Cast Your Vote, One Repair at a Time
May the Best Parts Supplier Win!
Charge for Paint and Materials
Our suppliers don’t hesitate to raise prices or add “fuel surcharges” to compensate for increasing expenses. It’s time we shop owners do the same. Insurance companies pay $22 to $25 per hour for paint and materials in our area, and these rates have been basically the same for the past seven years. We all know
I Lost My DRP!
State Farm’s recent announcement that they’re testing a new direct-repair program and that they’ll be reducing the number of shops that participate has left repairers scratching their heads and pondering the same question: Is there life after Service First?
Examining DRP Contracts
State Farm’s decision to move to a single Select Service direct-repair program has the collision world abuzz – so this is exactly the right time to talk about all DRPs and what a shop truly receives and incurs by joining an insurer’s repair network.
Is There Still Money in Glass Repair?
A variety of factors have made in-house glass work less profitable, but some shop owners still make it work. Is it right for you?
Profits: Not A 4-Letter Word: State Farm’s New Pilot Direct-Repair Program Impacting Shops
State Farm’s new pilot direct-repair program is impacting shops large, medium and small. And the bigger the shop, the bigger the hurt. Canada’s Boyd Group Income Fund — operator of Boyd Autobody & Glass and Gerber Auto Collision & Glass in the United States — recently announced that they expect to be impacted $431,555 to
DRPs, Here We Come? Handling All the Paperwork
Handling all the paperwork that comes with being on direct-repair programs doesn’t scare us. Let me tell you why. Part 3 of a year-long series.
Bullied No More: Learn How to Counter Intimidating Negotiation Techniques
“My way or the highway” negotiation techniques have intimidated the repair industry long enough. Learn how to counter them.
May the Best Parts Supplier Win: “Aftermarket” Parts
As I continue my “learning” curve in this industry, one of the most intriguing debates I’ve heard is the one involving “aftermarket” parts. On the mechanical repair side of the automotive aftermarket, the term “aftermarket” has nowhere near the stigma it does across the collision repair industry. Often, I’ve wondered, “Why?” There was a time
How to Get Paid, “What’s The Most Effective Approach to Get Insurers to Pay My Labor Rate?”
Labor rates have always been an area of contention between shop owners and insurance companies. From time immemorial, the two camps have been divided on the issue, and monumental arguments have arisen any time this subject is broached. So before we can arrive at any real answer to the labor rate question, we must first