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“Nine out of every 10 body shops we visit in this country are seeing the need,” Zenteno said.  “Body shops that consider getting into mechanical repair can’t avoid from performing diagnostics on some level,” Zenteno said.  “I tell body shops two main things about doing diagnostics. First, if you’re not in; get in; it is a fact that electronics in vehicles are increasing. And secondly, develop a habit for diagnosing vehicles in your shop. Become versatile and expand your services—if you become capable and eventually adept at performing any and all types of diagnoses, you’ll benefit in many ways, because you’ll be more valuable to both your customers by providing a better customer experience and the insurance companies by increasing your accuracy in the initial vehicle estimate and submitting fewer supplements.”
Time, which equals money, is probably the foremost factor for body shops to consider getting into diagnostics, Zenteno said. “Whenever a car comes into a body shop you assess visual damage to the vehicle, however, in that process it is important to assess the damage that has been done to the electronics. One of the first things they should do is run a complete scan of the vehicle to assess what electronic components will need to be changed. If they’re not doing the diagnostics in-house, the shop will have to send the vehicle out to either a dealership or to a mechanical shop. The car is now in someone else’s hands and you’ve lost control of the repair. You could wait up to a week or more to get that vehicle back. In the interim, your cycle times are trashed. It’s a situation of failing to capture revenue, as well as losing money through expenses.”
Without the correct diagnostic system, body shops are essentially working in the dark on the mechanical side, Zenteno said. “You need the basic diagnostic tools to determine the electronics within the vehicle are damaged. You’re guessing without the proper equipment and don’t even know what to fix. Air bags, crash sensors, fuel sensors, weight sensors, engine issues, abs—so many things can go wrong with a car today that without the proper diagnostic tools, you’re lost. Without the right equipment and the knowledge to support it, a body shop trying to do mechanical repair is like a captain at sea without a compass.”
Body shop owners who are reluctant to consider incorporating mechanical repair capabilities should be aware of the two major misconceptions about diagnostics, Zenteno said. “If shops are thinking that diagnostics equipment is expensive, think again. For $3,000 to $8,000, a shop can get the proper diagnostic tools to work on 99% of every make and model car coming through their doors. Secondly, the skill level of your techs isn’t as involved as you’d imagine. A few hours of simple training will get them up and at a level of efficiency to do the job properly. It’s a matter of plugging in the scanner and reading the codes. You don’t need to be a computer engineer or programmer to do diagnostics in today’s world.
“It is not a matter of ‘if you will have ROI’ with our tools,” Zenteno said. “Collision shops that have used a good OE level diagnostic tool like ours have saved up to 80% reduction in sublet repairs. Moreover, our scan tool has the capability of being both a handheld and PC-based tool simultaneously giving the shop the capability to document the trouble codes and needed electronic repairs to include in customer files ensuring reimbursement from the insurance company.”
Autoland Scientech was founded 20 years ago, developing engine analyzers initially, Zenteno said. “We’ve been doing something right in this business for two decades to be around this long. We’re leaders in this area and our excellent reputation is the result of hard work.”
In 1999, Autoland Scientech made huge news when they released the OB91 base unit. “It was the most innovative full-featured automotive scanner at the time, providing technicians with dealer-level diagnostics on fine European and Japanese vehicles. It was the product that put us on the map when it was selected as Motor Magazine’s Top 20 Tools that same year.”
Over time the Autoland product line evolved to offer coverage for a wide range of vehicles catering to sophisticated technicians as well as general mechanical repair techs, Zenteno explained. “We make scanners for every level. On the professional-dealer level, we developed the D91 iScan, the tool-of-the-choice for upper echelon import repair shops. At the other end of the spectrum, we designed the D51 VScan for the general auto shop niche, and recently debuted the innovative shop-level VeDIS diagnostic system as well.”
In addition to aftermarket automotive diagnostics equipment, Autoland Scientech specializes as a manufacturer of diagnostic equipment for companies such as Honda Taiwan Co., Ltd. and Kwang Yang Motor Co., Ltd. (Kymco). It’s a worldwide company working with the top diagnostic minds on the planet, Zenteno said.
“We’re constantly in the process of designing new diagnostic equipment globally,” Zenteno said. “We have R&D teams in Japan, Taiwan, Mexico, Australia, U.K. and in the U.S., developing new products all the time, for the purpose of providing the finest diagnostic scanners in the world for the aftermarket industry. This universe of automotive diagnostics is ever-changing, so our goal is to stay on the cutting-edge; which involves a ton of hard work and R&D led by the leading minds in the world.”
What does the future in auto diagnostics for body shops look like? “The collision repair industry will become increasingly keen about getting into diagnostics and mechanical repair,” Zenteno said. “It comes down to profitability, versatility and flexibility. They will see the value in expanding past paint and body repair, especially during tough economic times. Will it be the norm? Probably not, but the shops that step up and adopt diagnostics will pay substantial dividends immediately and down the road.”

Autoland Scientech USA
1001 Cypress Creek Rd. Ste 101
Cedar Park TX 78613
(512) 336-5152
www.autolandscientechusa.com
www.autotechforum.net