|
Page 1 of 2
"Do you know the way to San Jose?" asks a popular song
from the '70's, when the city South of San Francisco was considered
laid back. Today, San Jose is anything but laid back. The capital of
the Silicon Valley boasts more millionaires per capita under the age of
35 than anywhere else in the country, and if these wealthy youngsters
bang up the Jag or Land Rover, chances are it will end up at City Body
Repairs.
|
The Rinella family has owned the 7,300 sq. ft. shop in San Jose since 1968.
|
 |
| ICI Autocolor is the preferred finish at City Body Repairs |
|
| Spraybake prep stations |
City Body Repairs opened its doors
shortly after WWII when two returning vets, Antone Rinella and
Salvatore Turturici, skilled in body repair and painting, decided
they'd be better off on their own than working in someone else's shop.
Today,
its Wes Rinella, 52, running the show and the staff of 13 who turn out
80 mostly high-end cars a month. He's assisted by general manager
Emiliano Quevedo who started in the paint prep department over ten
years ago.
City Body specializes in
heavy hits - $15,000 jobs are not unusual. "It's a real challenge,"
said Rinella. "We really have to stay on top of supplements and all
aspects of quality control to ensure both a happy customer and a strong
bottom line."
Jags, Land Rovers and Bentleys
"English
cars are 80% of our work. Mostly Jaguars and Land Rovers," said
Rinella. "Six months ago we repaired a new Bentley." The 2000 Bentley,
which cost about $200,000, was wrecked when the owner's gardener tried
to move it but accidentally popped the car into reverse. Another
gardener jumped in the moving car to try and regain control but it went
down a hill, through a chain link fence and onto a tennis court, coming
to rest straddling a retaining wall - severely damaging the frame.
"When we were through, the invoice was $62,000. That's our record."
Dealers refer business
Rinella
does not depend on insurers' DRP programs for his business. He prefers
to maintain his longstanding relationships with high-end auto dealers.
"When
our typical customer has an accident, he calls the dealer and asks
where to take the car. They're primarily interested in maintaining the
value of their investment in the car or protecting their lease
agreement. They expect you to 'handle it' for them."
Advocate for the insured
The
shops's web site boasts that City Body Repairs "caters to the
discerning customer." For this reason, Rinella is careful when looking
at direct insurance programs. "We must be certain we can maintain our
status as an advocate for the rights of the insured."
As
an advocate for the insured, Rinella recalls the adjuster who wanted
him to reglue a piece of slightly kinked molding on a late model Land
Rover and the other one who wanted him to fix floor panels instead of
replacing them. "We just can't do that stuff here. It won't work."
Rinella does work with select
direct repair programs and would consider others "if they focus on
customer satisfaction and quick turn around times."
Ready to take it easy - Not!
Having
joined the family business in the late 70's after college and a stint
as a sales manager for a national chemical company, Rinella not long
ago found himself "ready to let things coast." He then found out "it
doesn't work. You can't just 'maintain' in business. You're either
growing, or going the other way."
One impediment to fast growth,
however, is the labor problem. Rinella certainly does his best to keep
good people. The shop offers a complete benefits package, competitive
pay and "treats everyone like they're part of the family. We always
find creative ways to help them. Money isn't always the answer."
While
his head body man, has been at City Body Repairs for 20 years and
another top body man has been there 14 years, Rinella still experiences
a lot of turnover at the entry level, especially in the paint
department.
With recruiting and
training painters and preppers such a nagging problem, Rinella was
ready to listen when jobber Don's Supply of Santa Clara proposed that
he switch to ICI Autocolor, a top European brand that only recently had
been introduced to California.
Switched paint to ICI Autocolor
"We've
always preferred European paints like ICI. We tend to look towards them
because of color match for the British cars. The Euro clears also
crosslink more quickly. "They become solid faster and don't water spot
as easily, so we can get a car out of the booth and move it to the lot
right away," explained Rinella.
ICI
Autocolor was attractive because it offered a high level of product
quality, faster production times, jobber support, excellent training at
the ICI tech center and an additional bonus - a highly skilled,
temporary painter to fill in while his staff is away at training. "That
solved a big problem - how do you train people and keep up production,"
said Rinella. In addition to its classroom facilities, ICI also does
on-going in-shop training to keep "production up and waste down."
One day in and out
Rinella especially likes the UV
speed primer. "With its two minute cure time it enables us to do fast
turn around of small jobs and same day delivery.
"Overall,
the ICI line is less money than the paint we were using, coverage is
good and matching is excellent. With commitment from the people at ICI,
it's working."
Switching paint brands
is a big deal Rinella agreed, but "anytime you can get a paint company
like ICI to join ranks with you, it's worthwhile to make a switch."
Investing in Car-O-Liner and Pro-Spot
Rinella
continues to invest in the shop. "The competition keeps getting better,
so I need every competitive advantage I can get," he quipped. Since
1968 the family has owned the City Body Repairs building, including
7,300 sq ft of shop space plus offices, a real competitive advantage in
a high-rent district like San Jose.
His frame equipment includes a Car-O-Liner
frame rack, two additional drive-on racks and a Car-O-Liner electronic
measuring system. He's planning to add two more Car-O-Liner racks.
"It's fast, accurate equipment and it keeps getting more and more OEM
approvals, like the recent BMW approval."
Rinella
is considering a proposal to mount the Car-O-Liner equipment on hoists
that will raise them to a working height of 6 feet.
The shop will also be getting an overhead trolley system to move around its Pro Spot
welding systems. "We have both the Pro Spot MIG and spot welding gear,
and putting it on the trolley will make it even more efficient," said
Rinella.
<< Start < Prev 1 2 Next > End >> |
