Halfway Around the World in One Article
After BodyShop Business’ roving reporter Mike Lawrence returned from his two-day, 17-country whirlwind trip – in which he studied collision repair markets around the globe – he determined that while each country’s market is unique, it also sounds strangely familiar.
The ABCs of DRPs
Deciding whether or not to join direct-repair programs can be a daunting task. How can you be sure the relationships will benefit your customers and be profitable to your business? By spelling out the pros and cons before you sign on the dotted line.
More Than a Metal Box: Today’s Spraybooths have Evolved into More than Simple Square Boxes
Because all the high-tech options can be hard to choose from, it’s important to know which ones best suit your shop and your budget. If you spend wisely now, you can avoid paying dearly — in redos and unexpected bills — later.
Are Salvage Airbags Worth the Risk?, Stephen T. Lemnah
With the entry of low-cost salvage airbags into the collision repair industry, questions regarding their origin and safety — along with the liability and ethics of their use — are being raised by automobile manufacturers, collision repairers and insurers
Getting Your Money’s Worth
"How does a consolidator arrive at the value of a shop?" — Clyde Wilkerson, owner, Wilkerson Body & Frame, Kokomo, Ind. To answer this question, we must first define which type of consolidator you might be dealing with. Collision shop consolidators generally fall into one of two categories. The Predator First, there’s the consolidator whose
Price Fixing or Price Negotiating
“Why do insurance companies control a shop’s labor rates? Isn’t this price fixing?” –– Ron Humphress, former parts manager, Good News Auto Body Shop, Salisbury, Md. Black Law Dictionary, 7th Edition, defines price fixing as an “artificial setting or maintenance of prices at a certain level contrary to the workings of the free market.” Price
Build Relationships to Build Your Business
What are shops now doing to bring in customers?
Live From Motor City: The 2000 North American International Auto Show (NAIAS)
With our press badges in hand and our cameras poised, we scoured the North American International Auto Show in search of the world’s coolest concept cars. Ever seen a Bugatti Veyron or a Mercedes-Benz SLA? We have — and we have pictures to prove it!
Surviving in the Next Century: Your Role as an Independent Shop Owner
If you choose to buy into the media’s millennium hype, then nothing you do can save your business from impending doom. (Sorry!) If, however, you think the 21st century will bring with it a fast-paced business world, prepare yourself. Times are changing and so must your role as an independent shop owner.
Gimme, Gimme, Gimme: Better, Cheaper & Faster
Years ago, the belief in business was that you could provide a product better, cheaper or faster — pick two. But to achieve success today, you must offer all three. Customers expect more, for less money and want it yesterday.