Brief History of ASA Arizona: Giving Collision & Mechanical Support
The Automotive Service Association of Arizona (ASAAZ) was founded in 1963 to help automotive shop owners statewide through resources, training, legislation and representation, networking, communication efforts and more. The ASA of Arizona is affiliated with the Bedford-Texas-based national ASA, which is the largest not-for-profit trade association of its kind serving automotive service professionals.
Today, the Automotive Service Association of Arizona serves both the mechanical and collision-repair segments of the industry. As a state affiliate of Automotive Service Association, the Phoenix-based nonprofit includes 286 members, including 70 collision shops. As it represents the state industry as a whole, the organization has two divisions: mechanical and collision.
The ASAAZ comprises seven chapters: Mohave, Phoenix, Prescott, Tucson, Verde Valley, Yuma and the Grand Canyon Chapter, which represents members statewide that are not part of another chapter. Each elects a board member, who serves for two years, without term limits; currently, the collision division does not have a member on the board. These individual chapters hold meetings, offer local speakers and information exchange and participate in the ASA-sponsored NACE and the annual ASAAZ conference, held this year, July 9–11, at the Prescott Resort & Conference Center.
The group began as the Arizona Auto Body Association, founded June 4, 1976, by Clarence “Bud” Klinefelter, David Keilholtz and Marv Rather.
Consumers are Duped Into Accepting Unsafe Collision Repairs
Last month Toby Chess wrote an article in Autobody News (see Dec. 09 issue) that was about two repairs on completed by two different shops on Mercedes Benz vehicles that were not only repaired in a substandard way but safe to say in an un-safe manner. I want to add to what Toby had to say because this is not the exception but the norm.
With our economic downturn, shops and consumers are struggling. One (shops) to make a buck, and the other (consumers) to save a buck. There has been a giant step backwards in accountability from both shops and insurers that guarantees that a safe vehicle is put back on the road. The consumer is becoming the victim because they are deceived into thinking that a guarantee is the same as a safe repair.
I believe that we reap what we sow, so to think we will get away from accountability just because we haven’t been caught is wrong. To hide something from the customer will only come back to bite you in the end. Selling the job back to the customer should never be anything more than explaining to them what you have done and reassuring them that they can count on you because you care about them. It should never get to the point of talking them into accepting a repair that you know is substandard.
Color Matching or Blending, or Both?
Some things never change. It seems that every couple of months the insurance industry picks an aspect of the collision repair process and tries to change, alter, or ‘massage’ it. This is an obvious attempt to control costs and it is a challenge to the shops, continually justifying our repair methods and procedures. From a business perspective this is perfectly understandable and, depending on the issue, it may even lead to improvements for both parties.
It is easy for me to tell when the focus shifts to a new process. Within a couple of days I receive phone calls from several clients requesting my point of view on the new topic. The latest one that came up is an interesting question and as is often the case, there is no cut and dried answer to any part of it.
Finding a Marketing Hole and Filling It
A shop in my area recently experienced an attack by a competitor. One of the competitor’s reps was trying to get one of the shop’s dealership “authorized collision repair” status. At the same time they tried to hire away one of his best technicians, and some nasty “black P.R.” was employed to hurt his reputation with local insurance agents. He tried to fight back. An old military maxim says, “the best defense is a good offense,” but this shop owner felt he lacked the personnel and resources to really mount a good offense against this larger, multi-shop competitor.
By the time this shop owner realized he was under attack, it was almost too late to do anything about it. He should have been maintaining a competition conscious posture in his area. A business can’t afford to operate as though they exist in a vacuum. It can be fatal to ignore the activities of one’s competitors. An on-going marketing strategy should be in place to evaluate competitor’s strengths and weaknesses and to capitalize on any perceived “hole” in their approach to getting new business.
Jan 10 Southwest Contents
10 Cheapest Cars to Insure 3
Affinia Asks for NHTSA for Brake Rotor Standard 12
AkzoNobel Car Refinishes in Deal with GM Europe 34
AkzoNobel’s Acoat Selected Benevolence Program 7
Allstate Alleges Texas Tow Truck Fraud 1
Amaradio - Accepting Unsafe Collision Repairs 25
APU Solutions Partners with Mitchell and Audatex 27
ASA Announces 2010 Meeting 20
ASA Agreement with Airbag Solutions 27
ASA Decides to Go it Alone at 2010 ASRW 1
Ask Dale Delmege 35
Assessment: Collision Repair Industry in California 26
Auto Body Panels Selects MAM 20
Auto Experts Question After-Market Parts’ ‘Equality’ 24
Auto Loan Delinquency Rising Except in CA 7
Automotive Technicians Purchase Based on Brand 19
BASF Visits with Auto Officials 34
Caliber Collision Acquires Three Collision Centers 15
ChemSpec USA Helps High Schoolers 27
Chicago Pneumatic Donates $23K in Tools 11
Chrysler Talks Arbitration With Rejected Stores 3
Chrysler to Build Fiat ‘FIRE’ Engine in Michigan 20
CIC Committtees Report Taking On Big Jobs 10
Jan 10 Western contents
10 Cheapest Cars to Insure 16
Affinia Asks for NHTSA for Federal Aftermarket Brake Rotor Standard 50
AkzoNobel Car Refinishes in Deal with GM Europe 53
AkzoNobel’s Acoat Selected Benevolence Program 45
Amaradio - Unsafe Collision Repairs 49
APU Solutions Partners with Mitchell and Audatex 45
ASA Announces 2010 Meeting 27
ASA in Benefit Agreement with Airbag Solutions 33
ASA Decides to Go it Alone at 2010 ASRW 1
Ask Dale (Delmege) 14
The Collision Repair Industry by CRA 51
Auto Body Panels Selects MAM 27
Questioning After-Market Parts’ ‘Equality’ to OEM 50
Auto Loan Delinquency Rising Except in CA 48
Automotive Technicians Make Purchase Decisions Based on Brand 26
AZ Program Gets Federal $ 10
BASF Visits with Auto Officials 53
Bellingham, WA, Shop Files Ch. 7 22
Brown - Auto Body World Lean-ing Toward the Present 37
CAA on Non-Compliant Labor Rate Surveys 22
CAA VP Joins Cancer Board 22
Caliber Collision Acquires Three Xpress Collision Centers in Houston 36
Charges Filed Against CA Gang Member for Auto Arson & Fraud. 10
ChemSpec USA Helps 16 High Schoolers 33
Chicago Pneumatic Donates $23K in Tools 11
Chrysler Talks Arbitration With Rejected Stores 25
Chrysler to Build Fiat ‘FIRE’ Engine in Michigan 27
CIC Committtees Report Taking On Big Jobs 46
Congressional Support Reaches 51 for R2R 46
Consumers Say: Oil Changes Reduce Repairs 26
Customer Satisfaction Higher in Auto Claims than Homeowners 40
Mopar Gives Dealers Cut of Online Orders
Automotive News has reported that Chrysler Group’s Mopar parts brand has opened an online store to sell parts and accessories electronically. Dealers, though, will ship the parts to customers and get paid for handling the sales.
Toyota recalls top 5.3 million vehicles
Toyota's recall troubles continue to grow, with the total number of vehicles affected by two recalls involving gas pedals growing to at least 5.3 million.
GEICO has OEM-only policy for Bumper reinforcements
Collision Week has reported that efforts by Autobody News columnist Toby Chess have led to GEICO issuing an order to inform its staff of the companywide policy change this week citing the recent industry dialog surrounding the quality of aftermarket bumper reinforcements.
Toyota Recall is the right thing says NADA
The National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) issued the following statement today on the Toyota recall:
"Toyota is doing the right thing. The safety of the customer is of paramount concern. Toyota has a reputation for resolving problems quickly. We certainly hope that's the case in this situation as well.
