Robinson's father was in the automobile business his entire life as a customizer and fabricator. He worked on a unique Cadillac station wagon and other famous cars. David observed his father and developed his interest in car repair.

 

Once in Arizona, David took a construction job for about six months. During this time he began repairing cars for friends and neighbors in his home garage and found this to be a lucrative sideline. So lucrative, in fact, that collision repair soon became a full-time job, requiring more space, leading to the rental of his first actual body shop.

By 1981, USA Collision moved into a 3,600 sq.ft. facility in Phoenix, where it is still located. Whereas David had expertise in collision repair, he knew nothing about the business side, which he learned from the ground up. He couldn't even write estimates. "I paid for my education from the school of hard knocks," says David.

David describes himself as a "people person," who enjoys working with customers, vendors and even the insurance companies. This has created a strong customer base which has lasted over the past 20 years.

 

In 2000, a sales office was opened in Avondale, Arizona. With sales generated from the new office, David built a 12,000 sq.ft. repair facility on the site, owned jointly with his wife, Lisa.

Business continued to grow, and in April 2003, a third facility opened in Surprise, Arizona, built out from an existing building.

USA Collision's Phoenix shop specializes in customer service as well as quality repairs.

 

A key staff person, Randy Clyde, joined the USA Collision team in 1997 as general manager. As David's right-hand man, Clyde helps see that all three locations run smoothly.

 

As David was choosing equipment for his original shop in the early '80s, he had difficulty finding a good, accurate measuring system. Since the shop was so small, it was necessary to find racks that could be moved around the shop. The simple-to-use Car-O-Liner moveable bench system fit the bill. In his opinion, Car-O-Liner has one of the best measuring systems for unibody cars. And USA Collision still has those benches today - two Mark 4s.

Robert Hornedo is the Western regional representative for Car-O-Liner. David has known him for many years and says he has always received great service. In the past ten months, USA Collision has added two drive-on Car-O-Liner racks and eight speed lifts. Hornedo looks out for his customers as well, giving David discounts that he didn't even know he was entitled to. David vouches for the quality of Car-O-Liner racks stating, "We've never had to repull a car - ever - using the Car-O-Liner racks for the past 20 years."

USA Collision relies on Sherwin-Williams for their paint systems. David credits the company with always looking out for him to make sure his business is profitable. SW sets his inventories month-to-month and provides overall support for the paint shop.

As if running three collision repair shops doesn't keep David busy enough, he and Lisa are raising seven children, ranging in ages from 11 to 26 years old. Oldest son Joshua worked in the shop as a manager, but has since moved on to pursue other interests.

In what's left of his free time, David speaks at local colleges on owning and operating a small business. He also participates in ACCA, ASA and I-CAR.