaxM-F 7-6 Honda/Acura

Sat 7-5 Honda

SO. CALIFORNIA

Galpin HondaVan Nuys

818-778-2005818-778-2090 Faxwww.galpin.com

reinsurance, including OneBeacon.Allstate, which has seen its per-

sonal lines business shrink, said thedeal lets it expand its service to con-sumers who prefer to buy direct onlinerather than through personal agents. Itallows it to compete with Progressiveand Geico, which have strong web in-surance shopping sites.

“Consumers today expect to havetheir specific needs met by their insur-ance companies. Our strategy is tofocus on individual preferences andutilize different value propositions fordistinct consumer segments,” saidThomas J. Wilson, Allstate’s president,chairman and chief executive officer.He said Allstate agencies do “an out-standing job of serving customers whowant a local personal touch and preferto purchase a branded product.” ButEsurance will expand the company’sability to serve customers who are“more self-directed but still prefer abranded product.”

He said Answer Financial willstrengthen Allstate’s offering to indi-

viduals who want to be offered achoice between insurance carriers andare brand-neutral. The move has someAllstate agents concerned.

“Many Allstate agents are view-ing the proposed acquisition suspi-ciously. The company has beenhell-bent on growing its direct channelfor years, but only recently has it hadany success,” said Jim Fish, executivedirector of the National Association ofProfessional Allstate Agents, Inc.“Who knows, the success of the Es-urance business model and technologyplatform could ultimately improve andtransform Allstate’s direct channel intoa powerhouse. Should this come topass, Allstate agents would feel moreexpendable than ever.”

According to Fish, Allstate isshedding seasoned agencies in favor oflarger agencies with more staff. “[S]oadding this acquisition to the agents’woes, can only create more angst.Without a doubt, the agents want All-state to be successful – but not at theirexpense,” he said.

Allstate said Esurance and An-swer Financial will retain their brandnames. Esurance has some 1,7000 em-ployees and 14 regional offices. Wil-

son said Allstate would now be theonly company serving all of these con-sumer segments with unique insuranceofferings.

“This transaction is also attractivefor our shareholders. Association withAllstate will improve Esurance’s mar-keting effectiveness and it can lever-age our world-class pricing and claimcapabilities. This also offers us two ad-ditional sources of growth and an im-mediate increase in customerrelationships,” Wilson said.

Premiums for policies sold byboth Esurance and Answer Financialwere $1.2 billion in 2010. Gross pre-miums written by Esurance were $839million for the year. Esurance had839,000 policies-in-force, including328,000 policyholders at Answer Fi-nancial. The Esurance segment addedapproximately 65,000 policies-in-force during 2010, an increase of 8percent, according to the company.

The transaction has been ap-proved by both companies’ boards ofdirectors and is expected to close in fall2011. The transaction is subject to reg-ulatory and other customary closingconditions, including review by an-titrust authorities and state regulators.

White Mountains Chairman andCEO Raymond Barrette said the on-line insurance operation Allstate is ac-quiring has grown from a start-up torank among the top online insurers in10 years.

“We have happily invested signif-icant capital in what we believed was aunique business. Allstate agrees andcan now take it to a new level,“ Bar-rette said.

Continued from Front Page

Allstate Buys Esurance

Advertise in ourCLASSIFIED SECTION

for $50 percolumn inch!

And get a FREEOn-line Ad!

[email protected]

Place an ad in ourAutobody Marketplace

section of Autobody News.

The Ford/AAA Student Auto Skills isa nationwide automotive technologycompetition for high school juniorsand seniors interested in pursuing ca-reers as automotive service techni-cians.

The Oklahoma state champi-onships were held in Okmulgee at theend of April, and students from localschools were able to walk away aswinners—some with a ride to the na-tional portion of the competition in-hand.

The competition tests students’automotive knowledge, workmanshipand problem-solving abilities with awritten test as well as a race againstthe clock to diagnose and properly re-pair intentionally “bugged” vehicles.

Each year, Oklahoma StateUniversity Institute of Technologyin Okmulgee is the host for thisstatewide contest. This year’s con-test brought together juniors andseniors from 10 technology centersacross Oklahoma.

This year’s first place winningteam was from Moore Norman Tech-nology Center in Norman. StudentsLathan Springer and Donovan Pe-ters, along with instructor Lee Dow,made up the winning team. They willrepresent the state in the National

Hands-on Finals in June at FordHeadquarters in Dearborn, Michi-gan.

AAA Oklahoma and Ford MotorCompany sponsor the competition toencourage technically-minded youngpeople to pursue careers in the auto-motive service industry. At stake dur-ing the competition are scholarships,prizes and letters of recommendationto future employers.

In 2010, 10,500 automotive tech-nology students competed for a sharein a record-high $11.5 million inscholarships available through thestate and national competitions.

The winners of the competitionwere:• First Place: Lathan Springer, Dono-van Peters and instructor Lee Dowfrom Moore Norman TechnologyCenter in Norman.• Second Place: William Cotton,Payton McCuistion and instructorShelly Smith from Meridian Tech-nology Center in Stillwater.• Third Place: Cameron Kaiser,Matthew Hart and instructor DarrenBarnhill from Indian Capital Tech-nology Center in Muskogee.• Fourth Place: Ray Busby, DanielCarroll and instructor Stacy Estesfrom Red River Technology Center

Oklahoma Technical Students Place In Ford/AAAStudent Auto Skills Contest Held in Okmulgee


AUTOBODY MARKETPLACE

WWHHEEEELLSS AAMMEERRIICCAANine Locations in the USA!

888-4-FIX-RIM$109 to repair with this ad

wwwwww..ff iixxrr iimm..ccoomm

• Thousands of OEM Remanufactured Wheels in Stock

• Lifetime Guarantee• CNC Quality• Powder Coated

101

POLYCRACKE

RWaterborne Wax andWaterborne Wax andGrease RemoverGrease RemoverWaterborne Wax andGrease RemoverSINCE 1985SINCE 1985SINCE 1985

Available fromAvailable fromYOUR local Jobber orYOUR local Jobber or

CALL: 973.335.2828CALL: 973.335.2828FAX: 973.402.7222FAX: 973.402.7222

Available fromYOUR local Jobber or

CALL: 973.335.2828FAX: 973.402.7222

[email protected]@[email protected]

OEM WHEELS AT HUGE SAVINGSOEM WHEELS AT HUGE SAVINGSOEM WHEELS AT HUGE SAVINGS

[email protected]

Right on Price,Right on Price,Right on Time,Right on Time,Every Time!Every Time!

Right on Price,Right on Time,Every Time! Next day noon delivery to most of CA, AZ and NV

Pico Rivera, CA1-800EveryRim.com1-800EveryRim.com1-800EveryRim.com

• Stock Alloy & Steel Wheels— Used, Reconditioned —

New Replicas• We pay top dollar forstock take-off wheels

To advertise, call800-699-8251

Dupont Chromavision CameraModel # MA 90

Paint match for solvent or water base.Includes all accessories & carrying case.

$550.00 obo. Walt (805) 966-6220

FOR SALE

R134A A/C MachineRTI Model RHS780

Recover / Recycle / Deep vacuum /Charge automatically at the push

of a button.Excellent Condition: $1,850.00

Walt (805) 966-6220

FOR SALE

www.jneequipment.com

Need a Printout?Need a Printout?Need a Printout?These very affordable, user friendlyproducts will provide the before and

after printout required by mostinsurance companies.

Ü Quick and easy measuring of the vehicle.Ü Documentation by printout/save as a pdf.Ü Continuous update of the database.Ü Training Available.Ü Distributor enquiries welcome.Ü Financing Available.

For more information:

866-653-5639www.jneequipment.com

law in England to charge women andmen the same insurance premiums,and they responded to a consumer re-port regarding the reliability of un-derride guards on big rigs. The panel,as usual, fielded calls from listenerswith questions about their vehicles.

According to Audra, “EverythingI do is against the stereotype of theway the automotive industry is run.”

She cites the rarety of being awoman in charge of an auto shop, her

motto to “tell NOT sell,” and her focuson educating the customer about vehi-cle repairs, safety and after care, as ev-idence of what shops can do to makethemselves stand out amongst thecompetition.

Great Bear Auto164-16 Sanford AveFlushing, NY 11358718-762-6212www.greatbearautoshop.com


Great Bear Auto

[email protected] us!write us!www.autobodynews.com

CHECK IT OUT!


CALL 800-699-8251

The source for timely information that every

body shop needs!e-mail:

[email protected]

800-699-8251

To advertisecall Joe Momber at:

www.autobodynews.com

e-mail:[email protected]

800-699-8251

To advertisecall Advertising Sales at:


Promote your business with an exclusive article featuring

your products or services.

800-699-8251CALL: Joe Momber for details!

Promote your business with an exclusive article featuring

your products or services.

800-699-8251Call for details!

[email protected]

Want to Contribute to this Southwest Edition?Give us your opinion on matters affecting the industry.

write us!write us!


Autobody News WebsiteAutobody News Websiteat www.autobodynews.com

Register Your Email for OurSee the NEW

Free Monthly NewsletterFree Monthly Newsletter

State Farm to Phase out 24 Field Offices in MidwestState Farm plans to phase out two-dozen claims offices in three states infavor of “mobile workers” based inhomes, agent offices or collision-re-pair centers, the Bloomington-basedinsurer announced.

Some of the estimated 1,300 em-ployees affected in Illinois, Indiana andMichigan—including 17 at a Spring-field claims center—would remain inthe communities where they now work.

“It’s the changes in technology.Claims are more ‘virtual’ now, and wedidn’t necessarily need all of these fa-cilities,” said Missy Lundberg.

State Farm estimated it would

save $8 million in leasing and build-ing-operations costs in the next fiveyears.

While many workers would re-main in their current communities,some managers would move to consol-idated fields offices in the three states.

The consolidation includesclaims-processing centers in Marion,Collinsville, Champaign, Peoria, Mo-line, Rockford, Elmhurst, Tinley Parkand Arlington Heights.

The number of claims-processingcenters in Michigan and Indiana will bereduced from nine in each state to two.

Agent offices are not affected.


Autobody News June 2011 Western Edition

Documents