new england automotive report january 2015

www.grecopublishing.com

AUTAUT MM TIVETIVEN E WN E W E N G L A N DE N G L A N D

Serving The new englAnd ColliSion And MeChAniCAl repAir indUSTry

January 2015

U.S.A. $5.95

MASSACHUSETTS

BUILDING THE SUCCESS OF THE AUTO REPAIR INDUSTRY

NEAR_JAN15_1-64.qxp_NEAR1014 12/30/14 8:47 PM

2 January 2015 New England Automotive Report


New England Automotive Report January 2015 5

CONTENTS

10 | A MESSAGE FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR11 | AASP/MA 2015 SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES14 | AASP/MA SUSTAINING SPONSORS17 | FOR SALE: 1476 PURCHASE ST., NEW BEDFORD, MA

48 | NORTHEAST® SPOTLIGHT57 | AASP/MA MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION58 | INDEX OF ADVERTISERS

January 2015 • Volume 13, No. 1

ALSO THIS ISSUE

40

FEATURESby Joel Gausten

32 | CUSTOM KINGS: INSIDE FACTORYCOLLISION & RESTORATION

40 | NEW YEAR, NEW GOALS: A CONVERSATION WITH AASP/MAPRESIDENT MOLLY BRODEUR

44 | DANGER FROM JAPAN: INSIDE THE TAKATAAIRBAG RECALL

DEPARTMENTSINDUSTRY UPDATE

7 | Did the ADALB Violate the Open Meeting Law?

VICE PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE8 | Exploring Avenues to Fair Compensationby Adam Ioakim

MARK MY WORDS16 | “Mighty Fine Injection”by Mark Giammalvo

LEGAL PERSPECTIVE18 | The Perfect DIY Labor Rate Lawsuit (Part Two)

by James A. Castleman, Esq.

STUDENTS OF THE MONTH24 | Cesar Lebron and Jaleesa Molinaby Jacquelyn Bauman

VENDOR SPOTLIGHT27 | Expansion Through Excellence: BMW of Warwick Wows Massachusetts Shopsby Joel Gausten

36 | MEET THE BOARD: RAY BELSITO, JR.

THE LIST52 | My Most Memorable Repair Job Was...



STAFF

PUBLISHED BY: Thomas Greco Publishing, Inc.244 Chestnut Street, Suite 202, Nutley, NJ 07110 Corporate: (973) 667-6922 / FAX: (973) 235-1963

www.grecopublishing.com

AASP/MA EXECUTIVE COMMITTEEPRESIDENTMolly BrodeurVICE PRESIDENTAdam IoakimSECRETARYGary CloutierTREASURERKevin GalleraniIMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENTPaul Hendricks

AASP/MA STATEWIDE DIRECTORSCOLLISION DIRECTORRick Starbard

AASP/MA CHAPTER DIRECTORSNORTHEAST CHAPTER DIRECTORSAlex FalzoneKevin KyesSOUTHEAST CHAPTER DIRECTORSMichael PenachoDarlene AndradeMIDSTATE CHAPTER DIRECTORSTom RicciRay BelsitoWESTERN CHAPTER DIRECTORPeter Langone

PUBLISHERThomas Greco ([email protected])

DIRECTOR OF SALESAlicia Figurelli ([email protected])

EDITORJoel Gausten ([email protected])

ART DIRECTORLea Velocci ([email protected])

MANAGING EDITORJacquelyn Bauman ([email protected])

PRODUCTION Sofia Cabrera ([email protected])

WWW.AASPMA.ORG

AASP/MA EXECUTIVE DIRECTORJillian M. Zywien

12 Post Office Square, 6th Floor • Boston, MA 02109phone: (617) 574-0741 Fax: (617) 695-0173

Email: [email protected]

MASSACHUSETTS


New England Automotive Report is published monthly by TGP, Inc., 244 Chestnut Street, Suite 202 Nutley, NJ 07110. Distributed free to qualified recipients; $48 to all others. Additional copies of New Eng-land Automotive Report are available at $5 per copy. Reproduction of any portions of this publication is specifically prohibited without written permission of the publisher. The opinions and ideas appearingin this magazine are not necessarily representations of TGP Inc. or of AASP/MA. Copyright © 2014 by Thomas Greco Publishing, Inc. Images courtesy of www.thinkstockphoto.com/ThinkStock Photos.


did The AdAlB violATe The openMeeTing lAw? wATCh The videoTo Find oUT

As you may be aware, the ADALB hosted theirfirst meeting in two months on December 3. AllBoard members were in attendance for this meeting,including Board counsel Michael Powers. Followingtheir call to order at 9:37am, Board Member TomMcClements, Jr. addressed a couple of issues he had with the minutes from the last meeting on September 23. One of the major issues McClementsdiscussed was…

INDUSTRY UPDATE

MASSACHUSETTS


To find out what occurred at last month’s ADALBmeeting, log on to our website at www.aaspma.organd access your profile on our Member’s Only section, which has exclusive ADALB content provided to you by your association at NO cost. Ifyou are not a current member of AASP/MA, pleaseconsider joining TODAY. We have many great products and services to offer you and your business. Join today and start “building the success of the auto repair industry.”



VICE PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

eXploring AvenUeS ToFAir CoMpenSATion

It is my pleasure to be addressingour readers for the very first time asAASP/MA vice president. For those ofyou who don’t know me, my name isAdam Ioakim; I’m the co-owner ofHogan & Van Auto Body in Medford,together with my brother, George. I’veserved on the AASP/MA Board of Di-rectors as both an officer and as colli-sion director, and I look forward tocontinuing to further the goals of theindustry in this new role as vice president.

Since I joined the Board in 2008 -and for years prior, through my in-volvement in the shop - a main issue

we’ve had to deal with in the collisionrepair industry has been our need tobe properly compensated for what wedo. Regardless of a shop’s businessmodel, our true contract is with thecustomer. It is our charge as repairersto fix the vehicle in a safe and propermanner and restore it to factory speci-fications. Unfortunately, it’s sometimeslike pulling teeth to simply be paid forthe processes, parts or procedures thatgo into properly restoring a car.

In my capacity on the ExecutiveBoard for AASP/MA, one of my goalsmoving forward will be continuingour work on getting the industry to

finally see a proper method of beingcompensated fairly. Whether that ulti-mately occurs through legislation orwith assistance from the AttorneyGeneral, the ADALB or another groupremains to be seen, but we will be ex-ploring all avenues available to ourmembers and the industry as a whole.

Maybe one day, the collision re-pair industry will adopt some of thebilling methods currently seen in thelegal field. Attorneys, for example,are paid for all billable hours and ma-terials associated with a specific job.Perhaps we’ll eventually adopt a finalinvoice method versus our current



“estimate” method. I’m not surewhat the answer is just yet, but whatI do know is that we as repairersshould be focusing on whatever ittakes to get our customers back onthe roads in a safe and proper man-ner, not worrying about whether ornot we’ll be compensated for thework we’re performing. If you’d liketo join in our cause, please contactAASP/MA. Until then, I look for-ward to serving our membership,fostering progress in our workforceand hopefully helping to make theindustry a better place for all of us.

MASSACHUSETTS


Adam Ioakim is the co-owner of Hogan & VanAuto Body in Medford, MA.He can be reached at (781)436-0366 or [email protected].


hAppy new yeAr, MeMBerS!We have much to look forward to

in the coming year. As you are aware,voters elected several new positions inNovember, including governor andlieutenant governor, attorney generaland legislative leaders. These individ-uals will take office this month. Thelegislature will also begin a new leg-islative session on January 16, andwith that, will create significantopportunity for change.

At the time of this writing, thegovernor-elect, Charlie Baker, has al-ready begun to put together his teamfor the corner office. However, manyof the positions will not be filled untilafter the first of the year. As our newleaders take office, AASP/MA and itsleadership will work on our members’behalf to secure existing relationshipsand create new partnerships with gov-ernment and legislative leaders. Weencourage any member who has aprior relationship with someone inthese offices to please contact the as-sociation. These relationships canhelp us in our efforts.

AASP/MA enters thislegislative session with arenewed vigor and freshlegislative strategy.Our legislative

committee, led by our new chair, PeterLangone, is working to finalize lan-guage with our legislative team atLynch Associates. Each session, about8,000 bills are filled. Through no smalleffort by Lynch Associates and theirstaff, a list of tracked matters will bepresented to our committee. AASP/MA typically tracks over 100 bills onbehalf of our members. Some of thebills we are in favor of and some ofthem we must defend against, becausesometimes a good offense is a greatdefense. Our members should feelconfident with the level of commit-ment our leadership has and our will-ingness to pursue remedies thatprotect our industry.

Additionally, AASP/MA has con-tinued work with the ADALB andDOI on changes to their regulations(212 CMR). A listening session hasbeen tentatively scheduled for Febru-

ary 24. Our legislative committeeis working to prepare testi-

mony. The CommonwealthAutomobile Reinsurers will

also be looking at theirPerformance Standards

this year, as they doevery two years.

You may recall we

were able to get an interim change tothe Standards last year. I look forwardto reporting results back to our mem-bers over this coming year.

Our mission remains to “build thesuccess of the auto repair industry.”We continue to seek opportunities forchange and remain focused on mattersthat remain unresolved. Thank you toall current members who have sup-ported our mission. I appreciate yourcontinued participation. For those ofyou who are not members, please jointoday. Start the New Year off right andbecome a part of the conversationshaping the industry.

Sincerely,

Jillian ZywienExecutive Director

AASP/MA Executive Direc-tor Jillian Zywien has been a

senior account executive atLynch Associates for over six

years. She can be reached at(617) 574-0741 or via emailat [email protected].

MASSACHUSETTS



A MESSAGE FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Our mission remains to “build thesuccess of the auto repair industry.”



AASP/MA 2015 SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES

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Contact AASP/MA at (617) 574-0741 / [email protected] for informationon becoming an AASP/MA sponsor!


Contact AASP/MA at (617) 574-0741 / [email protected] for information on becoming an AASP/MA sponsor!

AASP/MA NEWSLETTER SPONSOR

AASP/MA ASKS YOU TO PLEASE SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS!

WOLPERTINSURANCE




A while back, I penned an articlehere regarding how important it is tomake sure that you know the details ofthe items you are selling. In that arti-cle, I spoke about an aftermarket com-pany that offered special “high theftlabels” to mark the body panels oncars to deter theft. The problem arosewhen I called the phone number onthe decal for an inquiry and I discov-ered that no one at the company couldanswer any of my questions about theproduct. Well, a similar thing has hap-pened again to yours truly, this timeregarding household fiberglass insula-tion.

But first, please allow me to stepback a moment to a similar, lack-of-product-training incident that oc-curred back in the 1980s. I canremember my older brother (a GM ex-ecutive working in the Southernstates) complaining about a salesper-son at a Buick dealership that he vis-ited who was not properly trained onthe vehicles he was selling. At thattime, Multi-port Fuel Injection (MFI)was new for GM and was being pro-moted strongly through new carbrochures, as well as by vehicle fenderbadging. Evidently, my brother hadbeen listening to this salespersonspeaking with a customer in the show-room. The customer had observed the“MFI” fender emblem and was askingwhat it referred to. To my brother’shorror, the salesmen replied: “Ahh,that’s… Mighty Fine Injection.”

I don’t think there are many thingsthat irk me more than lack of producttraining. In my most recent case, I wasshopping for fiberglass insulation. Ihad decided to attempt to insulate myoutdoor shed to save on heating costs.After some research on severalwebsites, including Lowes andHome Depot, I learned that household

fiberglass insulation is sold in bothbulk rolls and in packages of precut,93-inch flat lengths called batts.

The problem I now found was thatno one had the size insulation Ineeded in stock in either rolls or batts.My shed is 2x4 construction, whichmeant that I was going to need insula-tion that is 3.5 inches thick. The prob-lem I found was that my studs were 24inches on center, not 16. This meantthat I would need 3.5-inch insulationthat was 23 inches wide, the width ofthe stud bays (the area between thestuds). After checking the two afore-mentioned big box stores, as well as amyriad of local lumber yards, I foundthat all the 23-inch wide insulationwas made for 2x6 construction, as itwas 6.25 inches thick. If I were to usethis thicker insulation, it would besqueezed flat into the stud bays whenI covered it with the sheetrock or ply-wood. The problem with squeezed or

compressed insulation is that it lowersthe ‘R’ value, increasing potentialheating costs.

I noticed on the Home Depot web-site that they sold Owens Corning in-sulation that was 3.5 inches thick and23 inches wide. This insulation wassold in batts and was labeled “OwensCorning BF11 R-13 2x4 Wall & Cellarinsulation, product code #615505.”Great; where can I get it? The HomeDepot website stated that this itemwas not available online and that ithad to be purchased in the store.When I placed my zip code on the in-store search page, I found that theclosest stores that had this insulationin stock were in New Hampshire andVermont.

I decided to go to my local HomeDepot store to inquire further. First,the customer service desk sent me tothe contractor desk. I then showed anemployee at the desk my printout ofthis insulation on their website. Theemployee told me that this was a spe-cial order item, but that their store wasin a zone that could not order it. (Ohcrap, I must be in the forbidden zone!)The store employee suggested that Icall corporate assistance, which I didfrom my cell phone while still at thestore. The person at corporate askedme for my zip code and I willinglygave it. They replied that this item wasnot available in that zip code andasked if I wanted to give another zipcode. My response was, “Well, whatzip code would you like me to give?Better yet, what zip code do I need togive in order to get this item?”

Now back home, I decided to callthe Owens Corning (OC) customerassistance number. My thought was,They must know where I can get some;they’re the manufacturer. I explained tothem my dilemma and also inquired

MARK MY WORDS

“MighTy Fine inJeCTion!”

I don’t think there aremany things that irkme more than lack of

product training.

by Mark giammalvo

continued on pg. 55


LEGAL PERSPECTIVE

Last month, I outlined the first half of my system forthe perfect DIY Labor Rate lawsuit. Basically, you get yourcustomer’s assignment of their rights, choose a rate thatsome insurers may be paying and limit your claim to onlythe Labor Rate. The following is the last set of steps forthis process. (To view the first seven steps of the process,visit www.grecopublishing.com to access the December2014 issue of neAr.)

eighTh: When the insurer doesn’t pay your Labor Rate, sendthem a 30-day demand under Massachusetts General Law(M.G.L.), chapter 93A. A sample demand letter (as well asinstructions on how to properly write the letter) is on the“Members Only” portion of the AASP/MA website. Sendthe letter by certified mail, return receipt requested, andhold on to the return receipt when you get it back.

If you are suing on a first-party claim, note in the de-mand letter that you are making claim under your cus-tomer’s contract of insurance with the insurer. Write thatyou are making a demand under the part of the insurancepolicy that says that they agree to pay for any damagecaused by a collision. (Or, if it is a comprehensive claim,that they agree to pay for any damage caused by an occa-sion other than a collision.) If you are suing on a third-party claim, write that you are making the claim under theprovision of their insurance policy that says that they willpay for damage to someone else’s property when causedby their insured.

In the letter, make sure that you specifically allege thatthe insurer has also violated M.G.L. chapter 176D, section9(3) - the “Unfair Claims Settlement Practices Act,” becausethe insurer has “failed to effectuate a prompt, fair and equi-table settlement of the claim.”

AND HERE IS WHAT SHOULD ALSO BE A KEY ELE-MENT OF YOUR LETTER: If it is true (which it probablyis), specifically allege: “You are refusing to pay our LaborRate, a rate that is reasonable in the marketplace and a ratethat is paid by other insurers in our geographic area.Rather, you are unfairly offering to pay only what you, as alarge insurance company handling many auto damageclaims, are able to bargain for with your referral repairshops, who presumably wish to continue receiving referralsin exchange for agreeing to your rate.”

Note that you are much better off if your customer is

an individual whose vehicle is insured under a Massachu-setts private passenger auto policy, rather than a businessthat has a commercial vehicle policy. It is considerablymore difficult to win a chapter 93A claim if you are makingthe claim on behalf of a business; in fact, it is governed by acompletely different section of the Consumer ProtectionAct. Therefore, it would be wise to limit the claims that youare going to sue on to those that are for consumers, ratherthan for businesses.

The chapter 93A demand letter is a critical part of theprocess being described in this article. Make sure that youcorrectly prepare it, and make sure that it is accurate. Thedemand gives the insurer a much higher risk of loss, sincethey will have to pay double or triple damages if a Courtdetermines that they engaged in unfair or deceptive prac-tices, and they will be required to pay your legal fees if youare forced into hiring an attorney at some point during theprocess.

ninTh: Wait 30 days from the date that the insurer receivedyour demand letter. Under the law, the insurer has 30 days inwhich to make a “reasonable offer of settlement.” If they doactually pay your chosen rate in response to your demand,then you have won. If they do not agree to your rate, go onto the next step.

The perFeCT diylABor rATe lAwSUiT

part Twoby James A. Castleman, Esq.




TenTh: Bring a small claims case against the insurer. Go toyour local District Court and pick up a blank “Small ClaimsStatement.” Fill it out with all of the information that it re-quires. In the statement section, allege: “The plaintiff isbringing suit on behalf of its customer, who has assignedtheir rights to us. The defendant has breached its contractof insurance by failing to pay our reasonable Labor Rate aspart of its claims settlement. We are also seeking tripledamages under M.G.L., chapter 93A.” In the damages sec-tion, put in the amount that the insurer has refused to pay,limiting it to the Labor Rate difference. Do not add in thetriple damages. However, you can insert a statement thatyou are seeking punitive damages under chapter 93A. Filethe statement with the Court and pay the filing fee - whichis relatively small.

elevenTh: Get ready for trial, and be prepared when you getto Court. Have all of your ducks in a row. Make sure thatyou have copies of your repair order and your appraisalsshowing your Labor Rate and that it was agreed upon byyour customer. Make sure that you have your Assignmentof Rights form, giving you the right to sue on behalf ofyour customer. Make sure that you have your chart ofLabor Rates charged by other shops in your area. Makesure that you can prove that one or more other insurershave paid your Labor Rate. Make sure that you have a copy

of your chapter 93A demand letter and the signed returnreceipt.

ALSO, get a copy of a legal decision that was issued bythe Massachusetts Appeals Court, Northern Security Insur-ance Company, Inc. v. R.H. Realty Trust, 78 Mass.App.Ct.691(2010), and be prepared to present it to the Clerk/Mag-istrate who will hear your matter. That case says that an in-surer that is required to pay someone’s legal fees must paymarket rate fees, not just what they were able to bargain forwith their “panel” (i.e., referral) attorneys. The facts of thatcase and its holding are remarkably similar to your LaborRate lawsuit. Hopefully, it will have a profound impact onthe person hearing your case. You should be able to find acopy of the case online. If you cannot, send me an emailand I will send you back a copy.

When you present your claim in Court, it will be an in-formal proceeding. Try to be calm, and try to understandthat the Clerk/Magistrate does not know anything aboutthe collision repair business. Make your plea short andsweet: You charge a particular Labor Rate. Your customeragreed to that rate. The rate is justified by the experience ofyour shop and the quality of the work that you produce.The rate is within a range charged by other shops in yourarea. Other insurers pay that rate, and at least one insurerpays that rate on all of their claims to all shops. The insurerthat you are suing knows all of this, but unreasonably


refuses to pay you your rate. You senta demand letter, and have proof of re-ceipt. No reasonable offer of settle-ment was made by the insurer.

TwelFTh: Wait for the Court’s writtendecision. Hopefully you will win, andthe insurer will pay you. Even if youdo not get awarded multiple damages,if you win the chief part of your case,you will almost certainly get that in-surer to pay your rate on future

claims. If you lose, try to figure outwhat went wrong, learn from theexperience and next time, choose adifferent insurer to sue and try to cor-rect whatever went wrong.

If you lose (or even if you win),understand that often the decision of aClerk/Magistrate in small claims is anoff-the-cuff, quick reaction to whatthey see before them, and that it maybe affected by what is going on in theirlife that day. The decision that you

receive one day from one Clerk/Magistrate can differ drastically fromthe one you receive on another dayfrom someone else.

SoMe CAveATS

There are always some hiccupsthat could arise. Although there areseveral that could occur, two that youshould be particularly aware of are:

(1) Sometimes insurers will claimthat your customer has no right to as-sign their rights under their policy toyou; and the policy specifically saysthat. What that clause of the policy re-ally means, though, is that the cus-tomer cannot assign his insurancecoverage to someone else. Case law inMassachusetts makes it clear that oncethe incident giving rise to customer’sclaim for damages has arisen (i.e., theaccident has occurred), the customerdoes have a right to assign the claimitself to someone else. Again, if yourun into this issue, email me and I willsend you back copies of some relevantcases.

(2) Sometimes insurers will askthe Court to transfer your small claimscase to the ordinary civil docket. Ifthey do, then the Court is usually re-quired to do so. This is a problem foryou, since you will then have to hire alawyer to follow through on yourclaim, and it will take longer and be-come more expensive to get to an endresult.

On the other hand, removing thecase to the ordinary civil docket alsoexposes the insurer to a much greaterrisk of loss, since they face the possi-bility of having to pay your legal feeson top their own legal fees, and on topof double or triple damages if youwin. Further, in a regular civil trial,you are more likely to get a final deci-sion based on the actual law, ratherthan on a Clerk/Magistrate’s gut feel-ing. And quite frankly, the actual lawmay not be something that the insurerreally wants to deal with in a LaborRate lawsuit that has been fashionedin the manner set out in this article.


LEGAL PERSPECTIVE

continued on pg. 58


STUDENTS OF THE MONTH

If you are working with a co-op student orknow a talented young tech and would liketo nominate him or her for Student of theMonth, please contact Editor Joel Gaustenat [email protected]. Vocational schoolinstructors are also welcome to nominate!


Top: From left to right, Frank & TerryBeauchesne, Jean Zahn, Cesar Lebron and Jaleesa Molina. Above: The finished product of thestudents' work featured intricate detailing and a personalized plaquefor Lt. James Zahn.

CeSAr leBron And JAleeSA MolinA

At Greater Lawrence TechnicalSchool in Andover, it is firmly be-lieved that participation in the

larger community and a dedication to giv-ing back are just as important as learningthe basics of automotive repair. One recentproject gave two students the opportunityto learn valuable skills in their trade, whilealso giving them the satisfaction of makinga difference in other peoples’ lives.

“We do a lot of restoration work formuseums, so it wasn’t out of the ordinarywhen I got a phone call from Mrs. Landry,the widow of Deputy Chief CharlesLandry, about donating a vintage fire callbox he had been given on his retirement,”says Auto Body Lead Teacher, ThomasHatem. “The funny thing was, I had just re-ceived a call a while back from the widowof Lieutenant James Andrew Zahn, whohad passed away from cancer. She waslooking for a vintage fire call box for heryard in his honor. Even funnier, when Iasked Mrs. Landry if she would mind do-nating it to the Zahn family, she told methat her husband and Lieutenant Zahn

used to drive together to Boston forchemotherapy.”

Hatem tasked two juniors, Cesar Lebron and Jaleesa Molina, with the firecall box restoration project. Almost in-stantly, he was impressed with the dedica-tion they showed towards the task.

“It was a research project for them aswell as a restoration project,” Hatem ex-plains. “They looked into Deputy ChiefLandry, as well as Lieutenant Zahn andwhere the fire call boxes originated from.They put everything they had into this.”

Both Lebron and Molina enjoyed tak-ing on this project.

“I like the fact that we got to see the en-tire process of painting, from creating thepaint all the way to the spray painting,”says Lebron.

“I loved the paint process,” addsMolina. “It was a lot of fun painting thebox, seeing the before and after and espe-cially the intricate detailing.”

“It was great to see a project that wedon’t normally see. Working on something

continued on pg. 55

by Jacquelyn Bauman


while some automotive busi-nesses have experiencedups and downs in recent

years, the BMW of Warwick parts de-partment celebrated at 22-percent in-crease in 2013 and a 12-percentincrease in 2014. These are fantasticfigures, especially considering that thedepartment derives at least 30-percentof its overall parts business from Mas-sachusetts alone. Even though theremight be dealers closer to home, moreand more Commonwealth repairersare calling BMW of Warwick whenthey need a high-quality part and pro-fessional service to match.

So what is it about this parts de-partment that enables them to reachnew heights in sales? As New England

Automotive Report learned as soon asParts Manager Lisa Disaia greeted us,BMW of Warwick cares about people.Friendly, with a warm and welcomingdemeanor, Disaia was quick to shareher pride over her 10-person team’scommitment to building personal rela-tionships with parts customers inRhode Island and beyond. One of theindustry’s most knowledgeable BMWand MINI parts professionals, Whole-sale Representative Steven Gilmanregularly visits shops throughout thedealer’s 50-mile delivery radius,showcasing the operation’s combined$850,000 inventory of original equip-ment BMW and MINI parts with eachcall and in-person visit.

“His main function is to visit newand existing customers,” Disaia ex-plains. “Therefore, existing customersstill feel loved and know that we re-spect them. It’s not like we have theirbusiness now and we don’t care aboutthem anymore.”

Additionally, parts customershave one-stop access to the wholesaleproducts available for the other linesin the complex that houses BMW ofWarwick. These include Mercedes-Benz, Lexus, Infiniti, Porsche, Acura,Nissan, Audi and Bentley.

In order to keep up with the de-partment’s growing business, Disaiarecently added new counterpersonDavid Giguere to the operation. Hejoins fellow counter staff Joaquin Pan-gelinan (a 17-year veteran of the in-dustry) and Kyle Girard (who hasbeen with the dealer for six years). Thecrew is completed by six deliverydrivers, including a recent recruit whowas added just to take care of thegrowing Massachusetts market.

A 28-year industry veteran with 15years’ experience as a parts manger,Disaia understands the importance ofmaking her department flexibleenough to meet changing customerdemands. For BMW of Warwick, thismeans extending lines of credit toqualified parts customers.

“That makes it easier for them todo business with us because theircharge goes to 10 different franchises,”she says.

Once they order their parts, cus-tomers are able to call upon the dealer-ship if they experience any technicalissues once the products arrive in theirbay.

“If a wholesale client calls us andhas an issue or a problem, we can usu-ally go out and communicate with ourshop foreman and our technicians tofind out if the issue is something rou-tine that the customer isn’t looking atbecause they don’t have the productknowledge that our trained factorytechs have,” Disaia says. “I’ve seenour technicians go out of their way tocall a wholesale client back to discussan issue that they might have. If it’s


VENDOR SPOTLIGHT

eXpAnSion ThroUgh eXCellenCe:BMw oF wArwiCk wowS MASSAChUSeTTS ShopS

continued on pg. 55

by Joel Gausten

Longtime industry veteran Lisa Disaia overseesthe BMW of Warwick parts operation.

If you want a sign that economic conditions in NewEngland are changing for the better, take a look at the always-expanding wholesale parts business at BMW ofWarwick.

L to R: BMW of Warwick parts professionalsJoaquin Pangelinan, David Giguere and Kyle Girard.



FEATURE by Joel gausten

For decades, the east weymouth-based AASp/MA

shop Factory Collision & restoration has produced

some of the most inspiring custom work offered by

anyone in the industry. At a time when some shops duke

it out to get regular repair work, Factory typically has at

least two extensive custom jobs going at any given time.

By providing customers with everything from restora-

tions and hd graphics to custom paintwork and motorcy-

cle rehabs, the shop has built a sizable side business that

CUSTOM KINGS:inSide FACTory ColliSion & reSTorATion

has remained strong, despite changes in the economy.

A lifelong car enthusiast, Factory owner rob delgallo

knew that custom work would be a major part of his busi-

ness when he opened the shop in 1981. Five years later,

delgallo entered a 1953 Ford F100 in the world of wheels

and took home Second place, despite the fact that the ve-

hicle didn’t have a bed or interior. From that point, there

was no turning back: The following year, the car won two

awards and a cash prize. The ensuing years saw Factory

There are collision repairers, and then there are ARTISTS.

A few examples of the exceptional work offered at AASP/MA membershop Factory Collision & Restoration.

Phot

o by

Jos

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Swee

ney/

Shoo

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Det

ails

Photo by Joshua Sweeney/Shoot for Details

Photo by Daniel Graf/Courtesy of Factory Collision & Restoration


become one of the state’s most popular custom car institu-

tions. in fact, Factory’s work has become so popular that

the shop has had vehicles featured at the SeMA Show in

las vegas for the past three years.

“The muscle car resurgence has helped us immensely

with the restoration work,” delgallo says. “people see

cars that they could buy for $9,000 when they were kids

now go for $100,000. They’re looking at it as an invest-

ment.”

naturally, performing custom work of this nature

provides the shop with steady customers who are not

paying for the jobs through their insurers. This allows

delgallo and his crew to truly devote the time and en-

ergy needed to make each project a true work of art. Con-

sidering that some jobs can take hundreds of hours to

complete, the shop has benefited greatly from this form

of non-insurance revenue.

“once customers get bit by the bug and they see

progress, they just want to keep doing more,” says del-

gallo.

in addition to providing financial rewards, custom

and restoration work provides a sense of camaraderie for

delgallo’s technician crew, who all get involved in the

process.

“it makes the day fun,” he says. “you’re really creat-

ing something rather than just repairing something. it

gives them a lot of pride because there is no other shop

around here that does this. it’s a team effort. we’re all

hourly, and i don’t put them against the clock to finish a

job. we deal with quality, not quantity.”

After serving as the head salesperson for the shop’s

custom business for years, delgallo has handed over

these responsibilities to his son, Tony, a talented painter

who is carrying on the family tradition with flying colors.

“Tony’s more in the age group of the people coming

in these days for custom work,” he explains. “i talk to the

guys who are doing the ’60s cars, because they are my

age. My son relates with the younger kids who are into

the imports.” The custom operation also thrives thanks to

the support of delgallo’s wife, Tami, and daughter,

nikki, who have been crucial members of the Factory

team for several years.

delgallo expects this side of Factory’s services to con-

tinue long into the future. in addition to a long-standing

reputation in his area for exceptional work, he credits the

evolution in custom car culture as the catalyst for his con-

tinued success.

“The bike guys have integrated with the car guys,

where it used to be totally separated,” he observes. “The

classic car guys are also in tune with the muscle car guys.

you can’t say there’s any one person [involved in the

scene] anymore. you can have a 50-year-old guy doing a

brand-new Scion and a 30-year-old kid doing a ‘50s car.

All the lines have crossed.”

After all these years, delgallo and the rest of the Fac-

tory Collision crew greet every new custom or restoration

job as an opportunity to give something truly special to

someone who appreciates the magic of a beautifully re-

stored automobile.

“i love getting the checks from the customers, but the

smiles on their faces when they drive away – and they

feel like they’re 20 years old again – make this worth it,”

he says.


MASSACHUSETTS


Photos courtesy of Rob DelGallo/Factory Collision & Restoration


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For new AASP/MA Director andMidState Chapter Representative RayBelsito, Jr., collision repair is a familytradition. An industry veteran for over30 years, this third-generation auto-motive professional follows in thefootsteps of his great grandfather, Gae-tano Dicicco, and father, Ray Belsito,Sr., in owning a business in the field.Currently, he helms Arnie’s Auto Body(Charlton), which he purchased lastyear. Belsito’s current role at Arnie’smarks his return as a body shopowner after stints as a paint jobber, in-surance company field representativeand auto body vocational schoolinstructor.

After growing up working along-side his father, Belsito launched hisfirst shop, Courtesy Auto Body inWorcester, in 1993. In 2000, he starteda nine-year career at Liberty Mutualthat included work as a field ap-praiser, home office training associate,

field supervisor and regional manager.Following his time with the insurer, hereturned to the auto body side in a bigway by becoming an instructor atMinuteman High School in Lexingtonand then at Shawsheen Valley Techni-cal High School in Billerica. In 2010, hejoined LKQ for a two-year stint as a re-gional sales manager. From there, heserved a one-year term as a districtsales manager for AkzoNobel beforepurchasing Arnie’s in December 2013.

Inspired by AASP/MA’s efforts tochange the industry for the better, Bel-sito stepped up to serve on the Boardof Directors. Considering his pastwork as an instructor, it comes as littlesurprise that he is determined to assistthe Board in strengthening its ties toMassachusetts’s vocational schools.

“Right now, the biggest issue wehave is high school education,” hesays. “We really have to work with theschools, develop a better relationship

with them and tellthem what we need.The most challeng-ing part of my busi-ness is the recruitment of talentedyoung individuals. We can argueabout Labor Rates and anything in theworld, but if we don’t have anyone tofix cars, we might as well go home.”

Looking ahead, Belsito encourageshis fellow shop owners to be an activepart of AASP/MA’s bright future.

“I think being a part of your in-dustry association is essential,” heshares. “The stronger the associationis, the more clout it has. If you run abusiness or do business in an industry,you should be involved in your associ-ation and not just say, ‘What am Igoing to get out of it?’ Instead, youshould ask, ‘What can I do?’”


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COVER STORY

new yeAr,new goAlS:

by Joel gausten

A ConverSATion wiTh AASp/MApreSidenT Molly BrodeUr

A LoT Is goINg oN IN MoLLY BRoDEuR’s pRofEssIoNAL LIfE ThEsE DAYs.

In addition to the recent launch of a second location for her family’s long-running business, Al Brodeur’s Auto Body (“Veteran Repairer Buys first Employer’s Building,” neAr August2014), Brodeur recently became the new president of AAsp/MA. With her two-year term officially underway, new england Automotive report recently touched base with Brodeur todiscuss the current state of affairs within AAsp/MA and the association’s plans for 2015 andbeyond. Despite her ever-busy schedule, she was gracious with her time in sharing herthoughts on Massachusetts’ place in an always-changing collision repair industry.



what are AASp/MA’s biggest goals for 2015, and how can

individual members help you reach these objectives?

First and foremost, legislative and regulatory issueswill continue to be a big focus of ours in 2015. We have anew two-year session starting, so we are preparing to filesome pieces of legislation, including a revised Labor RateBill. We are going to continue to stay engaged with all theregulatory agencies we’ve been involved with over thispast year, including the Attorney General’s Office, the AutoDamage Appraiser Licensing Board [ADALB] and theCommonwealth Auto Reinsurers [CAR]. We are preparingto delve deeper into the CAR Performance Standards,which are going to be coming up for their two-year review.We’re planning to be part of those conversations. Much ofthe language in the regulations doesn’t apply anymorewith managed competition, so we’re going to be continuingto focus on that.

My own personal president’s mission over the next twoyears is to really work on the vocational school piece. We’regoing to roll out a Vocational Committee, and we’re goingto visit every vocational school with a collision program inthe state. We’re creating an assessment tool so that whenwe go into the school, there will be certain things we’regoing to be looking for, including if they are using certainpieces of equipment, types of technology and the I-CARvocational curriculum. If there is a need in any particularschool to get them up to a certain level, we’ll make sure toassist in the facilitation of whatever they require.

of course, another part of that education goal is assisting

current AASp/MA members in staying up to speed with

changing procedures and technologies. what are some of

the training initiatives that AASp/MA members can ex-

pect from the association in 2015?

One of the things we’re looking to do towards the endof quarter one or the beginning of quarter two is have atraining seminar that has two tracks – one for owner/man-agers and one for technicians. Clearly, the technician focusis going to be based around aluminum repair, just becausethat is really the hot topic as we go into 2015. Theowner/manager track of that training piece is going tofocus more on KPIs and benchmarks in the industry. It willbe more of a data-driven training session. We’re hopingthat we can cover both sides of the coin.

Unlike many state industry associations, AASp/MA has a

number of active chapters offering regional events and

educational offerings. what effect does this specialized

focus on particular areas in the state have on the overall

success of the association?

The chapter meetings are important for a number ofreasons. By nature, chapters were formed as more of a

geographic convenience for folks so they had access to ameeting that didn’t require them to drive exorbitant hoursto attend. I also think they allow for a slightly more inti-mate setting where there’s more opportunity for questionsand answers and in-depth discussions. For example, Ispend quite a bit of time at the MidState Chapter meetingstalking about all of AASP/MA’s activities. It gives shopowners a chance to ask me questions and talk to me aboutthese things. That’s the piece that is missed at the StatewideMeetings. Chapter meetings also allow members who havea great relationship with a jobber to have that jobber put ona paint and material seminar. You can utilize these relation-ships that shops have to bring specialized information atthe chapter level. We try to capture some of those folks whojust aren’t going to come to a Statewide Meeting becauseit’s too far away.

what are some ways the association is strengthened

through its national affiliation with AASp?

Most notably, it provides greater access to information.AASP National has a very strong relationship with the So-ciety of Collision Repair Specialists [SCRS], which I con-sider to be one of the more progressive groups out there.SCRS Executive Director Aaron Schulenburg is everywhereand has some of the best access to information in the indus-try and a really great channel for disseminating that infor-mation. I think our AASP National affiliation is importantbecause it gives us access to some of those other nationalgroups that are powerful. It also allows us to have inputinto what is happening to the industry at-large. By havingdelegates who report at the National AASP Board meetingtwice a year, it’s an opportunity for the delegates fromMassachusetts to hear what all the other AASP affiliates aredoing around the country, including the different legisla-tive initiatives and member drives they’re doing. It’s agreat way to share information, brainstorm about newideas and have some influence on what is happening to ourindustry on a national scale.

gender roles in the industry are more equitable now than

ever before. As the association’s first woman president,

what are your thoughts on the state of women in the in-

dustry? what makes the collision repair industry continu-

ally attractive to women when that might not have always

been the case in the past?

There’s definitely a level of professionalism in the in-dustry now that might not have been quite as prevalent adecade or two ago. Collision shops are big operations; it’sbig business. There’s opportunity for women here, all theway from estimating and middle management to executiveroles in companies. With consolidation happening allacross the country, we have some very large automotive



groups out there that run dozens of locations and have ahigh-level staff. There’s huge opportunity for growth inthis industry that I don’t believe existed before – from thecorporate level down to an independent, small-run facility.It’s a highly technical trade now; the ‘garage’ mentalitydoesn’t really exist at the level it once did.

we know that it is easy for members to be discouraged at

times by the legislative process or dealing with insurers.

There are only so many hours in the day, and everybody

has lives away from work. how would you respond to a

member who has his or her heart in the right place, but is

discouraged by the level of work and time that goes into

these things when the light at the end of the tunnel might

not always be so obvious?

First of all, I think something that has kind of hurt us inthe membership arena over the last several years is that wehave become known as the “Labor Rate Bill” association.People just associated AASP/MA with the filing of the Bill.We’re really trying to break away from that image; we re-ally do so much more than just file Labor Rate legislation.What I would say to those folks is that there are many otherinitiatives that have a more immediate result. If they feel

passionate about particular issues, there is plenty of roomwhere they can step up, help out and actually see some re-sults.

on a personal note, what are you looking forward to most

as president of AASp/MA?

I’m looking forward to working with our new Board,and I’m really excited about our new directors. We haveDarlene Andrade from Deluze Collision, Ray Belsito, Jr.from Arnie’s Auto Body and Kevin Kyes from Today’s Col-lision – three fantastic additions to the Board. I’m excitedabout the change and these new initiatives we’re going tobe embarking on – especially the vocational piece. I justthink we’re at a really good place. We have some up-and-comers who are moving onto the Executive Board, includ-ing Adam Ioakim as vice present and Kevin Gallerani astreasurer. I think it’s going to be great for the association.The best work comes when you have new people withfresh ideas.

MASSACHUSETTS


COVER STORY



FEATURE

dAnger FroM JApAn:inSide The TAkATA AirBAg reCAll

These powerful words above were spoken by Massa-chusetts Senator Ed Markey* on one of the biggestrecalls to ever hit the American motoring public.

Takata Corp., a Japanese airbag manufacturer that servicesa number of foreign and domestic vehicle manufacturers, isfacing serious heat from the US government over productsthey made for a variety of cars in model years 2002 through2008. According to industry reports, vehicles in high-hu-midity areas that have the defective airbags could experi-ence a deterioration of the propellant used in the bag,leading to excessive combustion during deployment andthe potential for the inflator housing to rupture. The resultsof the explosion are said to include metal shards hittingand possibly penetrating the driver’s face.

Although a recall was initially established to address 14million vehicles worldwide (including eight million in anumber of “high humidity” states in the the US, but notMassachusetts), the National Highway Traffic Safety Ad-ministration (NHTSA) is now calling for a nationwide re-call that could affect 20 million or more automobiles inAmerica based on a recent investigation into a vehicle thatsuffered an airbag explosion outside the initial recall's tar-get area. According to a November 18 press statement, theagency issued a General Order to Takata and the vehiclemanufacturers that use the company’s airbag inflators, re-quiring each manufacturer to file, under oath, a detailed re-port and produce all related documents about completed,ongoing or planned testing of Takata inflators outside thecurrent regional recall areas. The manufacturers identifiedby NHTSA under the General Order include BMW,Chrysler, Ford, General Motors, Honda, Mazda, Mitsubishi,Nissan, Subaru and Toyota.

According to a September 11 story in the New YorkTimes, the airbag technology in question was first devel-oped by Takata in the late 1990s “in an effort to makeairbags more compact and to reduce the toxic fumes thatearly airbags often emitted when deployed.” The articleadded that these bags are inflated by means of an explosivebased on a common compound used in fertilizer; this ex-plosive is encased in a metal canister.

The potential dangers of the defective Takata airbags

were given a public face on November 20, when Air ForceLieutenant Stephanie Erdman went before a Senate Com-merce Committee hearing in Washington to recount a 2013accident that left her seriously injured when an airbag ex-ploded in her face.

“When the impact occurred, shrapnel from my car’sairbag shot through the airbag cloth and embedded intomy right eye and cheek,” she recalled. “I was instantlyblinded on my right side. I felt gushing blood runningdown my neck. I was terrified. What happened to me wasgruesome; the photo that the EMT took of me with theshrapnel embedded in my eye is scary to look at. But I be-lieve this is necessary to grab the attention of those whohave the ability to do something and keep this from hap-pening to anyone else.”

As of this writing, Takata has refused to comply withthe expanded recall demand, instead passing along the de-cision to the affected vehicle manufacturers. As detailed ina December 4 update by Car And Driver, Chrysler has an-nounced the recall of the passenger-side airbags of roughly149,000 2003 Ram pickups (1500, 2500, and 3500), whichwere already part of a driver’s-side airbag recall. The newrecall encompasses vehicles “sold or ever registered in Ala-bama, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi,Texas and the US territories of American Samoa, Guam,Puerto Rico, Saipan and the Virgin Islands.” Ford addedpassenger-side airbags to the repair list of about 13,000 ve-hicles (2004–2005 Rangers and 2005–2006 GTs) already in-volved in the regional Takata recalls “originally sold, orever registered, in Florida, Hawaii, Puerto Rico and the USVirgin Islands.” The expanded recall also includes certainzip codes with high humidity conditions in Georgia, Ala-bama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, Guam, Saipan andAmerican Samoa.

Despite these actions, Senator Markey has publicly dis-puted the argument that the recall should only remain in“high humidity” states.*

“Right now, there are thousands of people from Massa-chusetts who are driving down to Florida; they’re called‘snowbirds,’” he explained. “They’re not going to comeback until after the Red Sox leave Spring Training...The

by Joel Gausten

“Takata is rejecting NhTsA’s call to make this a nationwide recall, and I justwant to say that it is entirely unacceptable that Takata is refusing to accept this

common sense resolution of this issue...Takata is toying with the safety of theAmerican people when they refuse to recognize this danger.”



State of Florida estimates that there are 1 million of these‘snowbirds’ per year from the northern states who go downto Florida. They’re in automobiles that do not originate inhumid states, so there’s a real danger here. We have tomake sure that there is a complete compliance by Takatawith NHTSA’s request that they in fact have a nationwiderecall.”

As this issue of New England Automotive Report went topress, Honda became the first manufacturer to agree to ex-pand its regional airbag recall nationwide. The auto-maker’s decision to step up to the plate and add 2.6 millionmore cars beyond its original recall effort in the “high hu-midity” regions comes after months of scrutiny over its ex-perience with the Takata issue. According to theaforementioned New York Times piece, “more than 30 in-juries have been linked to ruptures in Honda vehicles, andcomplaints received by regulators about various automak-ers blame Takata airbags for at least 139 injuries, including37 people who reported airbags that ruptured or spewedshrapnel or chemicals.” The story added that in December2009, a Honda Accord driven by 33-year-old Gurjit Rathorehit a mail truck in Richmond, VA. A lawsuit filed byRathore’s family claimed that she bled to death after beinghit with shrapnel in the airbag explosion. Press-time re-ports by the Associated Press indicated that the expandedHonda recall affected the 2001 to 2007 four-cylinder HondaAccord, 2001 and 2002 V6 Accord, 2001 to 2005 HondaCivic, 2002 to 2006 Honda CR-V, 2003 to 2011 Honda Ele-ment, 2002 to 2004 Honda Odyssey, 2003 to 2007 HondaPilot, 2006 Honda Ridgeline, 2003 to 2006 Acura MDX, 2002and 2003 Acura TL and the 2002 Acura CL.

As evident in its November 6 announcement below,Honda was already active in informing customers of thepotential risks associated with the airbags before leadingthe way in the national rollout effort:

Honda is committed to addressing the needs and concerns ofour customers and making clear that we stand behind the safetyand quality of our products. We want to reassure our customersthat Honda has an ongoing customer service procedure that ad-dresses each customer’s needs and concerns.

For customers concerned about the issue of Takata airbags incertain Honda and Acura vehicles, our customer service willmake arrangements for, as appropriate, the replacement of airbaginflators and the provision of or reimbursement for temporary al-ternative transportation.

For anyone who owns one of our vehicles and is concerned,we encourage them to visit recalls.honda.com or call 1-800-999-1009, option 4, and recalls.acura.com or call 1-800-382-2238, option 4.

We encourage customers with an affected vehicle to take im-mediate action to have their vehicle serviced at their authorizeddealership.

With the Takata airbag controversy proving to be amoving target with almost daily effects to the automotiveindustry and motoring public, 2015 promises to be an in-tense year for service departments as recalls begin hittingdealerships across the country. This hot button is just get-ting warmed up.

Look for an update to this feature in next month’s issue ofNew England Automotive Report. Information on currentNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration recalls is avail-able at http://www.nhtsa.gov/Vehicle+safety/Recalls+&+Defects.

* Video of Senator Markey’s commentary is available atwww.markey.senate.gov/view/senator-markey-questions-

nhtsa-on-takata-airbag-recall.MASSACHUSETTS



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Collision and mechanical repairers, distributors andend-users up and down the east coast and around theworld are currently preparing themselves for the Al-

liance of Automotive Service Providers of New Jersey’s(AASP/NJ) NORTHEAST 2015 Automotive Services Show.This year’s installment will feature many familiar industry-leading presenters and exhibitors, as well as some excitingnew elements that are sure to set this show apart from othersof its kind. AASP/NJ is preparing for what’s gearing up to beits largest flagship event to date in a number of ways, intro-ducing a redesigned website, revamped floor plan page andalso the inclusion of text messaging* as a way to reach out toattendees. These text alerts will inform guests of upcomingseminars, demonstrations and presentations and will notifythem if they have won an award or raffle.

AASP/NJ President Jeff McDowell can’t contain his ex-citement about the upcoming show. “Last year was our high-est attended event to date,” he explains. “It looks like thingsare going to continue on an upward trend in 2015. We have alot of cool things to look forward to. I recommend everyonestay tuned for big upcoming announcements.”

Pre-registration for NORTHEAST 2015 is now open,completely free and will alert you to pertinent informationleading up to the show. Information can be found atwww.aaspnjnortheast.com/registration.shtml.

A number of industry heavy hitters have already commit-ted to the show, including Accudraft, who is coming back in a big way by doubling their booth size, Metropolitan Car-o-liner, Pro Spot, Axalta, Valspar and Future Cure, among a number of others. This is not an event to miss. Formore information on the show, visit www.aaspnjnorth

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MASSACHUSETTS



THE LISTWe reached out to some of our members to findout their most interesting repair stories.

“There was one lady who came in for an oilchange and as I was lifting out her air filterto check it, a freaking squirrel jumps out atme! No one has any idea how it could have

gotten in there or how it survived.”

“Someone came in to my shop after self-installing a newradio. He said it only worked on his way home from work, and not on his way there; he couldn’t figure out why. Turned out that he had wired the radio power into the headlights. The radio would only turn

on at night, if they were on.”

“I had a customer in here with a new Lexus that had a proximity key and push-button start. He claimed that he had been testing it and could start the car even with the key over 100 yards away. We didn’t find anything wrong with it, mechanically. Once we started taking a look around inside, we realized he had dropped a spare key under his front seat.”


One time, we had a carcome in and when wepopped the hood, there wasan iguana in there. It didn’tbelong to the owner. There'sa dog kennel near the lotwhere we park the cars. Sometimes animal control brings them what they find, but it wasn’t theirs, either. No one knows where thisiguana came from.

“I was taking the driver’s seat out of a car in for repairs and when I put my handunderneath to lift it out, my hand was insomething sticky. I put it to a poll at theshop and we concluded that the driver ofthis car had been putting his boogersunder there for God only knows howlong.”

“It’s not really a funny repair story, butthe other day I came into the shop andthere was a funnel in the fridge and noone could explain why or who put itthere.”

“I was training a new technician who had forgotten about a socketwrench attached to the crankshaft. He started up the carand the thing went crazy underneath the hood. It completely stripped the end of the shaft. He was totally embarrassed and I had to convince him to cometo work the next day.”

“I had a Miata in for a no-start. The owner keptclaiming that it couldn’t be the battery becausehe just installed it himself. He didn’t realize hehad left the protective covers on the batteryposts.”

MY MOST MEMORABLE REPAIR JOB WAS...


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as to how many batts were in each bag. The representativestated that he didn’t know. He put me on hold for about 10minutes and returned to inform me that he did not have ac-cess to that information. I asked if he worked for OC and,after a pause, he stated that he did. I told him that most ofthe other OC batts packages that I have looked at weremarked that they contained nine or 10 batts per bag. I gavehim the exact part number that I was looking for. To mysurprise, the representative said that he was still unable toanswer my question but that he could email me a productbrochure that might help. I asked the representative if hecould tell me who stocked this particular item, but he didnot have access to any information on which vendorstocked what exact item. I gave him my email address forthe brochure and we ended the call. As I had expected, thequantity of the batts per bag was not listed in the brochure.

After more research, I was able to find the insulation Iwas looking for listed on Amazon. It was for sale by an AceHardware store in New York. The Ace Hardware corporatewebsite showed that each package contained 10 batts of in-sulation that were each 23 inches wide by 93 inches long.

Finally, I knew how much I was buying, and where I couldget it. I placed my order online.

I think what amazed me so much about this was thatthe manufacturer themselves did not know how muchinsulation was inside the packages of a product that theyproduce and sell. They also couldn’t even tell me where Icould purchase any. Maybe it’s me, but it just seems thatlately there is this huge apathetic attitude. It seems like noone cares. Here was a case where a seriously interested cus-tomer wanted to purchase a product, but no one could an-swer questions about it or even get it into my hands. Tothink that some of these big companies today have thenerve to complain that business is slow due to the econ-omy. Wake up and smell the coffee!


“MighTy Fine inJeCTion”continued from pg. 16

something that can’t be solved through a phone communication, we canmake a service appointment for them within two days.”

BMW of Warwick wholesale customers also have access to www.penske

parts.com, which provides photos and other useful parts information. For ex-ample, if a customer is looking for something that goes behind the headlightbut isn’t quite sure which part he or she needs, BMW of Warwick can bringthat shop into the website and walk them through the steps to see an exactpicture of what is required.

“We can direct them to a certain spot and say, ‘Okay, this is the pictureI’m looking at. What do you think?’” offers Disaia. “It makes it easier tocommunicate with shops regarding parts they can’t seem to find.”

With 2015 underway, now is the time for any shop that might be lessthan thrilled with their existing BMW or MINI parts service to make a NewYear’s resolution to give BMW of Warwick a call.

As Disaia says, “If they need to make a change, they can give me calland I’ll send my wholesale rep out to them. We have dedicated delivery toMassachusetts, and our company has been open to credit as long as thecustomers are approved.”

The BMW of Warwick parts department is open Monday through Friday from

7:30am to 5:30pm and on Saturday from 8am to 4pm. For more information, please

call (800) 755-4422.

eXpAnSion ThroUgh eXCellenCe: BMw oF

wArwiCk wowS MASSAChUSSeTTS ShopS

continued from pg. 27

MASSACHUSETTS


else is different and fun,” Lebron ex-presses.

“They’re both just great kids,”Hatem says of the two juniors. “Theyboth have their sights set on collegefrom here. A lot of our kids either endup going into the trade or moving onto engineering colleges. These twokids are go-getters. They sky is thelimit for them, and they don’t evenknow it yet.”

After working on this project, thetwo juniors picked up a lot of knowl-edge. The advice they have for theirpeers in the field?

“Always be your best, becauseyou never know what is going to hap-pen,” Lebron says.

“Always give back to the commu-nity,” adds Molina. “And always payattention.”

STUdenTS oF The

MonTh: CeSAr leBron

And JAleSSA MolinAcontinued from pg. 24

MASSACHUSETTS


Mark Giammalvo specializes in driveability diagnostics at his family business, Sam Giammalvo’s Auto Sales &Service, Inc. in New Bedford, MA. He canbe reached at [email protected].

MASSACHUSETTS



As a member of the Alliance of Automotive Service providers of Massachusetts (AASp/MA), i will abide by the association’s bylaws and code of

ethics. i understand that membership in AASp of Massachusetts is non-transferable, and i must remain current with my dues in order to be a

member in good standing. i understand that if i discontinue my membership that i must immediately cease using any association promotions,

logos or materials. Additionally, i understand that as part of my AASp of Massachusetts membership, i will receive New England Automotive Report, the official publication of AASp of Massachusetts, faxes, emails and other mailings.

2015 MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION

BUSINESS INFORMATION:

Mr. Mrs. Ms.Business Representative Name: ____________________________

Business Name ____________________________________________

MEMBERSHIP TYPE

REPAIRER MEMBER (check one)Collision Repair ShopMechanical Repair ShopBoth, Collision & Mechanical Repair ShopsOther Repair Shop

SUPPLIER/ASSOCIATE MEMBER (check one)Auto Paint/Crash Parts/Auto Parts/WholesalerEquipment/Tool SupplierManufacturer/Sales AgentServices (Computers, Software, Vehicle Rental, Other)

LIST OTHER SPECIALTIES ____________________________________

________________________________________________________

What benefits motivated you to join AASP of Massachusetts?

________________________________________________________

PERSONAL INFORMATION:

Name ____________________________________________________

Nickname ________________________________________________

ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP DUES (The AASP membership year is from January to January 2016)

Total Due ....................................................................................$395.00NEW! Political Action Committee (PAC) Donation ...............$_____

Check or CashCredit Card: Visa MasterCard

Card Number: __________________________________________

Expiration Date: ________________________________________

Signature: ______________________________________________

Date: __________________________________________________

*** PLEASE TYPE OR PRINT LEGIBLY ***

12 post office Square, 6th Floor • Boston, MA 02109

phone: (617) 574-0741 | Fax: (617) 695-0173|[email protected]

For oFFiCe USe onlyCheck number ______________________________Check date ________________________Check Amount ______________________________date Joined ______________________________Member number ______________________next Bill date ______________________________

Street Address ________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Mailing Address ______________________________________________________________________________________________________

Phone Number ( )____________________________________ Fax Number ( ) __________________________________________

E-mail Address ________________________________________ Web Site Address ____________________________________________

Enrolled By (Name and Address) ________________________________________________________________________________________

Street City State Zip

Street City State Zip

Just like good tools and equipment, membership in AASP of Massachusetts is avaluable investment. AASP of Massachusetts works for you through

such outstanding programs as: (1) management and technical training; (2) discount uniform rental; and (3) a wide variety of other business services.

Put AASP of Massachusetts to work for you today. COMPLETE THE MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION AND

RETURN IT WITH PAYMENT TO AASP OF MASSACHUSETTS.

As required by the U.S. Tax Code, AASP of Massachusetts, Inc. informs its members that 75% of the dues paid to the associationare tax deductible. The remaining 25% is allocated to legislative activities and is not tax deductible.

MASSACHUSETTS





Audi Group ....................................................46Axalta Coating Systems ..................................4Bald Hill Chrysler Jeep Dodge Ram............15Balise Wholesale Parts Express ....................49Baystate Chrysler/Jeep/Dodge ....................8Bernardi Group ........................................28-29Best Chevrolet/Best CDJR..........................IFCBMW Group ..............................................34-35BMW/Mini of Warwick ................................26Clay Subaru ....................................................15Colonial Auto Group ....................................21Empire Auto Parts............................................9Enterprise ........................................................31First Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram ..................31First Ford ........................................................31First Hyundai..................................................31Ford Group ....................................................56Future Cure ....................................................20Honda Group..................................................43Hyundai Group..............................................37Imperial Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep ......................6Imperial Ford..................................................56Infiniti of Norwood........................................25IRA Group..................................................12-13Jaffarian Toyota/Volvo..................................22Kelly Automotive Group............................IBCLinder’s, Inc. ..................................................58Long Automotive Group ..........................OBCMazda Group..................................................39McLaughlin Chevrolet ..................................36Mopar Group..................................................23NORTHEAST® 2015......................................48Nissan Group..................................................53PPG ....................................................................3Robertsons GMC Truck ................................42Sarat Ford-Lincoln ..........................................9Sentry Group ..................................................30Subaru Group............................................50-51Tasca Group ......................................................6Toyota Group..................................................47Village Auto Group........................................38VW Group ......................................................54Wellesley Toyota/Scion ................................19

AD INDEX


ConClUSion

What can you do about the LaborRate? Take a long, hard look at whatis proposed in this article and decidewhether you think it makes sense. Ifyou are willing to limit your claimsolely to a Labor Rate difference, lookfor a rate that one or more insurers isalready paying and truly followthrough on your own, then you just

might find that the procedure worksfor you.

Attorney James Castleman is a managing member of Paster,

Rice & Castleman, LLC in Quincy, MA. He can be

reached at (617) 472-3424 or at

[email protected].

continued from pg. 20

MASSACHUSETTS


LEGAL PERSPECTIVE


new england automotive report january 2015

Documents

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