NABR announced today the launch of the Go Collision VRS Labor Rate Survey in the state of Utah.
The online survey is free for all Utah collision repair shops, and can be found on the NABR website.
The Go Collision VRS Labor Rate Survey provides Utah shops an independent, third-party source of state-wide labor rate data. Results are based on shops’ actual prices, not on an artificially defined, single-prevailing rate, thereby proving the true, market-based labor rate ranges throughout Utah.
“Not all body shops are the same or do the same quality of work,” said Karl Schmidt, owner of Go Collision in Salt Lake City. “Our shop has been focused on tooling and OEM certifications. We are only one of two shops in the area that has the proper equipment to create an OEM-approved spot weld, for example. We simply want to be compensated fairly for who we are (not at the well below market price that insurers want to pay), so that we can reinvest in the training and equipment necessary to keep up with technology, repair cars right, and keep consumers satisfied and safe.”
Richard Valenzuela, CEO of NABR, added, “NABR is very excited to work with Go Collision to bring the Variable Rate System to Utah. They were an early adopter of the VRS because they quickly recognized the value of an independent, third-party survey and understood the VRS vision to help restore the free market to labor rate prices so that shops may earn a fair, reasonable and sufficient profit.”
Go Collision’s sponsorship provides state-level survey results made open and available to all Utah shops at no charge, while paid VRS subscribers gain access to much more detailed market-level labor rates, searchable by many factors including ZIP code, mileage range, training, equipment, certifications, vehicle make, and more; as well as access to the full suite of VRS online tools including a Cost of Living Adjustment calculator, Labor Rate pricing calculator, and NABR’s newest product, the VRS Procedures Document Search.
These advanced features enable shops to better define their geographic market, to find apples-to-apples comparisons to their own shop, and to calculate the right labor rates for their individual shop, all of which help a shop find a truer, more appropriate labor rate range for their market than the one so-called prevailing rate.
Other states currently running the VRS Labor Rate Survey include California, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio and Texas.
