Northeastern Edition October 2014

Axalta Coating Systems, a leadingglobal supplier of liquid and powdercoatings, hosted Congressman BobGoodlatte, serving Virginia’s SixthCongressional District, at its FrontRoyal plant on September 8, 2014.

Congressman Goodlatte is visit-ing select industries in the area in sup-

port of local economic growth. LouPapa, Axalta Plant Manager, hostedthe congressman who addressed alarge group of employees.

“We enjoyed visiting with Con-gressman Goodlatte. Our Front Royalplant manufactures and distributeshigh quality paint products for cus-tomers in the Refinish and Industrialmarkets. We are proud of our teammembers and our products, and weare pleased that he took the time tovisit our facility,” said Papa.

“Axalta has an important presencein Warren County – both employingmany hardworking individuals andhelping to stimulate the local econ-omy,” said Congressman Goodlatte. “Iwas delighted to visit the Front Royalfacility to learn more about the workthey are doing and take questions fromteam members on some of the issuesfacing our nation today. I thank LouPapa and the team members in FrontRoyal for welcoming me.”

by Victoria Antonelli, Online Editor

A change in Jerry Ritieni’s routine onJuly 19 almost cost him close to $3million. When the Extreme Auto Bodyowner stopped at Cumberland Farmsin Syosset, NY, to buy $10 in QuickPic lottery tickets, he placed the ticketsin his center console, instead of theirusual spot—clipped to his visor mirror.

There they sat until Ritieni foundthe tickets a month and a half laterwhile searching for his Vermont housekeys. After entering the numbers on-line at his shop, he became a million-aire in the blink of an eye.

“I’m a joking-around kind of guy,so my son, friends and employees did-n’t believe that I had won the lotto,until I sped out of the parking lot,” saidthe Massapequa local. “Kenny [an em-

ployee] said, ‘I think he’s serious, hehasn’t left the shop during businesshours in 22 years, and he’s been gonefor almost an hour!’”

Ritieni, 48, says that he will con-tinue to work. “The money is life-eas-ing, not life-changing,” Ritieniexplains. “I never had a retirementplan, which was always a concern of

by Stacey Phillips, Assistant Editor

A federal court case involving over-time payment for employees underthe rules of the Fair Labor StandardsAct (FLSA) was filed in State CourtFebruary, 2014, and removed to theFederal Florida Southern DistrictCourt in July. The court’s ruling inSmoluk v. Action Auto Body, LLC, hasthe potential to clarify confusing andcontradictory positions from the De-partment of Labor and rulings bycourts with regard to exempt status foremployees in automotive repair.

The plaintiffs, Jospeh Smolukand Michelle Smoluk, are suing their

former employer, Franck Tatto andAction Auto Body, LLC., for damagesexceeding $15,000, excluding attor-neys’ fees or costs for breach ofagreement and unpaid wages underthe FLSA.

Franck Tatto and Action AutoBody, LLC., located in BrowardCounty, FL, deny the allegations. Incourt documents, the defendants saythe “… Plaintiffs have been paid allwages due in full and in a timely man-ner.”

According to the lawsuit, JospehSmoluk worked for Action Auto Bodyas a non-exempt service writer from

by Stacey Phillips, Assistant Editor

An attempted auto theft at a collisionrepair shop in Pittsburgh, PA on Au-gust 30 left the shop manager seri-ously injured in the hospital and ninecars damaged. Pittsburgh police areinvestigating the incident that tookplace at Ultimate Auto Body Shop, inbusiness for more than 30 years. MikeHarlack, the manager, noticed some-one getting into a new Subaru that hadjust been dropped off that morningand was ready to be put on the rack.

“He thought it was one of hisfriends at first,” said Joe Sokolowski,the owner of the shop. Sokolowski

said when the car started Harlackopened the door to stop the thief. Asurveillance video, aired on WTAEPittsburgh Action News 4, showedHarlack being dragged away by thecar before hitting the side of a towtruck and falling to the ground, with abroken leg. The thief sped away, hit-ting eight cars and totaling the Subarubefore running away.

Sokolowski said he wished thatHarlack wouldn’t have tried to stopthe thief. “I just hope he’s going to beokay,” said Sokolowski, who hasworked with Harlack since the shopfirst opened and considers his col-

Theft and Serious Injury at PA Auto Body Shop

Federal Court in FL to Rule on Overtime Pay UnderFLSA for Auto Repair Employees

See Lottery Winner, Page 6

Body Shop Owner’s Forgotten Lottery Ticket is aNearly-Lost $2.9 Million Winner

See Overtime Pay, Page 10

Axalta Coating System’s Front Royal Plant HostedCongressman Bob Goodlatte

Axalta Front Royal Plant Manager Lou Papa (l)and Congressman Bob Goodlatte (r)

Extreme Auto Body owner Jerry Ritieni infront of his NY shop with the winning ticket(Photo courtesty of VICTORALCORN.COM)

See Theft and Injury, Page 12

Presorted StandardUS Postage

PAIDSan Bernardino, CA

Permit #2244

P.O. BOX 1516, CARLSBAD, CA 92018

Change Service Requested

Northeastern Edition

New YorkDelaware

New JerseyPennsylvania

MarylandConnecticut

Rhode IslandMassachusetts www.autobodynews.com

YEARS3333

ww.autobodynews.comww

33

VOL. 4 ISSUE 7OCTOBER 2014

2 OCTOBER 2014 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

Acura of Westchester . . . . . . . . . . 48Amato Agency. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50Audi Wholesale Parts Dealers. . . . 59Axalta Coating Systems . . . . . . . . . 5B & R Associates. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39Baystate Chrysler-Jeep-Dodge-Ram . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

BMW Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . 55Car-Part.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6CarcoonAmerica Airflow Systems. 21Celette . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9Central Avenue Chrysler-Jeep-Dodge-Ram. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Certified Automotive PartsAssociation (CAPA) . . . . . . . . . . 27

Chief Automotive. . . . . . . . . . . 34, 35Classifieds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62Clay Auto Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49Colours, Inc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17Crashmax Equipment . . . . . . . . . . 13Dent Magic Tools. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18Dent Tools Direct USA. . . . . . . . . . 22Ditschman/Flemington Auto Group. 41Dominion Sure Seal, Ltd . . . . . . . . 26Empire Auto Parts . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26Equalizer Industries, Inc.. . . . . . . . 16Fairfield Chrysler-Jeep-Dodge-Ram. 12Fitzgerald’s Lakeforest Hyundai-Subaru. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

Ford Wholesale Parts Dealers. . . . 54Fred Beans Parts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64Future Cure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8Gary Rome Hyundai-Kia . . . . . . . . 44Glanzmann Subaru . . . . . . . . . . . . 47GlasWeld Systems, Inc . . . . . . . . . 40GM Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . 56Hackettstown Honda. . . . . . . . . . . 50Herkules Equipment Corporation . 43Honda-Acura Wholesale PartsDealers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32-33

Hyundai Wholesale Parts Dealers . 51Innovative Tools & Technology, Inc . 29Jaguar Wholesale Parts Dealers. . 63Kia Motors Wholesale PartsDealers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

Koeppel VW-Mazda. . . . . . . . . . . . 46Lexus Wholesale Parts Dealers. . . 63Malco. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19Martech Services Company . . . . . 24Maxon Hyundai . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-15Maxon Mazda . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23Mazda Wholesale Parts Dealers . . 52MINI Wholesale Parts Dealers. . . . 54MOPAR Wholesale Parts Dealers . 37Motor Guard Corp. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4Nissan/Infiniti Wholesale PartsDealers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

Porsche Wholesale Parts Dealers . 58PreFab Ads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34Prima srl, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10Providence Lacquer & SupplyCentre . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

SATA Spray Equipment . . . . . . . . . 2Security Dodge-Chrysler-Jeep-Ram . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Sherwin-Williams AutomotiveFinishes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24, 25

Subaru Wholesale Parts Dealers . 61Sussman Auto Group . . . . . . . . . . 42Tasca Automotive Group. . . . . . . . 45TG Products, Inc. - The Rail Saver. 36Thompson Organization . . . . . . . . 53Toyota Wholesale Parts Dealers . . 60Valspar Automotive . . . . . . . . . . . . 11Volkswagen Wholesale PartsDealers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

Volvo Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . 56Wagner Auto Group . . . . . . . . . . . 31Yonkers Kia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

Inde

xofAdvertisers

Contents

Publisher & Editor: Jeremy HayhurstGeneral Manager: Barbara DaviesAssistant Editor: Stacey PhillipsOnline Editor: Victoria AntonelliContributing Writers: Tom Franklin, David Brown,John Yoswick, Janet Chaney, Toby Chess,Ed Attanasio, Chasidy Sisk, David LuehrAdvertising Sales: Joe Momber, Sean Hartman,Bill Doyle, David Petro (800) 699-8251Sales Assistant: Louise TedescoArt Director: Rodolfo Garcia

Serving New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware,Maryland, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusettsand adjacent metro areas. Autobody News is a monthlypublication for the autobody industry. Permission toreproduce in any form the material published in AutobodyNews must be obtained in writing from the publisher.©2014 Adamantine Media LLC.

Autobody NewsP.O. Box 1516, Carlsbad, CA 92018(800) 699-8251 (760) 603-3229 Faxwww.autobodynews.comEmail: [email protected] N

ortheast

REGIONAL

100 Fireman Fought NY Fire. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

3M Hire Our Heroes Program Supported

Military in DE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

AASP-PA Offers Two New Membership Levels . 13

ASA-AZ’s Phoenix Chapter Board Prepares Next

Year’s Schedule, Calendar Forthcoming. . . . 40

Body Shop Owner’s Forgotten Lottery Ticket

is a Nearly-Lost $2.9 Million Winner . . . . . . . 1

Boston Worse Than Washington in Risky

Driver Ranking. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Car Enthusiasts Flocked to Al Laskey Memorial

Auto Show in Perkiomen, PA . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

D.C. Man Gets 12 Years for Attack on

Shop Co-Worker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

NJ Firefighter Accused of Arson. . . . . . . . . . . . 20

NJ is 5th Most Expensive State for

Auto Ownership. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

NY Planning Board Approves Site Plans for

Body Shop & Non-OEM Parts Retailer . . . . . . 9

NY Shop & Owner Pleads Guilty to Grand

Larceny & Criminal Tax Fraud . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

NY Shop Owner’s Forgotten Lottery Ticket is a

Nearly-Lost $2.9 Million Winner. . . . . . . . . . 39

PA Insurance Company Vindicated in

YouTube Bugatti Crash Case . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

PA Shop Owner Held Meeting to Discuss How

Insurance is Negatively Impacting Industry . . 8

Tesla Sales Victory in MA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Theft and Serious Injury at PA Auto Body Shop . 1

COLUMNISTS

Antonelli - Autobody News Launched Our

New Website on September 13 . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Attanasio - Is Angie’s List Impartial or

Is She Playing Favorites?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

Franklin - End Useless Marketing—Redirect

Funds and Get Results! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

Luehr - Better Blueprinting, Part 2: How to

Set Up a Blueprinting Area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Sisk - Parts Authorization, Indemnification

and More—Documentation Part 3 . . . . . . . . 42

Yoswick - CIC Committees Look at Autonomous

Vehicle Issues, Impact of “Length of Rental”

Formulas. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

Yoswick - October Retrospective—ADP,

Non-OEM Parts, AAIA Study . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

NATIONAL

A First-Person Account of the Consolidated

MDL Hearing in Orlando, September 11 . . . . 18

ABRA Auto Body Acquires USA Collision

Centers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Aluminum Association to Present During SCRS’

OEM Collision Repair Technology Summit . . 59

ASA Announces Plans to Relocate Headquarters . 56

ASA Confirms Detroit as Location and Dates

for Next NACE-CARS Expo. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

Attanasio - AASP-MN President Jerald Stiele

has Lifetime of Repair Experience . . . . . . . . 52

Auto/Steel Partnership to Present During

OEM Collision Repair Technology

Summit at SEMA Show . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

Axalta Coating System’s Front Royal Plant

Hosted Congressman Bob Goodlatte . . . . . . . 1

Boyd Group Acquires Seven Champs Collision

Centers in Southeast Louisiana . . . . . . . . . . 60

CarMax Recruiting for More than 1,000 Jobs . . 40

Celette Has Fixtures for M-B B Class

Electric Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Counterfeit Engine Control Devices Found in FL . 60

Crowd Favorite the “Telephone Doctor”

Returns for SEMA Education Days . . . . . . . . 54

Education Foundation Announces Scholarship

Winners Including Nation-wide Students . . . 60

Federal Court in FL to Rule on Overtime Pay

Under FLSA for Auto Repair Employees . . . . . 1

FL is the Third Most Expensive State in

Which to Own a Car . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62

Ford and Chrysler Up, GM down in

August Car Sales. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

GM Posts Best July Sales Since 2007,

Toyota Also Up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

Herkules to Host NASCAR Driver Brendan

Gaughan During SEMA Show . . . . . . . . . . . 50

K & M Collision Sends Second Version of ‘Open

Letter’ Video to NC Attorney General . . . . . . 38

Massive Tesla Battery Factory to Be Built in NV . 6

MS is the 4th Most Expensive State for

Car Ownership Overall . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62

NABC 20th Anniversary Golf Fundraiser,

January 14, 2015 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

Napa Body Shops Jolted After 6.0 Quake. . . . . 34

Nationwide Auto Insurance in NJ for

First Time Since 1981 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

NC Auto Injury Attorney Urges Drivers to Use

the New NHTSA Online Recall Check . . . . . . 50

Over $500,000 in Support to Makeover School

Grant Applications Announced During SEMA . 21

Panel to Discuss Aftermarket Access to OEM

Education During NASTF Meeting Nov. 5 . . . . 8

Roseville, MN, Police Replace Local Auto

Body Shop as Provider After Employees

Take Squad Cars on Joyride. . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

SCRS Posts Tribute to March Taylor for

Supporting and Inspiring the DEG . . . . . . . . 62

Season 34 of MotorWeek 2014 Features

Collision Mitigation, Traffic Alerts. . . . . . . . . 63

Six Holmes Body Shop Locations Acquired

by Cooks Collision Centers, All but

Original Shop in Pasadena . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

Volvo Reappears on World Market with XC90. . 59

WI is the 5th Cheapest State in Which to

Own a Car . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62

WY is the Most Expensive State in the US

for Car Ownership . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62

www.autobodynews.com | OCTOBER 2014 AUTOBODY NEWS 3

Stacey Phillipsis our new Assis-tant Editor. Shehas written andedited for numer-ous online andprint publicationsover a 15-yearperiod. Stacey

graduated from the University of SouthernCalifornia with a double major in journalismand political science. Born and raised in LosAngeles, CA, she also lived in Calgary, Al-berta where she edited several magazinesbefore joining Suncor Energy. There shehelped create an online company newsletterthat received the Apex Award of Excellencetwo years in a row. Stacey also co-authoreda commemorative history book for theProvince’s Institute of Chartered Account-ants. After moving back to San Diego in2007, Stacey has spent the majority of hertime writing about local issues. When sheisn’t writing, Stacey enjoys playing tennis,reading and spending time with her family.

Victoria Antonelliis the newly ap-pointed onlinecontent editor atAutobody News.Victoria will bemanaging ournew website andsocial media

pages. She is originally from SouthKingstown, RI, and has lived in San Diego,CA, since August 2013. Victoria graduatedfrom the University of Rhode Island in May2013 with a BA in journalism. Previously,she attended High Point University in HighPoint, NC, for two years, and studiedabroad for a semester at Oxford BrookesUniversity in Oxford, England. Victoriacompleted two internships while in college,one with the University of Rhode IslandMarketing and Communications Depart-ment and another at Rhode Island MonthlyMagazine. Victoria’s favorite color isturquoise and her hobbies include hiking,reading, writing, and photography.

New Talent Joins the Autobody News Editorial Staff

Stacey Phillips is Our NewAssistant Editor for Print

Victoria Antonelli is Our NewOnline Content Editor

Contact Stacey at:[email protected] withyour story ideas and news items.

Contact Victoria at:[email protected] withyour story ideas and news items.

On Sept. 13, 2014, Autobody Newslaunched a new and vastly improvedwebsite, under the same domainname— www.autobodynews.com. En-hanced video handling, strengthenedsocial media connectivity, optimal or-ganization, and an eye-catching colorscheme are just a few of the many up-

grades this advanced template has tooffer. The template is fully responsive,meaning you can view it optimally onany device you carry.

The main functionality is to groupour regional coverage into RegionalContent pages, one for each of theprint issues of Autobody News.

HomeThe home page (see p. 8)displays themost recent articles in the followingcategories—Regional Content, ProductNews, National Events, Recent Asso-ciation Articles and the Video Gallery.The Video Gallery will feature recentvideos that has impacted the industry.

NewsHere you will find National News, Com-pany News, Product News, InsuranceNews, and Automakers and Dealers.Find current and timely news storiesabout automobile companies, new prod-uct releases, insurance dealings, andnews provided by dealerships.

Regional ContentRegional Content is grouped, like ourprint editions, into five major sectionsof the country—Midwestern News,Southwestern News, Western News,Northeastern News, and SoutheasternNews. National News, which is re-placing the former Industry News cat-egory, covers stories that affect allcorners of the US. The regions arecolor-coded at the top of the page tomatch the headings of each section.

Each region now has its own do-main. For example, western.autobo-dynews.com will take you to WesternRegional Content, including News,Associations, and Events. You canalso located and save RSS feeds fromeach of these regional categories.

SPSSPS stands for Shop & Product Show-case. This unique publication givesshop owners and managers a detailed,peer to peer perspective on the prod-

ucts and services being used. Down-loadable PDFs of each issue are lo-cated in this section, with the mostrecent being October 2014.

The next drop down item, Adver-tising in SPS, gives detailed informationabout advertising policies, and how youcan get your products noticed by theowners and managers of over 40,000collision repair shops nationwide.

ColumnsThis tab features articles by industry en-thusiasts. With the help of over 15 con-tributors, AutoBody News is able toproduce thought-provoking, informa-tive features.

EventsThis drop down menu not only listsmeetings, classic automobile shows,and other activities for all five regions,but also national events, including thelatest on SEMA and NACE.


Autobody News Launched Our New Website on September 13

with Victoria AntonelliWeb Window

See Our New Website, Page 12


mine, so it’s nice to have that takencare of.”

Ritieni’s 20-year-old daughterand 17-year-old son are his priorities,specifically their college tuition. Healso bought the building next door tohis shop for expansion purposes.

“I drove into a Maserati dealer-ship next door to the lottery officewhile my son was in the car, just tomess with him,” said Ritieni. Ritienisaid he’s happy with the way the com-munity responded to his win.

“I live by my father’s words: Behonest, be fair, and do the right thing,”said Ritieni. “A lot of the locals said Iwon because of good karma and I be-lieve that to be true.”

Ritieni said he is not affiliatedwith any DRPs, and that the customeris the priority. “Everybody wants tomake a living, but money is not mydriving factor,” said Ritieni. “I don’tbelieve in taking advantage of people.At my shop, everybody gets what theypaid for, and everybody gets treatedthe same.” After a cash buyout and taxdeductions, he collected $1.3 million.

A Staten Island, NY, body shoppleaded guilty to felony grand larcenyand its owner pleaded guilty to a mis-demeanor count of criminal tax fraudon August 25, according to reports byFrank Donelly in siadvance.com andinformation from the office of theRichmond county district attorney.

They were responsible for paying$175,000, which included $135,000 inback taxes owed by the corporationand individual as well as $40,000 ininterest accrued.

Richard Corio, president and100 per cent shareholder of AbsoluteCar Carriers, Inc. was arrested inNovember 2013, and were indictedby a grand jury and arraigned onmultiple felony charges of grand lar-ceny and criminal tax fraud as wellas failure to file a return or report,and city criminal tax fraud. Coriowas released on his own recogni-zance.

The case was heard in the Rich-mond County Supreme Court nearly ayear later. “The defendants were con-victed of not paying the owed salestax, corporate income tax and per-sonal income tax all while operating a

lucrative business,” said RichmondCounty District Attorney Daniel M.Donovan, Jr. “Richard Corio and Ab-solute Car Carriers, Inc. have been or-dered to repay not only the taxes theyevaded, but also a hefty amount of in-terest.”

The defendants are still liablecivilly for penalties that may be col-lected by state and city tax authorities.Incorporated in December 1997, Ab-solute Car Carriers conducted businessas OK Auto Body and Auto Collision,Inc. During a three-year period thecompany grossed more than $1 million;however, only just over $70,000 wasreported in sales. That figure equates toabout seven percent of the total income.

Prosecutors said the businessunder-reported sales tax from March2009 to February 2012 and didn’t filesales taxes for two quarters. Companyofficers can be personally held liablefor non-payment or under-payment ofsales taxes, known as trustee taxes.Over $75,000 of sales taxes were paidback in restitution. Corio also under-reported his personal income tax forall three years and was ordered to payback over $10,000 in restitution. Ab-

solute Car Carriers had to pay morethan $50,000 in corporate incometaxes owed to New York City.

“Sales tax evasion disadvantageshonest business owners and steals di-rectly from customers,” said Thomas H.Mattox, the New York State Departmentof Taxation and Finance Commissioner.

The case was prosecuted by As-sistant District Attorney Jin Lee underthe supervision of Assistant DistrictAttorney Kyle Reeves, the chief trialcounsel.

Corio’s lawyer, Joseph Sorrentino,had not responded to Autobody News’request for a comment as of press time.


NY Shop & Owner Pleads Guilty to Grand Larceny & Criminal Tax Fraud

WANTED:

Fredonia, NY

TEACHER OFAUTO BODY

Qualification:New York State Certification inVehicle Body Repair & Painting

For more information visit:www. e2ccb. orgErie 2-Chautauqua-Cattaraugus BOCES E. O. E.

Continued from Cover

Lottery Winner

MA’s highest court handed Tesla Mo-tors a victory on Sept. 15, ruling thatcar dealers don’t have standing to suethe electric-car manufacturer for sell-ing directly to customers at its Natickstore, Mark Szaniszlo reported onbostonherald.com.

The ruling upheld a lowercourt’s decision to dismiss a lawsuitbrought by the Massachusetts StateAutomobile Dealers Association(MSADA) and some individual deal-ers, who argued that Tesla was tryingto circumvent state law and operatean automobile dealership without therequired license.

However, Justice Barbara Lenk,writing for the unanimous court, saidthe law “is aimed primarily at protect-ing motor vehicle dealers from injurycaused by the unfair business practicesof manufacturers and distributors withwhich they are associated, generally ina franchise relationship.”

“Tesla has never had franchisesand so is not governed by this law,”said Diarmuid O’Connell, the Califor-nia-based company’s VP for corporateand business development. Since thelawsuit was filed, Natick officialsgranted Tesla a dealership license, thestate’s highest court noted.

Read the full article at:http://bostonherald.com/

Tesla Sales Victory in MA

Tesla Motors announced on Sept. 4that Nevada was selected as the offi-cial site for the Tesla Battery Gigafac-tory.

“This is great news for Nevada.Tesla will build the world’s largest andmost advanced battery factory in Ne-vada which means nearly one hun-dred billion dollars in economicimpact to the Silver State over thenext twenty years. I am grateful thatElon Musk and Tesla saw the promisein Nevada. These 21st century pio-neers, fueled with innovation and de-sire, are emboldened by the promiseof Nevada to change the world. Ne-vada is ready to lead,” stated Gover-nor Brian Sandoval.

“I would like to recognize theleadership of Governor Sandoval andthe Nevada Legislature for partneringwith Tesla to bring the Gigafactory tothe state. The Gigafactory is an im-portant step in advancing the cause ofsustainable transportation and will en-able the mass production of com-pelling electric vehicles for decades tocome. Together with Panasonic andother partners, we look forward to re-alizing the full potential of this proj-ect,” said Chairman and CEO ElonMusk.

Massive Tesla Battery Factory to Be Built in NV



CALL FOR DETAILS!

PAINTING WITH NITROGEN...

Gua aantrr teed!

A three-person panel will discuss key is-sues in a one-hour session, AftermarketAccess to OEM Education Resources,during the NASTF Fall 2014 GeneralMeeting, Wednesday, Nov. 5 at the SandsExpo Center/Venetian Hotel in LasVegas.

Jill Saunders of Toyota, Rob Mor-rell of WORLDPAC and Bill Moss ofEuroService Automotive will engagewith panel moderator Skip Potter ofNASTF, revealing their expert insightson the availability, use and plans of OEMtechnical training resources for the inde-pendent aftermarket.

Panelists will discuss key issuesconcerning OEM education resources,including the legal requirements on au-

tomakers, why automakers may want toprovide training voluntarily, the differ-ence between OEM dealer training andwhat the aftermarket may need, navigat-ing OEM websites to find training, OEMlicensing of resources to independenttrainers and more.

Jill Saunders is a Product Engineerfor Toyota Motor Sales, USA, in theProduct Quality and Service Support Di-vision. She is responsible for the devel-opment and support of the TechstreamDiagnostic Scantool for all of NorthAmerica and the US Territories.

Rob Morrell has been Director ofTraining for WORLDPAC since 2001.Previously, he had been lead technicianand shop foreman in a 115-bay, San Fran-

cisco area BMW-Porsche dealership.Morrell currently serves as the Inde-pendent Co-chair for the NASTF Educa-tion Committee. Bill Moss owns afour-bay service shop, EuroService Au-tomotive in VA, which he purchased in2009. Moss is an ASE Master, L-1 Tech-nician and serves on the Boards of Di-rectors for both NASTF and theAutomotive Service Association. SkipPotter is the Executive Director ofNASTF.

“The OEMs provide a great deal oftraining resources to the techsin their dealer networks,” said NASTFBoard Chair Allen Pennebaker. “Whilethe resources available from some OEMsto independents is often the same and

those from others may not be as exten-sive, much of what is being provided isnot being consumed. This panel shouldgo a long way to fixing that disconnectand helping all to understand what isavailable and what is not, how to accessthose resources and what to do if theycannot.”

The NASTF meeting begins at 1pm(PT) in Casanova 605 during the Auto-motive Aftermarket Industry Week. Noregistration is necessary. Information canbe found at www.nastf.org/generalmeet-ings/. Seating is limited but the full eventand panel discussion will be broadcast onthe NASTF website, www.nastf.org, andrecorded on the NASTF YouTube Chan-nel, www.youtube.com/nastfdotorg.

Panel to Discuss Aftermarket Access to OEM Education During NASTF Meeting Nov. 5

Ron Perretta, owner of ProfessionalsAuto Body in central PA, held a meet-ing for body shop owners and employ-ees, as well as consumers and vendors,who believe insurance companies arenegatively impacting the industry.

The meeting was held Sept. 20, atthe Holiday Inn Fort Washington PA."...this is not about DRP or Non-DRP.This is about independence and charg-ing what's fairly owed to our shops,"said Perretta.

Perretta encouraged industry workersand patrons to come out and show theirsupport. "This gathering is to discusswhat the solutions are to an ever grow-ing problem," said Perretta. "You needto get off the sidelines and get in-volved. We are very powerful when wejoin together."

The following was addressed:● legal actions by repairers in the statesof Mississippi, Florida, Tennessee, In-diana, Utah and Louisiana, plus addi-

tional states joining the Multi DistrictLitigation against the nation’s largestinsurance companies;● Louisiana Attorney General’s actionagainst the nation’s largest propertyand casualty insurance company;● the ability for body shops to buyparts freely from other shops;● the ability to sell parts without havingto pay insurance companies that "de-stroy the parts vendors business andshops profitability;"

● the right of consumers to have repairsdone by the body shop they choose;● the right of consumers to usewhichever rental car company theychoose.

"We cannot continue to have theinsurance industry control our everymove, even to the point that shops andvendors are frightened to come out onSept. 20," said Perretta.

For more information, contactRon Perretta at 814-931-7669.

PA Shop Owner Held Meeting to Discuss How Insurance is Negatively Impacting Industry


NY Planning Board Approves Site Plansfor Body Shop & Non-OEM Parts Retailer At its Aug. 25 meeting, the SpencerJoint Town and Village Planning Boardin New York approved site plan re-views for two businesses, Trucks2Bikesand Walter’s Auto Body, according toKeri Blakinger on ithaca.com. Publichearings were held in Aug. and after re-ceiving county approval in Sept., theplans were able to come to a vote forapproval.

First, the board discussedTrucks2Bikes, an aftermarket parts re-tailer on Route 96, also known as Can-dor Road. The board went over partstwo and three of the State Environ-mental Quality Review (SEQR) form.The board members agreed the busi-ness would not pose any significantenvironmental impacts and Brent We-ston moved a resolution to accept that.Tom Bailey noted, “Not everyone isas easy as this one is, by the way.”

Next, the board addressed the ap-proval of the site plan review. Onecondition specified that signs neededto be at least 100 feet from the centerof the road, but Code Enforcement Of-ficer Mike Katchmir said such a re-striction would not be allowed withoutzoning. Neither the town nor the vil-lage have zoning so the board re-phrased that condition to indicate that

signage should comply with state reg-ulations and not obstruct pedestrian orvehicular access. The board memberspresent – Bailey, Weston, John Whit-comb, Al Fuller, andAndrea Sutfin –approved the site plan. Bailey told thebusiness owner, Kyle Bostwick, “Wehave approved your site plan and youmay go forward.”

Then the board addressed theWalter’s Auto Body site plan. Ownedby Vladimir Bushmich, the business isa rebuild of the shop that existed onthat same location until Nov. 2013,when it was destroyed in a fire. Thediscussion began with parts two andthree of the SEQR form. One questionon the SEQR form addressed whetherplanned building would impair thecharacter or quality of the existingcommunity and Whitcomb said,“That’s one where I have mixed feel-ings.” He noted that since there is nozoning in Spencer there was no basisto deny the site plan review based onits effect on the quality of the sur-rounding community. The board unan-imously approved a resolution that thebusiness would not pose any signifi-cant environmental impacts, and ap-proved the site plan. Now the shop willneed a building permit from Katchmir.

PA Insurance Company Vindicated inYouTube Bugatti Crash CasePhiladelphia Insurance Companiessaid it has been vindicated in its inves-tigation and denial of a fraudulentclaim filed by an East Texas motoristfor the 2009 crash of his BugattiVeryon, following his guilty plea inAugust in the case United States ofAmerica v. Andy Lee House, as re-ported by Insurance Journal.

The Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylva-nia-based insurer said it committed ex-tensive resources over the past fouryears to fight the $2.2 million fraudu-lent claim filed by Andy Lee House ofLufkin, Texas, for the intentional de-struction of the luxury sport car.

The 2009 crash, which was cap-tured on video by a passing motoristand viewed more than five milliontimes on YouTube, drew national at-tention. Philadelphia Insurance said itsclaims investigators had suspectedfraud from the beginning and stead-fastly denied the claim.

Authorities said House initiallyclaimed that he was reaching for hiscell phone when the car swerved intowater near Galveston, Texas. The saltwater flooded the engine, ruining theBugatti. Philadelphia Insurance said itcommenced its investigation, securedwitness statements, and received an

anonymous call regarding the schemedeveloped by House to destroy the ve-hicle in exchange for the insuranceproceeds.

In lieu of settling the claim,Philadelphia Insurance filed suit in2010 in the U.S. District Court for theSouthern District of Texas seeking tonot only rescind the insurance policyissued to House, but also sought dam-ages for breach of the insurance con-tract and fraud.

The insurer said the FBI ulti-mately got involved and filed a federallawsuit against House, resulting in hisguilty plea on August 26 to wire fraud.House faces up to 20 years in federalprison and the U.S. Attorney in thecase has recommended that he payrestitution to Philadelphia Insurance.

“We owe a great deal of thanks tothe witnesses who provided video andstatements, which allowed the truth tocome to light, as well as to federal andlocal enforcement for their investiga-tions,” said Bill Benecke, executivevice president and chief claims officerat Philadelphia Insurance. “Fraudulentclaims adversely impact all of our cus-tomers and it is our fiduciary responsi-bility as an insurance carrier to protectour policyholders.”

October 1, 1997 to January 25, 2012.Michelle Smoluk claims she per-formed work as a non-exempt secre-tary from approximately May 2004 toJanuary 25, 2012. The plaintiffs saythey worked an average of 50 hoursper week and were not paid the properovertime rate for the hours theyworked over 40 per week, as pre-scribed by Federal and Florida law.

They also say that Action AutoBody received gross revenue in excessof $500,000 per year, which satisfiesthe FLSA’s coverage requirements ofworking in interstate commerce.

According to Section 7 of theFLSA guidelines, unless employeesare specifically exempted from thisrule, “...employers must pay coveredworkers at least one-and-a-half timestheir regular hourly wage for hoursworked over 40 hours a week at a

given job. Employers may choose topay more than time-and-a-half forovertime or to pay overtime to em-ployees who are exempt from over-time under the FLSA.”

The Smoluks are seeking dam-ages for unpaid minimum wage andunpaid overtime compensation forhours they worked in excess of 40 perweek with interest; an equal amountin double damages/liquidated dam-ages; the cost of the action and rea-sonable attorneys’ fees and additionalrelief decided by the court.

If the plaintiffs prevail, there islikely a statute of limitations for anyentitlement going back two or threeyears, at the discretion of the court,from the date on which the case wasfiled. Since the case was filed in StateCourt in February 2014, that would bethe effective date for damages.

The defendants assert that JospehSmoluk was exempt from the FLSAunder the executive and/or profes-sional exemptions and Michelle

Smoluk was exempt under the admin-istrative exemption.

Over the years there has beenconsiderable confusion about the sta-tus of service writers and whether ornot they are exempt from the overtimepay provisions of the FLSA.

The answer appears to lie inwhether or not the employer is a deal-ership or a collision center. The dis-tinction is important, since theexemption for service writers only ap-plies to service writers who work in anauto dealership, that is an ‘establish-ment . . . primarily engaged in thebusiness of selling automobiles,trucks, or farm implements to the ulti-mate purchaser.’ 29 CFR 372(b)(ii).If the service writer works in a colli-sion center, service shop, or someother business which does not actuallysell cars, then the exemption does notapply, according to attorneys.

If Action Auto Body, LLC is adealership, then the service writer ex-emption pretty clearly applies. Thereis a case called Brennan v. Deel Mo-tors, 475 F.2d 1095 (5th Cir. 1973)which is directly on point, and is ac-tually binding on the court where theSmoluk case is pending.

“A body shop would have all of

the general exemptions availableunder the FLSA at their disposal,”said an attorney with a nationwidefirm that represents employers inlabor and employment matters. “Forexample, executive, administrative,professional, computer professional,outside sales. They just would nothave the three commonly used dealer-ship overtime exemptions: salesper-son, partsmen, and mechanic,” saidthe attorney, who is not affiliated withthis case, adding the service writer ex-emption is considered part of thesalesperson exemption.

In 1966, Congress amended theFLSA and created an exemption forany salesman, partsman or mechanicemployed at a retail dealership. A yearlater the U.S. Department of Labor(DOL) confirmed service writers wereexempt from overtime pay; however,they retracted their statement a monthlater and issued an opinion letter say-ing service writers would not be in-cluded in the exemption. Since thennumerous federal cases have ruledthat service employees are exemptfrom FLSA overtime.

On April 5, 2011, the Wage andHour Division of the DOL clarified its


Continued from Cover

Overtime Pay

Nonmanufacturing establishments

with certain exempt employees under

section 13(b)(10).

(c) Salesman, partsman, or mechanic.

(1) As used in section 13(b)(10)(A), a

salesman is an employee who is em-

ployed for the purpose of and is prima-

rily engaged in making sales or

obtaining orders or contracts for sale of

the automobiles, trucks, or farm imple-

ments that the establishment is prima-

rily engaged in selling. As used in

section 13(b)(10)(B), a salesman is an

employee who is employed for the pur-

pose of and is primarily engaged in

making sales or obtaining orders or

contracts for sale of trailers, boats, or

aircraft that the establishment is prima-

rily engaged in selling. Work performed

incidental to and in conjunction with

the employee's own sales or solicita-

tions, including incidental deliveries

and collections, is regarded as within

the exemption.

(2) As used in section

13(b)(10)(A), a partsman is any em-

ployee employed for the purpose of

and primarily engaged in requisitioning,

stocking, and dispensing parts.

(3) As used in section

13(b)(10)(A), a mechanic is any em-

ployee primarily engaged in doing me-

chanical work (such as get ready

mechanics, automotive, truck, or farm

implement mechanics, used car re-

conditioning mechanics, and wrecker

mechanics) in the servicing of an au-

tomobile, truck or farm implement for

its use and operation as such. This in-

cludes mechanical work required for

safe operation, as an automobile,

truck, or farm implement. The term

does not include employees primarily

performing such nonmechanical work

as washing, cleaning, painting, polish-

ing, tire changing, installing seat cov-

ers, dispatching, lubricating, or other

nonmechanical work. Wrecker me-

chanic means a service department

mechanic who goes out on a tow or

wrecking truck to perform mechanical

servicing or repairing of a customer's

vehicle away from the shop, or to

bring the vehicle back to the shop for

repair service. A tow or wrecker truck

driver or helper who primarily per-

forms nonmechanical repair work is

not exempt.

Excerpt from FLSA Regulation §779.372

See Overtime Pay, Page 13


league a close friend.Ultimate Auto Body specializes

in complete collision repair andworks on the police cars for the Cityof Pittsburgh Bureau of Police andthe Mount Oliver Police Department.The auto body shop is continuing op-erations during this difficult time;however, Sokolowski said it is frus-trating as a small business to haveHarlack in the hospital and the thiefat large.

Autobody News contacted thepolice department for an update andlearned no arrests have been made.Ultimate Auto Body Shop is offer-ing a $500 reward to identify thethief.

AssociationsThe association stories come from allfive regions, as well as national associ-ation news. Examples include newsabout the Iowa Collision Repair Asso-ciation (ICRA), Automotive Service As-sociation (ASA), and the LouisianaCollision Industry Association (LaCIA).

Digital EditionsDownload a PDF version of past andpresent regional issues.

Contact UsClick here to find numbers and emailsfor all staff members at AutoBodyNews. Information on how to sign upfor the eNewsletter or a print sub-scription can also be found here.

LoginClick this link in the top right corner tocreate and sign into your account. Youwill need to create an account and login in order to post a comment on an ar-ticle or column for example.

Social MediaOn the top left corner, you will find

links to our Twitter, YouTube, Face-book, and LinkedIn pages. On the leftside of each article, you will also seea Facebook tab, which allows you to“like” our page.

Tips for Smooth OperationIf you’re a frequent flyer on our siteyour browser may store links to ourold site in its cache. If you’re not get-ting active links, go to your historyand delete the cache file, then re-launch autobodynews.com.

Some Ugly Regional Placeholders?You’ll notice some placeholder ban-ner ads on the regional content sec-tions of the website. If you’re adealership doing wholesale parts tradein your area, consider replacing these‘eye catching’ spots with a banner ofyour own. We’ll design it for you atno charge. Email [email protected] for more information.

Take Advantage of Regional CoverageAs a shop owner or association mem-ber we want to know what’s going onwith your shop or your association inyour state. Send us an email with thedate of your meeting in advance, we’llpost it in our regional secction. Let usknow what happened with pictures orvideo. Likewise if there’s somethingspecial going on with your shop, wecan get the word out. Email your de-tails to: [email protected].

Thanks. We hope you enjoy usingour new site.


Continued from Page 4

Our New WebsiteContinued from Cover

Theft and Injury

Check out ourNEW website at:northeastern.autobodynews.com

Register and login to comment

position. According to their website,“Salesmen, partsmen and mechanicsemployed by automobile dealershipsare exempt from the overtime payprovisions of the FLSA.”

Richard Longo, Director of En-forcement for DOL’s Wage and HourDivision in the Western Region said,“The April 2011 cleanup rule did stip-ulate our current position on this mat-ter and that we don’t take an automaticposition that service writers are ex-empt just because of their job title.That would be consistent with how weapply any of our exemptions. We lookat the facts of the case.

“With that being said, even thoughwe’ve made these changes when ap-propriation came in for the spendingbills they basically didn’t fund some ofthe changes,” said Longo. “We’re tak-ing a non-enforcement position on thematter currently but it does not prohibitindividuals from seeking court deci-sions to determine exempt or non-ex-empt status.”

Longo said that if courts arelooking for interpretive guidance, the

most recent guidance would be theApril 2011 update.

“If the company is able to estab-lish that service writers satisfy one ofthe white collar FLSA exemptions, itwould eliminate any need to recordservice writers’ hours worked or payovertime for hours worked over 40 ina work week,” said the attorney con-sulted. “While service writers typi-cally work long hours, they are usuallypaid quite well. If service writers arefound to be exempt under one of theFLSA white collar exemptions, thiswould be a great victory for bodyshops and collision centers.”

The defendant’s attorney has apolicy of not commenting on pendinglitigation. The plaintiff’s attorney wasunavailable for comment at presstime.

Autobody News will continue tofollow this story and update readers onthe status of Smoluk v. Action AutoBody, LLC.

Details about the applicable FLSAregulations are available on the fol-lowing website: www.ecfr.gov undersection 779.372.

As always, consult a qualified at-torney before acting or reacting to anybusiness news discussion such as this.


CrashmaxEquipment AUTHORIZED CHIEF AUTOMOTIVE TECHNOLOGIES DISTRIBUTOR

* Lease Financing Available

LOW PRICES!*Guaranteed

www.crashmax.com

Serving Virginia, Maryland, New Jersey and Delaware

Call 866-796-6656 for your no obligation measuring demo today!

The mostworldwideOEM approvalsin the industry!

MULTISPOT®

MI-100controlTLong Reach 16ft. Cable

CHIEFGOLIATH®

The longest and strongest pullingsystem Chief has ever produced.12,000 lb. lift capacity

CHIEF EZ Liner Express ATThe most

Free AIRJACKFree AIRJACKwith every equipment order! y q p

( Ends October 31st )CHIEF

EZ Liner Express AT

NEW CHIEF


Overtime PaySince the Alliance of AutomotiveService Providers of Pennsylvania(AASP-PA) formed in 1955, it hasbeen a member association for shopowners in the state, but now, the as-sociation has decided to offer twonew membership levels. For thefirst time, AASP-PA will offer freememberships to students studyingin the automotive field in a PAschool, and the association will alsooffer a low-cost membership to in-dustry professionals, such as tech-nicians, towers and service writers,among others.

AASP-PA’s goal in offeringthese two new levels of membershipis to continue to further their initia-tive of educating all automotive serv-ice providers throughout the state ofPA, and the Student Membershiplevel in particular will aid in their at-tempts to engage the younger gener-ation and show them the value ofeducation, leadership and involve-ment in industry associations.

The association’s Student Mem-bership level is available to studentsstudying in the automotive field in aPA high school, technical school or atthe university level. The free StudentMembership includes an electronicversion of “Pennsylvania Automotive

& Insider News,” the association’s bi-monthly magazine, and invitations toselect chapter meetings and trainingevents as well as free enrollment inASE’s Student Certification Program(a $30 value). To sign up, studentscan visit:www.aasp-pa.org/member-resource/student-membership.aspx.

The Technician Membership isavailable to anyone working in theautomotive industry in PA, such astechnicians, tower and service man-agers. Technician Members will re-ceive an electronic copy of“Pennsylvania Automotive & In-sider News” bi-monthly, invitationsto select chapter meeting and train-ing events, reimbursement for thecost of up to three ASE Certifica-tions, and potentially, a discount onpersonal electric bills. The cost of aTechnician Membership depends onwhether the individual’s employershop is a member of AASP-PA; thefee is $50 per year for employees ofmember shops, or the TechnicianMembership costs $100 annually ifthe employer is not an associationmember. For more information or tosign up, visit:www.aasp-pa.org/member-resource/technician-membership.aspx.

AASP-PA Offers Two New Membership Levels


Wholesale Parts: 800-964-728124 hr. Fax: 908-851-5631

www.yesmaxon.com

If it doesn’t say Hyundaion your parts invoice, you paid too much!

• BILINGUAL • FAST AND FREE DELIVERY • WE SHIP TO THE ENTIRE U.S.• EXTREMELY COMPETITIVE PRICING • 100+ YEARS OF COMBINED PARTS EXPERIENCE • THE BEST INVENTORY IN N.J., OVER 99% OF ORDERS ARE

OFF THE SHELF. MAKE IT EASY ON YOU AND YOUR STAFF, CALL US FIRST

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

ExclusiveWarehouse


HYUNDAIHYUNDAI2329 Route 22 West, Union, NJ 07083

Wholesale Body and Mechanical Parts Experts Serving theAUTO REPAIR INDUSTRY OF NEW JERSEY

Call and ask us how we can sell these parts to youat aftermarket prices.

“Buy Now” Pricing ThroughGet MAMAXXON HYUNDAI’SON HYUNDAI’S


Nationwide Mutual Insurance Com-pany began offering New Jersey autoinsurance policies in August, afterbeing approved to enter the insurancemarket in June.

“We are very pleased to wel-come a company of the size andstature of Nationwide Mutual Insur-ance Co. to New Jersey,” said the De-partment of Banking and InsuranceCommissioner Ken Kobylowski.

“This is positive news for con-sumers as it gives them more choices.The company’s decision to begin of-fering auto insurance policies herealso indicates that the State’s insur-ance market is strong and that the Ad-ministration’s pro-growth policiescontinue to draw business to theState.”

Nationwide, headquartered inColumbus, Ohio, will initially marketthe auto policies over the phone,through the Internet and through Na-tionwide’s agents in New York, Penn-sylvania and Delaware.

“Nationwide is excited aboutthis opportunity and the commitmentthe State and the Department havemade to enhance the regulatory cli-

mate in New Jersey,” said MarkPizzi, president and chief executiveofficer of Nationwide Insurance.“They have opened the doors to morechoices for New Jersey residents andNationwide is pleased to be part ofthis vibrant market. Expanding intothe Garden State is an important stepin Nationwide’s goal to become atruly national brand.”

The arrival of Nationwide meansthat nine of the nation’s top 10 autoinsurers are writing auto insurancepolicies in New Jersey. The other topeight are: State Farm, GEICO, All-state, Progressive, Farmers, USAA,Liberty Mutual and Travelers.(American Family, the ninth largestauto insurance company, by pre-mium, in the U.S. does not write in-surance in the Eastern region of thecountry.)

Overall there are 77 active in-surance companies and 35 insurancegroups writing auto policies in NewJersey with a total of 5.4 million ex-posures and $6.82 billion in writtenpremiums in 2013.

Nationwide is not new to theNew Jersey insurance and financial

services marketplace. Nationwide of-fers auto insurance in New Jerseythrough Harleysville Insurance Co.and Harleysville Preferred InsuranceCompany of Pennsylvania. Nation-wide merged with Harleysville in2012.

Nationwide wrote auto insur-ance in New Jersey previously, butleft the market in 1981.

Many Nationwide FinancialServices and Nationwide Agribusi-ness products have been available toNew Jersey residents for years. Addi-tionally, Scottsdale, Nationwide’s ex-cess and surplus and specialtyinsurance company, has served theNew Jersey market for more than 30years.

“Nationwide’s entry into themarket is a major milestone for NewJersey,” said Commissioner Koby-lowski. “The fact that we now havenine of the nation’s ten largest insur-ance companies writing auto insur-ance here is a both a testament to thestrength and competitiveness of themarket and another indication thatNew Jersey is a good place to dobusiness.”

Nationwide Auto Insurance in NJ for First Time Since 1981ABRA Auto Body & Glass, a leadingnational damaged vehicle repair com-pany, announced it had acquired USACollision Centers in Harrison, WestChester, and Cincinnati, Ohio. Thenews follows ABRA’s initial entry intothe state in June 2014. Terms of thetransaction were not disclosed. The re-cent growth in Ohio is part of the com-pany’s strategy to increase its nationalfootprint. ABRA is one of the collisionindustry’s largest multi shop repair op-erators in the country. ABRA’s portfo-lio now stands at 243 repair centers in19 states.

“The acquisition of USA Colli-sion Centers represents a fantastic op-portunity to expand our presence inOhio and continue building on the ex-traordinary success we’ve achieved inthe region,” said Duane Rouse,ABRA’s president and chief execu-tive officer.”

Joseph Sanfillipo, Jr., founder andco-owner of USA Collision Centers,said, “I have complete confidenceABRA will continue the legacy myfamily and I have built over the years.There is no doubt our employees willflourish and our customers will receivethe highest quality repairs and superiorservice they’ve come to expect.”

ABRA Auto Body Acquires USACollision Centers


SpooktacularSavingsSavingsSpooktacularrSavingsSpooktacularrSavingsSavingsfor

on All yon All yyy AA umAluyyo m m our Ayouur A nuum nimmiion All your Aluminum on All your Aluminum on All your Aluminum on All your Aluminum on All your Aluminum on All your Aluminum on All your Aluminum on All your Aluminum on All your Aluminum on All your Aluminum on All your Aluminum on All your Aluminum on All your Aluminum Savingsg

on All your Aluminum Savingsg

on All your Aluminum on All your Aluminum on All your Aluminum SavingsgSavingsg

on All your Aluminum on All your Aluminum on All your Aluminum on All your Aluminum RepaRepai Needs Needs.r NNeppaa r aairpa rair

on All your Aluminum Repair Needs.

Coontnttacttacaac Thrct Thhrhct uuss TTct us Thrhrhrough rough RRRROOOOO OOBBEROO OBEROCTOOCTOBERBEERRContact us Through OCTOBER

AluminumWWWWWoooorrrrkkkkk SSSSStttttaaaatttttiiiiioooonnnn DDDDDeeeemmmmoooo

UUnniittss AAvvaaiillaabbllee.

AluminumWork Station Demo

Units Available.

• l Conf Roommmssoonferenncccee RoooomCoCo Cooand CCnd Cn Cas a fereeant andters aning Cent Multiple raining entetiplultipple nin MMu TTrrainiMMuultiipple M e Tra ooR oRRo• M+ rs++++0 MManufaact+ MM faactuurrerrss+0+00+with 10h 100+rect Purchasing wi Dire urchasing• eeeeeeeeeee , Induuss anndussttrial aand, Induet, Indu det, Ieet, IFlee mplete Line le Comple ine of Fle

s A Cooaattiinggsstiti A A hitecturaall A ch l CoaAA uraA gssArchite atingsitiAA hhiitteectuArch all CoaathitecturalArchitectural Co

• Multiple Training Centers and Conference Rooms• Direct Purchasing with 100+ Manufacturers• Complete Line of Fleet, Industrial and Architectural Coatings

• 330 th MultLL MuLo3 tttc Mu t ples WWWWWpl WW eMuu p Waat eehhhoushh shouusessses 300 L wiitt 300 LLoocatiioons wwiitiiithithiiith Multiple Wit Multiple WWarehh••• rv ci tte g 88 Staaaat SSeerrviiccinngg viicc ng 8 eennto Inve toryorryg 88 Stateess Serrvicciinng 88 eess wss wss wws w h $10MMs with $1 MMM+ Ine •••• e d on SS on Stafftifiieed Tecchhn Reeppres CCeerttiiffie chhnnical RRepresepresenee ntresenttresentatativestives •• SStaonn StaffS faafffffStaffS ftaff BBusineessss Bu s D ffffffinesss D ment SSppeeci Bu Deevvelooppmm cialist oonn lisst onlistt onon

• 30 Locations with Multiple Warehouses• Servicing 8 States with $10MM+ Inventory• Certified Technical Representatives on Staff• Business Development Specialist on Staff

www.gocolours.com

Whether rolling through for a quickglimpse of highly-tuned hotrods, or set-ting up a tent and hanging out all day,spectators and enthusiasts alike enjoyedblue skies and red Chevys at PerkiomenTownship Fire Company’s 23rd AnnualAl Laskey Memorial Auto Show in PA,according to Brendan Wills writing atthe timesherald.com.

“Buffed cars with even buffer en-gines lined up in neat rows on thePerkiomen Valley School District’s cam-pus. There were pre-war Buicks,Corvettes, Mustangs, hotrods, trucks, anda little something for everyone in theshow’s 24 categories of automobiles. Eachenthusiast’s ride made some sort of state-ment, ranging from the sheer roar of theengine to the simple Pepé Le Pew decalon a 1946 Buick Sports Coupe or the twostuffed bears enjoying the bench-seats of a‘57 Chevy, complete with 50s and 60sdiner food hung on the window of the carnext to them.”

“Some of the enthusiasts in atten-dance have been coming to the show foryears, but with more than 300 cars to ad-mire, newcomers were encouraged to liftthe hood. Newlyweds Kathy and RayPepe did just that when they broughttheir 1946 Buick Sports Coupe to theshow for the first time.”

“We got married in February. We

haven’t been to many shows so we cameup here and figured we’d have somefun,” Ray Pepe said about their adven-ture in Perkiomen.

Mike Zielinkski, Perkiomen Town-ship Fire Company (PTFC) chairman oftrustees, chief engineer and event DJ, saidit was another great chapter in the historyof the car show.

“It was a perfect day and a perfectturn out,” Zielinksi said, gesturing tothe breeze that brought a coolness to the80-degree air. “You can’t ask for betterweather than this.”

According to Zielinkski, the com-pany starts planning for the eventmonths in advance under the manage-ment of the auto show chairmen and firepersonnel Brad Bonner and Jeff Par-lee. The annual car show, founded by thelate PTFC firefighter Al Laskey, is oneof the major fundraising events for thefire company.

The categories, either a time pe-riod or specialty group, receive trophiesfor first through third. The trophies aresponsored by various businesses and in-dividuals who help to support the firecompany.

“Each category judges another. Sowe’ll have the classics vote for one classor the Camaros will vote on the Mus-tangs,” said Zielinkski. “And the big tro-

phy is for the people’s choice. Any spec-tators that come can vote for their fa-vorite overall car.”

Below the trophies waiting to beawarded were photographs of past peo-ple’s choices, which featured a PTFC en-gine more than once. In the center of onecollection of photographs was a small,unmarked photograph of Laskey posednext to his own fine-tuned machine.

Sponsors for the category trophiesincluded Diverse Rides Trucks Club, 360Customs, LLC, Spring Hill Realty, Inc.,Volunteer’s Financial Services, Ray A.Shaffer, Inc. Eastern Diversified Services,Robert E. Little, Inc., The Goddard Schoolof Schwenksville, Trappe Generator Serv-ice, Michael Graham – State Farm Insur-ance Agent, Summes Labs, Inc. Mari-AlAuto Body, Inc., Warren Heidel and Sons,Keenan, Ciccitto and Associations, Clee-land Ott And Son, Perkiomen View Hotel,STV Energy Services, Inc., Wynn’s Ex-press Lube and Auto Repair, A. Friend, A.J. Blosenki, Benner’s Hair Styling, D. W.Gaul Company, Gorski Associates, Hor-rocks Fire and Rescue, Iggy’s Eatery andPizzeria, Kaler Moto Company, KennethPicardi, Landis Supermarket, Marcy Toe-pel, Moccia’s Train Stop, NimlockPhiladelphia, P.V. Express Lube, SSMGroup, Inc., Century 21 Alliance, and ThePrinter’s Printer.

Car Enthusiasts Flocked to Al Laskey Memorial Auto Show in Perkiomen, PAAs part of their ongoing support ofthe military, the 3M Hire Our He-roes Program took a road trip toDelaware’s Dover AFB VehicleMaintenance Facility in conjunctionwith the race weekend at Dover In-ternational Speedway on Sept. 25.A team of volunteers was on hand toperform free vehicle detailing forspouses of deployed and fallen mil-itary members at Dover AFB. Theteam consisted of employees from3M Automotive Aftermarket Divi-sion and Advance Auto Parts.

NASCAR star Greg Biffle,driver of the No. 16 3M Ford Fusion,appeared at a 3M pep rally open to allbase personnel. It was hosted by leadanchor and president of the Perform-ance Racing Network, Doug Rice.The No. 16 3M Ford Fusion race carsimulator was on hand. The 3M peprally took place at the Airman & Fam-ily Readiness Center, located at 846Sumner St., Dover AFB, DE, 19902.

The 3M Hire Our Heroes pro-gram provides scholarships and grantsto deserving military members andtheir families interested in a career inthe collision industry, In the past twoyears, 3M Hire Heroes awarded 115grants valued at $500,000.

3M Hire Our Heroes ProgramSupported Military in DE

by Ron Perretta

As an observer of the initial court pro-ceedings for the repairers Multi-Dis-trict Litigation against dozens ofinsurers in the Orlando Federal Court-house [on Sept. 11], I can’t tell you thefeeling that I had and that other repair-ers present expressed while watchingthe proceedings. I’m not sure anywords can capture the feeling but it wasa feeling that I believe was long over-due for repairers... and insurer’s alike.

While phones and cameras werenot allowed in the courthouse, the pic-ture of the hearing was one I wish everyrepairer could have seen.

I was sitting at the back of thecourtroom, close to center and from my

view point I saw 50 plus attorneys whowere there representing the 40 plus de-fendant insurers, all in dark suits, sit-ting side by side, row after row alongthe entire right side of the court room.

In the center, on an elevatedbench were the two Honorable Judges(Presnell and Smith) who sat facingthe court room, and then to my leftwere five attorneys sitting at the plain-tiff’s table who were there represent-ing hundreds of collision repairersfrom various states. To the far left, inspectator’s area were 15 or more shopowners who were plaintiffs in the law-suits to witness this first step in whatwill prove to be, no doubt, a pivotaland historical event for the entire col-lision repair industry.

When provided the opportunity tospeak and ask quotations, few camefrom the defending attorneys. JohnEaves Jr. mentioned to the courts thatsince the litigation, some repairers haveexperienced various levels of abusefrom some insurers as and asked of thecourt to consider rendering a ruling toprohibit steering and retaliatory effortsagainst those repairers who are namedas plaintiffs in the litigation and to en-join them from efforts to harm them bymaking disparaging comments aboutthem and to steer consumers awayfrom them. The judge stated in so manywords that he would not render anorder at that time as he anticipated theinsurers would not make it necessary todo so... but he would consider it if in-deed their behavior warranted it. Thiswas pivotal as it placed the concern inthe judge’s minds as well as becamepart of the record. Repairers will bedocumenting any such instances andshare them with their legal counsel.

The five attorneys representingthe repairers were Mississippi attorneysJohn Eaves Sr., John Eaves Jr., Alli-son Fry, Hal Wilkins and Florida’sown Brent Geohagan, who, as most

know, has represented Ray Gunder inhis ongoing legal quests.

Because this was a pretrial hear-ing, the judges were cordial yet to thepoint regarding their conveying thecourt’s expectations for the attorneys.The judges made it clear to all that friv-olous filings and unnecessary delaysand such would not be tolerated, anddue to the sheer volume of the issuesand evidence that was to be presented,that the court would be quick to dis-courage and stop such behavior. Basedupon the limited questions posed by theinsurer attorneys, the judge’s messagehad been received clearly and dulynoted.

Upon conclusion, as the court roseto its feet and the judges left the bench,while it was quiet and subdued, therewas a sense of relief along with excitedexpectations by the repairers who werethere. They knew that this was the be-ginning of long overdue changes in theautomotive collision repair and casu-alty insurance industries normal be-havior and practices.

It wasn’t a day of reckoning…but I firmly believe it is the first dayof its beginning!


A First-Person Account of the Consolidated MDL Hearing in Orlando, September 11

The following are excerpted from Paul Brinkman’s September 11 article in the OrlandoSeninel as referenced by Ron Perretta.

•About 55 attorneys representing insurance companies came to the Orlandocourt hearing September 11

•The judge in charge, Senior U.S. District Judge Gregory Presnell, showed dryhumor, saying, “I don’t know what we did to deserve this, but here we are.”

•Body shop attorneys said they expect another 20-25 cases to be filed in other states.•The hearing mostly set schedules and conducted introductions between attor-

neys and court staff.•Michael McCluggage with Eimer Stahl in Chicago said he would be doing

“most of the talking in court for State Farm.”•Judge Presnell said he would discourage lengthy extensions on deadlines or

filing too many back-and-forth replies to others’ motions, adding “you’ll have tocome back from the golf course to get it done [if he allows it.]”

Separately, Paul Brinkman has quoted Ray Gunder of Gunder’s Auto Center inLakeland as saying, “[I have] seen many cars that were repaired improperly at othershops under insurer-imposed expense limits.”

“One of those cars was a 2007 Toyota Camry hybrid owned by Joan Dick of LakeWales, Gunder said. After a collision, Dick said, she had the car repaired first at a shopthat is part of State Farm’s repair program. She says the car still shook violently on theroad. She eventually took it to Gunder. Gunder’s inspections indicated a cracked blockand bent steering column, among other problems, Dick said in an interview. Eventuallythe car was declared totaled. “I had been through hell for months,” Dick said.”

“Gunder’s attorney on the case, Brent Geohagan of Lakeland, said the courtmay need to rent a hall for all the attorneys involved.”

Excerpts from Orlando Sentinel Articles

Advertise in our CLASSIFIED SECTION for$50 per column inch!

800-699-8251 [email protected]

Place an ad in our AUTOBODY MARKETPLACEsection of Autobody News.



NJ Firefighter Accused of ArsonRiverside, New Jersey police ar-rested and charged a Riverside FireCompany member with 2nd degreearson. According to authorities,Robert Campolongo, 43, of De-lanco, was arrested Aug. 27 afterpolice say he was driving with asuspended driver’s license. Cam-polongo is accused of a fire thathappened Aug. 17 at the abandonedMortlands Auto Body building onNorth Pavilion Avenue. Investiga-tors say they have surveillancefootage from the area and state-ments from witnesses. He is beingheld at the Burlington County Jailon $100,000 bail. Police continueto investigate. If you have any in-formation, contact Lt. Fisher atRiverside Police Department at856-461-8820.

Boston Worse Than Washington in Risky Driver RankingDrivers in Boston and Worcester, MA,are the most accident-prone in the US,landing at the bottom of an annualranking of the nation’s 200 biggesturban areas by Allstate Corp, as re-ported by Dan Reichl at BloombergNews.

The company's annual report, ti-tled “Allstate America's Best DriversReport,” is based on client collisiondamage data in 2011 and 2012.

Worcester’s drivers have a colli-sion every 4.3 years on average, whilemotorists in Boston go 4.4 years be-tween crashes, the Northbrook, Illi-nois-based insurer said on August 26in a report. Washington, DC, whichhad finished last in six straight All-state reports, was third-worst withdrivers there having a wreck every 5.1years. Allstate analyzes its claim datato come up with the annual rankingsto emphasize safe-driving habits. Thereport included data from January2011 to December 2012. The largestpublicly traded U.S. auto and home

insurer said city drivers contend withsafety issues related to populationdensity.

“Pedestrians, emergency vehicles,delivery trucks, parking cars, taxi cabsand public-transportation vehicles suchas city buses” are among the potentialobstacles facing drivers in urban loca-tions, Allstate said in a statement.

Fort Collins, CO, led the rankingfor safety a fourth time and has placedin the top 10 every year, Allstate said.Its motorists average 14.2 years be-tween collisions, a rate that makesthem 29.6 percent less likely to crashthan the national average.

Massachusetts cities hadn’t beenincluded in Allstate’s report in recentyears because the insurer didn’t sellpolicies there. The company, whichsells about 10 percent (ALL:US) ofU.S. auto policies, began offering thecoverage again in Massachusetts in2009, after exiting the state’s marketin 1989. Allstate has conducted thestudies for 10 years.

Twice Monthly e-NewslettererFreewww.autobodynews.com

Register Your Email for Our

B

More than 100 firefighters from a half-dozen departments knocked down afire at a car wash and detail shop earlySept. 7 as flames threatened to spreadto nearby businesses, according toAlex Taylor at lohud.com. ElmsfordChief David Signor said crews ar-rived to find “heavy smoke andflames” that appeared to be comingfrom Exclusive Auto Spa at 14 HavenSt. around 12:15 a.m.

Firefighters punched holes in themetal gates of two loading bays toreach the fire in a rear section of thebuilding. The two-story cinder-blockbuilding, which also houses an autorepair and sanitation company, sits ina low-rise neighborhood of mechan-ics, scrap yards and trucking compa-nies one block from Interstate 287.

“You have to be careful in a situ-ation like this involving multiple busi-nesses in one building,” Signor said.“In this case, there was a lot of flam-mable materials around, like acetylenetorches. That can make things diffi-cult.” The fire was knocked downwithin 45 minutes, although firefight-ers remained for nearly three hours.There were no injuries. Signor said thecause of the fire remains under inves-tigation. Crews from Ardsley, DobbsFerry, Fairview, Hartsdale, Irvingtonand Valhalla also responded.

100 Fireman Fought NY Fire

Check out ourNEW website at:northeastern.autobodynews.com

Register and login to comment


A Smart Solution.The Carcoon America Workstation FFeeatures:estuean Fioaksor WicaeerrAmn ooarcCheTThe Carcoon Amerriica Workstation FFeeaatures:esureatFeionatikstorkWcaeerriAmn AooarcoCaheTThe Carcoon America Workstation Features:

A massive 179 square feet of �ltration area.Two huge input �lters (over 36sf ) clean the air going throughthe Workstation.Four Paint Arrest Filters (140+ square feet) and two ActivatedCharcoal Filters ensure the air going back into the environmentis clean and EPA compliant.

••••

DDii!!erent Sizes AvailabblleeleeablailAves ASiznt Sren!!eDDii!D ——Includinngg::g:diinnludnclIIDi!erent Sizes Available—Including:13’x11’—Parts, pieces and motorcycles.30’x14’—Any full size vehicle.35’x16’x12’5” tall—As above but also Sprinter vans, small boats,and smaller RVs.60’x16’x12’5” tall—Full size RVs, boats, large trucks, etc.

•••

•

Lighting:g:ingghtiLighLLighting:Four large clear windows provide ample lighting.Additional stand lights can be placed outside the booth.

••

904.567.3825

TTThhee CCCaarcooooon Ammerica Workstation wwoorksTheT staorkWoricmmeAAmmon coare C ksorkwoon atiotthhee ssammmee andd jjjust as e!ectively as aa tth ctiv!ec e!ust dd jjunndde am sahe a ass ay avelcrroosss-""ow pppaaint booth.thootint ppaaiww p"osss--""rosc

The Carcoon America Workstation worksthe same and just as e!ectively as a cross-"ow paint booth.

Thhhee Carrccoon America Workksstation riccmeerAmoorrccoCaee CTThhTT n onatikstrkWoa Wiiss EPAA Certified. d fifieedCerA CCEPAss EEii Ideal for tthhe busy Id y buse btheor tl foealboddyy shop-mobile technniician/smaller bilmobpp--m shdy bodbb er alleman/siannicihneche tshhop with limited facilliities.mitlimth lp whosh esiticil faced

The Carcoon America Workstation is EPA Certified. Ideal for the busy body shop-mobile technician/smaller shop with limited facilities.

A Smart Solution.A Smart Solution.A Smart Solution.A Smart Solution.A Smart Solution.A Smart Solution.A Smart Solution.A Smart Solution.A Smart Solution.A Smart Solution.A Smart Solution.A Smart Solution.A Smart Solution.A Smart Solution.A Smart Solution.A Smart Solution.A Smart Solution.Th C A W k ti F tFtitkWiACThTh C A ii W k t i F tThe Carcoon America Workstation Features:Th C A i W k i F ttThe Carcoon America Workstation Features:tFThe Carcoon America Workstation Features:tiThe Carcoon America Workstation Features:titThe Carcoon America Workstation Features:tkThe Carcoon America Workstation Features:kWThe Carcoon America Workstation Features:WiThe Carcoon America Workstation Features:iAThe Carcoon America Workstation Features:ACThThe Carcoon America Workstation Features:Th

www.carcoonworkstation.com

A DC man was sentenced to 12 years inprison for attacking a co-worker with asledgehammer. Abdul Ewumi, 39, wasconvicted of assault with intent to killwhile armed, and sentenced August 29in D.C. Superior Court. According togovernment evidence, Ewumi and thevictim worked in an unspecified autobody shop. Prosecutors say on April 1,2013, Ewumi and the victim arguedover a customer’s complaint resulting inEwumi hitting the victim several timesin the head with the sledgehammer.

D.C. Man Gets 12 Years for Hammer Attack on Co-Worker

Collision industry members are invitedto join the Collision Repair EducationFoundation during their industry recep-tion the evening of Tuesday, November4 from 8:30 p.m.-10 p.m. (Local Time)in Ballroom B at the Westgate LasVegas Resort & Casino (formerly theLas Vegas Hotel) during SEMA 2014.

During the reception, attendees willhear about the organization’s efforts tosupport high school and post-secondarycollision students, 2014 donors/support-ers will be highlighted, and over $500,000in support will be announced for the 2014Ultimate Collision Education Makeoverschool grant applicants. Industry mem-bers will also have an opportunity to meet

attending collision school instructors andstudents.

Collision Repair Education Foun-dation Director of Development BrandonEckenrode noted, “Over 100 collisionschool programs from over 30 states ap-plied to have their $50,000 wish lists ful-filled in 2014 and through the industry’scontinued generosity, we will be able toannounce over $500,000 in support to theMakeover applicant schools during ourannual SEMA reception. We would liketo invite all industry professionals to joinin recognizing those who are making thissupport possible and also introduce at-tendees to the instructors and studentsthat will explain how much of a differ-

ence this support means to ensuring grad-uating students have a quality technicaleducation.”

The goal of the Ultimate CollisionEducation Makeover grant is to honor aschool that has been doing an outstand-ing job in educating students in collisionrepair, but needs some financial assis-tance to improve their program’s teach-ing materials and equipment.

With strained school budgets, theEducation Foundation and industry sup-porters have the opportunity to bridgethe program’s financial gap and to makea difference in the lives of the studentsstudying collision repair.

As part of the Makeover grant ap-

plication, schools provide an itemizedwish list which can include any tools,supplies, and equipment that are neededby the collision program.

Additional details of the event willbe made available as the date ap-proaches; however, industry membersare asked to RSVP for the reception byemailing attendee information to:[email protected].

Questions regarding the receptionand/or the Education Foundation’s ef-forts to support the future of the collisionindustry can be directed to Director ofDevelopment, Brandon Eckenrode [email protected] 847.463.5244.

Over $500,000 in Support to Makeover School Grant Applications Announced During SEMA

AutoZone Offered Double Rebates for ASA Members in AugustLongtime benefit provider AutoZonehas announced it is offering AutomotiveService Association (ASA) members anunprecedented rebate offer for pur-chases made in August. ASA memberswho double their AutoZone purchasesthis month – based on net purchasesfrom June 1-30, 2014—will receivedouble rebates for August 2014.

“This is an end-of-year ‘Thankyou!’ to our loyal customers,” said LisaKellett, AutoZone business developmentmanager. “Members who double theirJune ‘buy’ will get twice their standard

eligible rebate amount based on theirpurchases from August 1-30, 2014.”

Dan Risley, ASA president and ex-ecutive director, said, “AutoZone,which offers national account pricingwith volume rebate programs for ASAmembers, and recently introduced acompelling battery charging program,was named ASA’s Benefit Provider ofthe Year during NACE|CARS 2014 inDetroit last week. They have a long his-tory of supporting ASA and our mem-bers, and this special rebate offer is agreat example of why they were the per-

fect choice for this year’s honor.”For more information about these

ASA member benefits, call your local Au-toZone store or the AutoZone Sales Centerat (866) 727-5317, or email [email protected].

View ASA’s entire benefits portfolioin the ASA Marketplace at ASA.bizu-nite.com or www.ASAshop.org or call(800) 272-7467, ext. 361.

www.autobodynews.comCHECK IT OUT!



Richard Jensen was already in bed forthe evening Monday when he wasawakened by a series of odd noises.

“First thing I heard, or I think Iheard because I was asleep, was a rac-ing engine. And then I heard a thud.And then I heard an explosion,” hesaid.

And then Jensen, 66, discoveredthat a sport utility vehicle had crashedthrough the wall and was sitting in hisliving room — with the driver still in-side.

“She was screaming and worriedshe hurt somebody. And I’m like, ‘Lit-tle late for that.’ And I was concernedshe was hurt so I called 911,” Jensensaid. “And then she said, ‘Well, I lostcontrol.’ Well, obvious, right?”

Jensen’s home suffered heavydamage after the allegedly drunkenwoman went airborne and ended up in-side the house in a spectacular crash.

“The vehicle was completely in-side the house when it came to rest,”said Unified Police Lt. Justin Hoyal.“This vehicle ended up not only in theliving room but the kitchen area aswell.”

Neither the Herriman woman whowas driving nor Jensen were injured.

The crash was reported at 11:17p.m. at Jensen’s house, 4178 W. 5820

South. Hoyal said a woman driving aFord Explorer missed a turn, hit thehomeowner’s yard which was on anincline, and went airborne through thefront of the house, clearing the foun-dation.

“So she went flying,” Jensen said.“She didn’t hit my foundation, whichis approximately 3 feet high. It actu-ally landed on the floor in my house.And the whole truck was in my houseas if she parked it.”

Alcohol and speed were believedto be factors in the crash, Hoyal said.

Brittany Carpenter, 28, told in-vestigators “she should not have beendrinking and driving,” according to aSalt Lake County Jail report. She wasgiven a Breathalyzer test and policesaid her blood-alcohol level registeredat 0.22, or nearly three times the legallimit.

Carpenter, who has no prior crim-inal history in Utah according to statecourt records, was booked into jail forinvestigation of DUI and negligentcollision. She was released a shorttime later and took a cab to her grand-mother’s house to sleep, her mothersaid.

When Leslie Carpenter talked toher daughter after she was arrested andbefore her daughter had seen any news

coverage, she said she didn’t think herdaughter fully understood yet whathad happened.

“She thought she just hit a garage.I don’t even think she knows theseverity of it all,” Leslie Carpentersaid. “When she first talked to me shesaid, ‘I hit a garage.’ Garage? Youwent into a home dear.”

Carpenter said the behavior herdaughter allegedly exhibited Mondaynight “is not her at all.”

“For her to get behind the wheelafter any kind of alcohol beverage isbeyond her,” she said. “I was just a lit-tle shocked because my daughter isvery responsible normally. So it waspretty scary. I’m just glad no one washurt.”

Carpenter said her daughter gotinto an argument with someone earlierin the evening and then went to her sis-ter’s house. She also said her daughterhas “had a lot on her mind” lately, andthe argument that night likely added toit. Carpenter said her daughter waslikely trying to drive to her home after,but was “more intoxicated than shethought.”

Jensen, who has lived in the samehouse for 40 years and has survivedtwo major health scares of his own,said he actually felt bad for the woman.

“These things just don’t botherme like they used to. I look at the big-ger picture. I’m alive. And it doesn’tdo me any good for me to be mad ather. She’s going to have to live withwhat she did, and fortunately she did-n’t kill anybody,” he said.

But Jensen said he hopes herstory will serve as an example to oth-ers of why not to drink and drive.

“When you overdrink, this is whathappens. She could have been killedherself, or I could have been killed.(The) structure will be repaired, and I’llget over the stress of remembering it.But she has to live with it the rest of herlife,” he said. “I actually feel bad for herbecause she didn’t have to be there.”

In addition to the damage causedto his house, Jensen said the crashalso damaged an antique chair builtin the late 1800s that his grandfatherused.

SUV Goes Airborne into Kearns, UT, Living Room, No One Injured

Follow us on Twitter:

@autobodynews

Accept no Substitutes!

NABC Members Collaborate at Fundraising Event forCollision Repair Education FoundationMembers of the National Auto BodyCouncil (NABC) joined forces withindustry colleagues to promote theprofessionalism and integrity of thecollision industry to the next genera-tion of experts and leaders at the“Cars, Careers & Celebrities Expo.”The event occurred August 16, in Ar-lington, Texas, and was one of thelargest fundraisers for the CollisionRepair Education Foundation(CREF).

A highlight of the day-long eventwas the presentation of NABC’s sig-nature Recycled Rides™ program bythe Van Tuyl Group which refurbishedvehicles provided by Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Hertz and Allstate. The Recy-cled Rides vehicles will be donated tothree deserving families in the Dallas-Ft. Worth area.

“Recycled Rides epitomizes thespirit of collaboration as repairers, in-surers, rental car companies, partssuppliers, manufacturers and others inour industry work together to giveback to local communities,” said RickTuuri, Chair of NABC’s RecycledRides program, and a board memberof both NABC and CREF. “Show-casing Recycled Rides to our nextgeneration of industry professionals

exemplifies the standards and valuesthat are prevalent in our industrytoday.”

Sponsors for the CREF fundrais-ing event practically mirror the Dia-mond membership roster of theNABC, further testament to the com-mitment by today’s industry leaders tocollaborate and join forces.

NABC members supporting theevent included: 3M, 800 Radiator,AudaExplore/Hollander, ABRA AutoBody & Glass, Axalta Coating Sys-tems, Caliber Collision, DentZone/PDR Links, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Gerber Collision & Glass, Hertz,PPG Automotive Refinish, ServiceKing Collision Repair Centers andVan Tuyl Group.

“The efforts of the Collision Re-pair Education Foundation are criticalto the future of our industry. We lookforward to more opportunities such asthis upcoming event to participate andpartner with our colleagues at CREFto reinforce our mission to promoteprofessionalism and integrity in ourindustry,” said Nick Notte, NABCBoard President. For updated infor-mation about “Cars, Careers andCelebrities,” visit www.CollisionEd-ucationFoundation.org/Dallas-Event.


www.yesmaxon.com

Hours: Mon.-Fri. 8am - 6pm; Sat. 8am - 5pm 2329 Route 22 West, Union, NJ 07083

Contact MAMAXXON MAZDAON MAZDA for program details.Take advantage of the best availability andnow the most competitive prices to save

you time and money.

800-964-7281Wholesale Parts: 24 hr. Fax: 908-851-5631

MAZDAMAZDA

Call and ask how we can sell these parts to you at aftermarket prices. If it doesn’t say MAXXON on your wholesale parts invoice, you paid too much!

: The best inventory in N.J. Make it easy on you and your staff, call us first!: Our parts experts have over 100 years combined experience!: Fast & Free Delivery : Se Habla Español: We ship to the entire U.S.!

ExclusiveWarehouse!

• Tail Lamps • Fog Lamps• Radiator Core Supports• A/C Condensers• Hoods• Bumpers• Fenders

sers• Headlamps• Side Markers• Radiators

Wholesale Body and Mechanical Parts Experts Serving the

AUTO REPAIR INDUSTRY OF NEW JERSEY

In last month’s Better BlueprintingPart One, we discussed reasons thatshops have failed at Blueprinting. Thismonth we will focus on performingBlueprinting, and how it can greatlybenefit your collision repair shop.

Blueprint Admin StaffingOver the years I tried numerous vari-ations and combinations of people tostaff a Blueprinting program. All ofthem worked better than no Blue-printing program, but some combina-tions definitely worked better thanothers. Much of what influences yourBlueprint staff is simply the size andvolume of your shop. Many clientsrun smaller shops where people wearmany hats. In a small shop it is not un-common for the manager to also bethe estimator, the parts guys and theBlueprint guy. It is pretty easy to de-termine how to staff a really smallshop, but what about a shop that is alittle bigger? I recently worked with a

client that had two estimators, one ofthem liked being in the shop and thesecond one was better at dealing withcustomers. So we moved one of theminto the shop to be the Blueprint Ana-lyst, and the other efficiently handledthe entire volume of customers as theCustomer Service Manager. You mayneed to experiment with differentstaffing combinations to make it workfor your unique needs.

Blueprint Technician StaffingThe best Blueprint team I put togetherhad an older and very knowledgeabletechnician working alongside an ap-prentice disassembly technician. Thiswas a high volume shop and the teamworked in a dedicated Blueprint work-space with a Blueprint analyst whonever left his station. Many advancedshops have taken advantage of the ben-efits that creating a team system brings.It is still possible to use a dedicatedBlueprint area with individual flat rate

techs who are not paid as a team, butthere is a lot of movement of tools andpeople. Some shops using rolling com-puter carts are finding some successperforming the Blueprinting in thetechnician’s stalls. It works, but I stillprefer a dedicated area. Again, there aremany ways to create a Blueprint staffand each shop is going to be a little dif-ferent than the next based on skill level,shop size, personalities, etc.

SpaceDon’t fall in the trap of believing thatyour shop may be too small to be suc-cessful with Blueprinting. I have ana-lyzed damage in space from 2,000 sq.ft. to over 60,000 sq. ft. and the prac-tical application is still the same.

1. Disassemble and analyze the dam-age.2. Move the car until enough parts ar-rive to continuously work on it. (No-tice I said continuously.)

3. Move the car in and fix it. The keyhere is to only allow vehicles on theshop’s repair floor once they are readyto be worked on continuously. If youfollow this discipline, you will findshop space you knew you never had! Some setups used by successful shops:● One or two dedicated Blueprintstalls inside the shop

● Laptop or dedicated computer in theBlueprint area● If possible, keep the area accessiblefor tow trucks● Keep fasteners and fluids in theBlueprint area


All Sherwin-Williams Automotive Finishes Training Centers feature state-of-the-art teaching tools, such as iPads, to enhance the learning

experience for today’s collision repair professions. Explore ourrobust training programs in a variety of areas designed to

improve productivity and pro�tability.

Announces:2014 Fourth QuarterTraining Schedule

A22TT

For more information about Sherwin-WilliamsAutomotive Finishes training or other products,visit the training section at:http://www.sherwin-automotive.com/collision-repair/training-support/or call 1-800-SWULTRA (1-800-798-5872).

TrainingCenter

Numberof DaysDate Training Course Description

Philadelphia 10/06/14 AWX Performance Plus™ Application & Color Simplicity 2Philadelphia 10/08/14 Perfecting Plastic Refinishing, Final Finishing & Masking Techniques 1Philadelphia 10/13/14 Color Adjustment and Blending 3Philadelphia 11/03/14 Painter Certification 3Philadelphia 12/01/14 Painter Certification 3Philadelphia 12/15/14 AWX Performance Plus™ Application & Color Simplicity 2

MARTECH SERVICESC O M P A N Y

Quality Air Breathing Systems

We’re serious about the air you breathe

Plus we offer a complete line of NIOSH Approvedmasks and hoods.

1-800-831-1525www.breathingsystems.com

“We’re serious about theair you breathe”

By

Quality Air Breathing Systems designed to provide Grade “D” breathable air from an existing compressed air source, for a supplied air hood or mask.

Belt Unit Portable Wall Mount Single Line

$89500 $1,98500 $1,58000 $1,44500

with David LuehrLean Operations

David Luehr is the owner of Elite Body Shop Solutions, LLC, a collision business consultingfirm based in Nashville, Tennessee. He is a 30 year veteran of the collision repair industry.David is an expert in Body Shop Operations and specializes in Lean, and Theory ofConstraints methods. Email him at [email protected]

Better Blueprinting, Part 2: How to Set Up a Blueprinting Area

Recommended ToolsIn addition to the usual hand tools, thefollowing items are needed to com-plete the inspection procedure:1. Parts cart 2. Clipboard 3. Tape measure 4. Tram gauge 5. Tread depth gauge

6. Small mirror 7. Flash light/drop light 8. Mobile Estimating system 9. Creeper 10. Collision estimating system11. Access to OEM parts schematics12. Colored markers 13. Heavy Gloves 14. Safety Glasses

Better Blueprinting TechniquesStep 1. Vehicle Check-inEven though the process of perform-ing a “check-in” with the customerduring vehicle drop-off may not beconsidered a part of the Blueprintprocess, the information obtained isabsolutely vital to the Blueprint. Withthe customer present, this process in-volves walking around the vehicle and

communicating and documenting thefollowing. It is a great way of com-municating the customer’s concernsindirectly to the Blueprint Analyst toensure things don’t get missed!● What damage is a result of the acci-dent?● Unrelated prior damage?● Upsell opportunities?● MILs such as check engine warninglamps on dash – prior or related?● Anything unusual about the vehi-cle’s performance mechanically?● Touch-up paint and other “freebie”promises

Step 2. Identify Mechanical IssuesIdentifying mechanical issues prior todisassembling and disabling a dam-aged vehicle is always preferable. (Butnot always possible.) Everyone can re-late to the delays that are caused whenthese problems are discovered on theday the car was supposedly going to beready! In a collision, mechanical issuescould involve many things; howeverthe most common are suspension, airconditioning /cooling system, wiringand supplemental restraint systems. Irecommend that first you address theseitems by:● Review the customer concerns onthe check-in sheet● Test driving● Performing suspension alignmentprior to disassembly (if possible)● Using a scan tool to help diagnosetrouble codes (check engine lights, etc.)● Always ask the customer how manypassengers were in the car, especiallyif restraint systems were deployed.Check those seatbelts!● Check interior electronics, heat/air,etc.● Check fluid levels

Step 3. Communication between Esti-mator and TechnicianHow many times have you seen a tech-


See Better Blueprinting, Page 26

nician take the front bumper off a carthat was in the shop to get the rearbumper fixed? This is not a compli-cated step, but one that is often skippedwith costly results. Shops need to in-clude this step as a standard procedureand hold people accountable becausethe technician must be properly in-formed prior to touching a singlewrench to the vehicle! Make it part ofyour program to have the estimator orBlueprint Analyst go over the check-in sheet with the technician and alsoreview the estimate if one had beenpreviously prepared. Use the next step(visual mapping) to help with thiscommunication as it will clearly indi-cate what parts need to be removed inorder to properly analyze the damage.

Step 4. Visual MappingA great form of communication be-tween the Blueprint Analyst and thedisassembly tech is the use of a coloredwater marker to write on the vehicle or“visual mapping.” It can sometimes bedifficult to pull the technician aside foran extended period of time to discuss

the details of a particular vehicle’s dis-assembly requirements. This techniquecan help by writing the instructions onthe car in advance. This technique canalso be used by the customer servicerep who is identifying damage duringvehicle check-in and is particularlyhandy when there are multiple dents orscratches on a single panel, somewhich are supposed to be repaired, andsome that are not. When doing visualmapping, you can use any color youwish; however, I prefer to use trafficlight colors: red, yellow and green.

● Red = Don’t fix● Yellow = Caution, Don’t know iffixing yet?● Green = Fix it!You can come up with your own sys-tem of words, abbreviations, or sym-bols to mark the vehicle, but here area couple of the most common ones.

● X = Replace● R = Repair● RI = Remove and Install

Step 5. Meticulous Disassembly in Se-quence (if Possible)In this step, it is time to start disas-sembling the damaged vehicle. If youhave a dedicated Blueprint Analystwho will be keying-in the estimate asthe technician removes the parts, itwill be much easier to remove theparts in approximately the same groupsequence as your estimating systemparts groups i.e. bumper, grille, lamps,etc. This method is not always possi-ble, but you will find that removingdamaged parts and entering damageinto the estimating system with bothpeople following the same group se-quence (Step 10) will make your lifeeasier. You have probably heard the

terms “meticulous disassembly” or“100% Teardown.” This refers to thepractice of taking off EVERY dam-aged component that is bolted or oth-erwise fastened to the vehicle. Thispractice should not only include dam-aged parts but also parts being re-

moved for blend panels or that need tobe removed for access. Damaged as-semblies such as bumpers should notonly be removed as an assembly, but



Better Blueprinting

See Better Blueprinting, Page 46


20 Years Ago In The Collision RepairIndustry (October 1994)Responding to complaints from thecollision repair industry, ADP will bepulling the plug on a program that al-lowed dealers to promote discount re-tail parts prices using ADP’s “PartsExchange New” system.

“As a result of the issues that re-sponsible parties of the industrybrought to our attention, we will betaking discounted OEs off the ‘PartsExchange New’,” ADP’s Rick Tuuriannounced at the Collision IndustryConference (CIC) held in Nashville,TN. “They will be off the system byJanuary 1, 1995. I want to emphasizethat this is no reflection on the waythe discounted OEs themselves aredoing business.”

Although the parts prices listedin the ADP database are the manufac-turers’ suggested retail prices, the“Parts Exchange New” system al-lowed the names of dealers discount-

ing these retail prices to be listed onan estimate. More than 30 dealerswere discounting retail prices throughthe system.

Shop owners at a previous CICmeeting had pointed out that whilethe discounted retail prices affected

what insurers will pay, the shop wasstill being charged the same whole-sale price.

“The dealers are not giving a dis-count, they’re not givinganything up,” Californiashop owner Darrell Malottsaid. “They’re selling atwholesale anyway. Allthey’re doing is putting a dif-ferent retail price downthere. They can mess withthat list price all they wantbecause it doesn’t changewhat they sell it for. The sys-tem encourages them to playthat game and at no cost tothemselves. They’re givingaway our margin for their ad-vertising so that they can beselected by a third-party tomake us buy from a particu-

lar OE vendor, and they didn’t haveto give up a thing.”

►As reported in Autobody

News. ADP’s Claims Services Group(including its estimating system) wasacquired by Audatex (now AudaEx-plore) in 2006. Tuuri (who left Auda-tex in 2004 and spent four years withI-CAR) became AudaExplore’s vicepresident of industry relations in2007. Malott died in 1999.

15 Years Ago In The Collision RepairIndustry (October 1999)After losing a $456 million class ac-tion jury verdict and being assessedan additional $730 million by the trialjudge, State Farm has stopped writ-ing for non-OEM crash parts on itsestimates.

The class action trial concludedearly in October in Marion, IL, withthe 4-man, 8-women jury findingagainst State Farm. A week later, trialjudge John Speroni assessed the in-surer a financial penalty, including$600 million in punitive damages.The total judgment against State


October Retrospective—ADP, Non-OEM Parts, AAIA Study

with John YoswickHistorical Snapshot

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

California shop owner Darrell Malott was among thosecritical in 1994 of an ADP tool that allowed dealers topromote discounted retail parts pricing through the ADPestimating system. ADP eliminated the system inresponse to industry criticism.

Farm came to $1.1 billion. The in-surer plans to appeal.

In response to the verdict, StateFarm stopped promoting non-OEMcrash parts. A State Farm memo to itsemployees dated October 6 said, “Ef-fective immediately, State Farm willtemporarily suspend quoting non-OEM crash parts on repair estimates.This decision applies countrywideand in Canada, until further notice.”

►As reported in Hammer &Dolly. Other insurers also halted useof non-OEM parts temporarily, butmost returned to the practice of call-ing for their use. State Farm has not,at least in the case of 25 parts types,including hoods, fenders, doors anddecklids. The insurer did, however,appeal the ruling all the way to theIllinois Supreme Court; in 2005, thatcourt overturned the lower court’sjudgment against the insurer. Thecase remains in the news, however,because of a pending lawsuit overwhether one of the judges on the Illi-nois Supreme Court at the time itoverturned the verdict should haverecused himself from the case be-cause of election campaign donationsthe lawsuit alleges he received fromState Farm.

10 Years Ago In The Collision RepairIndustry (October 2004)The Automotive Aftermarket Indus-try Association’s recently releasedstudy, “Collision Repair Trends,” ex-amines a number of the trends thatcontinue to reshape the collision re-pair industry in the United States.

“Total collision repair-relatedsales by aftermarket repair shops in-creased 5 percent in 2003 to $34 bil-lion,” the report states, noting thatthis was driven by an increase in thenumber of miles driven and the in-creasing cost of collision repair pervehicle.

The study forecasts that saleswill increase 5.4 percent in 2004 andan additional 5.1 percent in 2005.

AAIA found that there wereroughly 43,360 shops that specializein collision repair—34,700 independ-ents and 8,600 dealership affiliatedbody shops. That’s a decline of about2,000 shops since 1999.

►The AAIA earlier this year re-branded itself as the “Auto Care As-sociation.” The total collision repairmarket is now estimated at about$33.7 billion—about the sameamount as a decade earlier—but iftotal industry revenue had grown just

by the rate of inflation over thedecade, today’s collision repair mar-ket would need to be about $44 bil-lion to be equivalent. The currenttotal number of shops is estimated atabout 40,100—about 3,200 fewerthan a decade ago, a decline of 7.4percent. Dealership shops account formuch of that decline, dropping toabout 6,350 (down by more than2,200) while there are about 900fewer independent shops.

5 Years Ago In The Collision RepairIndustry (October 2009)Last month’s press conference byConnecticut Attorney GeneralRichard Blumenthal in which hecondemned steering by insurersprompted a Hartford Business Jour-nal columnist to write that, “It’s prob-ably not the state’s business whetheryou, your insurer, or your Mommachooses the body shop that fixes yourcar.”

If someone trusts an insurerenough to do business with them,freelance writer Laurence Cohensaid, why wouldn’t they trust them tosuggest a particular body shop evenif other shops “are unhappy about notbeing included in the big hug from

the insurers” and say that the pre-ferred shops “often attach new equip-ment with used chewing gum.”

In a letter to the editor of thepaper, Bill Denya, owner of Denya’sAuto Body in Meridan, CT, and aboard member of the Auto Body As-sociation of Connecticut, said whatcustomers “don’t know about thosesecret deals is that the insurance com-panies typically put huge pressure onthese preferred body shops to reducecosts—and increase insurance com-pany profits.”

Denya said Cohen may havebeen joking about “chewing gum”being used in repairs, but that the as-sociation has “documented countlessinstances of these shops doing signif-icantly substandard repairs.”

“If you needed heart surgery,would you allow your insurance com-pany to select the least expensive sur-geon for the job or would you want thebest surgeon possible?” Denya wrote.

►As reported in CRASH Net-work (www.CrashNetwork.com), Oc-tober 12, 2009.





Branch Location - MA142 Chandler St.

Worcester, MA508.752.9700

Main Store - RI1155 Park Ave.

Cranston, RI401.943.1700

Branch Location - CT485 N. Main St.

Norwich, CT860.885.0700

wwwwwwwwww.w.w.PrPrPrPrProvovovovovidididididenenenenencececececeLaLaLaLaLacqcqcqcqcqqqueueueueuerrr.r.r.cococococommmmmwww.ProvidenceLacquer.com

PPROVIDENCEROVIDENCELLACQUERACQUER &&

Supply Centre

4444440000000111111--99999994444443333333--111111777777777777000000000000401-943-1700

The Smart Choice for Auto BodyCoatings and Supplies!

CCCCCCaaaaallllllllllll UUUUUUsssss aaaaatttttt:::::Call Us at:

Expected since June, ABRA is the lat-est privately-held MSO to secure newinvestors.

ABRA Auto Body & Glass andits principal owner, Palladium EquityPartners, LLC, announced a definitiveagreement for ABRA to be acquiredby affiliates of Hellman & Friedman,LLC., along with ABRA’s senior man-agement team. A deal for Palladium toexit its stake had been expected sinceJune.

ABRA’s network includes 186company-owned vehicle damage re-pair centers and 48 franchised centersin 19 states.

“It is with the dedicated work ofour employees, the trust of our cus-tomers, and the tremendous support ofour insurance partners that ABRA hasbecome an iconic name in auto bodyand glass repair in the three decadessince its founding,” said Duane Rouse,president and chief executive officer ofABRA. “Hellman & Friedman bringsdeep insurance and automotive serviceindustry expertise and an exemplaryrecord of helping companies such asABRA continue to evolve and grow.We look forward to working togetherto build on our track record of success.”

“Within the $30-billion collisionrepair sector ABRA stands out as a

highly-respected, exceptionally well-run business,” said Erik Ragatz, man-aging director of Hellman & Friedman.“Built on a foundation of deliveringsuperior standards for repair qualityand customer service, ABRA has be-come a trusted partner of leading auto-motive insurers and a reliable sourcefor quality collision repair servicesacross the nation. We see outstandinggrowth prospects ahead and look for-ward to partnering with ABRA’s teamto continue to execute on their strategicplan.”

Luis Zaldivar, Managing Direc-tor of Palladium, said, “We are proudto have been part of ABRA’s success-ful growth over the past three years.During our partnership, we workedclosely with ABRA’s exceptionalmanagement team to enter new mar-kets, accelerate the company’s acqui-sition program and enhance thecompany’s industry-leading capabili-ties. We are confident Hellman &Friedman will be an ideal partner inthe next stage of the company’s devel-opment.”

The transaction is expected toclose in the third quarter of 2014 andis subject to customary conditions.

Hellman & Friedman has previ-ous experience investing in businesses

within the greater collision industry. Inthe early 2000s, it owned Mitchell In-ternational. In February 2007, Mitchellwas sold to a group led by Aurora Cap-ital Group and including General Elec-tric Pension Trust.

The deal for ABRA is the just thelatest transaction for the big three pri-vately-held MSOs. In July, ServiceKing was acquired by funds controlledby Blackstone. In November, OMERSPrivate Equity (OPE) announced thatit, along with existing management,had acquired Caliber Collision Cen-ters from private equity firm ONCAP.

Harris Williams & Co. acted asadvisor to ABRA in connection withthe transaction. Greenberg Traurig LLPand Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLPserved as legal advisors to ABRA andHellman & Friedman, respectively.

ABRA Acquired by Hellman & Friedman and Senior Management Team

www.a

e-mail:[email protected]

800-699-8251

To advertisecall Advertising Sales at:

w


The Automotive Recyclers Associa-tion (ARA) is pleased to announcethat ACD has joined the Associationand is the most recent associatemember of ARA. Servicing over 225insurance companies, ACD presentsinsurance providers award winningtechnology, top-quality auto damageappraisals, subrogation auditing anda team of highly skilled claims pro-fessionals..

ACD delivers key information,decision support, auditing, consult-ing and serves to connect the links ofthe entire claims value chain.

“We are pleased that ACD hasjoined the ARA,” said CEO MichaelE. Wilson. “For years, professionalautomotive recyclers have utilizedsuccessful associate partnerships toincrease sales of recycled OEM auto-motive parts in today’s ever expand-ing automotive parts marketplace.

“We look forward to workingcloser with ACD and other industrypartners on initiatives that unlockeven more market opportunities forour 4,500 members to sell quality, re-cycled OEM parts to consumersaround the world.”

ACD and ARA FinalizeAssociate MembershipRelationship at NACE

South Carolina Reports Rise in Insurance FraudComplaintsInsurance fraud complaints in SouthCarolina have reached an all-timehigh with more than 1,200 pouring inlast year, according to a report re-leased by Attorney General Alan Wil-son.

The annual report from his of-fice’s Insurance Fraud Divisionnoted attorneys prosecuted cases thatresulted in 37 convictions and inmore than $700,000 being returnedto the victims of insurance fraud. Thereport cites several notorious cases.

In one Darlington County case,three defendants sought payment froma health insurance company claimingthey each had all four limbs ampu-tated. None of the defendants had losttheir limbs and one was convicted andsent to prison for 18 months. Restitu-tion of more than $60,000 was madeto the insurance company.

In another case from the samecounty, a woman using a stolencredit card got an insurance policyworth $100,000 on home she did notown or live in and conspired with aman to burn it down. The schemewas discovered before the housecould be torched, the woman pleadedguilty and was sentenced to fiveyears in prison.

“Insurance fraud continues todrain our system and raise premi-ums for our citizens. We must sendthe message that it is not tolerated inSouth Carolina,” Wilson wrote inthe report. Almost three quarters ofthe complaints received last year in-volved automobile insurance fraud.Fraud involving property was nextaccounting for about 17 percent ofthe complaints.

The report noted that the mostcomplaints about insurance fraudcame from Richland County with159, following by Greenville Countywith 86 and Charleston County with77. Since 1995, the first year the In-surance Fraud Division was operat-ing, almost 14,000 insurance fraudcomplaints involving almost $110million have been received by thestate Attorney General’s office.

During the period there have beenalmost 1,400 criminal convictionswhile restitution was made in almost800 cases through civil courts.

www.autobodynews.com



WAGNER BMWof SHREWSBURY

Original BMW Parts

bmwusa.com

866.438.3997770 Boston TurnpikeShrewsbury, MA 01545www.wagnerbmwofshrewsbury.com

Parts Dept. Hours: Mon-Fri...7am-5:30pm Sat...8am-2pm

730 Boston TurnpikeShrewsbury, MA 01545

www.wagnerkia.com

offooffoof SHREWSBURY H S R S H H S SHREWSBURYffffWAGNER KIA


Toll Free: 866.438.3997Call us Today!

760 Boston TurnpikeShrewsbury, MA 01545

www.wagnermercedesofshrewsbury.com

MERCEDES-BENZ

Toll Free: 866.438.3997Call us Today!

MEEMEMEMEMMMof SHREWSBURY


AudiGenuine Parts

Audi Shrewsbury780 Boston TurnpikeShrewsbury, MA 01545

866.438.3997Parts Dept. Hours: Mon-Fri...7-5:30 Sat...8-2 Sun...Closedwww.audishrewsbury.com

• Large Inventory• Experienced Staff• Large Delivery Area

Audi ShrewsburyMakes the Job Easier

ORIGINAL BMW PARTS & ACCESSORIES


HONDA

ACURA

Tischer AcuraLaure l

800-288-6983301-498-3322

Dept. Hours: M-F 7-6; Sat [email protected]

Acura of BostonBr ighton

800-254-1169617-254-5400

Dept. Hours: M-F 8-5:30; Sat [email protected]

Lia Honda of EnfieldEnf ie ld

800-221-3131860-741-3401

Dept. Hours: M-F 7:30-5:30; Sat [email protected]

Schaller HondaNew Br i ta in

800-382-4525860-826-2080

Dept. Hours: M-F 7:30-5; Sat [email protected]

Criswell HondaGermantown

866-738-2886Dept. Hours: M-Thu 7-9; Fri 7-7:30; Sat 8-6

[email protected]

O’Donnell HondaEl l icot t C i ty

410-461-5000410-461-9654


Ourisman Honda of LaurelLaure l

800-288-6985301-498-6050


AutoFair HondaPlymouth

508-927-5272Dept. Hours: M-F 7:30-7; Sat 7:[email protected]

CONNECTICUT

MARYLAND

MASSACHUSETTS

MASSACHUSETTS

MARYLAND


LIA Honda NorthamptonNorthampton

800-369-7889413-586-6043


Clinton HondaAnnandale

908-735-0900Dept. Hours: M,Tue, F 7-6; W, Thu 7-7;

Sat [email protected]

Hackettstown HondaHacket ts town

888-450-8126908-852-4172


Honda of PrincetonPr inceton

800-682-5941609-683-5941

Dept. Hours: M-F 8-4:[email protected]

Honda of TurnersvilleTurnersv i l le

800-883-0002856-649-1584


Hudson HondaWest New York866-483-6917201-868-9500

Dept. Hours: M-F 7-7; Sat 7:30-5; Sun [email protected]

Madison HondaMadison

800-648-0293973-822-1710

Dept. Hours: M-Thu 7-8; Fri 7-6; Sat 8-6;[email protected]

Planet HondaUnion

800-964-7280908-964-8411


Rossi HondaVine land

800-893-3030856-692-4449

Dept. Hours: M-F 6:30-5; Sat 7:[email protected]

Route 22 HondaHi l ls ide

973-705-9100Dept. Hours: M-F 7-7:30; Sat 8-5

[email protected]

VIP HondaNorth P la inf ie ld908-753-1680


Babylon HondaWest Baby lon

631-669-5800Dept. Hours: M-F 7-7; Sat 7:30-3:30

[email protected]

Brewster HondaBrewster

845-278-4177Dept. Hours: M-F 8-5; Sat 8-4

[email protected]

Dick Ide HondaRochester

800-462-0056 (N.Y.)585-586-4919

Dept. Hours: M-Thur 8-8; Fri 8-5:30;Sat 8-5

[email protected]

Lamacchia HondaSyracuse

315-471-7278Dept. Hours: M-F 7:30-5:30; Sat 9-1

[email protected]

Lia Honda of AlbanyAlbany

800-272-6741518-482-2598

Dept. Hours: M, T, W, F 7:30-5:30;Thur 7:30-8; Sat 8-5

[email protected]

Lia Honda of WilliamsvilleWil l iamsvi l le /Buf fa lo877-659-2672716-632-3800

Dept. Hours: M-Thu 7:30-8;Fri 7:30-5; Sat 8-5:[email protected]

Ray Laks HondaWest Seneca

716-824-7852Dept. Hours: M-F 7:30-8; Sat 7:30-5:30

[email protected]

Apple HondaYork

800-960-9041717-848-2600

Dept. Hours: M-F 7-6; Sat 7-4; Sun [email protected]

Baierl HondaWexford

724-940-2006Dept. Hours: M-F 8-5; Sat 8-4

[email protected]

J.L. Freed HondaMontgomeryv i l le215-855-3587

Dept. Hours: M-Thur 8-6; Fri 8-5; Sat [email protected]

Shadyside HondaPi t tsburgh

800-468-2090412-390-2908

Dept. Hours: M-F 7:[email protected]

Sussman HondaRoslyn

800-682-2914215-657-3301


NEW JERSEY

The Honda and Acura Dealers Listed Here are Subscribers:

Acura of TurnersvilleTurnersv i l le

888-883-2884856-649-1884


Elite AcuraMaple Shade

856-722-9600Dept. Hours: M-F 8-5; Sat [email protected]

Acura of WestchesterWestchester

914-834-8887Dept. Hours: M-F 7:30-8; Sat 8-4; Sun 9-4

[email protected]

Curry AcuraScarsdale

800-725-2877914-472-7406


Paragon AcuraWoodside

718-507-3990Dept. Hours: M-F 8-6; Sat 8-5; Sun 9-4

[email protected]

Smithtown AcuraSt . James

888-832-8220631-366-4114


Apple AcuraYork

877-5APPLE5717-849-6639

Dept. Hours: M-F 7-5:30; Sat [email protected]

Baierl AcuraWexford

800-246-7457724-935-0800


Davis AcuraLanghorne

866-50-ACURA215-943-7000


Lehigh Valley AcuraEmmaus

877-860-3954610-967-6500


Sussman AcuraJenkintown

800-826-4078215-884-6285


NEW YORK

PENNSYLVANIA

NEW YORK

NEW YORK

NEW YORKMASSACHUSETTS NEW JERSEY PENNSYLVANIA

PENNSYLVANIA PENNSYLVANIANEW JERSEY

For more collisioninfo, go to:collision.honda.comairbagaware.honda.comcrashrepairinfo.com

by Ed Attanasio

In most parts of the country, snow, tor-nadoes, floods and other severeweather can lead to an unexpectedwindfall for body shops. But most ofCalifornia isn’t usually affected bydramatic seasonal weather. However,when an earthquake hits, like the onethat shook Napa, CA, on August 24 at3:20 a.m. and measuring at a 6.0 onthe Richter scale, everyone, includingbody shops, are impacted. Thequake’s epicenter was located approx-imately 3.7 miles northwest of Amer-ican Canyon near the West Napa Faultbeneath the Napa Valley Marina, justwest of the Napa County Airport.

The earthquake was the largest tohit the San Francisco Bay Area sincethe 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake 25years earlier. Significant damage andseveral fires were reported in thesouthern Napa Valley area, and therewas also damage in the nearby city ofVallejo, in Solano County.

Napa, of course, is best knownfor its wine industry, and certainlywineries were damaged. So were dis-tributors and retailers whose inven-

tory was subject to breakage. BistroDon Giovanni in Napa lost about athird of its wine and liquor inventory,worth $20,000 to $30,000, said Cur-tis Bradford, the restaurant’s man-ager. The quake could lead toeconomic losses of as much as $4 bil-lion from wrecked wine stock andshuttered businesses that rely on

tourists, according to an estimatefrom Kinetic Analysis Corp.

Brent Blackwood, the owner ofBlackhawk Body Shop in Napa wasobviously concerned about his shopwhen the earthquake hit, but once herealized that the damage was minimal,his focused shifted to repairing cars.“There was a little sheet rock damageand quite a bit of broken glass here atthe shop. A few tool carts and a jackfell over, but other than that we werefine. It was just enough to make a bigmess, that’s all.”

Since the earthquake, BlackhawkBody Shop has been inundated withcustomers and business is up at least40%, Blackwood explained. “On anormal day, we do 4–6 estimates, butsince the earthquake, we’re doing 15or more every day. It’s mostly PDR(Paintless Dent Removal) work, but insome cases if the paint was affected,we need to do more than just PDR. Weknew that we would get a spike inbusiness, so we came in the day afterthe shaker and made sure we’d be pre-pared. We have a PDR guy that wework with regularly and he’s normallyhere once a week, but now he’s been

down here almost every day.”A second-generation body shop

owner, Blackwood and his father haveseen a few earthquakes over the years,including the 1989 Loma Prieta quake,but this one hit closer to home. “[LomaPrieta] impacted us, of course, andsome people here in Napa lost theirhomes,” Blackwood said. “We’ve beenhere since 1957 when my dad openedthis shop, so we have second and third-generation customers. We’ve devel-oped relationships with them over theyears, so seeing their cars coming inand asking them about their homes wasdifferent. In this industry, we makemoney when people get into accidents,but when things like earthquakes hap-pen, everyone is affected and anyone’sproperty can be damaged.”

Mike’s Auto Body in Napa experi-enced some toppled shelves andflipped chairs, but overall the shopcame through without damage, accord-ing to the shop’s Manager BradWoodland. “We were extremelylucky,” he said. “The city green-taggedour building, which means we’re clearfor business as usual. I live here inNapa and we know people whose


Napa Body Shops Jolted After 6.0 Quake

Most cars damaged by the Napa Earthquakeneeded just cosmetic work, but obviouslysome vehicle required much more. (Photocourtesy of Michael Smith)

homes have been red-tagged or yellow-tagged and some that came down com-pletely.”

Business was already brisk evenbefore the quake hit, so now Wood-land’s workload is over the top, heexplained. “The repairs are all earth-quake-related, involving dentedroofs, hoods, fenders and trunks. The

earthquake has been goodfor us from a businessstandpoint, but in the endwe’re more focusing onhelping people in need aftera disaster like this.”

Randy Lichau, a Napanative and the owner of LitoAuto Body near downtownwas shocked by the magni-tude of the quake. “Our re-frigerator danced across theroom and it’s a very largeunit, so I was impressed bythat,” Lichau said. “We losta lot of good buildings andseveral parts of the towntook it hard, but we nevershut down and we have beenworking hard to fix all thecars that have been cominghere.”

Lichau has been fasttracking his production to meet the in-creased need and getting his cus-tomers back on the road as quickly ashe and his crew possibly can. “We’recoming in early and working on Sat-urdays, because we were actually busyeven before the quake,” he said.“We’re doing all of the glass-relatedrepairs first, replacing windshields,

headlights, side mirrors and thingsthat make the cars unsafe to drive.We’ve definitely seen a spike in busi-ness, but as someone who was bornhere and grew up here, a tragedy likethis is never a good thing. We’rehappy to be helping people by fixingtheir cars and allowing them to returnto their normal lives.”

Insurers will probably coverabout $2.1 billion in damage, accord-ing to research firm Kinetic Analysis.Costs borne by the insurance industrymay be limited because many home-owners don’t have earthquake cover-age, according to the InsuranceInformation Institute. The costliestearthquakes in the U.S. have occurredin the state.

But just 10% to 11% of Califor-nia homes with homeowners insur-ance have earthquake coverage, whichmust be obtained on top of the stan-dard homeowners policy, according tothe California Earthquake Authority, astate-managed earthquake insurer.California residents seeking a CEApolicy can contact an insurance agentfor a premium quote, or go to Califor-niaRocks.com for an estimate.

“I’m sure more people are goingto buy earthquake insurance now,”

Amy Bach, executive director of SanFrancisco-based consumer advocacygroup United Policyholders. Ms.Bach’s main buying tip is: “Don’tforgo buying it because you think thehigh deductible is a rip-off. No earth-quake insurance means you’re carry-ing a 100% deductible!”


Some older buildings in Downtown Napa didn’t fare wellduring the 6.0 temblor. (Photo courtesy of Michael Smith)

Mercedes-Benz launched its firstelectric vehicle in 1906. Over a cen-tury later, the company has returnedwith a vehicle that is 100 percentelectrically powered. The new vehi-cles are built on the same assemblylines as models equipped with gasand diesel engines, and retain thesame structural characteristics. Theelectric engine, developed by Tesla,is integrated in the engine block. Thebatteries are housed underneath thepassenger cabin.

For the underframe check,Celette says to use the existing MZ+fixtures 7246.510 B Class W246 andthe complementary set 7156.509GLA X156. For side repair, use theexisting overhead gantry 7246.810B Class W246.

For more information, pleasevisit celette.com.

Celette Has Fixtures forM-B B Class Electric Drive


Repair System

[email protected]: 916-316-3642

www.therailsaver.com

A must have for the repair of side members and frame rails!

þ Reduce Cycle Timesþ Repair More Carsþ NO Heating Necessary

m

Visit us atSEMA

Booth #11525

“We have used the Rail Saver and it has paid for itself many times. We were able to repair some rails that would have otherwise needed to be replaced. I have recommended it to friends for their shops and they like it as much as we do.“ ~ Paul Struhar, Sr., Centerline CARSTAR Collision

NEWNEWL E

A NL E

A N

S TO R

AGE

S TO R

AGE

CCC Information Services announcedthat O’Reilly Automotive, Inc. hassigned on to join the CCC TRUE™Parts Network, an electronic automo-tive parts quoting and eProcurementnetwork that connects auto parts sup-pliers with CCC’s expansive customerbase of collision repairers. O’ReillyAutomotive, Inc., one of the largestspecialty retailers of automotive after-market parts, tools, supplies, equip-ment, and accessories in the U.S., isthe first mechanical parts supplier tojoin the CCC TRUE Parts Network,adding its vast mechanical and after-market inventory to the options colli-sion repairers can view and purchasefrom within CCC ONE® RepairWorkflow.

“Reducing the time it takes toreview and order parts is vital to thecontinued improvement and growthof the collision industry,” said TonyBartholomew, Sr. VP of ProfessionalSales, O’Reilly Auto Parts. “Colli-sion repairers now have the opportu-nity to pull inventory from over 4200O’Reilly stores and 25 distributioncenters from within the CCC ONEWorkflow application. O’Reilly AutoParts has a commitment to providequality aftermarket parts and excel-lent customer service to the collisionrepair industry and this platform pro-vides us with another avenue throughwhich we can continue meeting thisgoal.”

“O’Reilly Automotive is a na-tional leader in the automotive after-market parts industry and we’re veryexcited to have them join the CCCTRUE Parts Network,” said DavidBoden, VP, CCC’s Parts ServicesGroup. “The addition of O’Reillymarks our foray into mechanical partsand serves as the perfect complementto the dozens of other national, re-gional and local market suppliers wehave in the network today. Our goalwith the CCC TRUE Parts Network isto offer the collision repair industrychoice and convenience when it comesto parts procurement and today marksanother important step in that vision.”

Participation in the CCC TRUEParts Network is open to all partssuppliers. Parts suppliers interestedin becoming part of the CCC TRUEParts Network should visit: http://www.ccc-true.com.

Integrated auto parts quoting,procurement and invoicing are avail-able now, free of charge, to CCCONE Repair Workflow customers.

O’Reilly Automotive Joins theCCC TRUE™ Parts Network

Caliber Collision Centers announcedits expansion across the East Coastwith the acquisition of three Univer-sal Auto Body Centers in the Orlando,FL area along with Flagler Collisionin Palm Coast.

Caliber Collision’s new Floridalocations opened for business Aug. 22at 2024 Wellfleet Court in Orlando;430 Kane Court in Oviedo; 17649 USHwy 27 in Clermont; as well as 3 Mar-ket Place Court in Palm Coast.

Caliber’s four new facilities arelocated throughout the greater Or-lando market.

“Today’s openings in Floridafurther enhance our ability to restorecustomers to the rhythm of theirlives in the Eastern U.S., as we de-liver on our commitment to expandcustomer convenience while pro-viding industry-leading metrics inevery market we serve,” said CEOSteve Grimshaw.

“Our new Florida centers bringCaliber Collision’s total number oflocations to 186 across the Calibernetwork as we continue to grow intothe collision repair provider of choicein the nine states we now serve,”added Mark Sanders, President andCOO.

Caliber Enters FL Market WithFour New Stores

G.S. Electech executive is the 36thperson charged in the U.S. Depart-ment of Justice antitrust probe intoparts manufacturers. Executive sen-tenced to serve 13 months in jail.

An executive of Japanese autoparts maker G.S. Electech Inc. pleadedguilty and was sentenced July 31 toserve 13 months in a U.S. prison forhis role in an international conspiracyto rig bids and fix prices on auto partsused on antilock brake systems in-stalled in U.S. cars, the Department ofJustice announced.

Shingo Okuda, the former Engi-neering and Sales Division Managerfor G.S. Electech, pleaded guilty in theU.S. District Court for the Eastern Dis-trict of Kentucky in Covington, to a onecount charge of bid rigging and pricefixing.

As part of his plea agreement,Okuda also agreed to cooperate withthe department’s ongoing investigationand to pay a $20,000 criminal fine.

On Sept. 11, 2013, a federal grandjury in Covington, Kentucky, returnedan indictment against Okuda, charginghim with conspiring to rig bids and fixprices of speed sensor wire assemblies,which are installed in automobiles withan antilock brake system (ABS), sold toToyota Motor Corp. and Toyota Motor

Engineering and Manufacturing NorthAmerica Inc., in the United States andelsewhere.

According to the indictment,Okuda and his co-conspirators carriedout the conspiracy by, among otherthings, agreeing during meetings anddiscussions to coordinate bids and fixprices of automotive parts submittedto Toyota. The indictment chargedOkuda with participating in the con-spiracy beginning at least as early asJanuary 2003 until at least February2010.

“Today’s guilty plea is a victoryfor consumers, who deserve to knowthat the essential parts used in their au-tomobiles are not subject to anticom-petitive agreements,” said Brent Snyder,Deputy Assistant Attorney General forthe Antitrust Division’s criminal en-forcement program. “The Antitrust Di-vision remains committed to holdingexecutives accountable for behaviorthat undermines the competitive mar-ketplace.”

G.S. Electech manufactures, as-sembles and sells a variety of automo-tive electrical parts, including speedsensor wire assemblies. The speed sen-sor wire assemblies connect a sensor oneach wheel to the ABS to instruct itwhen to engage. On May 16, 2012,

G.S. Electech pleaded guilty to the con-spiracy and agreed to pay a $2.75 mil-lion criminal fine.

Okuda is charged with price fix-ing in violation of the Sherman Act,which carries a maximum penalty of10 years in prison and a $1 millioncriminal fine for individuals. The max-imum fine for an individual may be in-creased to twice the gain derived fromthe crime or twice the loss suffered bythe victims of the crime, if either ofthose amounts is greater than the statu-tory maximum fine.

Including Okuda, 36 individualshave been charged in the department’songoing investigation into price fixingand bid rigging in the auto parts in-dustry. Okuda is the first individual inthe investigation to plead guilty fol-lowing an indictment. Additionally, 27companies have pleaded guilty oragreed to plead guilty and have agreedto pay a total of nearly $2.3 billion infines.

Auto Parts Executive Pleads Guilty to Bid Rigging and Price Fixing

Search:Autobody Newson Facebook




K & M Collision, a NC shop that isknown for strong advocacy (see pre-vious story this page and search auto-bodynews.com), posted a consumer-

oriented video on YouTube that it pro-duced in support of Louisiana Attor-ney General Buddy Caldwell’s actionagainst State Farm.

“These kinds of unfair trade prac-tices aren’t just a problem in Louisiana,”owner Meredith Bradshaw states inthe video. “They pose a threat to con-sumers here in North Carolina andthroughout the United States.”

The text of a related video states“After an accident, one of the mostcommon things you’ll hear from aninsurance company is ‘if you takeyour car to a shop that’s not on our re-

ferral program or preferred list, wewon’t warranty or guarantee the re-pair’.

“This statement isn’t just mis-leading, It’s completely false.The insurance company doesnot, has not and will not war-ranty the repair even if yourcar is repaired at their directrepair facility.

“Let’s say you do followtheir recommendation, andtake your car to one of theirshops. If there are problemswith that repair, the shop it-self is liable, in exactly thesame way that K&M is liable

for any of the repairs that we perform.“The shop you choose, whether it

be an insurance preferred shop or anindependent shop, is solely responsiblefor the warranty on the repairs to yourvehicle.

“So why do insurance companiesmake this misleading statement to theirpolicyholders? It’s just another scaretactic.

“In reality, the insurance com-pany itself doesn’t provide any guar-antee. In fact, with the pressure theyplace on their shops to turn out highvolume, they create an environment

that’s more likely to result in bad re-pairs.

“But they don’t have to worryabout that. Because ultimately, the shopis responsible.

“At K&M Collision we don’tparticipate in referral networks. Ouronly priority is to serve our customersby fixing their car the right way. Youcan rest assured that any repair thatcomes through our doors is guaran-teed for life.”

A previous version of the videowas suspended from YouTube becauseof a copyright complaint from the In-surance Institute for Highway Safety(IIHS) due to its use of one of the or-ganization’s crash test clips. K & MVice President of Operations MichaelBradshaw alleges State Farm per-suaded IIHS to file the complaint.

“The basis of their complaint wasthat we used a few-second clip of acrash test to give our viewers a senseof the way a ‘crash management sys-tem’ works,” says Bradshaw. “Wefound this clip on YouTube, created bywhat we thought was an independent,nonprofit organization dedicated toconsumer safety. We’re also certainthat our brief, educational use of thisclip constitutes ‘Fair Use.’ However,

we didn’t notice that this ‘independent,nonprofit organization’ was foundedby State Farm.”

Bradshaw says K & M has coun-tered the copyright claim throughYouTube and is awaiting word on theoutcome. He says the video has gottenthe attention of the North Carolina At-torney General’s office, and they haveeven taken an interest in the IIHS’s ef-fort to remove K & M’s video fromYouTube.

“We will be documenting StateFarm’s efforts to get our content re-moved from the Internet and willcontinue to fight back and notify theindustry press about their actions,”Bradshaw says. “People should knowthat the IIHS, supposedly a non-profit organization dedicated to high-way safety, is nothing more than apuppet of State Farm, an organiza-tion responsible for putting unsafecars on the road.”

The new version of the video canbe viewed directly at http://kandm-collision.com/open-letter/?utm_source=YouTube&utm_medium=Video&utm_campaign=2ndVersionofAGLetter

A link can also be viewed at:www.autobodynews.com.


www.fitzmall.com

Phone: 800.670.4801Parts Hours: Mon-Fri: 7:30-6:00; Sat: 8-4

email: [email protected] North Frederick Ave., Gaithersburg, MD 20879

» Prompt & Dependable Delivery» Experienced & Professional Parts Team» Exper

Ready tohelp you

find the PartYou Need!

’

Lakeforest

» Prompt & Dependable Delivery» Experienced & Professional Parts Team

HYUNDAI

’’

Lakeforest

Phone: 800.670.4801Parts Hours: Mon-Fri: 7:30-6:00; Sat: 8-4

email: [email protected] North Frederick Ave., Gaithersburg, MD 20879

www.fitzmall.com

Ph

Ready tohelp you

find the PartYou Need!

K & M Collision Sends Second Version of ‘Open Letter’ Video to NC Attorney General

Meredith Bradshaw narrates the second version of theopen letter video. Previous videos are viewable online


Providing Equipment Solutions to Power our Customers' Success

7954 Cessna Avenue | Gaithersburg, MD 20879

#1 in Spray Booths and Services

#1 in Collision Repair Equipment

B & R is a distributor of Global Finishings Solutions paint booths, Chief frame and measuring equipment, and Elektron Welders. With best in class collision center equipment solutions, we are able to meet all of your collision center equipment needs.

bandraswwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww..b d ssociates.comi t

CALL US TODAY AT 1-800-213-3390

by Victoria Antonelli, Online Editor

A missed step in Jerry Ritieni’s routineon July 19 almost cost him close to $3million. When the Extreme Auto Bodyowner stopped at Cumberland Farms inSyosset, NY, to buy $10 in Quick Piclottery tickets, he placed the winningnumbers in his center console, insteadof their usual spot—on his visor mirror.

Ritieni found the tickets a monthand a half later while searching for hisVermont house keys. After entering thenumbers online at his shop, he becamea millionaire in the blink of an eye.

“I’m a joking kinda guy, so my son,friends and employees didn’t believe

that I had won the lotto, until I sped outof the parking lot,” said the Massapequalocal. “Kenny [an employee] said, ‘I

think he’s serious, he hasn’t left the shopduring business hours in 22 years, and

he’s been gone for almost an hour!’”Ritieni, 48, says he will continue to

work. “The money is life-easing, notlife-changing,” Ritieni explains. “I neverhad a retirement plan, which was alwaysa concern of mine, so it’s nice to havethat taken care of.”

Ritieni’s 20-year-old daughter and17-year-old son are his priorities,specifically their college tuition. Healso bought the building next door tohis shop for expansion purposes.

“I drove into a Maserati dealer-ship next door to the lottery officewhile my son was in the car, just tomess with him,” said Ritieni. Ritienisaid he’s happy with the way the com-

munity responded to his win.“I live by my father’s words: Be

honest, be fair, and do the right thing andyou’ll be fine,” said Ritieni. “A lot of thelocals said I won because of good karmaand I believe that to be true.”

Ritieni said he is not affiliated withany insurance companies or DRPs, andthat the customer is the priority.

“Everybody wants to make a living,but money is not my driving factor,” saidRitieni. “I don’t believe in taking advan-tage of people. At my shop, everybodygets what they paid for, and everybodygets treated the same.”

After a cash buyout and tax deduc-tions, Ritieni collected $1.3 million.

NY Shop Owner’s Forgotten Lottery Ticket is a Nearly-Lost $2.9 Million Winner

Extreme Auto Body owner Jerry Ritieni infront of his NY shop with the winning ticket(Photo courtesty of VICTORALCORN.COM)

by Lee Emmons

K and M Collision LLC of Hickory,NC, has been included as a plaintiff ina lawsuit filed under the Racketeer In-fluenced and Corrupt OrganizationsAct (RICO) against seven major insur-ance carriers and their affiliates. Thesuit, originally filed in an Illinois dis-trict court on April 30, accuses StateFarm, Allstate, GEICO, Progressive,Farmers, Liberty Mutual, Nationwide,

and many of their respective sub-sidiaries, for short pays and conspiracyto establish “an artificial market valuefor collision repairs.”

Kevin Michael Bradshaw, VPof Operations at K and M CollisionLLC, says, “I think the lawsuit willuncover and prove what many shopsthroughout the country have knownfor years, that the insurance compa-nies are refusing to pay for proper re-pairs, and are using illegal methods to

suppress the market rate.”This is the latest in a series of ac-

tions taken by body shops throughoutthe country in an effort to push backagainst insurance company tacticsthat they believe to be unlawful. TheMississippi Collision Repair Associ-ation filed to block State Farm’s Part-sTrader parts procurement mandatein the summer of 2013; a Tennesseebody shop filed suit against Progres-sive for steering and shortpays in No-

vember of 2013, and Ray Gunder hasfiled suit to block State Farm’s Part-sTrader in Florida.

The RICO Class Action plaintiff,Crawford’s Auto Center, is a Penn-sylvania-based automobile collisionrepair facility who alleges that the de-fendants conspired amongst them-selves and/or others to “suppresscompensation to repair facilities forautomotive collision repairs coveredby insurance.”

NC Shop, K & M Collision, Joins RICO Case Against Seven Major Insurers

Cooks Collision Centers, based inRosedale, CA, has acquired six colli-sion repair locations from HolmesBody Shop. Holmes will continue toown and operate the original HolmesBody Shop location in Pasadena, CA.The transaction is Cooks Collision’s

first MSO acquisition in the SouthernCalifornia market. Terms of the agree-ment were not disclosed.

The Holmes Body Shop loca-tions solidifies Cooks’ position as thelargest independently owned and op-erated collision repair organization inCalifornia, with 25 locations through-

out the state. The Holmes collision re-pair centers are located in Alhambra,Canoga Park, Duarte, El Segundo,Riverside and Westlake Village, CA.

“We are very excited about CooksCollision assuming ownership of oursix locations,” said Tom Holmes,owner and CEO of Holmes Body Shop.“Since 1972, our team has focused ondelivering outstanding customer serv-ice and quality collision repairs to ourcustomers. We made our finaldecision to join the Cooksteam based on the honesty andintegrity of the entire Woodfamily and Cooks employeesthat we met and dealt with.Our team is excited to join theCooks Collision organization.”

Cooks Collision saidHolmes will continue to ownand operate the Holmes Body Shoplocation in Pasadena, CA.

“The acquisition of the sixHolmes locations is a key step in exe-cuting our strategic plan by expandingto the Los Angeles basin and servingSouthern California consumers,” saidRick Wood, co-CEO of Cooks Colli-

sion Centers. “Cooks Collision is com-mitted to providing our new SouthernCalifornia customers the same highquality collision repair, customer serv-ice and value that our Northern Cali-fornia customers have come to expectfor the past 33 years.”

Chris Rose, vice president ofSouthern California operations forCooks Collision, said the companyplans to add several more collision re-

pair locations throughout the South-ern California market in the future.

Symphony Advisors consultedwith both Cooks Collision Centersand Holmes Body Shop throughoutthe acquisition process and separatelyVeritas Advisors, Inc. assisted CooksCollision Centers.


The right part makes the difference.

• Genuine Kia OEM Parts• Fast & Free Delivery

• Efficient Service on All Orders• Fax Your Order Today

Fax: 914.652.7660888.479.51671840 Central Park Ave. • Yonkers, NY 10710

Hours: Mon-Fri 7:30m-6:00pm / Sat 8:30am-1:00pm

www.yonkerskia.com

YOUR KIA PARTS SOURCE

Yonkers Kia

Six Holmes Body Shop Locations Acquired by Cooks CollisionCenters, All but Original Shop in Pasadena

The original Holmes Body Shop location inPasadena, CA, from which it grew into an MSOwith seven collision repair centers throughoutthe Los Angeles area. This location will continueto be owned and operated by Tom Holmes

CarMax Inc. said it is recruiting formore than 1,000 positions to fillacross the country. The used-car re-tailer in Richmond, VA, said in astatement that it is offering full- andpart-time permanent positions. Mostof the openings are in sales and serv-ice operations, which include detail-ers and technicians, CarMax said in astatement. The retailer also has open-ings in purchasing and in its businessoffice. “While many retailers are hir-ing for the holiday rush, we are look-ing for individuals who are lookingfor a long-term career,” CarMaxspokeswoman Michelle Topping Ell-wood said. CarMax plans to open 10to 15 stores during the next year, Ell-wood said.

CarMax has 139 superstores in70 markets, but cities with the mostjob openings are Sacramento, CA;Bakersfield, CA; Cincinnati; Atlanta;Lancaster, PA; and Huntsville, AL. Jobseekers can apply at carmax.com/ca-reers. Most positions, with the excep-tion of technicians, require no priorautomotive experience.

CarMax Recruiting forMore than 1,000 Jobs

The seven locations of Holmes Body Shop are dispersedover a wide area of greater Los Angeles




Announcing The One Number For All YourCollision Wholesale Parts Needs!

Proud member of Auto Body Distributing Since 2006 www.flemington.com1-877-657-2787

--8777-NJ--PAARTTS11 Exxt. 11-877-NJ-PARTS Ext. 1 One CCall D Doees it A Allll...One Call Does it All...

Flemington BMW

www.flemingtonbmw.com

AudiGenuine Parts

Flemington Audi213 Highway. 202,Flemington, NJ 08822

FLEMINGTON BMW216 US Hwy. 202/31, Flemington, NJ 08822

• Original BMW Parts Flemington Subaru167 Highway 31, Flemington, NJ 08822

GENUINE SERVICE & PARTS

Lexus Toyota

Flemington Chrysler / Dodge / Jeep / Ram204 US Route 202, Flemington, NJ 08822

l i t Ch l / D d/

Flemington Ford / Lincoln / Mercury215 Highway 202, Flemington, NJ 08822

Call Us First For All YourFORD Parts Needs

Breaking the mold.Every chance it gets.

Dedicated Wholesale Staff • Competitive Wholesale Prices

Parts? LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooookkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnngggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggg ffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooorrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr Prrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM PPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP Call FlemingtonLooking for GM Parts? Call Flemington

A sleek twist on an iconic shape, the Beetle has the looks and performance to turn heads and corners equally well.

From

To

by Chasidy Rae Sisk

Over the past two issues (see Augustand September Autobody News), in-dustry attorney Erica Eversman hasoffered some insights into the varioustypes of documentation that collisionrepair facilities can use to protect theirinterests and help them obtain propercompensation for work performed. Inthe final installment in this series onrepair documentation, Eversman helpsexplain the purpose for and how to usethe Parts Notice/Authorization and theIndemnification/Hold Harmless Letter,with a few additional documents.

The Parts Notice/Authorization isan important form for repair shops toutilize since most states have statutespertaining to the use of used or after-market parts which requires the shopto notify the consumer if these typesof parts are used to repair their vehi-cle. When choosing the parts to use ina repair, the facility has several op-

tions: new OEM parts, aftermarketparts, or salvage yard parts (which theinsurance industry commonly refers toas “recycled parts”), but dependent onand subject to state laws, the repair fa-cility must be sure that the consumerunderstands which parts are being uti-lized in their vehicle—and that dis-closure can be easily be substantiatedby having their customers sign a PartsAuthorization.

Often, the insurance company in-structs the repair facility to utilize af-termarket parts in the repair, butultimately, the consumer is puttingtheir life in the repairer’s hands, not theinsurer’s. “Nothing gives a repairer theright to knowingly put an unsafe parton someone’s vehicle,” Eversman ad-monishes; however, there will be situ-ations that repairers face when they arenot entirely comfortable with the in-surer’s suggestion to use particularused or aftermarket parts in the repair.In those situations, if the consumer is

unwilling/unable to pay for new ornew OEM parts when the repairer hasconcerns about using used or after-market, Eversman states, “the repairfacility is ethically responsible for per-forming a safe repair, despite pressurefrom insurers, so the repairer must en-sure that the consumer is notified thatthe repairer really prefers to use differ-ent parts during the repair process.”

Although aftermarket or recycledparts may work just fine the majorityof the time, there is always the poten-tial for problems when parts used inthe repair are not new OEM. In theevent of an accident related to the fail-ure of these parts, the repair facilityneeds to make certain it has protecteditself by proving the insurer refused topay for new OEM parts, the consumerwas informed about the use of theseparts but refused to pay the differencefor the preferred parts, and the repairerpossesses this signed document estab-lishing the consumer’s notification and

consent. “People don’t want to thinkabout accidents,” Eversman points out.“Generally, they don’t think of it untilafter an accident when they’re alreadyvulnerable. We, as an industry, need todo a better job of educating consumersin advance.”

In addition to the Parts Notice/Au-thorization, repair facilities that areaverse to installing certain used or af-termarket parts should also ask theircustomers and the customer’s insurerto sign an Indemnification/Hold Harm-less Letter which explains that the re-pairer is only using the specified partsbecause both the customer and the in-surer insisted on them. This documentmakes the insurer liable for the use ofthe specific parts and documents theiragreement to pay for any lawsuits ordamages the repairer suffers for prob-lems with the parts. Insurers rarelyagree to sign this document, often opt-ing to pay for the appropriate part in-stead, but if the insurer insists on the


Other manufacturer lines are available. Call now!

www.sussmanhyundai.com

Parts Direct: 888-881-8844Fax: 215-887-3182Hours: M-F 8am - 5pm Sat 8am - 4pm

1645 Easton Rd.,Willow Grove, PA 19090

Sussman Hyundai

HYUNDAI WHOLESALE PARTS

Large Inventory of OEM collisionand mechanical parts

Fast, Free same-day delivery onmost orders

www.sussmankia.com

Sussman Kia

KIA WHOLESALE PARTS


1940 Jenkintown Rd.,Jenkintown, PA 19046

Experienced Wholesale Specialistsready to assist you.

www.sussmanmazda.com

Sussman Mazda

MAZDA WHOLESALE PARTS


1601 Easton Rd.,Willow Grove, PA 19090

Parts Authorization, Indemnification and More—Documentation Part 3

with Erica EversmanThe Legal View

Erica Eversman is an attorney, frequent speaker and author on automotive legal topics.She has been quoted in such publications as The Wall Street Journal Online, USA Today,Kiplingers Personal Finance, Cars.com, Yahoo! News and other trade magazines.

use of potentially unsafe parts and thecustomer agrees, the repair facilitymust protect itself from the insurer’sinfluence; otherwise, the insurer willclaim it has no responsibility for theuse of those parts in the repair.

Because manufacturers don’toffer a warranty on aftermarket parts,using these in a repair can lead to apartial or complete restriction on thevehicle’s bumper-to-bumper warranty.OEMs cannot automatically void awarranty due merely to the use of af-termarket parts, but they can restrictor void the warranty if the aftermarketpart results in problems with the vehi-cle or causes an accident due to partfailure or malfunction. Still, many in-surance companies’ DRP contracts re-quire the use of aftermarket parts, yetthey will not insure the shop’s liabilityif there is an issue.

Though insurers say they will“guarantee” the work of a DRP shop,doing so requires assuming liability,which insurers invariably try to avoid.While they generally say they offerwarranties on the aftermarket or usedreplacement parts, insurance compa-nies’ warranties do not cover the facil-ity’s workmanship unless specificallystated. As a result, consumers are too

often told by insurers that the insurer“guarantees the repair”, but if a con-sumer actually reads what the insureris guaranteeing, it is often nothingmore than a statement that it will try toaddress a problem with an aftermarketpart after the consumer has addressedthe warranty problem with the partmanufacturer. Eversman states, “theinsurance company’s guarantee is use-less. Warranties are like insurance poli-cies – they contain more exclusionsthan actual coverage. The insurers willsay they don’t fix cars—they just payfor repairs and that all of the decisionsfor how the vehicle was repaired werethe collision facilities; however, theirads brainwash consumers by creatingthe impression that insurers are in-volved in the repair. These ads focuson a magical restoration without theinvolvement of the consumer or the re-pair facility. Much of this glib adver-tising creates the wrong impression forconsumers that doesn’t reflect reality.”

Eversman also strongly discour-ages shops from offering a warrantyon anything besides their workman-ship, especially on parts. Thanks to theMagnuson-Moss Warranty Act, insur-ers can offer a warranty for the re-pairer’s workmanship and parts used

in the repair, though this puts them onthe hook to assume liability in theevent of a problem. Eversman advisesshops to “refuse the insurer’s demandsto offer aftermarket or recycled partswarranties. Repairers should clearlystate in all customer documents thatyou guarantee your services and repairwork, but never offer a warranty forany part used in the repair. Doing soonly subjects repairers to potentiallawsuits involving double or trebledamages and the payment of the con-sumer’s attorney fees if there are is-sues with the parts.”

In addition to the documents dis-cussed in detail throughout this three-part series, Eversman feels that shopsshould also be aware of some addi-tional documentation that they mayfind useful. The Customer Notice ofInsurer Deficiency is a form thatserves to inform the consumer of theirinsurance company’s refusal to pay fora proper, safe repair. Eversman notes,“this form can help with the public re-lations battle; the insurance companiesdon’t like to be called out on their ac-tions, so they are more likely to han-dle the problem. It also reminds thecustomer that you are the collision re-pair professional and that you are re-

fusing to perform an unsafe repair, de-spite the insurer’s demand that youbreach this part of your contract withyour customer.”

The Customer Notice of InsurerDelay keeps the consumer in the loopby alerting them to the fact that the in-surer is causing a delay in the repairprocess. The Vehicle Damage Insur-ance Election Form, which only ap-plies in first-party cases, is a documentthat the customer can send to their in-surance company demanding to knowwhat specific remedy under the insur-ance policy the insurer is choosing.This forces the insurer to definewhether it is “electing to repair” andaccepting all liability for the repair orpaying for the loss in money. Thoughthe insurer is unlikely to sign this doc-ument, the customer can note their re-fusal to responds to the request, andthis can be useful if a trial is necessaryas the insured has the right to demanda response from the insurer to ques-tions related to their claim.

A Notice of Additional Cost is anice way to inform the insurancecompany of an additional repair cost,granting them a specific amount oftime to respond before resuming the


See Documentation Series, Next Page

The marketing world has changed sig-nificantly during the past few years. Somuch has moved on-line that mostother marketing expenditures may nolonger make sense in your area. If youtrack results from your marketing ef-forts, you have probably noticed thelack of business coming from printads, print version yellow page, andother phone book ads. It may be timeto pull the plug on non-productivemarketing and make better use ofthose funds. As insurance companiesestablish toll-free numbers to reportclaims, you should probably stop mar-keting to most agents. Unless you havenearly unlimited funds to advertise justto keep your name in front of the pub-lic, you should probably end off radioand TV advertising. And stop payingfor useless advertising schemes. Thesemoves should free up money to pay forreal marketing results.

So where should you redirectthese funds? Mainly you want to dou-ble up on-line and live contact efforts.On-line yellow page, Superpage, andsimilar services will allow prospectivecustomers to find you. Enhancingyour website, Facebook page andother social media will be one gooduse for expanded expenditures, butthis should only be a start. As the vol-ume of collision repairs decline due toadvances in vehicle accident avoid-ance technology, to survive shops willhave to embrace other profit centers.This may call for a new mindset notfamiliar to most shop owners andmanagers. For example, merchandisestore marketing rule number one is“Get as many people as possible intothe store!” People like to go to famil-

iar places and prefer not to have to tryout a new place if they are happy withthe old one. The intent is always tomake a prospective customer’s firstexperience so incredible, they will al-ways come back first before trying outany other place. How can a shop makeuse of this fundamental principle?

Perhaps it’s time for shops tocopy what dealerships have done fordecades. Shop owners and managersaccustomed to $2000 repairs and up,may scoff at a couple of hundred dol-lars here and there in profits fromvending machines, accessories, audiosales, and cosmetic automotive mer-chandise. But keep in mind that many“profit-centers” have a second benefitas marketing opportunities. Everynew person that comes into the shopshould be given a powerful propa-ganda piece. This should be a bookletfeaturing the shop’s “special” features.Shop personnel often think prospec-tive customers know what equipmentshops have, and what they do, but thisis rarely true. A booklet should spellout why a shop’s frame machine,welding equipment, and painting ca-pabilities are better than the competi-tion, and why special skills inrepairing hybrids, electric vehicles,exotic cars and more make this thebest shop to repair a vehicle. The real-ity is the public is generally unawareof shop expertise, and the unspokenmessage of the booklet is that ourcompetitors are unlikely to have thishigh quality equipment and systems(even though they may have it too).

Sharing or piggybacking busi-nesses is increasingly popular as rentsgo up. Local grocery stores now often

have a Starbucks or similar conces-sion in the store. Some hamburgerchains now have a donut vendor con-cession or a pizza concession sharingthe space. Sharing the cost of a spaceagain frees up funds for marketing andperhaps advertising deals on lineusing Craig’s List, eBay and othersites. Auto glass, headlights, acces-sories, cosmetic fixes, running boards,pet restraints,, child proofing, oldercars with no GPS are all profit-centerprospects for sales and/or installationsand add new names to an e-mail mar-keting list. A shop might want to part-ner with an automotive accessoriesvendor and provide an alternate dis-play area—and not only share in thesales profits, but also profit from in-stallations and again capture prospectnames. In a shop where estimatorsonly write estimates a few hours aweek, product sales and installationfees can be an on-going supplementalcommission opportunity.

Beyond front office space, a col-lision repair shop also has a hugeamount of space compared to mostbusinesses. Some shops open up re-pair space for mini-trade shows, andnot only for collision repair products.Convention centers are costly placesto hold trade shows, and small groupslike furniture and equipment vendorscould appreciate a local space to showproducts. This could bring in localbusinesses with company vehiclesand provide an opportunity to solicittheir vehicle repairs. Another alterna-tive is more community-based uses ofspace. Sundays some shops makeopen space available for meetings,church groups, school groups, andboy or girl clubs or activities.. Kid’sactivities bring parents, especiallymoms who can be good prospects forvehicle repair. Redirecting marketingfunds like this will generate far moresales than old-style advertising andpromotions.

repair, since this saves rental car timefor the insurer. It also gives the im-pression that the insurance companymust respond to you because you’rein control of the repair process.Lastly, an Authorization and Releasegives you the right to use photos orvideos of the repaired vehicles foryour own purposes (such as on your

website).Obtaining proper repair docu-

mentation is essential to providingcustomers with the best possible re-pair. Eversman encourages all colli-sion repair facilities to protect theirbusinesses by contacting a local attor-ney to begin drafting these vital doc-uments.

Erica Eversman is the ChiefCounsel for Vehicle Information Serv-ices, Inc. and founder of the Automo-tive Education and Policy Institute.


1000 Main St. / Holyoke, MA 01040

800-559-7583Parts Dept.:

Fax: 413-536-6349

Hours:Mon-Thu 7:30 - 8 / Fri 7:30 - 6 / Sat 8 - 4

www.GaryRomeHyundai.com

• Fully Stocked Inventory• Exceptional Service• Large Inventory • Fast & Free Delivery

eeGarar ey Romeeeeey meeyy RomGaryyyyaa eeeeeeeeeeG mmmmmmmmmmmmRRrra RGyund idaiyuHHyyy daiaiuu aad iiunHHH n aadHH i

Gary RomeGary RomeHyundaiHyundai

Gary RomeHyundai

809 En!eld St. / En!eld, CT 06082

800-509-2652Parts Dept.:

Fax: 860-265-2674

Hours:Mon-Fri 8 - 6 / Sat 8 - 4

www.GaryRomeKia.com

• Competitive Discounts• Friendly Parts Sta! Here To Help• Call Us For All Your KIA Parts Needs

eeGarar ey RRomeeeeey mey RRoomGaryyyyaa eeeeeeeeeeG mmmmmmmmmmRRRRrra RGK AAKKIAAKKIKK A

Gary RomeGary RomeKIAKIA

Gary RomeKIA

End Useless Marketing—Redirect Funds and Get Results!

On Creative Marketingwith Thomas Franklin

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


Documentation Series


should also have all the grilles, lamps,moldings, fasteners, etc. removed.There are three main reasons that100% Teardown is recommended.

1. To reveal all hidden damage2. Ensure fasteners will be reused3. Facilitate ease in mirror matchingthe replacement parts

Step 6. Divide Parts by Good and Bad(R&R and R&I)As the technician is disassembling thevehicle, the parts being removed shouldbe separated and placed in two visuallyseparate spaces. One space for damagedparts (Bad) and another for parts justbeing removed and later re-installed(Good). I prefer to use a table to lay partsout, but you could also use the floor.

Step 7. Using a Clip SheetClips and fasteners tend to be an oftenoverlooked part of the damage analy-sis process and with costly conse-quences. Some shops consider clipsand fasteners an expense. When dam-aged or missing fasteners are captured

and billed out on the initial Blueprint,they become a profit center! I haveseen several ways to capture and recordthese, but my favorite technique is touse a clip sheet. By the tech taping asample of the damaged clip to a clipsheet and writing out the quantityneeded, the person entering the infor-mation into the estimating system willhave the information. There are two ad-ditional benefits to using this system.1. You can take a photo of the clipsheet to send to the parts vendor.2. The clips are where you can mirrormatch them until the new clips arrive. If your company stocks the neededclips, you should put the new replace-ment clips in a marked bag along with

the old re-usable clips so when itcomes time to reassemble the vehicle,everything the tech needs will bethere. It’s a term called “kitting” be-cause you are actually building a kitwith everything needed to assemblethe car on a parts cart.

Step 8. Re-backing Moldings and TrimAs mentioned, we are trying to build a“kit” for the technician during reassem-bly so cleaning the adhesive and apply-ing new adhesive backing on moldingsand emblems should be done immedi-ately after removing them. There areadvantages to re-backing the trim now.● If molding is painted, lessenschance of damaging paint later on● If they are going to break, it is bet-ter to know now so it can be added tore pair plan

● Is ready to go back on during as-sembly (part of the “kit”)

Step 9. Sequenced Analysis of Dam-age Using Arrow-Down MethodThere are several schools of thoughtabout what sequence to put damage en-tries onto the estimate. Most of us weretaught to start with the point of impactand then work outwards. I don’t agreewith this because it opens up too muchroom for error. Nearly 10 years ago, agood friend suggested that I should usethe information in the estimating systemand take it to the damaged car, insteadof the other way around. By keyingdown through every part in each group,you will now catch parts that may havebeen completely destroyed or torn offduring the accident. I also highly rec-ommend using actual OEM diagrams.

Step 10. Photo DocumentationIn addition to your company’s photostandards, I suggest getting photos ofthe parts as they are being laid out onthe table or floor. Your local insuranceadjuster will most likely appreciate it.

Step 11. Blueprint Verification Process,Loading Parts CartThis is the most important step! Print


718.728.8111x3019/3040

Parts Dept.

718.278.0319 Fax

Hours:Mon-Thur 7:30am - 6pmFri 7:30am-5:30pmSat 8am - 4pm

[email protected]

www.koeppelvw.com

Koeppel VolkswagenWe’re open to serve you!57-15 Northern Blvd., Woodside, NY 11377Parts: 3251 57th St., Woodside, NY 11377

• Value Products & Tires Available• Free Dedicated Delivery• Large Stock of OEM Parts

• Value Products & Tires Available• Free Dedicated Delivery• Large Stock of OEM Parts

718.626.7200718.721.9100

718.626.1427 Fax

Hours:Mon-Thurs 7:30am - 6pmFri 7:30am-5:30pm Sat 8am - 4pm

[email protected]

www.koeppelmazda.com

Koeppel MazdaThe Source for Mazda Parts!57-15 Northern Blvd., Woodside, NY 11377Parts: 3250 57th St., Woodside, NY 11377

Parts Dept.H PParts Dep


Better Blueprinting

the estimate out. Check off each dam-age entry on your estimate as the cor-responding part is loaded onto the cart.If you have everything checked offyour estimate and there are still dam-aged parts on the table or floor, youmay have missed something. It’s a sim-ple but very powerful technique. Fi-nally, be sure to place the parts in thesame manner as discussed in Step 6.When you orderly divide the good and

the bad parts on the cart, it makeschecking the replacement parts for cor-rectness (mirror matching) easier to do.

For more information or toschedule a Blueprint Clinic at yourshop, please contact David Luehr at:[email protected].


Subaru

Your Premiere Dealership for Genuine Subaru Parts and Accessoriesalership for Genuine Suba

We Have the Parts!!We Have the Parts!!We Have the Parts!!è We are your Genuine Subaru parts sourceè Fast, friendly, knowledgeable serviceè More than competitive pricesè Free Deliveryè Experienced staff

www.getsubaru.com

95 Old York Rd. è Jenkintown, PA 1904695 Old York Rd. è Jenkintown, PA 19046

Glanzmann SubaruGlanzmann SubaruGlanzmann Subaru

è HOURS:

Monday - Friday 7:30 am—5:00 pm

Your Premiere DeaYour Premiere Dea

èèèèèèè

WRX STI

800-440-0130800-440-0130800-440-0130Fax 267-287-0034

Parts Dept.

[email protected]

Arizona MVD Issues Cards With Wrong PicturesJennifer Lohss renewed her identificationcard and driver’s permit at the ArizonaMotor Vehicles Division office near 51stAvenue and Indian School Road.

On the temporary copy, everythingwas correct.

But when the permanent cards arrivedin the mail, there was an obvious error.

“All of my information was correct.There was just somebody else’s picture andsomebody else’s signature,” said Lohss.

Lohss’ number one concern: herpersonal information getting into thewrong hands.

CBS 5 News took the issue to thetop of MVD.

Director Stacey Stanton said thatthe issue first came to her attentionTuesday morning and the IT team beganinvestigating right away.

So far, she said eight cases havebeen reported.

Stanton added the MVD just transi-tioned to a new centralized system last week.

The agency is now issuing new, en-hanced-security ID cards, drivers li-censes and permits.

Customers receive a temporaryform in person and the permanent cardis mailed to them directly.

“I think it’s both learning curveand perhaps some programming,” Stan-ton said of the card errors. “So, we’relooking at both of those.”

Stanton said the affected creden-tials were processed at several MVD lo-cations and produced by its vendorMorphoTrust in California.

But, she said it was a glitch in thenew MVD system that allowed thewrong pictures and signatures to be at-tached to bar codes on applications.

“We’re confident that we are mak-ing the correct changes and we’re goingto be issuing the proper credentials,”said Stanton.

But some customers worry the newprocess of receiving their credentials bymail, instead of at the MVD, puts themat risk.

“It’s scary because somebody elsecould use your identity,” said David Por-tao.

Others questioned the need for anew system.

“I don’t understand, what was wrongwith us getting the permanent one fromthe get go?” asked Priscilla Rodriquez.

Stanton said the MVD doesn’t havethe capability to produce the high-techcards in-house and she doesn’t believeanyone’s security has been breached.

“The individuals who received thewrong photo and the wrong signature -the information they received was stilltheirs,” she explained. “It was mailed totheir address. So, none of their person-ally identifying information has been

compromised.”If you have an error on your dri-

ver’s license or identification card, con-tact the MVD immediately so that theproblem can be fixed.

Cumulative sales of plug-in elec-tric cars in California have sur-passed 100,000, industry expertsannounced Sept. 8, according toreports in the Sun.com by MorganLee. As of the end of August, Cali-fornians had purchased 102,440plug-in cars, including both all-elec-tric vehicles and plug-in hybrids thatrun on a combination of electricityand gasoline, according to figurescompiled by HybridCars.com andBaum & Associates, a Michigan-based market research firm. Thesales records date back to Decem-ber 2010, when the all-electric Nis-san Leaf and plug-in hybrid ChevyVolt were first introduced to con-sumers in select U.S. markets. Cal-ifornia regulators celebrated themilestone as the state bets on plug-invehicles to meet aggressive goals forreducing emissions of heat-trappinggases linked to global warming.

CA Has 100K+ Plug-In Carsand Counting

Some body shops swear by Angie’sList and call it the “Anti-Yelp,” but inthe end, isn’t it just another advertis-ing-based review system? If you’renot familiar with Angie’s List, it’s apaid subscription supported websitecontaining crowd-sourced reviews oflocal businesses. They currently have2.3 million paid members, althoughthe company lost $1 million last year.

Right now, Angie’s List is underfire and many small service companieshave put her on their enemies list. PoorAngie is getting bad feedback fromsubscribers, investors and businessesalike, for bad reviews from low-ratedbusinesses, disappointing earnings, ex-ecutive departures, and lawsuits alleg-ing misleading practices. Then, there’sthe younger, hipper competition offer-ing similar information for free.

Angie’s List wants users to thinkthey’re consumer-driven, when in fact70% of their revenue comes from ad-vertising. “It’s not advertising fromCoca Cola, it’s advertising from thecompanies they rate,” Jeff Blyskal, asenior editor for Consumer Reportsexplained.

While companies do not pay to belisted on Angie’s List, companies canpay to appear higher up in the searchresults—which Blyskal believes com-promises the validity of the Angie’sList sorting system.

“If you’re looking for a contrac-tor, you’re only going to look at pageone or two. That skews the ratings,”said Blyskal. “It’s about who adver-tises and I don’t think they’re beingstraight with the public on that.”

In a recent statement, Angie’s Listfounder and CMO Angie Hicks said,“Angie’s List is built on a foundationof fairness and transparency. Every-thing at Angie’s List starts with theconsumers. The consumers give the re-views and assign grades. The compa-nies’ A–F ratings are the average of theconsumer reviews we receive. Com-panies that are A–B rated are eligibleto advertise with Angie’s List, but theymust offer a discount with that adver-tisement and if their grades fall belowa B, we pull their advertising.”

Hicks also noted that the companyputs itself through an outside audit inorder to determine that the data-han-

dling process is fair to all businesseslisted on the site, and that these auditshave “always found Angie’s List re-views a fair, impartial, trustworthysource.”

Angie’s List has been criticizedfor the fundamental contradiction be-tween its mission statement whichstates, “Companies can’t pay to be onAngie’s List,” while in reality its top-rated businesses are allowed to adver-tise. Small business owners (like bodyshops) are crying foul, because they’reaware of the fact that if a company ad-vertises with Angie’s List, their nega-tive reviews will be removed. Thecompany’s effort to keep advertisershappy reveals their conflict of interest,which is why subscribers and busi-nesses are claiming that Angie is play-ing favorites.

Angel Iraola from Net BusinessConsulting & Solutions in Santa Rosa,CA has advised his clients in the pastto use Angie’s List, because for manyyears it was better and more crediblethan Yelp, he claimed. But no longer,Iraola said. “The A- and B-rated com-panies on Angie’s List can buy theirway to the top of the default search re-sults and that makes it patently unfair.My automotive repair clients are grav-itating more now toward Yelp, becausethey’re not so blatant about giving spe-cial treatment to advertisers.”

One body shop owner (who choseto be anonymous fearing bad reviewsfrom Angie) said the following: “Itseems to me that just a few short yearsago Angie’s TV commercial was com-pletely different. She seemed to endeach one with the statement ‘no com-pany can pay to be on Angie’s list.’ But,now they’re forced to make money andadvertising seems to be the way they’redoing it. I think ‘truth in advertising’should pertain to everyone, especiallythose that claim complete transparencybut don’t adhere to their own claims.Do we even know if Angie is the realowner or just a paid actor like Flo onthe Progressive commercials? I’ve lostmy faith in this site, so we don’t use itanymore and we took their link off ourweb site as a result.”

How can a body shop owner becertain that Angie’s List is on the upand up or playing games with your re-

views? Iraola says do your due dili-gence and get everything in writing.“Angie’s List is just like any other re-view site” Iraola said. “They need tomake money somehow and at the be-ginning they were going to the cus-tomers to get it. But, how manypeople are going to pay $100 annuallyto find good, honest companies if theyknow that these companies are alsopaying for their positions on Angie’sList? That’s one of the biggest prob-lems with Angie’s List. Are the top-rated companies really there becausethey do excellent work or are theythere because they bought that spot?Once any review site loses its credi-bility and the end users doubt its va-lidity, problems will follow. I hopeAngie’s List can figure out a way tore-invent itself, so that my clients willwant to get involved and the cus-tomers will believe in it again.”

When it comes to review-basedsites, Iraola prefers Yelp to Angie’s

List, especially for body shops. “Yelpis more relevant and many shops stilldon’t like it, but in the end it’s theirbest way to go. I tell collision market-ing people to manage your Yelp pageand respond to every review, both pos-itive and negative. Use it as a tool andstay on it, because if you let a bad re-view sit, it looks like it’s justified. Andstay away from Angie’s List at leastfor now. They will undoubtedly re-in-vent itself to a certain degree verysoon, because right now they’re los-ing traction.”

Curtis Nixon is the president ofAutoBody-Review.com in Chino Hills,CA, a company that verifies everycustomer review by tapping into adatabase that confirms their identityand thereby gets true reviews for itsbody shop clients. “The big problemwith these review sites is that they donot contain verified reviews,” Nixonsaid. “We make sure that the customer


www.acuraofwestchester.com

www.oeconnection.com

[email protected]

914-834-8887914-833-1812 FAXCall or e-mail

us Today!

2155 Palmer Ave.Larchmont, NY 10538

HOURS:Mon. - Fri.:7:30am - 8pmSat.:8am - 4pmSun.:9am - 4pm

• Large Inventory• Delivering to Westchester, Rockland, Putnam• NYC 5 Boroughs & Connecticut• Fast Free Delivery• Great Discounted Prices

Acura of Westchester

with Ed Attanasio

Social Media for Shops

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

Is Angie’s List Impartial or Is She Playing Favorites?

See Angie’s List, Page 62


WHOLESALE PARTS DIVISION CLAY FAMILYDEALERSHIPSBuy Easy. Drive Happy. Pay Less.

&

381 Providence HighwayNorwood, MA 02062

CLAY CHEVROLETCLAY CHEVROLET

CLAYHYUNDAICLAY HYUNDAI391 Providence HighwayNorwood, MA 02062

CLAYSUBARUCLAY SUBARU842 Providence HighwayNorwood, MA 02062


CLAY NISSAN OF NORWOOD

CLAY NISSAN OF NORWOOD

[email protected]

[email protected]

[email protected]

ü We carry a complete line of Genuine Hyundai mechanical and Body Partsü Professional wholesale staff

Parts Dept. Hours:Monday-Friday 7:30am-5pmSaturday: 8am-4pm

ü Same day parts delivery ü Dedicated, professional wholesale parts team

Parts Dept. Hours:Monday-Friday 7:30am-5:30pmSaturday: 8:00am-4:00pm

New England’s LARGEST NISSAN WHOLESALE PARTS DEALER!

Parts Dept. HoursMon-Weds-Fri: 7:30am-6:00pmTues-Thurs: 7:30am-7:00pm Saturday: 7:30am-1:00pm

[email protected]

ü Genuine Subaru parts. ü Priced right and delivered fast twice daily to Massachusettes and Rhode Island

ü1-Hour Express Delivery Available!

üDaily Delivery Twice to MA & RI

üProud Member of AASP

üUtilizing


THE WORLDS LARGEST, INDEPENDENT SUBARU DISTRIBUTOR serving the six New England states since 1971.

New England’s LARGEST HYUNDAI INVENTORY AND DELIVERY FLEET!RIGHT PART. RIGHT PRICE. RIGHT TIME!

CLDEBuy


ü Competitive wholesale pricingü Complete line of Genuine GM Parts: Chevrolet-Buick- Pontiac-Cadillac-GMC Truck-Hummer

tollfree800-559-9210

800.991.1009


800.991.1009


781-619-7280


781-762-7013


P id Hi h

Y T

CCLAY CLAY CLAY CLAY CCHEVROLETCHEVROLETCHEVROLETCHEVROLET

[email protected]


RIGHT PART. RIGHT PRICE. RIGHT TIME!

Norwood,, M A 0 2062 www.clayychevrolet.com

ü Competitive wholesale pricingü Complete line of Genuine GM Parts: Chevrolet-Buick- Pontiac-Cadillac-GMC Truck-Hummer

tollfreetoll

free800-559-92108fax 800.991.1009

525 Providence HighwayNorwood MA 02062

CO

CLAY CLAY CLAY CLAY NISSANNISSAN NISSANNISSAN OF NORWOODOF NORWOODOF NORWOODOF NORWOOD

[email protected] claynissan comm

ü Same day parts delivery ü Dedicated, professional wholesale parts team

Parts Dept. Hours:Monday-Friday 7:30am-5:30pmSaturday: 8:00am-4:00pm

New England’s LARGEST NISSAN WHOLESALE PARTS DEALER!

RVICE & PARTSGENUINE SER

tollfreetoll

800-411-97728fax 781-619-7280

NoNorwrwoooodd,, M MA A 0 020206262 wwwww.w.clclayayninissssanan.c.comom

CLAYCLAY CLAYCLAY HYUNDAIHYUNDAIHYUNDAIHYUNDAI391 Providence HighwayNorwood, MA 02062

[email protected]

ü We carry a complete line of Genuine Hyundai mechanical and Body Partsü Professional wholesale staff


New England’s LARGEST HYUNDAI INVENTORY AND DELIVERY FLEET!

tollfreetoll

800-559-92108fax 800.991.1009

Norwood,, M A 0 2062 www.clayyhyyundai.com

CSCLAYCLAY CLAYCLAY

USUBARUSUBARUSUBARUSUBARU842 Providence HighwayNorwood MA 02062

Parts Dept. HoursMon-Weds-Fri: 7:30am-6:00pmTues-Thurs: 7:30am-7:00pm Saturday: 7:30am-1:00pm

[email protected]

p ywww.claysubaru.com

ü Genuine Subaru parts. ü Priced right and delivered fast twice daily to Massachusettes and Rhode Island

THE WORLDS LARGEST, INDEPENDENT SUBARU DISTRIBUTOR serving the six New England states since 1971.

tollfreetoll

free800-541-61228fax 781-762-7013

NoNorwrwoooodd, M MA A 0 020206262 www.clayysubaru.com


Parts Dept. HoursMon.-Fri. 7 - 7; Sat. 8 - 4

It’s No Accident ~ We go Above and Beyond Your Expectations

48 Route 46 West • Hackettstown, NJ 07840

• Dedicated Wholesale Staff • Competitive Wholesale Prices • Exceptional Customer Service • Prompt & Dependable Delivery

Hotline: 888.450.8126PH 908.852.5600 FX 908.852.4172

• We are the authorized insurance vendors for the AASP/Alliance of Automotive Service Providers of NJ.

• The Amato Agency is a full service agency representing most major insurance companies for all your insurance needs.

• Call us for competitive quotes.• Member only dividend & discount programs.

Our goal is to reduce your insurance costs, withoutsacrificing the coverage you need.

We will review your current program, check foradequacy and provide competitive alternatives.

Agency PresidentJoseph Amato Sr.

Agency Manager & VPJoseph Amato Jr.

Call Us Today at:800-763-6574

to see howmuch $ we

can save you!

Your Guarantee of Protection and Exceptional Service for Over 40 Years.

www.amatoagency.com

4900 State Route 33 #103Neptune, NJ 07753

Herkules to Host NASCAR Driver Brendan GaughanDuring SEMA ShowHerkules Equipment Corporation willbe hosting NASCAR Driver Bren-dan Gaughan at the 2014 SEMAShow, being held in Las Vegas, Ne-vada November 4-7. Gaughan will be

signing autographs and chatting withfans on Tuesday and Wednesday, No-vember 4 and 5, from 1 to 3 pm, in

the Herkules booth #11139.Brendan Gaughan has been a

NASCAR Driver since 1997 with hisdebut in the Camping World TruckSeries and winning this race in 2000.A Georgetown University graduateand family man, he holds 17 careerwins and 83 top-five finishes through-out all of the NASCAR Series races.His latest win was in June 2014 at theNASCAR Nationwide Series GardnerDenver 200 race. His website is:www.brendangaughan.com.

Herkules Equipment Corpora-tion, established in 1984, is a leadingmanufacturer for the AutomotivePaint & Body Repair industry, hav-ing designed, manufactured andpatented the first Paint Gun Washer.They have been manufacturing qual-ity vehicle lifts and scissor lift tablesfor close to 30 years, providing manyindustries with ergonomic solutionsfor countless applications. Herkulesalso supplies Sparkle Clean, AirJacks, Carts & Stands, and CrushingEquipment.

For more product information,please contact Herkules at 800-444-4351, or at [email protected] or visittheir website at:www.herkules.us.

NASCAR Driver Brendan Gaughan will besigning autographs on Nov. 4 & 5 at theHerkules booth during the SEMA Show inLas Vegas, NV

The North Carolina auto accidentlaw firm of Riddle & Brantley LLP,is urging consumers to use the Na-tional Highway Traffic Safety Ad-ministration’s (NHTSA) new OnlineRecall Check feature on their web-site. Drivers can now use this tool tosearch for recalls which may affecttheir particular vehicle by enteringtheir car’s Vehicle IdentificationNumber (VIN).

“As we saw with General Mo-tors’ defective ignition switches, it isextremely important for consumersto stay up-to-date on recalls whichmay affect the safety of their vehi-cles,” said attorney Gene Riddle,partner at Riddle & Brantley. “Ourfirm is urging drivers to use theNHTSA’s tools to keep their familiessafe.”

According to an August 20,2014, report from the AssociatedPress, U.S. automakers have recalledover 40 million vehicles this yearalone. Over 29 million of these vehi-cles were the results of extensive re-calls from General Motors after faultyignition switches blamed for causingmultiple accidents leading to over adozen fatalities and many more in-juries.

Before the creation of the tool,drivers had to search multiple sourcesto make sure that their vehicles hadnot been recalled. According to theNHTSA’s VIN checker website, thisnew tool lists all ongoing safety re-calls, any recalls which have beenconducted in the past 15 years, and allrecalls by major car and motorcyclemanufacturers. The checker does notcover non-safety related recalls, re-calls for international vehicles orultra-luxury cars, or vehicles whichare over 15 years old.

According to an August 14,2014 press release from the NHTSA,consumers were previously limitedto searching using a car’s make andmodel year. Now, the addition ofVIN searches will allow consumersto find alerts specific to his or herparticular vehicle. In addition to thecreation of this checking tool, theNHTSA is also mandating that automanufacturers maintain a list of cur-rent recalls which affect their modelson their websites. Automakers mustupdate this information at least oncea week.

To use the NHTSA’s recallchecker, consumers should visit:https://vinrcl.safercar.gov/vin.

NC Auto Injury Attorney Urges Drivers to Use the NewNHTSA Online Recall Check


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

QUALITY IS ALL WE THINK ABOUT. THAT

AND QUALITY.

Vision HyundaiROCHESTER

800-295-7977585-292-9724 Fax

Mon-Fri 8am - 8pmSat 8am - 4pm

www.visionhyundai.com

NEW YORK

Maxon HyundaiUNION

800-964-7281908-851-5631 Fax


www.hyundaioempartssuperstore.com

NEW JERSEY

Herb Chambers HyundaiAUBURN

800-767-1898508-832-6026 Fax


[email protected]

Route 2 HyundaiLEOMINSTER

888-240-3495978-534-9933 Fax

Mon-Thu 7:30am - 7:30pmFri-Sat 7:30am - [email protected]

Gary Rome HyundaiHOLYOKE

800-559-7583413-536-6349 FaxMon-Thu 7:30am - 8pm

Fri: 7:30am - 6pm; Sat 8am - 4pmwww.GaryRomeHyundai.com

MASSACHUSETTS

MASSACHUSETTS

Fitzgerald LakeforestHyundai

GAITHERSBURG301-670-4881301-670-1595 FaxMon-Fri 7:30am - 6pm

Sat 8am - 4pmwww.fitzmall.com

MARYLAND

The Automotive Service Association(ASA) announced that NACE | CARS2015 will again be held in The MotorCity, July 23–25 by ‘popular demand.’

The ASA Board and managementconsidered feedback from attendees, ex-hibitors, and other industry constituents.Dan Risley, ASA Executive Director,stated “The response for Detroit wasoverwhelmingly positive. Many saidthis was the best event in recent mem-ory. Attendees were pleased with the ed-ucation and training, and numerousexhibitors made significant sales on theshow floor. There were many requestsfor the exhibition to continue throughSaturday, and we will incorporate thatfor 2015.”

Partnering with industry organiza-tions and associations is key to the successof Industry Week, and that format willcontinue. I-CAR, CIC, CCIF, MERA,NABC, and CREF have already commit-ted to Detroit next year.

I-CAR will again host the centerstage in the exhibit hall to provide edu-cation and awareness on advancing ve-hicle technologies and related repair andindustry trends, maintain a booth formembership, provide live technicaldemonstrations in the demo zone, andoffer add-on I-CAR training sessions inclassrooms.

John VanAlstyne, I-CAR CEO &President, said “We are very pleased with

the results of Industry Week this year. At-tendance was up significantly on theNACE floor and the I-CAR Conferencewas a great success. We are committedto NACE and will continue with a simi-lar footprint in 2015. We also plan tocontinue holding the I-CAR Conferencein conjunction with Industry Week mov-ing forward, shifting to a biennial ca-dence, so make plans to attend our nextConference in 2016.”

● CIC will once again host thesummer quarterly meeting during In-dustry Week following a successfulmeeting this past July in Detroit.

● CREF will hold its annual golffundraising event during the week.

● After drawing a larger-than-ex-pected Canadian contingency, and withclose proximity to the growing Cana-dian market, CCIF will be back onceagain with their education program, ses-sions, and a keynote speaker.

● MERA will host a series of ses-sions again in 2015.

● NABC will produce the Recy-cled Rides program on the exhibit floor.Other organizations are currently evalu-ating co-located meetings and an-nouncements are forthcoming.

“On behalf of the ASA members,the board of directors, and our team, weare pleased to be working with I-CAR,CIC, CRES, CCIF, MERA, NABC, andothers for the benefit of the automotive

repair industry,” said Darrell Amber-son, ASA Chairman. “With our organi-zations working together we canprovide the most current education andtraining in the market. We look forwardto seeing everyone in Detroit the weekof July 20, 2015.”

ASA Confirms Detroit as Location and Dates for Next NACE-CARS Expo

General Motors has posted its bestJuly sales since 2007. GM sold256,160 cars in July, a 9% uptickfrom July 2013. Retail sales wereonly up 4%, though—perhaps asign that those who buy cars forfleets have more faith in GM thanindividual customers. This is theninth straight month of year-over-year sales growth for GM, and animprovement from June whenyearly growth was at around 1%.Toyota said it sold 215,802 cars lastmonth, an 11.6% increase over ayear ago.

GM Posts Best July SalesSince 2007, Toyota Also Up

The National Auto Body Council(NABC) is holding its 20th Year An-niversary Golf Fundraiser onWednesday, January 15, 2015 inPalm Springs, California. Thefundraiser at the Tahquitz Creek GolfResort will be a highlight of specialactivities NABC is planning to com-memorate its anniversary. Hertz willcontinue as the presenting sponsorfor the annual event, which is one ofthe NABC’s major sources of fund-ing to support its ongoing communityservice programs. These programsinclude NABC’s signature RecycledRidesTM, First Responder Emer-gency Extrication (FREETM) andthe Distracted Driving Initiative.

“Last year’s golf event was asold-out success, with a lot of posi-tive feedback from participants, andplans are underway to raise that bareven higher this year,” said DavidMerrell of Parts Trader and DomenicBrusco of PPG Automotive Refin-ish, co-chairs of the NABC fundrais-ing committee.

Companies interested in spon-sorships should contact the NABCat 1-888-667-7433 ext 119 or [email protected]

NABC 20th Anniversary GolfFundraiser, January 14, 2015

Search:Autobody Newson Facebook

Many body shop owners are contentwith making a decent profit, whileothers are willing to work toward bet-tering the collision industry in theirstate. Jerald Stiele, president of theAASP-MN and the owner of HopkinsAuto Body in Hopkins, MN, fits intothe latter category. Stiele, 40, is athird-generation body shop owner,who takes pride in offering full andmechanical collision repair.

Hopkins Auto Body was estab-lished in 1963 by Stiele’s grandfather,Floyd Stiele. Today, Stiele co-ownsand manages the shop with his uncle,Dale Stiele. “When I first came on-board fulltime, I was working as anestimator,” Stiele said. “Prior to that Iworked on and off through the sum-mers in high school and in college,cleaning the shop floor and maskingcars and whatever other entry leveltask that needed to be done.”

Initially, Stiele wasn’t expectinghis path to lead to collision repair.“After graduating from North DakotaState University with a degree in Eco-nomics, I did not go into the business,because at that time, the shop con-sisted of a six-car garage and therewasn’t room for me,” he said. “Today,we’re working out of a 26,000 square-foot shop that fixes approximately 150vehicles every month and employs 16people. I run the front office and Dalemanages the production/shop floorand we work very well together. But,getting into this industry wasn’t a slamdunk at the beginning.”

Stiele is proud of what AASP-MNhas achieved. “In Minnesota, we havea really strong association and we’reproud of the fact,” he said. “WheneverI travel to out-of-state conferences,people from other state organizationstell us that we’re a really well-re-spected group. We have a strong asso-ciation that starts with ExecutiveDirector Judell Anderson and a boardthat works really well together. Judell’sassistant Jody Pillsbury runs the officereally well and Tom Kluver is havinggreat success as our new recruiter.We’ve got a great team here and that’swhy we’ve been so successful.”

AASP-MN’s membership con-sists of 697 shops, both mechanicaland collision. We asked Stiele, “what

are some of your major concerns withthe future of the organization?”

“From a body shop’s perspective,we want to retain the control of ourbusinesses and our procedures,” hesaid. “The way we manage and orderour parts really concerns us and I knowit’s the same thing across the wholecountry. DRPs are a reality in this in-dustry and some of them can be greatpartnerships, but we don’t want to com-promise our work as a result. AASP-MN’s main concern is that we don’twant to lose control when it comes tothe parts and part venders that we useon our repairs. We’re being asked tohandle more and more of the adminis-trative work as it gets handed off to usby the insurance companies, so we con-stantly have to be adjusting to that. Itnow takes us additional front office staffto fix these vehicles, which of coursemeans that we’re making less profit onthese cars. Yes, we’re still profitablewith our DRPs, but we’re starting to seethat our DRPS are less profitable andwe’re obviously concerned about that.”

Stiele believes that in some cases,aftermarket parts are suitable. “New,OEM is not the only way to go in everysituation, in my opinion,” he said.“There are situations that call for the useof aftermarket or LKQ parts. As shopowners, we know when it’s right to usethem. The point is—we want to makethe determination and we don’t want tobe forced or coerced into making thosedecisions, because they can impact thequality of our work and cycle time.

“Minnesota is one of the few stateswhere we have aftermarket parts legis-lation on the books,” Stiele said. “If theowner does not want aftermarket partsthey can specify that. So it’s a matterof who talked to the customer first. Alot of times it’s the insurance companythat will talk to them and say ‘Hey---there are going to be aftermarket partsincorporated into the repair of your car.’They don’t ask, they tell them. It willfix it back to pre-accident conditionwith a lifetime guarantee and you knowso it’s up to them to say yes sometimesthat’s the case. In some cases, the after-market parts don’t fit as well, but inother cases, they work just fine.”

“Many shops are torn about thewhole topic of steering, but in a perfect

world it would be better to not exist al-together,” Stiele said. “If an insurancecompany is steering business awayfrom another shop, that’s bad obvi-ously. But, if they’re recommendingone shop over another, that’s called aDRP. Collectively at the AASP-MN,we agree that from the perspective ofthe entire industry, we’re better offwithout steering. We would rathercompete with each other fairly and gainour business through marketing anddoing a good job, by focusing on thingslike quality and customer service. Wehave anti-steering laws in Minnesota,which may lead to less steering--atleast that’s the intention.”

The majority of shop owners havea love/hate relationship with the DRPconcept, and Stiele is no exception.

“The DRP relationships are thebiggest change in this industry, nodoubt. Many body shops rely exclu-sively on their DRPs. Our DRPs makeup is around 40% of our total business.

We have three main relationships withlarger insurance companies, but handlea lot of customers and insurance com-panies outside of the DRP arrange-ment.”

It’s hard to say what the futureholds, but Stiele is excited to be work-ing in today’s collision industry in Min-nesota.

“We really enjoy using technologyto do a better job, whether we’re usingtablets or smart phones to capture datafrom vehicles and writing the esti-mates. We’re working on being alu-minum-ready and spending the moneyand time needed to get onboard in thatregard. It’s a significant investment asall of the necessary equipment isn’tcheap. It’s important for us to be readyas the manufacturers start increasingthe use different types of metals andmaterials. I can’t predict how many orwhen the new F-150s will start show-ing up, but when they do I want ourshop to be trained and ready.”


What are the Best Parts of Driving?

Mazda Parts.

Order your Genuine Mazda Parts from one of these parts specialists in your area.

Maxon MazdaUnion800-964-7281Fax 908-851-5631M-F 8-6; Sat 8-5www.mazdaoempartssuperstore.com

Koeppel MazdaWoodside718-626-7200718-721-9100Fax 718-626-1427www.koeppelmazda.com

Nucar MazdaWholesale PartsDistributorsNew Castle800-633-6606www.nucarparts.com

NEW YORKNEW JERSEY

DELAWARE

AASP-MN President Jerald Stiele has Lifetime of Repair Experience

with Ed AttanasioMidwest Associations

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


Original BMW Parts

bmwusa.com

AudiGenuine Parts

One Call Does it All!1-855-PARTS-PAVisit us at: www.1800thompson.com

40 W. Swamp Rd.,Doylestown, PA 18901

(215) 340-9823(215) 340-9823Phone:Phone:(215) 340-9361(215) 340-9361Fax:Fax:

Thompson BMW

(1-855-727-8772)

122 W. Swamp Rd., Doylestown, PA 18901Thompson Toyota (215) 348-1530(215) 348-1530Phone:Phone:

The Roseville Police Department in MNhas hired a new auto body shop after em-ployees from its former vehicle repairvendor reportedly drove squad cars at“irresponsible” speeds on the way to befixe, as reported by Johanna Holub atLillieNews.com.

On the morning of Thursday, Sept.4, there were two phone calls from “con-cerned citizens” regarding two markedsquad cars “being driven at excessivespeeds” on County Road C, which has a40 mph speed limit, from Victoria Street

to Western Avenue. The departmentfound the vehicles were being driven byemployees from a local auto shop the de-partment used for repair services. Theemployees came to the Roseville PublicWorks garage to pick up two squad carsthat needed body work following a po-lice pursuit that took place overnight, andwere supposed to drive the vehicles tothe repair shop. They had authorizationto do so. The department decided to “endbusiness dealings” with the shop.

“The department recognizes its ac-

countability to the community,” the state-ment reads.

Lt. Lorne Rosand said the vehicleswere equipped with everything “exceptthe rifle,” which is secured in the policearmory before a vehicle is taken to anylocation for repair work. Because the de-partment contracts several vendors forservice including a local dealership,Rosand said mechanics often pick up po-lice vehicles and drive them to the shopfor repairs. Certain repairs also require atest drive to be sure the problem is fixed.

They’ve never had a problem with ven-dor employees driving their vehicles un-professionally until now.

“It’s not uncommon for civilians todrive our cars,” Rosand explained. “Wejust hope they do so in a manner that rep-resents the city in a very positive way.These two individuals did not.”

But, from now on, the departmentplans to put in the “best effort possible”to have a city mechanic or police officerdrive squad cars to be repaired, Rosandadded.


Choose Original MINI Parts.Because you can’t repairyour reputation.

YOU ONLY GET ONE CHANCE AT THE FIRST REPAIR.

These Dealers Below Are Original MINI Parts Distributors:

MINI of Mount LaurelMt. Laurel855-465-6267 Ext. 6(856) 813-4622 FaxM-F 7-5; Sat [email protected]

Prestige MINIRamsey201-760-5080(201) 760-5072 FaxM-F 8-5; Sat [email protected]

New Jersey

©2014 MINI, a division of BMW of North America, LLC. The MINI name,model names and logo are registered trademarks.

YYYYooooouuuuuu’’’’rrrrrrreeeeeee mmmmmmmmmmiiiiiillllllleeeeeeeeessssss aaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhheeeeeeeaaaaaadddddddddoooooofffff tttttthhhhhheeeeee pppppaaaaacccckkkkkk wwwwwiiiittthhh

GGGGGeeeeennnnnuuuuiiiinnnnneeee FFFFFoooorrrrrddddd PPPPPaaaaarrrrrtttttsssss...

You’re miles aheadof the pack with

Genuine Ford Parts.

Use Genuine FORD Parts foryour Power Stroke Diesel

GGGGGGGeenuine FORD FORDFORD FORD

FORD Partsnuine FORD Parts

Make us your one-stop shop today!

These dealers are Genuine Ford Parts wholesale specialists.

NEW JERSEYMARYLAND

Bob Bell FordGLEN BURNIE410-689-3038

410-766-1275 FaxHours: M-F 7-6; Sat [email protected]

Ditschman/FlemingtonFord-Lincoln-Mercury

FLEMINGTON877-NJ-PARTS908-782-1795 Fax

Lucas Motor CompanyBURLINGTON609-386-3122

609-386-8932 Fax

Roseville, MN, Police Replace Local Auto Body Shop as Provider After Employees Take Squad Cars on Joyride

Nancy Friedman was recently featuredin a column by Ed Attanasio, so we werepleased to see that she’ll be back at theSEMA Show this year with her session,“Have You Asked Your Customer toMarry You? (Are You Really En-gaged?).” The session will be offeredtwice during SEMA Education Days.

Friedman spoke with SEMA aboutwhat attendees can expect from her ses-sions.

SEMA: What is a Telephone Doc-tor?

Nancy Friedman: I got that namefrom an editor in Davenport, Iowa, whosaid, “You’re the doctor. You’ve got theprescription for everything.” We knowmore business is lost to poor customerservice and poor treatment than to poor

products, and it’s usually done on thephone. There are people in businesseswhose job is to answer the phone andhave more of a service mentality than asales mentality, and that’s so wrong.

SEMA: What is the right thing fora business to do after the phone rings?

Friedman: There are many leadgenerators around the country who cantell you how to make the phone ring.That’s great, but what happens when itdoes ring? The phone can ring, but turn-ing it into a sale is what matters. Com-panies hire people to pick up the phonewhen it rings, but often they get screwedup and lost when somebody answers.

SEMA: What’s the biggest tele-phone mistake businesses make?

Friedman: We’re just not friendly

enough. Companies spend hundreds ofthousands of dollars to make that phonering and, if it’s not handled just right, allthat money is wasted. We answer thatphone and we’re in a bad mood. We let itring too long. We answer the phone im-properly or without a name. You get lessthan 30 seconds to build that rapport.

SEMA: Your session includessomething called “Poor Man’s Jeopardy.”What’s that?

Friedman: If you watch “Jeop-ardy,” you know there’s a big board withbells and whistles. We don’t have thebudget for all the bells and whistles andthe big board. Instead, I bring a bag, andthe bag has golden nuggets, little piecesof information. I go through the audi-ence. They get to pick out a nugget and

the nugget may say “irate caller.” Itmight say “closing skills” or “telephonegreeting” or “voice mail phrases.” Theyget to pick a nugget and each nuggetcould represent one hour of information.However, we have scaled it down to twoor three minutes. By the end of the hour,we will have covered 15 to 20 goldennuggets of sales and service.

SEMA Education Days will featuremore than 60 educational sessions in 12different tracks, ranging from new-vehi-cle technology to best business practicesto marketing strategies and emergingtrends in the industry.

The complete schedule of SEMAShow Education courses and educationalevents is available at:www.SEMAShow.com/education.

Crowd Favorite the “Telephone Doctor” Returns for SEMA Education Days

Lawmakers and regulators on a state,federal and international level areworking to make sure they can stayahead of the quickly-developing “dri-verless vehicle” technology—but whatwill it mean for collision repairers?

That was one of the questionsconsidered in a presentation at themost recent Collision Industry Confer-ence (CIC), held in Detroit, Mich. Thecommittee looked at what laws andregulations are being enacted sur-rounding the technology, and what thatcould mean for collision repairers, in-surers and other industry segments.

Steve Regan, chairman of thecommittee, said that for insurers, thenew and costly safety-related equip-ment involved in autonomous carswill impact repair costs. Access to oruse of “black box” data will continueto be an issue. And liability related tothe repair of the vehicles could be anissue for insurer offering garage-keep-ers, as well as liability policies for col-lision repairers.

The auto manufacturers and sys-tem suppliers will potentially face lia-bility if their systems are controllingthese vehicles, Regan said, but someof that liability is addressed in thestate and federal regulations being en-acted.

“We started tracking these lawsand noticed the missing component,”Regan said. “There’s no protection inany of these laws for those who are fix-ing the cars.”

That’s an issue the industry willneed to continue to monitor, Regansaid.

‘Length of rental’ formulas discussedAlso at CIC in Detroit, a panel tack-led a new twist on the issue of cycletime. The topic: Do insurer formulasused to calculate the number of “rentaldays” on an initial estimate drivedown cycle time? Do they set unreal-istic expectations for consumers? Dothey add friction and inefficiencies?Or do they do some combination of all

of these things?Pat O’Neill of Bodyshop Revo-

lution, who moderated the discussion,noted that there is a wide variation inthe formulas shops and insurers use todetermine expected “length of rental”(often used as a proxy of “cycle time”)and even in the statistics about averagelength of rental that are reported by the

rental car compa-nies or informationproviders.

Data providedby Enterprise Rent-a-Car, for example,found that lengthof rental in the sec-ond quarter of this

year averaged 10.7 days nationally, butranged from a low of 8.9 days to a highof 14.1 days in another. With a 5-daydifference between some states, repair-ers on the CIC panel asked, is it reason-able for an insurer to set length of rentalexpectations using a national formula?

Panelist Darrell Amberson of

LaMettry’s Collision in Minnesotaread some of the formulas that theCIC committee had collected that in-surers use (or require their direct re-pair shops to use) to establish theinitial completion date, which may beincluded on the paperwork given tothe vehicle owner. Those formulasranged from one day for every threehours of labor to one day for every sixhours of labor on the estimate. Someformulas allow the shop to excludeweekends or delays caused by parts.

Panelist Aaron Schulenburg ofthe Society of Collision Repair Spe-cialists said one insurer acknowledgedto the association that it recognized itshours-per-day formula for its direct re-pair shops was outside the norm forthe industry, but that it set that goal tomake sure its shops prioritized that in-surer’s work over one who had set anunrealistic hours-per-day goal to try toget its work prioritized.

If the goal is to drive perform-ance, Schulenburg said, that’s one


Original BMW Parts

bmwusa.com

BMW of Mt.LaurelMt. Laurel(856) 840-1486(856) 222-0506 Fax

Flemington BMWFlemington(800) 782-4269(908) 824-9913 Faxwww.flemingtonbmw.com

New Jersey

BMW of RidgefieldRidgefield(203) 438-0413(203) 894-8956 FaxM-Fri. 7:30 am - 6 [email protected]

Connecticut

BMW of Silver SpringSilver Spring(855) 314-6468(301) 890-3748 [email protected]

Maryland

YOU ONLY GET ONE CHANCE AT THE FIRST REPAIR.Original Thought #78

Thompson BMWDoylestown(215) 340-9823(215) 340-9361 Fax

Pennsylvania

• Original BMW Parts& Accessories

Industry Insightwith John Yoswick

John Yoswick is a freelance writer based in Portland, Oregon who has been writingabout the collision industry since 1988. He is the editor of the weekly CRASH Net-work (for a free 4-week trial subscription, visit www.CrashNetwork.com). Contacthim by email at [email protected].

CIC Committees Look at Autonomous Vehicle Issues, Impact of “Length of Rental” Formulas

Pat O’Neill

thing. But when it establishes unreal-istic expectations for the consumer,and requires multiple adjustments bythe shop and rental car company to thecompletion date information, that im-pacts efficiency and customer satis-faction. He said it’s also unfair for ashop to have to pick-up the cost of arental if repairs exceed a calculationbased on an unrealistic formula.

“The shop didn’t sell a rentalcoverage policy, and they didn’t profitfrom the sale of that policy,” Schulen-burg said.

“My concern is: Is that the bestway to drive behavior,” Ambersonasked about the formulas. “If you’regoing to push us to fix cars faster, isthat really the best way to do it? Imight suggest there are more cooper-ative ways to do this. This feels like anegative approach with a negativeconsequence if we don’t achieve whatyou’re looking for, and on top of thatcauses us to create an unrealistic ex-pectation to the customer, which onlyirritates and frustrates them.”

Amberson said that his companyis making an effort to reduce cycle timeby using blueprinting – but that “theformulas insurance companies usehave very little to do with the improve-

ments we’ve shown in our numbers.”Chris Andreoli of Progressive In-

surance, the lone insurance companyrepresentative on the panel, agreed thatthe customer should not be given inac-curate completion date information, butthat length of rental formulas can beused as a starting point in that conver-sation.

He agreed that using the same for-mula for every vehicle across the na-tion isn’t as accurate a system as he

believes the indus-try will develop asdata sophisticationimproves. He pre-dicted that at somepoint shops and in-surers will be ableto establish moreaccurate comple-

tion dates based on data that will in-clude year, make and model of vehicle,as well as market or region.

“I think that’s where the level ofsophistication needs to go in the in-dustry,” Andreoli said.

Not a lot of consensusThe panel did not seem to agree on howoften consumers currently are beinggiven an accurate completion date.

Curtis Nixon of UpdatePromise.comsaid his company’sresearch indicatesshops are hittingpromise dates 88percent of the time;however, he shareddata showing theimpact on CSIbased on the num-

ber of times a promise date changes, achart that showed the impact on CSI foras many as 12 such promise datechanges on a job.

The rental car companies on thepanel seemed to experience morechanges to the initial completion dateinformation than an 88 percent accu-racy stat indicates.

“We do see a lot of changes,” saidMckenzie Spalding of Choice AutoRental, a regional company in the TwinCities market of Minnesota. “It happensa lot.”

“We see an average of 2-4 changesthat occur per claim,” concurred FrankLaVioila, assistant vice president forcollision industry relations at Enterprise.

Amberson said using better datainstead of arbitrary formulas could re-duce or eliminate such changes, whichimpact shop and rental car company

efficiency as well as potentially lowercustomer satisfaction.

Because of such formulas, Am-berson said, “Sometimes we meet thecustomer’s basic expectations butwe’re not exceeding the customer’s ex-pectations. We’re not wow’ing them.We’re not creating raving fans. Andthat’s what we should be striving for.We should be striving for excellence,not just a tolerable experience for thecustomer.”


PPPPPPPaaaaaaaarrrrrrttttt.. RRRRRRiiiiggggghhhhtttt PPPrrrriiiiiccccceeeee.. RRRRRiiiiggggghhhhttt NNNNoooowwwww...Righhttttt PPPPvolvo Genuine parts

Trust your order to the collision parts specialists at these fine Dealers

Your Source for Wholesale Volvo PartsPennsylvania

Lehman MotorsMECHANICSBURG888-556-4176

717-791-6149 FaxFree Delivery

[email protected]

Maryland

Herb Gordon VolvoSILVER SPRING

301-890-5456301-847-2239 Fax

M-F 7:30am-6pm

Lehman VolvoYORK

888-306-8900717-757-4296 Fax

Free [email protected]

ORIGINAL GM PARTS FOR APPPPPPPPPRRRRRRRRROOOOOOOOOOFFFFFFFFFFFEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSIIIIIIIIIOOOOOOOONNNNNNNNNNAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLL

RTS FOR APROFESSIONAL

R FINISH

Call Any of These Wholesale Parts Dealers.

New YorkMassachusets

FlemingtonBuick Chevrolet GMC

FLEMINGTON

877-NJPARTS908-782-1795 Fax

Potamkin GMNEW YORK CITY

212-708-3080212-708-3127 FaxM-F 8:00 am - 4:30 pm

[email protected]

New Jersey

Long CadillacSOUTHBOROUGH

508-820-9322508-879-1212 Fax

800-982-2258M-F 7:30 am - 5:00 [email protected]

Curtis Nixon

Chris Andreoli

It’s been a busy season for the Auto-motive Service Association (ASA) asthe national office prepares to relo-cate its headquarters in a few weeksfrom Colleyville, Texas, to nearbyNorth Richland Hills. In addition, theassociation recently held its success-ful NACE|CARS trade show in De-troit. Effective immediately, theassociation’s 800-ASA-SHOP (272-7467) number is changing to (817)514-2900. Please update your recordsto reflect this change. And effectiveOct. 1, 2014, the association’s newheadquarters will be located at 8209Mid-Cities Blvd., North RichlandHills, TX, 76182.

ASA Announces Plans toRelocate Headquarters


CONNECTICUTKia of Milford

Milford203-878-9989(203) 783-5893 Fax

8am-5pm Mon-Friwww.kiaofmilford.com

MASSACHUSETTSGary Rome Kia

Enfield800-509-2652(860) 265-2674 Fax

8am-6pm Mon-Fri8am-4pm Sat

www.GaryRomeKia.com

Wagner Kia of ShrewsburyShrewsbury

866-438-3997(508) 581-5789 Fax

[email protected]

NEW YORKYonkers Kia

Yonkers888-479-5167(914) 652-7660 Fax7:30am-6pm Mon-Fri

8:30am-1pm Satwww.yonkerskia.com

PENNSYLVANIABrown Daub Kia

Easton610-829-3020(484) 546-0292 Fax

Keystone KiaAllentown

610-791-1660(610) 791-4860 Fax7:30am-5pm Mon-Fri

8:30am-4pm [email protected]

Kia of CoatesvilleCoatesville

610-384-7700(610) 384-2171 Fax


[email protected]

Kia of West ChesterWest Chester

610-429-3500(610) 429-0164 Fax


[email protected]

Outten KiaHamburg

610-562-4166(610) 562-9436 Fax7:30am-5pm Mon-Fri

8am-12pm [email protected]

Sussman KiaJenkintown

888-881-8844(215) 887-3182 Fax

8am-5pm [email protected]

www.sussmanauto.com

RHODE ISLANDBald Hill Kia

Warwick800-822-3015(401) 822-8135 Fax

8am-5pm Mon-Sat8am-4pm Sat

www.shopkiaparts.com

Precise fit and finish, easyinstallation and a limitedwarranty direct from KIA

— all genuine advantagesof genuine KIA parts. Yourlocal KIA retailer has all

the parts you need.


Genuine Porsche Parts... Only The Best.

These Select Dealers Have The Parts You Need.

918 RSR

PENNSYLVANIA

Porsche ofbucks county

Warrington

215-343-4810215-343-5352 Fax

www.1800THOMPSON.com

MARYLAND

Porsche ofSilver Spring

Silver Spring

855-314-6472301-890-3748 Fax

[email protected]

The following dealers stock Genuine Parts for your

Nissan or Infiniti repairs.

Shift into Genuine Nissan and Infiniti OEM Parts


NEW JERSEY PENNSYLVANIA

Infiniti OfMechanicsburgMECHANICSBURG

888-484-2516(717) 458-0443 Fax

Free Delivery

[email protected]

FlemingtonNissan

FLEMINGTON

877-NJPARTS(908) 782-1795 Fax

The Society of Collision RepairSpecialists’ (SCRS) OEM CollisionRepair Technology Summit will beheld on Wednesday, Nov. 5th at theLas Vegas Convention Center dur-ing the SEMA Show. The Summitwill allow the industry to explore

how automotivedesign, technol-ogy and materialsimpact repairabil-ity, and how inturn repairabilityinfluences struc-tural design anddevelopment. The

full-day program will include fourunique panel discussions with au-tomakers, equipment suppliers, cer-tified repair facilities, and OEMcertifiers/auditors and will also fea-ture special presentations from sub-ject matter experts on automotivematerials. Registration is requiredto attend and seats will be limited.Register today at:www.semashow.com/scrs.

As the newest development to theagenda, SCRS has announced thatDavid Rigg, Project Lead with the

Auto/Steel Partnership (A/SP) Ad-vanced High-Strength Steel (AHSS)Repairability Project, will provide adetailed overview of the market de-velopments and repairability researchtaking place between the steel indus-try and the automakers. The A/SP is acollaboration between the steel com-pany members of the Automotive Ap-plications Council of the Steel MarketDevelopment Institute and ChryslerGroup LLC, Ford Motor Companyand General Motors Company to pur-sue research, validation and educationthat help automakers enhance vehiclesafety, fuel economy and improve de-sign and manufacturing. Through theA/SP, automakers and steel companieshave worked to drive improvementsand innovation in vehicles on theroad—and in repair businesses—today.

“Participating in the SCRS OEMCollison Repair Technology Summitallows us the opportunity to interactwith the leaders of the automotive re-pair industry to better understand theirneeds, so that we can incorporate theminto our project plan,” said Terry Cul-lum, director of the A/SP. “Our goal is

to share the latest technology on theseinnovative advanced high-strengthsteel materials so that they can be re-paired in the field using the best prac-tices developed from our repairabilityproject.”

Rigg will deliver visibility intothe technological advancements beingmade in the steel industry relative toautomotive materials, and an overviewof how their market is developing as aresult of increased collaboration to-wards ever evolving safety and sus-tainability goals. He will share reasonsbehind the automakers’ continued re-liance on steel as a critical substrate;and what their industry is doing to aidin the development of that relationship.The presentation will ultimately ad-dress how repairability plays a role inmaterial research and development,and the prevalence steel will have inthe vehicles of tomorrow.

In addition to his role with theA/SP, Rigg serves as Global ServiceLead - Structures, Front and RearClosures at General Motors where heis responsible for the development,consensus, documentation and im-plementation of Global Service Re-

quirements. He also represents serv-ice at the Advanced Vehicle Devel-opment Center for body structures.In his previous position as BodyService Engineer, Rigg was respon-sible for authoring collision repairmanuals; however, his career withGM extends back to 1998.

Rigg’s formative years were spentworking in his father’s body shop mak-ing the traditional advancements fromwashing cars to eventually straighten-ing frames and writing estimates. Hisfirst-hand experience in the repair com-munity has given him valuable insightinto the collision repair industry.

For more information about SCRS’Repairer Driven Education (RDE) se-ries, and to register for the OEM Colli-sion Repair Technology Summit andother RDE sessions, please visit:www.semashow.com /scrs.

Auto/Steel Partnership to Present During OEM Collision Repair Technology Summit at SEMA Show

David Rigg

Check out ourNEW website at:

Autobodynews.com


WWWWWWWEEEEEEEE WWWWWWAAAAAAANNNNNNNTTTTTTT TTTTTTOOOOOO BBBBBBEEEEEE YYYYYOOOOOOUUUUURRRRR SSSSSOOOOOOOUUUUURRRRCCCCCCEEEEEFFFFOOOOOORRRRRR RRRRRREEEEEAAAAALLLLL VVVVVVOOOOOOLLLLLLKKKKKSSSSSSWWWWWAAAAAGGGGGEEEEEENNNNN PPPPPAAAARRRRRTTTTTSSS....

We have the Real VW Collision Parts that make your job easier and your customers happier.

These dealers are Genuine VW Parts Wholesale Specialists.

Maryland New York

KoeppelVolkswagenWOODSIDE

718-728-8111FAX: 718-278-0319

www.koeppelvw.com

King VolkswagenGAITHERSBURG240-403-2300FAX: 240-403-2398

M-F 7am - 6pm; Sat 8am - [email protected]

www.vwking.com

Ourisman VWof LaurelLAUREL

301-498-6050FAX: 301-498-0157

M-F 7:30am - 7pm; Sat 7am - [email protected]

Pennsylvania

ThompsonVolkswagenWARRINGTON215-343-4810FAX: 215-343-5352

AudiGenuine Parts

Order Audi Genuine Parts from these select Dealers

Nothing else measures up.

Audi WarringtonWARRINGTON215-343-4810215-343-5352 Faxwww.1800THOMPSON.com

Flemington AudiFLEMINGTON877-NJPARTS908-782-1795 Fax

New Jersey Pennsylvania

In early August, the Society of Colli-sion Repair Specialists (SCRS) an-nounced the launch of the firstissue-specific collision repair industryforum being held at the SEMA Show.The OEM Collision Repair Technol-ogy Summit will be held on Wednes-day, November 5th at the Las VegasConvention Center and will explorehow automotive design and technol-ogy intersect with repairability, andhow developments in this area impactthe collision repair process and theprofessional businesses planning fortheir future in the ever-changing land-scape of this industry. Registration canbe made at www.semashow.com/scrs.

In addition to panel discussionswith technology experts representingthe automakers, certified repair facili-ties, equipment suppliers, and certi-fiers/auditors, the program will featurespecial presentations from subjectmatter experts on automotive materi-als.

SCRS announced that DougRichman, Technical Committee Chair-man of the Aluminum TransportationGroup (ATG) will offer insight into therole aluminum will play in collision re-

pair businesses now, and in the future.“The ATG is eager to share with

SCRS session attendees key insightson aluminum’s long history in the au-tomotive industry,” said Richman.

“Aluminum-intensive vehicles havebeen in the marketplace for manydecades and are regularly repaired asneeded. Within the next ten years,seven out of 10 new pickups produced

in North Americawill be aluminum-bodied, accordingto a recently re-leased survey ofautomakers con-ducted by DuckerWorldwide. Asaluminum use in

auto bodies grows exponentially in thenext decade, we applaud the SCRS’efforts to educate and train repair pro-fessionals to be better prepared for thechange in status quo materials thatcome through their shop doors.”

Richman will deliver visibilityinto the technological advancementsbeing made in the aluminum industryrelative to the automotive market, andan overview of how their market is de-

veloping as a result of increased inte-gration into our modern fleet. He willshare reasons behind the automakersinterest in, and use of, aluminum; andwhat their industry is doing to aid inthe development of that relationship.

In addition to his role with theATG, Doug Richman is Vice Presidentof Engineering and Technology forKaiser Aluminum. He joined Kaiser in1996 and was appointed to his currentposition in 2001. Before joining Kaiser,Richman was Vice President of Auto-motive Castings for Alcan Aluminumand his background also includes al-most 20 years of experience in devel-opment and design management atGeneral Motors.

Richman is a long-standing mem-ber of the ATG, serving as technicalchairman of the sub-committee. Healso serves as co-chairman of the So-ciety of Automotive Engineers (SAE)Light Metals committee.

The OEM Collision Repair Tech-nology Summit is made possiblethrough support from PPG RefinishProducts, Ford Motor Company, BASF,Toyota Motor Sales and The Hertz Cor-poration.

For more information about SCRS’Repairer Driven Education (RDE) se-ries, and to register for the OEM Colli-sion Repair Technology Summit andother RDE sessions, please visit:www.semashow.com/ scrs.

Aluminum Association to Present During SCRS’ OEM Collision Repair Technology Summit

Doug Richman

Volvo is trying to regain a footholdworldwide with the introduction ofits XC90 full-size crossover, thefirst for China’s Zhejiang Geely’sacquisition of the Swedish au-tomaker from Ford in 2010. Thepremium seven-seater will contendagainst models like the LexusRX350, BMW X5 and ChevroletTahoe. Its arrival is considered crit-ical for Volvo dealers who havewatched sales plummet since Ford,in the midst of financial difficul-ties, sold the brand to the Chinesecompany for $1.8 billion.

Volvo Reappears on WorldMarket with XC90

[email protected] us!write us!

Start Your FREEMail Subscription.

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:


Promote your business with an exclusive article featuring

your products or services.

800-699-8251CALL: Joe Momber for details!



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 Newsletterat www.autobodynews.com


Free Twice Monthly NewsletterFree Twice Monthly Newsletter




800-699-8251




800-699-8251

To advertisecall Sean Hartman at:



THESE DEALERS are GENUINE WHOLESALE PARTS SPECIALISTS.

PENNSYLVANIA

Thompson ToyotaDOYLESTOWN

215-348-1530215-348-8233 Fax

The Collision Repair Education Foun-dation has announced the winners ofseveral scholarships it administers.

The Atlanta I-CAR VolunteerCommittee awarded a $5,000 studentscholarship to Godofredo Pacheco ofMaxwell High School of Technologyin Lawrenceville, GA, through the Col-lision Repair Education Foundationthis spring. This scholarship will assistPacheco with education costs to con-tinue his technical education study ofcollision repair. Funding for this schol-arship was made possible through thecommittee hosting annual golf and carshow fundraiser events.

I-CAR Georgia State Chairmanand Atlanta Committee Chairman GerryPoirier stated “The members of the At-lanta I-CAR Committee have continuedto focus on supporting new techniciansentering the collision field. This schol-arship will be the third awarded since2012 that will help replenish our dwin-dling technician base. The fundraisingefforts are a critical part of what ourcommittee members and supportingbusinesses have done to make thisscholarship a reality. Many thanks goout to everyone who made this possi-ble.”

The I-CAR Northwest Regionhas awarded two $1,000 collision stu-dent scholarships through the Colli-

sion Repair Education Foundation.Collision students from Washingtonwere eligible to receive these scholar-ships. Funding for these scholarshipswas made possible through the local I-CAR volunteer committee hostingfundraising events.

The 2014 I-CAR Northeast Re-gion collision student scholarship win-ners include:

Anatoliy Fesenko – Green RiverCommunity College (Auburn, WA.)

Michaelangelo Vega-Ortiz –Bellingham Technical College (Belling-ham, WA.)

PPG Industries Foundationawarded four collision students with$5,000 scholarships through the Col-lision Repair Education Foundation.These scholarships are awarded tofull-time students in a post-secondaryschool with a focus or degree in colli-sion repair and who have demon-strated interest and involvement in thecollision repair community throughextracurricular activities. The fundswill be used to assist students with ed-ucational expenses such as tuition,books, tools, and equipment.

The student winners of the 2014PPG Foundation Scholarships include:

Elizabeth Mahsem (Madison Col-lege, Madison, Wis.)

Ian Zapata (College of Lake County,

Grayslake, IL.)Rita Gonzales (Texas State Tech-

nical College, Harlingen, TX)Seth Cushing (NCK Tech, Beloit,

KS.)Additional funds were raised dur-

ing PPG’s recent MVP Business Solu-tions Conference in Phoenix, Ariz.,and these were used to create the PPGMVP Industry Student Scholarship.The selected collision student winnerof this $2,100 scholarship is AshleyThomas from Washtenaw CommunityCollege, Ann Arbor, MI.

“PPG strongly believes in sup-porting the future professionals of theindustry and assisting them with anytype of educational barriers theymight encounter,” said Domenic Br-usco, PPG Automotive Refinish, sen-ior manager, industry relations. “PPGhas supported the Collision RepairEducation Foundation for over 20years and we look forward to contin-uing our support and growing this re-lationship in the future.”

Industry members interested inworking together with the CollisionRepair Education Foundation in sup-porting secondary and post-secondarycollision repair students, instructors,and their school programs should con-tact Director of Development BrandonEckenrode at 847-463-5244.

Education Foundation Announces Scholarship Winners Including Nation-wide Students

A Florida man has been chargedwith one count of trafficking incounterfeit engine control devices—an offence that carries a maximumpenalty of 10 years in federal prison.The goods at issue are counterfeitversions of goods produced and mar-keted by Hondata for use in modi-fied Honda and Acura vehicles.

In a plea agreement filed with aU.S. District Court, the defendantadmitted that, beginning in 2009, hearranged for Hondata’s K-Pro andS300 devices to be reverse-engi-neered. The counterfeit devices boreHondata’s trademarked name, aswell as counterfeit serial numbers.The defendant also admitted creat-ing counterfeit packaging, labels, in-structions and compact discs for thedevices.

The investigation in this matterwas conducted by the Federal Bureauof Investigation. For more informa-tion on how to protect your intellec-tual property, go to www.sema.org/ipr.

Counterfeit Engine ControlDevices Found in Florida



CALL 800-699-8251



[email protected]

800-699-8251









[email protected]


write us!write us!










800-699-8251




800-699-8251



The Boyd Group Inc. has signed a de-finitive agreement and concurrentlyclosed the acquisition of Champ’sHolding Company, LLC (“Champ’s”)the company announced in a news re-lease on Sept. 12.

Champ’s is a premier full-serviceauto collision repair service providerin southeast Louisiana, owning andoperating seven collision repair cen-ters. Champs locations are in NewOrleans, 4047 South Carrollton Ave.;Elmwood, 200 Edwards Ave, Hara-han, LA; Kenner, 1601 22nd Street;Westbank, 3621 Lapalco Blvd., Har-vey, LA; Northshore, 2501 FloridaStreet, Mandeville, LA; Hammond,500 South Morrison Blvd.; and BatonRouge, 6137 Siegen Lane.

Champ’s has grown significantlysince its inception in 1978 and gener-ated sales of approximately $37 mil-lion for the trailing twelve monthsended June 2014. This acquisition in-creases the number of Boyd collisionrepair locations to 313 across 16 statesand five provinces.

“We are very pleased to enter theLouisiana market which will expand

our reach to new customers, increaseour geographical footprint for our in-surance industry partners and also pro-vide us with another new market fromwhich to execute our single locationgrowth strategy,” said Brock Bul-buck, President and Chief ExecutiveOfficer of the Boyd Group. “With thisacquisition we strengthen our positionas the largest multi-shop operator inNorth America in terms of number oflocations, and demonstrate our abilityto add attractive multi-shop operationsin line with our growth strategy.”

“Our team is proud of the busi-ness we have built over the last 36years,” added Champ’s PresidentDanny Kingston. “Champ’s decadesof growth and success in the collisionbusiness are a direct result of the ef-forts of our knowledgeable, friendly,and professional team. We are excitedto build on our accomplishments aspart of the Boyd team.”

The total purchase price consider-ation of approximately $35.0 million.It is within the range of other recentmulti-location acquisitions completedby Boyd.

Boyd Group Acquires Seven Champs CollisionCenters in Southeast Louisiana


Liberty SubaruEmerson

(888) 782-9493(201) 261-3261 Fax

Mon.-Fri. 7:[email protected]

www.libertysubaru.com

Miller SubaruLumberton

(609) 261-7844(609) 261-7843 Fax


Colonial SubaruFeasterville

(888) 736-7799(215) 355-1759 Fax

Mon.-Fri. 8-5; Sat. [email protected]

Kerven SubaruButler

(800) 537-8369(724) 287-4312 Fax

Mon., Thu. 8-9; Tue., Wed., Fri. 8-5:30Sat. 8:30-1:00

[email protected]

Lancaster SubaruEast Petersburg

(800) 215-5644 x 2002(717) 569-0252 FaxMon.-Fri. 7:30-5; Sat. 8-2

[email protected]

Fitzgerald Subaruof Gaithersburg

Gaithersburg(301) 670-4881

(301) 670-1595 FaxMon.-Fri. 7:30-6; Sat. 8-4

www.fitzmall.com

Herb Gordon SubaruSilver Springs

(301) 890-3065(301) 847-2239 Fax

Mon.-Fri. 7:30-6www.herbgordonsubaru.com

Long Automotive GroupFramingham

(800) 982-2298(508) 879-1212 Fax


NEW JERSEY

NEW YORK

PENNSYLVANIA

DELAWARE

MASSACHUSETTS

CONNECTICUT

RHODE ISLAND

MARYLAND

NEW JERSEY

NEW YORK

PENNSYLVANIA

DELAWARE

MASSACHUSETTS

CONNECTICUT

RHODE ISLAND

MARYLAND

NEW JERSEY

NEW YORK

PENNSYLVANIA

DELAWARE

MASSACHUSETTS

CONNECTICUT

RHODE ISLAND

MARYLAND

NEW JERSEY

NEW YORK

PENNSYLVANIA

DELAWARE

MASSACHUSETTS

CONNECTICUT

RHODE ISLAND

MARYLAND

NEW JERSEY

NEW YORK

PENNSYLVANIA

DELAWARE

MASSACHUSETTS

CONNECTICUT

RHODE ISLAND

MARYLAND

Deep Inventory – Competitive Pricing – Genuine Subaru QualityCall Today!

NEW JERSEY

NEW YORK

PENNSYLVANIA

DELAWARE

MASSACHUSETTS

CONNECTICUT

RHODE ISLAND

MARYLAND


AUTOBODY MARKETPLACE

Looking for Good Collision Personnel? •1,262 Collision Techs resumes online •1,295 Painters resumes online •1,177 Estimators & Mgs resumes online •11,256 Mechanical Tech resumes online

ACTautostaffing.com or 727-733-5600 800-524-1504 [email protected] us!write us!


CALL 800-699-8251



[email protected]

800-699-8251









[email protected]


write us!write us!






Free Twice Monthly NewsletterFree Twice Monthly NewsletterFree Twice Monthly Newsletter



800-699-8251




800-699-8251



SAVES YOU TIME AND MONEY> EASY TO USE <

Go to www.forkliftwrecker.comand watch our video.877.593.6959

When all you need to dois move a vehicle, use:

- Patented System.- Guaranteed not to turn yellow.- Used by GM, Andretti Autosport and West Coast Customs.

Spray a chrome �nish in your paint booth.

and West Coast Customs.www.goldtouchinc.com

Cosmichrome ®

www.goldtouchinc.comwww.goldtouchinc.com800.940.7871800.940.787216.941.7400

ClClClClClClClClClClClClClClClClClClClClClClClClClClClClClClClClClClClClClClClClClClClClClClClClClClClClClClClClClClClClClCleaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaean n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n ShShShShShShShShShShShShShShShShShShShShShShSheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeetstststststststststststststststststststststststststststststststststststststststststststststststststststststs®®®®®®®®®®® M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M Mixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixininininininininininininininininininininininininininininininininininininininininininininininininininininininininininininininininininininining g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g BoBoBoBoBoBoBoBoBoBoBoBoBoBoBoBoBoBoBoBoBoBoBoBoBoBoBoBoBoBoBoBoBoBoBoBoBoBoBoBoBoBoBoBoararararararararararararararararararararararararararararararardsdsdsdsdsdsdsdsdsdsdsdsdsdsdsdsdsdsdsdsdsdsdsdsdsdsdsdsdsdsdsdsds a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a arerererererererererererererererererererererererere u u u u u u u u u u u u u u u u u u u u u u u u u u u u usesesesesesesesesesesesesesesesesesesesesesesesesesesesesesesesesesesesesesesesesesesesesesesesesesesesesesesesesesesesesesesesesesesesesesed d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d bybybybybybybybybybybybybybybybybybybybybybybybybybybybybybybybybyby thththththththththththththththththththththththththththththththththththththththththththththththththththththththththththththththththththththththththththththththththththththththththththththththththththouououououououououououououououououououououousasasasasasasasasasasasasasasasasasasasasasasasasasasasasasasasasasasasasasasasasasasasasasasandndndndndndndndndndndndndndndndndndndndndndndndndndndndndndndndndndnds s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s ofofofofofofofofofofofofofofofofofofofofofofofofofofofofofofofofofofofofofofofofofofofofofofofofofofofofofofofofofofofofofofofofofofofofofofofofofofofofofofofofofofofofofofofofofofofofofofofofofofofofofofofofofofofofofofofofofofofofofofofofofofofofofofofofofofofof r r r r r r r r r r r r repepepepepepepepepepepepepepepepepepepepepepepepepepepepepepepepepepepepepepepepepepepepepepepepepaiaiaiaiaiaiaiaiaiaiaiaiaiaiaiaiaiaiaiaiaiaiaiaiaiaiaiaiaiaiaiaiaiaiaiaiaiaiaiaiaiaiaiaiaiaiaiaiaiaiaiaiaiaiaiaiaiair r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r shshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshopopopopopopopopopopopopopopopopopopopopopopopopopopopopopopopopopopopopopopopopopopopopopopopopopopopopopopopopopopopopopopopopopops s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s tototototototototototototototototototototototototototototototototototototototototototototototototototototototo m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m mixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixix e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e epopopopopopopopopopopopopopopopopopopopopopopopopopopopopopopopopopopopopopopopoxixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixieseseseseseseseseseseseseseseseseseseseseseseseseseseseseseseseseseseseseseseseseseses, , , , , , , , , , , , , , bobobobobobobobobobobobobobobobobobobobobobobobobobobobobobobobobobobobobobobobobobobobobobobobobobobobobobobobobobobobobobobobobobobobobobobobobobobobobobobobobobobobobobobobobobobobobobodydydydydydydydydydydydydydydydydydydydydydydydydydydydydydydydydydydydydydydydydydydydy ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllerererererererererererererererererererererererererererererererererererererer, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , !b!b!b!b!b!b!b!b!b!b!b!b!b!b!b!b!b!b!b!b!b!b!b!b!b!b!b!b!b!b!b!b!b!b!b!b!b!b!b!b!b!b!b!b!b!b!b!b!b!b!b!b!b!b!b!b!b!b!b!b!b!b!b!b!b!b!b!b!b!b!b!b!b!b!b!b!b!b!b!b!b!b!b!b!b!b!b!b!b!b!b!b!b!berererererererererererererererererererererererererererererererererererererererglglglglglglglglglglglglglglglglglglglglglglglglglglglglglglglglglglglglglglglglglglglglglglglglglglglglglglglglglglglglglglglglglglglglglglglglglglglglglglglglglasasasasasasasasasasasasasasasasasasasasasasasasasasasasasasasasasasasasasasasass,s,s,s,s,s,s,s,s,s,s,s,s,s,s,s,s,s,s,s,s,s,s,s,s,s,s,s,s,s,s,s,s,s,s,s,s,s,s,s,s,s,s,s,s,s,s,s,s,s,s,s,s,s,s,s,s, p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p plalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalaststststststststststststststststststststststststststststststststststststststststststststicicicicicicicicicicicicicicicicicicicicicicicicicicicicicicicicicicicicicicicicicicicicicicicicicicicicicicicicicicicicicicicicics,s,s,s,s,s,s,s,s,s,s,s,s,s,s,s,s,s,s,s,s,s,s,s,s,s,s,s,s,s,s,s,s,s,s,s,s, g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g gelelelelelelelelelelelelelelelelelelelelelelelelelelelelelelelelelelelelelelelelelelelelelelelelelelel, , , , , , , , , pupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupuputtttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyanananananananananananananananananananananananananananananananananananananananananananananananananananananananananananananananananananananananananananand d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d tototototototototototototototototototototototototototototototototototototoucucucucucucucucucucucucucucucucucucucucucucucucucucucucucucucucucucucucucucucucucucucuch-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-upupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupup p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p paiaiaiaiaiaiaiaiaiaiaiaiaiaiaiaiaiaiaiaiaiaiaiaiaiaiaiaiaiaiaiaiaiaiaiaiaiaiaiaiaiaiaiaiaiaiaiaiaiaiaiaiaiaiaiaiaiaiaiaiaiaiaiaiaiaiaiaintntntntntntntntntntntntntntntntntntntntntntntntntntntntntnt.............

Clean Sheets® Mixing Boards are used by thousands of repair shops to mix epoxies, body !ller, !berglass, plastics, gel, puttyand touch-up paint.•••••••••••••••••••••••• P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P Prererererererererererererererererererererererererererererererereveveveveveveveveveveveveveveveveveveveveveveveveveveveveveveveveveventntntntntntntntntntntntntntntntntntnts s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s cocococococococococococococococococococococococococococococococococococococococococococococococococococococococococococococococococococococococococococococococococococostststststststststststststststststststststststststststststststststststststststststststststststststststststlylylylylylylylylylylylylylylylylylylylylylylylylylylylylylylylyly r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r reweweweweweweweweweweweweweweweweweweweweweweweweweweweweweweweweweweweweweweweweweweweweweweweweweweweworororororororororororororororororororororororororororororororororororororororororororororororororororororororororororororororororororororororksksksksksksksksksksksksksksksksksksksksksksksksksksksksksksksksksksksksksksksksksksksksksksksksksksksksksksksksksksksksksksksksksksksksksksksksksksksksksksksksksksksksksksksksksksksksksksksksksksksksksksksksksksksksksksksksks ••••••••••••••• B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B Bononononononononononononononononononononononononononononononononononononononononononononononononononondedededededededededededededededededededededededededededededededededededededededededededededededededededededededededededededededededededededededededededededededededededed d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d onononononononononononononononononononononononononononononononononononononononononononononononononon 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s sidididididididididididididididididididididididididididididididididideseseseseseseseseseseseseseseseseseseses••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• N N N N N N N N N N N N N N N N N N N N N N N N N N N N N Nonononononononononononononononononononononononononononononononononononononononononononononononon-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-absbsbsbsbsbsbsbsbsbsbsbsbsbsbsbsbsbsbsbsbsbsbsbsbsbsbsbsbsbsbsbsbsbsbsbsbsbsbsbsbsbsbsbsbsbsbsbsbsbsbsorororororororororororororororororororororororororororororororororororororororororororororororororororororororbibibibibibibibibibibibibibibibibibibibibibibibibibibibibibibibibibibibibibibibibibibibibibibibibibibibibibibingngngngngngngngngngngngngngngngngngngngngngngngngngngngngngngngngngngngngngngngngngngngngngngngngngngngng, , , , , , , , , , , heheheheheheheheheheheheheheheheheheheheheheheheheheheheheheheheheheheheheheheheheheheheheheheheheavavavavavavavavavavavavavavavavavavavavavavavavavavavavavavavavavavavavavavavavavavavavavavavavavavavavavavavy-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-dududududududududududududududududududududududududududududududududududududududududududududududududududududududududududududududududududududududutytytytytytytytytytytytytytytytytytytytytytytytytytytytytytytytytytyty p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p papapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapererererererererererererererererererererererererererererererererererererererererererererererererererererererererererererererererererererererererererererererererererererer w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w wititititititititititititititititititititititititititititititititititith h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h grgrgrgrgrgrgrgrgrgrgrgrgrgrgrgrgrgrgrgrgrgrgrgrgrgrgrgrgrgrgrgrgrgrgrgrgrgrgrgrgrgrgrgrgrgrgrgrgrgrgrgrgrgrgrgrgrgrgrgrgrgrgrgrgrgrgrgrgrgrgrgrgrgrgrgrgrgrgrgrgrgrgrgrgrgrgrgrgrgrgrgrgrgrgrgrgrgrgrgrgrgripipipipipipipipipipipipipipipipipipipipipipipipipipipipipipipipipipipipipipipipipipipipipipipip f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f forororororororororororororororororororororororororororororororororororororororororororororororor m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m mixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixininininininininininininininininininininininininininininininininininininininininininininininininingggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggg•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P Payayayayayayayayayayayayayayayayayayayayayayayayayayayayayayayayayayayayayayayayayayayayayayayays s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s fofofofofofofofofofofofofofofofofofofofofofofofofofofofofofofofofofofofor r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r ititititititititititititititititititititititititititititititititititititititititititititititititititititititititseseseseseseseseseseseseseseseseseseseseseseseseseseseseseseseseseseseseseseseseseseseseseseseseseseseseseseseseseseseseseseseseseseseseseseseseseseseseseseseseseseseseseseseseseseseseseseseseseseseseseseseseseseseseseseseseseseseseseseseseseseseseselflflflflflflflflflflflflflflflflflflflflflflflflflflflflflflflflflflflflflflflflflflflflflflflflf t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t thehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehe f f f f f f f f f f f f fiririririririririririririririririririririririririririririririririririririrststststststststststststststststststststststststststststststststststststststststststststst w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek k k k k k k k k k k k k k k k k k k yoyoyoyoyoyoyoyoyoyoyoyoyoyoyoyoyoyoyoyoyoyoyoyoyoyoyoyoyoyoyoyou u u u u u u u u u u u u u u u u u u u u u u u u u u u u u u u u u u u u u u u u u u u u u u u u u u u u u u u u u u u u u u u u u u u u u u u u u u u u u u u usususususususususususususususususususususususususususususususususususususususususususe 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 ththththththththththththththththththththththththththththththththththththththththththththththththththththththththththththththththththththththththththththththththththththththththththththththththemememememememememememememememememememememememememememememememememememememememememememememememememememememememememememememememememememememememememememememememememememememememememememememememememememememememememememememememememememememememememememem!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

• Prevents costly reworks • Bonded on 3 sides• Non-absorbing, heavy-duty paper with grip for mixing• Pays for itself the first week you use them!

SSSSSSSttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttooooppppppppppp wwwwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaassssssttttttttttttttiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnnnnnnggggggggggggggggg vvvvaaaaaalllllluuuuuuuuaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaabbbbbbbbbbbblllllllllllllllleeeeeeeeeeeeee tttttttttttiiiiiiiimmmmmmmmmeeeStop wasting valuable timelolololololololololololololololololololookokokokokokokokokokokokokokokokokokokokokokokokokokokokokokokokokokokokokokokokokokokokokokokokokokokokokokokokokokokokokokokokokokokokokokokokokokokokokinininininininininininining g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g fofofofofofofofofofofofofofor r r r r r r r r r r cacacacacacacacacacacacacacacacacacacacacacacacacacacacacacacacacacacacacacacacacacacacacacacacacacacacacacacacacacacacacacacacacacacacacacacacacardrdrdrdrdrdrdrdrdrdrdrdrdrdrdrdrdrdrdrdrdrdrdrdrdrdrdrdrdrdrdrdboboboboboboboboboboboboboboboboboboboboboboboboboararararararararararararararararararararard d d d d d ororororororororororororororororororororororororororor c c c c c c c c c cleleleleleleleleleleleleleleananananananananananananananananananananinininininininininininininining g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g mimimimimimimimimimimimimimimimimimimimimimimimimimimimimimimimimimimimimimimimimixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixixingngngngngngngngngngngngngngngngngngngngngngngngngngngngngngngngngngngngngngngngngngngngngngngngngngngngngngngngngngngngngngngngngngngngngngngngngngngngngngngngngngngngngngngngngngngngngng b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b boaoaoaoaoaoaoaoaoaoaoaoaoaoaoaoaoaoaoaoaoardrdrdrdrdrdrdrdrdrdrdrdrdrdrdrdrdrdrdrds!s!s!s!s!s!s!s!s!s!s!s!s!s!s!s!s!s!s!looking for cardboard or cleaning mixing boards!

CaCaCaCaCallllllll y y y y youououour r r r lololololocacacal l l l l JoJoJoJoJoJobbbbbbbbbbererererererererer o or:r:r:r:r:r:r:Call your local Jobber or: wwwwwwwwwwwww.w.w.w.w.w.clclclclclcleaeaeaeansnsheheheheetetetetsmsmsmsmsmfgfgfgfg.c.c.c.c.comomomomwww.cleansheetsmfg.com8888800000000000---333333666555555----111111133333330000008888800-365-1308

Clean Sheets®“!e Original Patented Mixing Pad

Since 1988”

doing the review indeed had their carrepaired by the shop they’re review-ing. We illicit the reviews by doing acustomer satisfaction survey andwe’re finding out that about 25% ofthe customers are writing reviews onour site as a result. This way, bothbody shops and customers can rely onthese reviews, because they’re real.”

AutoBody-Review.com chargesits body shop clients a monthly feeand does not offer advertising to getany shop at the top of any list. “Stay-ing objective is crucial and that’s whyour reviews carry weight. We nevermanipulate reviews or call customersto have them changed or delete anyreview, negative or positive. Our play-ing field is 100% level, so if a shopdoes good work, they get praised andvice versa. Selling ads for prime posi-tions is definitely a clear conflict of in-terest and not the right way to dothings, in my opinion. The customersshould dictate position, not thealmighty dollar and that’s why we willnever sell ads to our body shop mem-bers—ever!”


Angie’s List

Seven years ago this month in August of2007, the Society of Collision Repair Spe-cialists (SCRS) and the collision repaircommunity lost a dear friend and tremen-dous asset with the untimely passing ofMarch Taylor. Those that were fortunate

enough to have beentouched by Marchknew him as a dedi-cated family man, aninnovative shopowner, an experi-enced master techni-cian, and a selflessand iconic collisionindustry leader andcontributor. He was afixture within SCRS,the SCRS Board of

Directors and a mentor to many of us in ourcareers and businesses.

March was passionate about ad-dressing inaccurate estimating data andvolunteered his time collecting, re-searching and processing hundreds ofdatabase inquiries. He was a technicianat heart and was insistent on identifyingareas where the data failed to reflect thereal world requirements technicians’face in the repair process. His work wasthe catalyst and inspiration behind thecreation of the Database EnhancementGateway (DEG), and the concept tohave a centralized point for our indus-try to submit inquiries to.

The DEG (www.degweb.org) is aninitiative that was developed to help ad-dress collision repair estimates data,through proactive feedback from the col-lision repair industry to the informationproviders (IPs) that supply the databasesfor the various estimating products. TheDEG was created, and is equally fundedand maintained by SCRS, Alliance ofAutomotive Service Providers (AASP)and Automotive Service Association(ASA). It is a perfect example of our or-ganization putting membership dollars atwork to address real issues in the indus-try. The DEG has processed more than7,000 inquiries from the industry, manyof which have resulted in changes to theestimating system database, or necessaryexplanations of how they work.

The process is simple, the shopsubmits the inquiry to the DEG and theadministrator works with the represen-tatives from the IPs to bring the inquiryto resolution. Here are some great recentexamples of responsive results fromDEG submissions:7112 - 2004 VW Beetle Left Door Skin6939 - 2013 VW Beetle Roof Panel6602 - 2013 Chevrolet Camaro SS SideBody Drip Molding

If you are using electronic estimat-ing systems to itemize your repairprocess and price your services, it is im-portant to pay attention to the informa-tion being used to create the estimate.

Talk to your estimating staff about theDEG and visit www.degweb.org tocheck it out today.

The DEG and all of its successesare dedicated to the memory of ourgood friend, March Taylor.

SCRS Posts Tribute to March Taylor for Supporting and Inspiring the DEG

March Taylor

With relatively cheap repair and in-surance rates, why is Wyoming themost expensive state in which to owna car? Gas prices. The state is themost expensive for annual estimatedgas costs, and it’s not even close.Wyoming is over $350 more expen-sive per year than second-ranked Ala-bama. It costs about $1,588 annuallyto fill your car up in Wyoming. At$324, repair costs are reasonable, as isinsurance at $792. In total, it costsabout $2,705 per year to own a car inthe most expensive state.

Mississippi is the third-most expen-sive state for annual estimated gaso-line costs, at $1,231. Other costs arenot too outrageous: the state ranks asthe 21st most expensive for insuranceat $901, and repair costs come in at$356 per year. But thanks largely tothose gas prices, owning a car in Mis-sissippi comes with an annual esti-mated cost of $2,487.

WY is the Most Expensive Statein the US for Car Ownership

FL is the Third Most ExpensiveState in Which to Own a Car

MS is the 4th Most ExpensiveState for Car Ownership Overall

Repair costs are about in line withOhio’s, at an annual estimated cost$329, and insurance is the third-cheap-est of all states at $658. Wisconsin,though, is 1 of 22 states with gasolineprices over the annual estimated costof $1,000 ($1,031). That’s over halfthe annual estimated car ownershipcost of $2,018 in the state.

WI is the 5th Cheapest State inWhich to Own a Car

According to Bankrate.com there isno one cost that is astronomical inFlorida when it comes to owning acar, but all three factors Bankratemeasured were on the high side. Es-timated annual repair costs are $377,11th most-expensive among the 50states and D.C. Insurance costs are$1,124, comfortably in the top-10most-expensive states, and gasolinecosts are $1,015. Overall, the cost ofowning a car per year in Florida isabout $2,516.


ThThThesesese lululuxuxuxury ilryry a aututomomomobobobilesesesdededeseseservrve e e tototo b beefififinishshshededed w w withhGeGeGenununuininineJaJaJaguguguar P P Parararts........

These luxury automobilesdeserve to befinished withGenuineJaguar Parts...

.....A.A.Andnd w w w we e knknknowowow J J Jagagaguauauar....And we know Jaguar.C-X16 Concept >

NEW JERSEY

Madison JaguarMADISON973-377-6443(973) 410-1503 FaxM-F 8am - [email protected]

All The Genuine Lexus PartsYou Need For That TroubleFree Repair, And Lexus Finish!

These Dealers Below Are GenuineLexus Parts Distributors:

PENNSYLVANIA

Thompson LexusDoylestown

267-898-3333(215) 230-3397 Faxwww.1800THOMPSON.com

Season 34 of MotorWeek, television’slongest-running automotive series, cel-ebrates the reinvention of the automo-bile. Upcoming 2015 and 2016 modelswill feature the highest level of info-tainment, safety, and driver’s aid tech-nology ever on four wheels andMotorWeek will cover all of it in ex-citing detail. This new technology istransforming how automobiles interactwith consumers as well as how theydrive, paving the way for the emer-gence of the autonomous, self-drivingcar. The new season of MotorWeekpremieres on public television stationsnationwide beginning Sept. 5, 2014.

Season 34 of MotorWeek willhighlight advanced functions such asCollision Mitigation, Lane Keep As-sist, Rear Cross Traffic Alert, andother driver aids that are a step to-wards cars that completely drivethemselves. While this approachmay be somewhat alarming to auto-motive enthusiasts, it will be a boonfor everyone that loves or needs theeveryday freedom that driving anautomobile provides. “The au-tonomous automobile will not onlycontinue America’s love affair withthe automobile, but move it to aneven higher level of usefulness,”says John Davis, MotorWeek Host

and Senior Executive Producer.One new technology, Collision

Mitigation, which uses a radar aidedbraking system to slow and even stopa vehicle to avoid a collision, will be-come a special focus of MotorWeek’scontinuing commitment to drivingsafety. In season 34 MotorWeek will

inaugurate a new test for cars with au-tomatic braking systems. MotorWeekwill add a low speed barrier test, thefirst all-new test in our Road Testregime in a generation. This new bar-rier test was created to measure the ef-fectiveness of the various automaticbraking systems among differentmakes and models. MotorWeek Sea-son 34 will reveal how automaticbraking systems react in low speedcollisions; one of the most commonaccidents causing billions of dollars

in insurance claims for injuries andproperty damage.

The season premiere of Motor-Week features the newest addition tothe BMW family, the exotic 2015BMW i8 advanced hybrid, the com-pact 2015 Lincoln MKC utility, the700-plus horsepower 2015 DodgeChallenger SRT Hellcat, along withthe all-new 2015 Acura TLX. Otherhighlights from MotorWeek’s newseason include road test reviews of the2015 Chevrolet Camaro Z28, de-signed and engineered to be the fasteststreet-legal Camaro ever built; and thenew 2015 Lexus NX, the brand’s firstcompact luxury crossover.

MotorWeek’s line-up of popularsegments returns with Master Techni-cian Pat Goss offering do-it-yourselfcar care advice at Goss’ Garage.Yolanda Vazquez will continue to tackleconsumer news and trends in FYI andMotor News. Roving reporter ZachMaskell goes Over the Edge with aquirky and fun look at the auto world inoverdrive, while Brian Robinson re-views the newest motorcycles andscooters in Two Wheelin’. MotorWeekalso continues its decade-long empha-sis on the widening availability andpracticality of hybrid and electric vehi-cles in Green Motoring.

Season 34 of MotorWeek 2014 Features Collision Mitigation, Traffic Alerts

MotorWeek Cast Members

It costs more to fix your car in NewJersey than in any other state, withan annual estimated cost of $393.New Jersey is also the third-most-expensive state for auto insuranceat $1,244 per year. Gas, though, isaffordable, with New Jersey rank-ing as the sixth cheapest state inthis category at $783. For owninga car in New Jersey, you pay about$2,421 per year.

NJ is 5th Most Expensive Statefor Auto Ownership

It was an up and down sales monthfor the Big Three US automakers,with Chrysler and Ford seeinggains while General Motors saw re-tail sales decline, though fleet salesmade up some of the ground. Alltold, a total of 1.58 million light ve-hicles were sold in August, accord-ing to data from Wards Auto. Thisbrings the year-to-date total to 11.3million units, a 5% increase over2013.

Ford and Chrysler Up, GMdown in August Car Sales



CALL 800-699-8251



[email protected]

800-699-8251









[email protected]


write us!write us!










800-699-8251




800-699-8251




Documents

Northeastern Edition October 2014