Use Your Clout, You Lout
“When will dealership body shops – with their captive clientele – wise up and stop making concessions to insurance companies? e.g.: Charge the same labor rate as in their mechanical shop. Their mechanical shops don’t work with junkyard or jip parts. Why agree to do anything different in the body shop?” asks P. Michael Riffert, president, Engle’s Frame and Body Service, Ephrate, Pa.
Save a Buck… Pass the Buck?
As the market demands cheaper, faster, better repairs, the concept of “better” can often be forgotten. But who decides what’s acceptable in terms of repair quality? And how close is close enough?
Rear Clipping: Does It Deserve Its Bad Rap?
We’ve all heard horror stories about rear full body sectioning, which has lost its favorable status with insurers, repairers and consumers. But was the problem the procedure – or the people performing it?
Can Structural Repairs Be Profitable?
The answer is up to you. With an accurate estimate, trained technicians and the proper procedures, you can be sure those big hits don’t become big losers.
Taking the Despair Out of Door Skin Repair
To make this often-dreaded task more appealing to techs – and more profitable to your shop – re-think door skin replacement during the estimating process. Then after writing an estimate that includes all the necessary procedures, enlist a few special techniques and tools to speed up the actual repair.
Skin Replacement…For Doors
While it’s possible to repair a door skin properly and profitably, replacing a door skin is cleaner, can be faster and can also produce a better-quality repair — once you know what you’re doing.
Weighing the Options: Repair or Replace?
To repair or replace shouldn’t be decided by tossing a coin or by an insurance company. If you’re unsure what to do, your best bet for success is to talk with techs who’ve been there, done that.
Frame Rail: Repair or Replace?
Because your customers’ safety is in your hands, it’s crucial to know when – and when not – to section a damaged frame rail.
The Parts Debate
What will it take for insurers to part with aftermarket parts and for repairers to allow recycled parts to play a major role in their repairs?
Cheaters Never Win
Back-alley shops and unethical owners have dragged our names through the mud long enough. Here’s what to do if your boss is bad.