A national survey of collision repairers in the final two months of 2021 found well over half of shops (58%) expected their full-year sales to outpace 2020, with nearly one in five shops predicting they would end 2021 with a year over year increase of 20% or more.
A panel during the Collision Industry Conference (CIC) in November included representatives of two automakers and two insurance companies addressing a topic that repairers and others discussed at a previous CIC: can an auto body shop participate both in direct repair and OE certification programs, and meet the requirements of both?
A panel discussion at the Collision Industry Conference (CIC) in Las Vegas in November included representatives from a number of technology companies touting the potential benefits---for auto body shops and insurers---of artificial intelligence (AI) estimating, but also acknowledging some of its current limitations.
I was at a California Autobody Association (CAA) meeting recently and I couldn’t help but notice a well-dressed man at the front table.
I recently had the opportunity to meet in person with many of my 20 Group clients, and one of the things that came up was collision repair customers are not as patient as they used to be.
Some auto body shops appreciate insurance adjusters and their role in the collision repair industry, while others don’t necessarily feel the same way. But all seem to agree it’s a necessary job.
Thought leaders from across the collision repair industry had the opportunity to share innovative ideas at the IDEAS Collide Showcase held during the 2021 SEMA Show.
It’s called wholesale and if you’re not wholly dedicated to doing it yet, it can lead to a whole lot of headaches and lost revenue.
Steven Schillinger of Reno, NV, has worked as a collision repair industry consultant in different capacities for more than 40 years, as a compliance expert focusing on permits, license protection and record keeping.
From the Ford Model T until the 1970s, dents were a two-sided operation. You would push from the inside with a dolly and hammer on the outside until you had a semi smooth panel.
Over the years, I have interviewed a lot of collision repair professionals as they retire from the industry. If someone can work in this business for 30, 40 or even 50 years, it’s obviously an impressive run.
Disconnecting and later reconnecting a vehicle’s battery during collision repair work is no longer the simple operation it used to be---and auto body shops are increasingly understanding the need to research the OEM procedures for doing so, and seeking to be paid for the labor entailed.
Longtime industry consultant Sean Carey of SCG Management Consultants is the latest observer to predict a forthcoming decline in the U.S. auto body shop population.
A panel of representatives from a number of multi-shop collision repair operations at the MSO Symposium in Las Vegas in November discussed how disruptions in the parts supply chain are impacting their business.