Is the Industry Suffering from Widespread Billing Fraud and Repair Defects
Editor’s Note: Some background: In 2000, California’s Department of Consumer Affairs, Bureau of Automotive Repair (BAR) launched an Autobody Inspection Program after Gov. Gray Davis signed legislation (2000-S.B. 1988) requiring the BAR to conduct a pilot program to determine the extent of autobody fraud in the state and to then recommend solutions to the legislature.
Why Won’t They Pay Me
Over the years shop operators have learned to write estimates with strict adherence to estimating guides and P-pages. In our attempts to play by the rules, we’ve written for every task we perform in order to get paid properly. But what do we do when insurance companies simply refuse to pay for what we know
More Jack-in-the-Box Hoods
If a sticker falls off a CAPA hood in the woods and no one’s there to see it blow away, is it still a CAPA-certified hood? CAPA will tell you no.
Letters to the Editors
Does Your Shop Measure Up? Your article was incredible [“Does Your Shop Measure Up?” March 2002, pg. 40]! I found (literally) my first UMS the same way your picture showed it in early 1980 in a Toyota dealership in upstate Vermont. I had just closed my small shop because of the recession and was amazed
E-Commerce Has Arrived
Can e-commerce solutions truly improve dispatch, load leveling and cycle time to impact throughput and profits? In a word, yes.
Don’t Put All Your Eggs in One Basket
A shop should never rely on a single source to make a living.
Love (to Undercut) Thy Neighbor
“It seems like shops are more obsessed with competing than with working and sticking together, so how will we ever better the industry for ourselves?” – Dennis Terry, technician, Hilltop Auto, Cabot, Ariz. The fact that insurers work so hard to control the consumer explains one of the reasons why shops don’t “stick” together. Shops
We Have Winners
If an industry expert could answer one question for you, what would that question be? (One catch: The question has to be collision-repair related. This eliminates the chance of our receiving any more questions like, “My wife says the only way to get my attention is to stand in front of the TV set. She
The Case of the Disappearing Tech
The talk about the lack of the human resources in this industry.
Independents: Fighting for Truth, Justice, and a Fair Day’s Pay
“Will non-DRP shops that fight to make insurers pay for everything be ahead in five years?” – Pete Kenney, manager, Black Diamond Auto Body, Las Vegas, Nev. That’s a tough question, one with no obvious answers carved in stone. This industry has changed so much in the last five years that it’s anyone’s guess what