Should a Shop Charge When It Buys Technical Reference Material?
Bob MacCargar, owner C&G Paint, Body and RV Swansboro, N.C. Opinion: No We’re supposed to be professionals. When you go someplace else and have something repaired, they don’t charge you for an instruction sheet to repair your item. You’re supposed to know how to repair your item and be educated on repairing that item. There
Your Fearless (ASA) Leader
Geralynn Kottschade has gone through basic training and childbirth. Comparatively speaking, her new role as ASA Chair should be relatively painless.
What Happened to Freedom of Choice?
Customers are being bullied and manipulated into taking their vehicles to insurers’ preferred shops. I know this because my customers are telling me.
Letters
Addressing Anti-trust Georgina: Nice article on Anti-trust [Editor’s Notes, May, pg. 6]. Just read it while I ate my lunch. If my so-called competitors wouldn’t be so afraid of their own shadow (Puxatawney Phil would be ashamed!), maybe the industry could move forward. Charge what you need to charge; the rest will figure itself out.
Letters
Dear Georgina: I enjoyed reading your article on paint judgment times [Editor’s Notes, March, pg. 6]. I see more and more insurance adjusters’ estimates calling for blend within the panels on repaired panels. Allstate and Farmers have been the worst for taking advantage of this. Once Allstate wanted to repair a quarter panel for 12
Scion xB
Toyota’s got a new vehicle it hopes Gen Yers will go crazy for. Scion xB
Return of the Red Tomato!
Starsky and Hutch – along with their famous Gran Torino – hit the big screen this month. Can this retro remake live up to its TV series roots? You decide. Return of the Red Tomato!
Cartoon
Collision repair of the future? Plus: fun facts, stats and trivia.
Prescription for Boredom: RX-8
After an eight-year hiatus, Mazda’s rotary-engine design is back.
The Jury’s In: Save their Deductibles?
They come in all shapes and sizes, but their goal is the same: They want you to save their deductible. Thirty years ago, deductibles didn’t seem to be such a big deal. In fact, 30 years ago, some insurance companies actually wrote policies with zero deductibles. In the late 1960s, I was an apprentice in
A Blast from the Past
Take a trip back in time 30 years to a body shop that’s bound to bring back memories.
Truce: Working with Insurance Adjusters
If you ever need to energize a bunch of bored shop owners, bring up working with insurance adjusters. This topic can incite a lively discussion among even a reserved group of repairers. That’s because everyone has a war story or two about an adjuster experience and they’re usually eager to share it. One of my