As of Friday, July 16, Earl Scheib, Inc. announced it has ceased its operations nationwide. The company, founded in 1937, was purchased by investment firm Kelly Capital LLC in 2009 for $8 million, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Earl Scheib operated 85 collision repair shops and also made paint-coating systems that were used in its shops and sold to OEMs and architectural construction firms. The shops are now independently owned and operated, and all customer warranties are void.
A message on the Earl Scheib website reads as follows:
Effective July 16, 2010, Earl Scheib, Inc. has ceased operations nationwide. Each store is now independently owned and operated by a person unaffiliated with Earl Scheib, Inc. Based on this change, customer warranties of Earl Scheib, Inc. will no longer be able to be honored at these stores or by Earl Scheib, Inc. We truly apologize for any inconvenience this may cause you, however we believe the independent owners and operators will continue to provide the same great service that Earl Scheib, Inc. offered for almost 80 years.