Owners of vehicles painted with DuPont Refinish, Hot Hues or Cromax Pro products can compete for cash prizes and have their car or truck appear in the 2013 DuPont calendar. There is no entry fee and entries can be submitted online.

Entrants must be at least 18 years of age at time of entry and a legal resident of the United States or Canada. Entries may be motorized passenger automobiles (import or domestic), trucks, or motorcycles, provided they are finished exclusively with DuPont Hot Hues Custom Finishes, DuPont Refinish or Cromax Pro Products. Entrants must own or have finished the vehicle entered into the competition.

Judging will be based on “best use of color,” including finish quality, technical difficulty and design originality. Winners will be notified by May 7, 2012, from among all eligible entries received. There will be 12 winners selected, with each winner receiving a cash prize of $500. There will be one Grand Prize Winner, selected from the 12 winners, who will receive an additional $2,000 cash prize. All winners will have a professional photo shoot of their vehicle and receive 35 copies of the 2013 DuPont Refinish calendar. The Grand Prize winner will also be featured on the cover of the calendar.

Entries must be made online by visiting www.customfinishescalendar.dupont.com, completing the competition registration form, in entirety, and uploading two photos of the vehicle. More than one vehicle may be submitted per entrant, but each vehicle must be entered as a separate competition entry. Deadline to enter is 11:59 PM ET on April 30, 2012. Complete competition rules and entry requirements can be found on the website.

Ray Gunder, owner of Gunder’s Auto Center in Lakeland, Florida reported that State Farm has elected to settle another lawsuit over unpaid items on a collision repair invoice. Upon receipt of a Complaint and Civil Remedy Notice from the court, State Farm elected to pay the full demands to settle a law suit levied against them by Ray Gunder on behalf of a Gunder’s Auto Center’s Customer.

According to Gunder, the suit was filed after State Farm denied payment for “a plethora of recommended and necessary repair procedures and materials” on a repair last October. With a signed Power of Attorney, Ray Gunder filed suit against the insurer with the authorization of his customer.

In January, State Farm agreed to settle the suit in order to avoid “protracted, vexatious litigation” and the insurer paid Gunder’s the disputed amount plus interest, as required by Florida law. The settlement amount of $1,090 covered a list of repair charges that State Farm previously refused to pay including remove and install sound pads in trunk floor, second color set-up, refinish underside of floor; mask hinges (jambs), color sand and buff, feather prime and block, additional paint and materials, and a series of other items. The company said the payment is not an admission of any wrongdoing or liability.

Gunder stated, “I am elated that State Farm has chosen to step up and pay what was due our customer and that State Farm elected to settle rather than proceed with a long drawn-out and costly litigation.

Gunder said he still has three active lawsuits pending against the insurer.

The newest state-of-the-art facility is located at 581 Carl Vinson Parkway in Warner Robins which is 90 miles southeast of Atlanta. The opening increases the total number of ABRA repair centers to 115 in 12 states.

Tim Adelmann, ABRA’s Executive Vice President of Business Development said, “This is an exciting time at ABRA. Our long-term growth plans are taking shape and we’re looking forward to serving the Warner Robins community. We built this repair center to make it convenient for vehicle owners and insurance partners to find a cutting-edge repair center in their neighborhood.”

The repair center is equipped with all the latest industry technology to maintain high standards and assure top quality repairs. Staff technicians have extensive experience and receive rigorous ongoing industry training.

Duane Rouse, ABRA’s Chief Executive Officer said, “Our increased presence in the Georgia market is part of the strategy to accelerate our national growth in 2012. Opening this repair center will further our mission of becoming the best auto body and glass company in America.”

ABRA is dedicated to repairing damaged vehicles right the first time…on time while providing an exceptional customer experience.

The Nebraska Auto Body Association (NABA) has posted the results of the state-wide labor rate study the association commissioned in the fourth quarter of 2011.

The purpose of the survey conducted by commissioned ACSS, the association says, was to provide an independent validation of average rates charged throughout Nebraska. NABA supports a healthy competitive environment with reimbursements that are sufficient to indemnify claimants.

The survey asked shops to report body and refinish labor rates as well as frame rates, materials rates and itemized charges such as hazardous waste disposal and vehicle covering.

The highest average body labor rates were $53.20 in the northeast counties of the state, though the rates were closely aligned in most regions of the state with the lowest average being $51.33 in the north central region.

Frame labor showed a wider variation with a low of 65.58 in the north central region and a high of $73.25 in the south east.

The summary of the results can be downloaded from the NABA website.

The presentation is titled “New Metals & Repair Technologies”, presented by Dave Gruskos with Reliable Automotive Equipment. Dave will cover materials in today’s vehicle bodies, repair methods for use on these materials, and how these materials affect the collision repair process.

Dave presented at a course offered during the recent SCRS Repairer Driven Education at SEMA. He received rave reviews from those who attended. To miss this learning opportunity would be a shame … so make plans now to attend.

The meeting will be held at MAADA Headquarters located at 440 Interstate North Parkway, Atlanta, GA 30339. Get directions – click here.  Please RSVP to Howard Batchelor at howard@gcia.org or call (770) 367-9816 with number attending so we may plan for food and refreshments.  Food starts serving at 6:30 and meeting starts at 7:00 pm.

The letter from SCRS counters points raised in the initial article, and provides information supporting the assertion that the property & casualty insurance industry’s direct influence over collision repair market pricing, has impacted both the consumer and the small businesses that make up the collision repair industry. Several key components of the letter identify that:

• Property and casualty insurance carriers have become increasingly involved in activities that extend beyond the business of insurance, while interjecting themselves into collision repair business activities
• The responsibility to compensate for fair and reasonable costs of the loss is significantly different than defining what is fair and reasonable
• Average gross collision appraisal values have remained stagnant comparing the first and third quarters of 2009, 2010 and 2011, and older data indicates that the average appraisal value has remained flat for at least the last 7 to 8 years; meanwhile, consumer auto insurance premium costs continue to rise and the Insurance Information Institute recently reported that private auto insurance is the most profitable line of insurance coverage in the United States.
• The insurance industry’s approach to establishing a singular prevailing labor rate charge for all businesses within a market fails to recognize the existence of reasonable variance between competitive businesses
• When the repair shop has entered into both the DRP contract with the carrier, and an authorization to repair contract with the vehicle owner, it is not necessarily as simple as insurers “promoting poor quality work,” but it becomes a question of who has more influence over the repair facility’s decision making in the repair process, and whose interest drives those decisions.

In summary, the association states that, “the question is not IF insurance carriers directly impact collision repair market pricing, but rather IF their approach and purpose is appropriate. Are we really talking about saving consumer’s money, or are we talking about increasing insurance company profits at the expense of their policyholders and the small businesses who serve them?”

To read the full letter,  click here.

The Society of Collision Repair Specialists (SCRS) is requesting your participation in a research project to document the condition of parts as received by collision repair facilities. If you have examples of poor quality, mislabeled, incorrect or incomplete parts you have received, we are asking for you to complete the complaint form, and submit it to our offices along with photo documentation to substantiate the concern.

The complaint can address any part type, including but not limited to New OEM, Salvaged, Reconditioned, Aftermarket or Certified Aftermarket.

The Complaint form can be accessed from the home page of the SCRS Website or here, and should be submitted to SCRS via Email to info@scrs.com or Fax to 877-851-0660.

Emails should include photographs demonstrating the issues outlined in the complaint. Please note, SCRS is compiling this information for research, and will not be responding to individual complaints, nor necessarily directly addressing the quality issues raised.

If you have a complaint that requires immediate attention, please contact the manufacturer, distributor or certifier of the product directly.

We appreciate your input as we collect responses, and look forward to putting the information to good use for the industry.

Sincerely,

Aaron Schulenburg
SCRS Executive Director

The next Collision Repair Executive Webcast (CREW), scheduled to be held on Thursday, December 8, will LKQ President and Co-CEO, Rob Wagman and Vice President of Industry Relations and Market Development, Terry Fortner to discuss the alternative parts industry, including the impact of environmental concerns, e-commerce, and national standards. They will also discuss the company’s penetration into the paint, body and equipment and heavy duty truck arenas, as well as their expansion into European markets.

Each CREW webcast includes a visual presentation of the content with a simultaneous audio conference call. Matthew Ohrnstein, Symphony Advisors, Vincent Romans, The Romans Group, and Erick Bickett, Fix Auto USA, produce and present the semi-monthly, one-hour Webcast meeting.

The one-hour webcast will take place on Thursday, December 8 at 11:00 a.m. Pacific Standard Time. There are a limited number of spots available and reservations are required.

If you are interested in joining the webcast, visit https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/878277129

After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar.

“Passing the hat” is a time-honored tradition of collecting donations for a worthwhile cause, but at the 2011 SEMA Show, the Society of Collision Repair Specialists (SCRS) put its own unique spin on the tradition by “passing the helmet” to raise funds for Operation Comfort’s Automotivation initiative.

The helmets were used to collect donations at the association’s booth, and also passed at the Collision Industry Conference (CIC) held during the SEMA Show. The helmets were again visible in the hands of volunteers standing at the exit doors after association’s Repairer Driven Education (RDE) keynote speech by Afterburner Inc.’s Patrick “Lips” Houlahan. In addition, SCRS held a silent auction at their booth for a set of three “Flawless Execution One-on-One” DVDs produced by Afterburner.

The entire effort resulted in the collection of over $3,200 for the non-profit organization.

Operation Comfort, located in San Antonio, Texas, provides support to wounded U.S. service members receiving treatment at the Brooke Army Medical Center (BAMC). As a form of occupational therapy and career replacement, Operation Comfort runs a program entitled Automotivation where wounded service members rehabilitate through automotive-related activities such as rebuilding and restoring cars, trucks, and motorcycles on a ranch outside of San Antonio. Two vehicles the soldiers worked on as part of the Automotivation program, a 1957 Dodge Power Wagon used by the Army as a weapons carrier and a 1966 Cobra kit car, were on display at the SEMA Show.

SCRS Chairman Aaron Clark said, “Collision repairers have demonstrated time and again that the industry believes in community support and philanthropy, and it was great to see that on display yet again. Good luck to Operation Comfort, and thank you to the many industry professionals that contributed. Like those who serve our country in the military, you make us all proud.”

As the end of the year approaches, the Collision Repair Education Foundation has issued an open letter encouraging industry members to consider a tax-deductible donation, in-kind or monetary, to benefit collision repair schools that properly train entry-level employees for the collision industry. The letter follows:

Dear Collision Industry Members,

Since 2008, when the Collision Repair Education Foundation became a purely philanthropic organization supporting secondary and post-secondary collision programs nationwide, we have been able to provide over $5 million in support to this group in the form of student scholarships, school grants, and product/equipment donations. This incredible amount of support has only been made possible through the generosity of our industry supporters and donors. At a time when schools’ lack of funding is making national news, the collision industry…our industry…is coming to the aid of its future professionals like never before.

With the end of the calendar year approaching, on behalf of secondary and post-secondary collision repair schools, students, and instructors nationwide, we extend an invitation to all industry members to consider a monetary and/or in-kind product donation to the Collision Repair Education Foundation to support schools that promote, qualify, and properly train entry-level employees for the collision industry. Please note that when requesting a “donation” that does include product donations. Schools are in desperate need of tools, equipment, and supplies for their collision programs. Also, as the Education Foundation is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization, your donations are tax-deductible.

The Collision Repair Education Foundation’s focus is to foster a collision industry where there are a sufficient number of qualified, properly trained, and immediately productive entry-level employees to meet the current and future needs of the industry. We accomplish this through grants that encourage schools to meet industry needs by strengthening the basic skills taught in collision repair programs and providing the capital investment needed to train the next generation of repair technicians. We also provide scholarships for collision students that lower barriers to education, promote opportunities for a diverse workforce, and reward dedication and passion for their trade.

Our $50,000 Ultimate Collision Education Makeover grant honors a high-performing school that has been doing an outstanding job in educating students in collision repair, but needs some financial assistance to improve their program’s teaching materials and equipment. Since the first Makeover grant was awarded in 2009, through the generosity of the organization’s supporters, the Makeover applicant schools (winning and non-winning) have received over $600,000 in donations.

All of this support has been made possible only through the over 1,500 corporations, businesses, associations, and individuals that have donated to the Collision Repair Education Foundation.

We ask that you consider making an end-of-year tax-deductible monetary and/or product donation to the Collision Repair Education Foundation as it is a direct investment into the future of the collision industry.

Thanks again for your consideration.

Best wishes,

Scott Kruger
Executive Director

Melissa Marscin
Asst. Director of Grant Programs

Brandon Eckenrode
Assc. Director of Development