About 42 percent of respondents are involved with direct-repair programs, and 96 percent of these DRP respondents say that yes, they can repair a vehicle to pre-accident condition.
Reasons cited for why they say this is possible include:
- “Our DRPs leave us alone. We charge for what we do and they pay accordingly.”
- “We’re able to supplement repairs as needed in less time.”
- “Supplements are easier and less contact with ‘save my deductible’ customers.”
The 4 percent of DRPs who say they can’t repair a vehicle to pre-accident condition cited the use of aftermarket crash parts as the reason.
So why are shop owners joining DRPs? “That’s a good question,” says one respondent who’s on one – but isn’t quite sure why.
“If you don’t join them, then you’re not on their list,” says another respondent.
Other reasons cited for joining DRPs include:
- “No down time.”
- “DRPs are a great way to exclude bad shops.”
- “They help us compete with big shops/big advertisers.”
- “To maintain needed volume.”
- “It increases work, and it’s easier to work with adjusters and insurance companies.”
- “I participate because people trust their insurance companies.”
- “For customer convenience.”
- “To get extra business.”
Some shop owners, however, aren’t joining DRPs to bring in more work – they’re joining them, says one respondent, to “avoid insurers pulling jobs from our shop to another.”
Other respondents agree. “I joined,” says another shop owner, “so customers won’t be steered from my shop.”
Writer Georgina K. Carson is editor of BodyShop Business.
