new england automotive report june 2014

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

June 2014U.S.A. $5.95

MASSACHUSETTS

BUILDING THE SUCCESS OF THE AUTO REPAIR INDUSTRY

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE

AASP/MA Casino Night NoticeGEICO Fined $275K2014 MA SkillsUSA Delivers

NEAR_June14 copy.qxp_NEAR December 2013 10/2/15 10:43 AM

2 June 2014 New England Automotive Report


New England Automotive Report June 2014 5

FEATURES 28 | FUTURE TECHS AMAZE AT MA SKILLSUSATomorrow’s repairers show off their stuff at this year’s annual

SkillsUSA competition.

39 | THE TIME FOR CHANGE IS NOW: AASP/MASTATEWIDE MEETING RECAPRenowned industry attorney Erica Eversman schools a packed

house of association supporters on industry unity against

third-party interference.

DEPARTMENTSVICE PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE8 | Tune in for Consumer Awareness!by Molly Brodeur

BREAKING NEWS12 | GEICO Fined $275K for Inconsistencies in Accident Reporting

LEGAL PERSPECTIVE20 | Let’s Talk About Itby James A. Castleman, Esq.

AASP/MA LOCAL UPDATE23 | AASP/MA Member Takes On Unsafe ReferralRepairs

MARK MY WORDS46 | High-Pressure Systemsby Mark Giammalvo

NATIONAL FEATURE49 | Ford Tech Advancements Spur Education, Debate

CONTENTS

10 | A MESSAGE FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR13 | AASP/MA MIDSTATE CHAPTER BBQ NOTICE16 | ADALB REPORT18 | AASP/MA ANNUAL CASINO NIGHT NOTICE

19 | AASP/MA SUSTAINING SPONSORS57 | AASP/MA MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION58 | INDEX OF ADVERTISERS

June 2014 • Volume 12, No. 6

ALSO THIS ISSUE

39

23


JUNE 2014June 3, 2014

AASP/MA MidState Chapter Meeting

Greater Lawrence Vocational Tech’s Four Winds Restaurant

57 River Road

Andover, MA

June 12, 2014

AASP/MA Annual Golf Outing

Charter Oaks Country Club

394 Chestnut St., Hudson, MA

FOR A FULL LISTING OF UPCOMINGAASP/MA EVENTS AND TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES, PLEASE VISIT

WWW.AASPMA.ORG



STAFF

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AASP/MA EXECUTIVE COMMITTEEPRESIDENTPaul HendricksVICE PRESIDENTMolly BrodeurSECRETARYGary CloutierACTING TREASURERMolly BrodeurIMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENTRick Starbard

AASP/MA STATEWIDE DIRECTORSCOLLISION DIVISION DIRECTORAdam IoakimASSOCIATE DIVISION DIRECTORDon Cushing

AASP/MA CHAPTER DIRECTORSN/E CHAPTER COLLISION DIRECTORAlex FalzoneS/E CHAPTER COLLISION DIRECTORKevin GalleraniS/E CHAPTER MECHANICAL DIRECTORMichael PenachoMIDSTATE CHAPTER COLLISION DIRECTORTom RicciWESTERN CHAPTER COLLISION DIRECTORPeter LangoneWESTERN CHAPTER MECHANICAL DIRECTOREd Nalewanski

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(800) 991-1995 ([email protected])ART DIRECTOR

Lea Velocci ([email protected])PRODUCTION

Sofia Cabrera ([email protected])

WWW.AASPMA.ORG

AASP/MA EXECUTIVE DIRECTORJillian M. Zywien

Lynch Associates, Inc.

Phone: (617) 574-0741Fax: (617) 695-0173

Email: [email protected]

MASSACHUSETTS


Please note new

phone/fax numbers!

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 England Auto-motive 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 appearing in this magazine arenot necessarily representations of TGP Inc. or of AASP/MA. Copyright © 2014 by Thomas Greco Publishing, Inc. Images: Cover, pg. 5: ©www.thinkstockphoto.com/lookwai; pg. 13: ©www.thinkstockphoto.com/saiva;pg. 23: ©www.thinkstockphoto.com/monkeybusinessimages; pg. 49: ©www.thinkstockphoto.com/Ivan Osadchyy.


Many AASP/MA members andsupporters likely recall our spirited at-tempt to launch an aggressive media

campaign toward the end of 2013,with a plan encompassing statewideradio ads on the topic of consumer

awareness. The plan was to point lis-teners to www.yourrideyoudecide.com,a site created by AASP/MA that will belive by the time you receive this issue.Our goals were ambitious, but unfor-tunately, our ambitions were curtailedby a hefty price tag to get the cam-paign off the ground. When our initialpush for advertising dollars was indanger of coming up a bit short, we atAASP/MA decided to go back to thedrawing board. We reimbursed thoseshops who had signed up for our orig-inal program, and put our heads to-gether to see how we could best serveour supporters and the motoring pub-lic at-large. And I am incredibly proudto announce to you our resulting plan,which we feel will benefit a broad au-dience to better industry conditionsand consumer education across theboard.

WCRN AM 830, a Worcester-basedAM radio station, has stepped up tohelp AASP/MA get our message out tothe community. They’ve designed an adcampaign that will direct the public towww.yourrideyoudecide.com throughcommercials that will be played overthe station’s 50,000-watt signal acrossthe Commonwealth. WCRN has workedwith us to offer an affordable optionfor shops looking to run a saturatedmedia campaign for a substantiallength of time. I’m proud to announceour newest opportunity will allow ashop to run a tagged ad with theirbusiness’s name running 12 times aday, seven days a week for sixmonths…all for the low cost of $250

VICE PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE


TUNE IN FOR CONSUMER AWARENESS!

AASP/MA Vice PresidentMolly Brodeur is the Chief

Operating Officer of AlBrodeur’s Auto Body in Marl-

borough, MA. She can bereached at (508) 485-1082

or [email protected].

continued on pg. 47


Dear Members,

This month, I wanted to provide an update on currentprojects AASP/MA has been working on. I’ve broken the up-date down into several categories covering activity primarilyconducted over the last 30 days.

Event ActivitiesWe hosted Erica Eversman at our upcoming Statewide

Meeting on May 13. This was one of our most well-attendedmeetings, with over 80 participants. I am thrilled we wereable to secure Ms. Eversman to speak in Massachusetts.This is the first time she has spoken to AASP/MA specifically,and the meeting was an invaluable opportunity for our shopsto learn from a nationally renowned expert in the field.

As you are aware, Enterprise will be sponsoring our An-nual Golf event this year at Charter Oak Country Club, one ofthe finest courses in Massachusetts. We have added a num-ber of additional gifts for golfers and vendors. In addition togolf, green fees, cart fees, a catered breakfast and lunch,each player will receive a golf shirt, a golf towel, golf ballsand tees. Thanks to Al Brodeur’s Auto Body, golfers will alsoreceive a $10 voucher to redeem on Hole 9 for a compli-mentary cigar, cigar cutter and lighter.All new items will be a complement toour raffle prizes, competition holeprizes and hole-in-one prizes. (UPDATE:This event is currently SOLD OUT for golf.However, we do have several hole spon-sorships available and members are alsowelcome to attend our luncheon event. Ifyou would like to sponsor a hole or attendthe luncheon only, please contact ColleenKane at AASP/MA.)

I know many of our members areexcited about our upcoming Casino Night, happening No-vember 15 at the Putnam Club at Gillette Stadium. Pleaseregister today, as there are limited slots for the stadium tourand event. We have secured a room block at the Renais-sance Boston/Patriots Place Hotel and Spa, should mem-bers wish to stay overnight following the event. The hotelreservation code is listed on our website under the CasinoNight tab. Please look for our marketing materials on theevent on page 18 of this issue of NEAR as well as the Dam-age Report member newsletter.

Our fourth quarter Statewide Meeting is on September9; we have already secured several industry experts for apanel discussion on the new aluminum body vehicles. Wehave heard from a number of our members who are inter-ested in learning about this new technology and the costsassociated with training technicians and repairing these ve-hicles. Mark your calendars today to attend this meeting andplan to bring your technical staff, as well.

AASP/MA Vice President Molly Brodeur recently at-tended a NAPA event and procured a list of outstanding ed-ucational speakers. We plan to offer these programs incoming months using our AASP National educational grantmoney to bring in the best experts available. The Board has

discussed hosting a program on a Saturday that would in-corporate both educational speakers on business-relatedtopics and a technical training program. We are asking formember feedback on whether that is a format that youwould participate in. Members, please look to your newslet-ter for further information and to respond to this inquiry.

Chapter InfoFollowing the last MidState Chapter meeting hosting vo-

cational schools throughout the state, the follow-up from theeducators has been extremely positive. We have had someschools register to attend our future Statewide Meetings toprovide a platform to network with member shops. The as-sociation is also meeting with individuals who are interestedin providing a mentoring program for the students at voca-tional schools. This increased participation between AASP/MAand the vocational community will provide more skilled futuretechnicians for our member shops.

The Southeast Chapter is currently in the planning stagefor its next meeting. We are working with Chapter PresidentKevin Gallerani to confirm a date and subject matter in June.

The Western Chapter hosted its chapter meeting on May20 at Slainte Restaurant in Holyoke, MA. Topics of discus-

sion included a report on AASP/NJ’srecent NORTHEAST® 2014 Automo-tive Services Show, the new aluminum repair process, Ford’s Certification and information on Part-sTrader.

SponsorshipsOver the past few months, we

have been working to secure our2014 association sponsors. Theseefforts have been very successful

and have led us from the South Shore to Western Mass.AASP/MA President Paul Hendricks always reminds us tosupport vendors who support the association. If you are cur-rently using a vendor that is not involved with AASP/MA,please consider asking them to join the association, sponsoran event or become one of our valued sponsor partners.Contact Peter D’Agostino today!

Member SupportThe association has been working with a focused sub-

committee in regards to the compliance process through theDivision of Insurance and the ADALB. We are working to de-velop a checklist for materials needed to file a complaint.Once we have a completed form, it will be featured in theMembers Only section of our website, as well as theAASP/MA Damage Report member newsletter.

Legislative EffortsOur Labor Rate Bill received a study order from the Com-

mittee on Financial Services. Our lobbying team has pre-sented several options to the Legislative Committee for afuture strategy on this issue, and the Committee is workingthrough those strategies to determine the best option and


A MESSAGE FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

AASP/MA ExecutiveDirector Jillian Zywien

has been a senioraccount executive at Lynch

Associates for over six years.She can be reached at (617)

574-0741 or via email at [email protected].


our strategy going forward.Mark Molloy and Kimberly Sulli-

van from the Lynch Associates teamanalyzed the entire State Budget andreviewed over 1,100 amendments,identifying those of interest to the as-sociation. There were three HouseBudget amendments identified bythe Board that were troublesome.The lobbying team was successful indefeating all three budget amend-ments, attending all budget sessionson behalf of AASP/MA. I appreciatetheir efforts on all of the associa-tion’s legislative and regulatory ini-tiatives to protect the industry. At thiswriting, the Senate is just releasingtheir budget. We will oversee theSenate budget just as carefully toidentify any and all amendments rel-ative to AASP/MA and its member-ship.

Regulatory ActivityAs you are aware, we have been

continuously working with the Divi-sion to develop our comments forthe rewrite of 211 CMR and 212CMR. We have discussed our strat-egy with our Legislative Committeeand are working to schedule anothermeeting with the Division of Insur-ance.

We have made progress work-ing with the Commonwealth Auto-mobile Reinsurers (CAR) relative totheir Performance Standards. Thiseffort will be heard by the CAR Gov-erning committee later in June; a fullreport will be available at the end ofJune.

We have several other issues weare developing relative to the ADALBand DOI complaint processes. Oneitem of particular note is GEICO re-cently being fined by the state forfailure to report accidents to theagency and policyholder correctly.Please see page 12 for more infor-mation.

Sincerely,

Jillian ZywienAASP/MA Executive Director

New England Automotive Report June 2014 11MASSACHUSETTS




BREAKING NEWS

GEICO FINED $275K FOR INCONSISTENCIES IN ACCIDENT REPORTING

On May 1, Massachusetts Commissioner of InsuranceJoseph G. Murphy announced an agreement with GovernmentEmployees Insurance Company and GEICO General InsuranceCompany (collectively, “GEICO”) resolving inconsistencies in itsreporting of accident information to state agencies and policy-holders.

Under the terms of the agreement, GEICO has agreed tomodify certain portions of its current business procedures, im-plement new procedures and pay a $275,000 fine. An addi-tional $275,000 fine has been suspended pending a futurere-examination by the Division of Insurance.

“Today’s announcement is the result of our ongoing moni-toring of the insurance marketplace to ensure that consumersare receiving the benefits to which they are entitled and com-panies are competing on a level playing field,” said Commis-sioner Murphy. “The company’s actions created disruptiveissues within the auto insurance marketplace in Massachu-setts.”

The Division negotiated this agreement with GEICO follow-ing a market conduct examination of GEICO’s practices sincethe company began offering private passenger automobile in-surance to Massachusetts drivers in May 2009. The examina-tion specifically identified GEICO’s inconsistency in reporting

claim information and providing operators proper notice of at-fault accident determinations and their rights to appeal thosedeterminations to the Division’s Board of Appeal as areas re-quiring a change in business practices. The company will notifyindividuals affected by these actions, including consumers whoare no longer insured by GEICO, within 60 days.

The settlement requires GEICO to amend claim informationreporting, implement new business practices to ensure opera-tors determined at-fault receive notice of that determination andtheir rights to appeal and warrant that data reported to the MeritRating Board is effective and timely. GEICO will be subject to on-going monitoring and a re-examination in the next two years,after which the Commissioner will levy or rescind the secondfine.

Under the terms of the agreement, GEICO must also do thefollowing:

· Properly report past claim information to the Merit Rating Board and other insurance carriers for claims that occurred between May 18, 2009 and June 1, 2013.

· Provide notice of at-fault accident determinations and the right to appeal those determinations to operators not previously notified of GEICO’s at-fault accident

continued on pg. 58



ADALB REPORT

The April 29 meeting of the Auto Damage Appraiser Licensing Board(ADALB) was one of the best meetings of the Board thus far. AASP/MAwas energized by the Board’s eagerness to review regulations and eval-uate the impact of each issue in the process. (The full video of the meet-ing is available on the Members Only section of the AASP/MA website.)

To begin the meeting, Board member Tom McClements, Jr. expressed a de-sire to discuss the minutes from the previous meeting in order to clarify his po-sitions on a couple of items. There was a five-minute delay in order for DOI staffto copy the minutes. The first item discussed by McClements was the desire forcontinued discussion regarding appraisal fees, for the purposes of transparency.According to Chapter 26, Section 8G of the licensing regulations, an insurancecompany is responsible for paying an appraisal fee. McClements expressed theintention to propose a standard range of fees to ensure there are no conflicts,adding that Massachusetts is the only state to mandate the use of aftermarketparts. As such, he stated his desire to see Massachusetts regulations amendedto state that an insurer shall not require the use of aftermarket parts, instead of

the current language that reads, “shall be used unless…”Following this discussion, the minutes were approved and fellow Board mem-

ber Carl Garcia reported on the April 1 test. A total of 44 people took the exam,with 25 passes and 19 failures. In this test cycle, Garcia attributed the higher fail-ure rate to the participants’ lack of seeking help and/or using the guide. Thenext test is scheduled for June 17 at the Holiday Inn in Taunton. As he has donein the past, Garcia will offer a review at his shop the day prior to the exam.

The next agenda item was the review of amendments to 212 CMR. The firstitem reviewed was 2.04 section (c), “Contact with Claimant and Selection of Re-pair Shop.” At the last meeting, Board member David Krupa had asked for thisitem to be placed on the agenda and wanted to discuss the regulation as it re-lates to the direct payment plans pursuant to 211 CMR 123.00. During the meet-ing, Krupa decided that, after doing his own review of both regulations, anychanges he wished to make would be inconsequential and therefore had no fur-ther comments. However, McClements did have a significant question on what

the ADALB Board regulates, and sug-gested removal of the last sentence insection c, which reads: “The provisionsof 212 CMR 2.04(c) shall not apply toany approved direct payment plan pur-suant to 211 CMR 123.00.”

McClements used an example of arogue appraiser who the ADALB wouldhave no authority over under an ap-proved plan according to the currentlanguage. Following a lengthy discus-sion, fellow Board member Joe Coynestated that not even insurance com-pany representatives can steer a con-sumer, and the ADALB would have theauthority to prosecute that person.Upon Coyne’s statement, the Boardagreed to remove the item from theagenda.

The next item up for discussion was“(a) Assignment of an Appraiser,” andraising the threshold cost that an in-surer may exclude a claim. (The regula-tion’s current threshold is $1,500.) TheBoard agreed that this threshold doesnot match current industry standardsand that the dollar amount should belarger. Garcia suggested an amount of$4,000; the Board did not offer a con-sensus on the amount, agreeing in-stead to present something at the nextmeeting.

Next on the Board’s agenda was adiscussion of “(d) Requirement of Per-sonal Inspection and Photographs.”Krupa opened the discussion by statinghis expectation of a great deal of publiccomment on this regulation because ofthe new updates in technology. The def-inition of “personal inspections” haschanged and DOI has approved suchplans that allow for an appraisal to bedone by photo and video. Garcia arguedthat the industry is not aware of the de-cision by DOI to allow this technology,and it must be publicized. The Boardagreed to issue an advisory ruling toclarify and publicize the change. Chair-man Cox asked for Krupa and Garcia todraft an advisory ruling for approval byCounsel Powers. Coyne added that hedoes not believe a still photo qualifies

For more information on the April 29 meeting of the ADALB and video coverage,please visit the Members Only section of the AASP/MA website,www.aaspma.org.



as personal inspection and therefore should NOT be allowed;only video appraisals should qualify in this regard. Krupa andGarcia agreed to consider this point and present an advisoryruling option at the next meeting.

There was a lengthy discussion initiated by McClementson changing the assignment time to two business days andthe appraisal time to five business days, as he believed theprocess is presently too long. Both insurance members ofthe Board stated that, in their opinion, the claim process isfast and, in some cases, faster than five days. Krupa furtherstated that there is no reason why an insurance companywould want to delay that process other than an extremeweather event where extra days would be necessary. Fol-lowing the discussion, the Chair decided to remove the itemfrom the agenda.

McClements asked that the Board entertain a discus-sion on whether there is a difference between an estimateand an appraisal. In the past, the DOI has issued guidancethat a shop writes an estimate rather than an appraisal.Krupa agreed that DOI had issued a letter following the ap-proval of the Metropolitan Plan on the difference of esti-mates and appraisals. According to that letter, estimates aredone by body shops and insurance companies do ap-praisals. Both Coyne and Garcia agreed that estimates and

appraisals are one in the same and no clarification wasneeded. The Board did agree to allow McClements to pre-pare language on the difference and present it at their nextmeeting.

Before the Board could set their next meeting, PeterD’Agostino of Lynch Associates (AASP/MA’s executive team)asked to be recognized by the Chair for the purposes of clar-ifying a position the Board took earlier in the meeting onwhether or not the ADALB has the authority to prosecute anemployee of an insurance company. It was evident that theBoard was unwilling to repeat their previously stated opin-ion. At D’Agostino’s request, the Board agreed to keep thisitem on the agenda for the next meeting. Through his efforts,Chairman Cox agreed to accept some language on the issue.

Before adjourning to Executive Session, the Board settheir next meeting for Tuesday, May 20, the events of whichwill be reported on in a future issue. We at AASP/MA are verypleased with how the April 29 meeting went, and we stronglyencourage the membership to make any effort possible toattend the ADALB events. These discussions will continue toshape how we respond to the Division and the Boardthroughout the regulation review process.

MASSACHUSETTS




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

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AASP/MA ASKS YOU TO PLEASE SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS!

WOLPERTINSURANCE



LEGAL PERSPECTIVE

L E T ’ S T A L K

I am writing this article the morning after attending anAASP/MA membership meeting at which Erica Eversman spoke.For those of you who have your heads buried in the sand anddon’t know her, Erica is an Ohio attorney who, for 20 years, hasbeen a powerful and effective national advocate for collision re-pair shops as well as for consumers dealing with insurers onauto damage claims. As an attorney advising and representingcollision repairers in Massachusetts, I found Erica’s presenta-tion to be inspiring and affirming. It verified to me that most ofthe problems faced by repair shops in Massachusetts are thesame as those faced by the industry throughout the country, andgave me hope that solutions that work in other states may workin Massachusetts, too.

Attorney Eversman opened her presentation by addressingan issue that seems to constantly hang over the collision repairindustry: Potential antitrust law violations. She emphasized animportant point that I have addressed several times over theyears, but which does not always sink in with shop owners: Al-though it may be illegal for competing repair shops to agree toset prices or to mutually agree to follow certain other “anticom-petitive” business practices, it is definitely NOT illegal to simplytalk about pricing or business practices or to otherwise share in-formation.

It seems that every AASP/MA meeting (and every othertrade association meeting I have ever attended) begins with thereading of the so-called antitrust guidelines. These include sternwarnings to members to refrain from talking about prices andpractices. But maybe it’s time to throw the guidelines out thewindow, and actually start to encourage members to talk aboutthese matters as much as possible - so long as everyone un-derstands that they must still ultimately make their own inde-pendent business decisions as to what they want to do.

The Basic ProhibitionsIn response to huge monopolistic railroad and oil compa-

nies that controlled their industries with an iron fist in the late1800s and early 1900s, Congress passed a series of “antitrust”laws. The initial laws made it illegal to enter into any contract,combination or conspiracy “in restraint of trade” or to combineor conspire to “monopolize” trade or commerce. Subsequentfederal statutes refined this by making it specifically illegal toengage in group boycotts, agree to divide up geographic territo-ries or customer bases, agree to only use or to not use certainproducts and agree to not compete for certain work or to “rig

bids” so that a particular company would be assured of beingawarded the contract.

The perceived offenders at whom Congress took aim werea few ultra-wealthy individuals and their corporations, who, be-cause of their market influence, were able to artificially setprices and establish markets. If you wanted to send freight byrail across the country or needed to purchase oil to run yourmanufacturing plant, then the Rockefellers and Standard Oil dic-tated how much you were going to pay, and you really didn’t havea choice to go somewhere else for a better price or different serv-ice. These industry magnates hardly seem analogous to the own-ers of a couple of small collision repair shops who can wield onlyvery limited influence over their markets. Yet the laws that wereenacted to rein in the monopolies are broad enough to often af-fect the little guys as well.

In reality, the actual antimonopoly provisions of the govern-ing statutes really do not have much effect on how body shopsoperate. It is almost laughable to think that a small (or even a rel-atively large) collision repair shop owner can control a nationalor even a local market - or even what happens on their ownblock. But the “restraint of trade” provisions of the antitrust lawsmost definitely do apply to body shops: It is per se illegal for anytwo or more shops to agree to set prices, use only certain parts,use certain procedures, boycott certain suppliers or to dividecustomers among themselves.

Notably, with regard to price fixing, it doesn’t matter whetheryou are agreeing to set prices at a high or low level, or whetherthe actual effect is to raise or lower prices - any agreement tocharge the same price is illegal. Even an agreement to just setprices within a certain range is taboo.

Further, an agreement does not have to be explicit. If twoshop owners discuss a particular price that they both thinkmakes sense and then wink at each other and start chargingthat price the next day, that’s a problem. An enforcement agencyor a court can find that there is an implied agreement betweenthem, which is enough to be found to be illegal. If 50 body shopsin the same geographic area all raise their hourly Labor Rates toa certain specific dollar amount, or suddenly refuse to do busi-ness with a particular supplier within the same month, thenthere may be “conscious parallelism” which can be used as ev-idence of an unspoken illegal agreement (even though it doesnot consistute absolute proof).

ABOUT ITby James A. Castleman, Esq.


So, Let’s Talk About ItIt is illegal to agree to fix prices, boy-

cott a supplier or use only certain parts.But there still must be an actual agree-ment for it to be illegal.

Shop owners clearly cannot legallyagree with others to set a particular LaborRate. On the other hand, though, they areallowed to discuss with each other whatthey each charge for a Labor Rate, whattheir costs of doing business are, what in-dustry sources say an expected rate of re-turn should be, what their experience iswith getting a particular insurer to paytheir rate and other such matters.

Either on their own or through theirtrade association, the shops can conducta statewide or even a local survey of colli-sion repair shops to determine what theexperience is of a wide variety of shops asto Labor Rates charged or rates thatshops individually target. They can con-sult as a group with economists, business

advisors, accountants and industry ex-perts as to what is perceived to be aproper Labor Rate and rate of return. Theycan apply formulas to information col-lected and establish databases andspreadsheets that distill that information.They can distribute the information thatthey obtain to other repair shops, autodamage claimants, insurers and the pub-lic. The only thing that they cannot do isagree among themselves to charge a par-ticular rate.

By the same token, shop owners cantalk about their experiences with partsquality, as well as procedures that areneeded to effectuate certain repairs. It isillegal for a group of shops to agree toblindly boycott aftermarket parts. But it isnot illegal for shops to conduct a surveyabout the fit and performance of parts, toseek information from industry sourceson the difference between particular OEMand aftermarket parts, to have an attor-ney (or even their liability insurer) advise

them as to their potential exposure if anaftermarket part fails (and what their ob-ligations are to their customers underMassachusetts consumer warranty laws),discuss what extra procedures and howmuch additional time might be needed tomake an aftermarket part fit and inquireabout the effect on a vehicle manufac-turer’s warranty if an aftermarket replace-ment part is used in a repair. They are thenfree to assess the information and maketheir own individual business decisionsabout what parts to use or not use. Theyjust cannot agree among themselveswhat they are going to do on the partsissue.

With regard to procedures, shop own-ers and techs can discuss what their ex-periences are with procedures that areneeded to perform certain repairs. Theycan look at vehicle and parts manufac-turer recommendations or requirementsfor procedures for certain repairs (as well

as I-CAR recommended procedures), andthey can educate each other about whatthe collision estimating systems say aboutincluded and non-included procedures.They can even look at which insurers haveagreed to pay for particular proceduresand which insurers have not, as well aswhat the experiences are of repairers inother states when they ask to get paid forcertain procedures. Once more, the shopowners can discuss all of this, memorial-ize it in published materials and distributeit to association members, customers,media sources, government regulatorsand the general public. But again, theyjust cannot agree among themselves thatthey will or will not utilize/charge for a par-ticular procedure.

With regard to all of these issues, donot forget about educating each other onwhat various statutes and regulationsmay require. Conduct that would other-wise be a violation of the antitrust laws isnot a violation if a different law requires

the conduct. So if ADALB regulations saythat the cost of paint and materials mustbe determined in a particular manner (orthat it cannot be determined in a particu-lar manner), or that fixture rentals mustbe paid for as part of a repair, then repairshop owners should be educated aboutthese requirements and should take it toheart that these requirements are set bylaw to be adhered to by everyone. Further,they should insist that all members oftheir association follow the law.

ConclusionDespite what you’ve been told at the

beginning of every trade associationmeeting that you’ve ever attended, pleaseunderstand that it is not illegal to discussLabor Rates, parts quality issues or nec-essary repair procedures. It is also not il-legal to conduct surveys on these issuesand to distribute the results of these sur-veys and polls. Talking about these issues

and making the information known is notanticompetitive and not a violation of theantitrust laws. After all, how are you sup-posed to compete with someone else ifyou don’t know what the other guy isdoing?

Let’s start to talk about these issuesopenly, and in detail. Just don’t agree withothers about what you are all going to dowith the information that is being dis-cussed.

{ }


Despite what you’ve been told at the beginning of every trade associationmeeting you’ve ever attended, please understand that it is not illegal to discuss Labor Rates, parts quality issues or necessary repair procedures.

MASSACHUSETTS


Attorney James Castlemanis a managing member of Paster, Rice & Castleman,

LLC in Quincy, MA. He can be reached at(617) 472-3424 or atjcastleman@

prclawoffice.com.



As reported by AASP/MA President Paul Hendricks (“Stand-ing Up,” NEAR May 2014), association member Rob DelGallo(Factory Collision & Restoration of Weymouth, MA) recently en-countered an example of how prior unsafe repairs can negativelyimpact a vehicle in a subsequent collision. As Hendricks ex-plained, the vehicle (a 2009 Subaru Forester) had been deemeda total loss by Commerce Insurance following a third accident.Previously, the vehicle had been repaired twice by two differentCommerce referral shops following two separate collisions. Inthis third instance, the vehicle owner demanded that the vehicleto taken to Factory. (Although the Weymouth location had beenher preferred shop of choice all along, she was previously di-rected to take the vehicle elsewhere because the shop was nota Commerce referral shop.)

An inspection of the vehicle by both Factory and Bob Collinsof WreckCheck Assessments of Boston uncovered a number ofobvious flaws in the first repair of the vehicle that had obviouslybeen ignored by the second facility. These included a rear D-pil-lar that had not been replaced, kinks in the rear unibody, rustingwelds and lack of paint on inner surfaces. Factory owner RobDelGallo immediately urged his customer to send a request tothe Division of Insurance regarding the improper repairs. Thecustomer disagreed with Commerce that the vehicle was a totalloss and requested that the insurance carrier pay the full cost torepair it.

Following a personal visit to Factory Collision by Division ofInsurance representative Matthew Mancini to review the dam-age to the vehicle and discuss the situation, the Department ul-timately determined that Commerce did not act inappropriatelyin this instance; the referral shop had repaired the vehicle prop-erly and the vehicle would still be considered a total loss. Ac-cording to DelGallo, the customer is dissatisfied with the DOI’sdecision and has sent an inquiry to the Department for furtherclarification into how they made their decision. In addition, thevehicle owner has sent a letter to the Attorney General regardingthe matter.

DelGallo insists that the vehicle would not have sustainedsuch intense damage if it had been repaired correctly the first

time it was hit.“This [vehicle] got hit lightly on the bumper and lightly on the

tailgate,” he says. “It got hit so lightly that the taillight didn’t evenbreak, but it caused major damage inside because of the poorlyrepaired structure from before. Because of this, the taillightswere actually stronger than the inner structure...By working inconcert with this referral shop, the insurer actually shorted thecustomer what she was entitled to under the terms of the repairpolicy and gave her back an unsafe repair.”

DelGallo, who had participated in a few Massachusetts re-ferral shop programs in the past, recently removed his shop fromthe several he had participated with due to their unwillingness toconform to regulations, specifically with regards to paint and ma-terials, and their refusal to offer allowances for necessary procedural items. He feels that this situation illustrates the con-cerns he has over how vehicles are repaired when insurers havecontrol over the process.

“Ten thousand cars go by here a day, and there are manywith three different colored panels on them,” he says. “Eithersomeone put it together at a junkyard or it went to a referralshop. There is a Mercedes right across the street from me rightnow, and I can see a blend right in the middle of the back door!”

DelGallo adds that the current financial landscape of theMassachusetts collision repair industry has a lot to do with muchof the substandard work currently evident on the road.

“Working at a frozen Labor Rate and being stifled for whatwe can charge for paint-related materials is why you get vehicleswhere somebody used windshield adhesive to put a roof on in-stead of structural adhesive,” he opines. “I’d like shops to un-derstand that because of this insurance company control, we’refrozen at this Labor Rate and these repairs are going to startshowing themselves because people are keeping their carslonger than their leases or payment schedules. These cars aregoing to be six or seven years old, and they’re going to come inafter a minor accident and get wasted because of a prior repair.”

AASP/MA LOCAL UPDATE

AASP/MA MEMBER TAKES ON UNSAFE REFERRAL REPAIRS

MASSACHUSETTS




On May 2, the very best collision repair and re-finishing students in Massachusetts gathered atBlackstone Valley Regional Vocational TechnicalHigh School in Upton to demonstrate their develop-ing talents during the annual Massachusetts Skill-sUSA State Conference. Throughout the day, thesepromising future technicians wowed a team of vol-unteer judges through a variety of operations andprocedures that kept the level of energy and enthu-siasm high.

When this year’s competition came to a close,six students proved themselves worthy of specialhonors. David Rouisse of Pathfinder Regional Voca-tional Technical High School took home the top prizein the Collision Repair category, followed by SecondPlace winner Nathan A. Bisson (Westfield VocationalTechnical High School) and Third Place performerPaulo Goncalves (Greater New Bedford Regional Vo-cational-Technical High School). Joseph Wyngowski,a student at Pathfinder, learned the top spot in theRefinishing category, while Assabet Valley Regional

FUTURE TECHSAMAZE AT MASKILLSUSA

Photos and story by Joel Gausten

Technical High School student Hailey Escobar (the subject of a feature in ourJanuary 2014 issue) took home a Second Place win. Scott Swenson, a stu-dent at SkillsUSA host school Blackstone Valley, completed the list of thisyear’s Refinishing stars. Rouisse and Wyngowsky will now represent the Com-monwealth at the SkillsUSA National Skills and Leadership Conference,scheduled forJune 23-27 in Kansas City, MO.

This year’s SkillsUSA ran smoothly thanks to an extensive team of in-dustry volunteers. Judges for the Collision Repair side included Jim Marshall(Marshall’s Auto Body CARSTAR), Jeff Schoenthaler (3M), Matt Tomacelli(Thomas Waldron CARSTAR Auto Body), Seth Elie (Acme Auto Body), Luis Re-bello (Check Collision), Dale and Steve Fitzgerald (UTI), Nelson Torres (Com-merce Insurance) and Ray Guilbert (retired teacher from Greater NewBedford). Refinishing volunteers/judges included Scott Onanian (BASF) andAuto Body Supplies and Paint (ABSAP) team members Bob Dennis, Scott At-tarian and Luis Martinez. Logistical support came from new Blackstone Val-ley Collision Repair Instructor David Beaudreau and Assistant InstructorKevin Pires. As in years past, the Collision and Refinish sections of the Skill-sUSA event were chaired by Tom Ricci (Body & Paint Center, Hudson) andKen Robbins (BASF), respectively.

Pleased to see such an outpouring of support, Ricci was quick to credithis industry peers for making this year’s competition one of the strongest inSkillsUSA history.

“I think it’s commendable for those people to take a day off,” he says.“I’ve had to ask a few people to allow their personnel out for the day, and it’sa long time to be taking somebody away from their business. The volunteerscame out of the woodwork this year.”

Those who devoted their time to participate in SkillsUSA had an oppor-tunity to witness an industry in transition. This year, both the Collision and Re-finish events boasted two female students eager to showcase their talents.

“I was blown away,” Ricci says. “I don’t recall there ever being fourwomen in this competition.”

“It was nice to see a mix of boys and girls doing the events,” adds first-time SkillsUSA judge Marshall. “I thought the girls were equally competitive

FEATURE



to the boys; it was exciting.”Looking back at his first SkillsUSA experience, Marshall was

truly impressed by what these young repairers brought to thetable.

“It’s a very hopeful and inspiring day,” he offers. “You hearabout people not getting into the trade, but you know what?There were kids there who are in the trade and trying really hard,and some of them shine well enough that they will have no ques-tion over job placement.”

BASF Account Representative Scott Onanian makes it apoint to be available to help vocational schools in his area. Hisdaughter Nicole won the SkillsUSA National competition twice inthe Health Services category, while his son Scott Jr. previouslycompeted in SkillsUSA in plumbing. In his mind, few things com-pare to devoting a full day to encouraging those who are workinghard for a future career in the automotive repair trade.

“This is my business and my industry; this is what I do,” hesays. “I think the average age of a person in the industry is inthe 45 to 46 range, so it’s exciting to see the younger kids com-ing in and getting involved, and to see the new blood coming into keep the industry going.”

Serafin Cabrel, a longtime collision repair instructor atGreater New Bedford, got his first taste of SkillsUSA in 1987when some of his students competed in the state contest. Afterserving for many years as a volunteer, he signed on as eto helpmanage the 2014 festivities.

“I try to emulate what the National [competition] does, sothat whoever wins our State competition can go to the Nationalsand have some kind of idea of what to do,” he says.

Not surprisingly, Cabrel credits the many industry memberswho take time out of their businesses (and even use vacationdays in some cases) to make the competition possible each andevery spring.

“Those are my heroes,” he says. “Without Tom and Ken step-ping up and donating their time and monies to get this greatevent for our industry, this wouldn’t happen...There aren’tenough words for me to describe the kind of job they do everyyear.” Cabrel also thanks 3M, BASF and Keystone/LKQ for generously donating supplies for the competition.



A regular at SkillsUSA thanks to BASF’s ongoing support ofthe event, Robbins remains impressed by the dedication that in-structors put into training their students.

“I’ve been around vocational schools for almost 30 years,and it seems like there is a lot of passion with the instructorsnow to work with these kids as much as possible to really getthem fine-tuned to go out into the real world workforce,” he says.“I think [students] see that they can make a nice career in thisindustry, and I can see the passion that a lot of them have whenthey’re talking about cars and paint in general.

“Doing this rekindles my spark when I see a lot of youngblood coming into our industry,” he adds. “Unfortunately, the ageof the average collision repair technician is rising and rising, soI see a lot of hope when I see these kids [compete].”

Considering that this issue of New England Automotive Re-port will be hitting the streets as the current crop of vocationalschool graduates enter the job market in hopes of finding workin the industry, more than a few SkillsUSA volunteers have plentyof advice to offer these students if they want to establish longand satisfying careers. A first-time SkillsUSA judge, ABSAP Ac-count Manager Luis Martinez encourages students to pay at-tention to what they are being taught now so they don’tencounter any big surprises once they’re in the real world.

“They’ll know that when they’re out in the shop working,some shops are willing to help [and] others say, ‘Sorry, good-bye,’” he says. “That’s when they notice that they should havepaid attention a little bit more.”

Marshall suggests that students utilize Craigslist as a way toconnect to an employer base – especially if their résumé demon-

strates that they have participated in SkillsUSA. “If a business owner sees that a student did this on his or

her own above and beyond the regular curriculum, it shows thatthis kid has some excitement over being in this career field,” hesays.

Looking ahead, Ricci and the rest of the SkillsUSA organiz-ers are always appreciative of any support they receive from thesame industry that will eventually hire the kids who competeevery year. He encourages his fellow shop owners to get involvedin SkillsUSA and experience a truly unique opportunity to wit-ness – and help grow – tomorrow’s employees.

“If anyone hasn’t done this before, it’s one of the most ex-citing events that I participate in throughout the year,” he says.“It’s exciting to see these students – our potential future tech-nicians. You can’t replace the day’s event.”

Founded in 1965, SkillsUSA is a nationwide partnership of students,instructors and industry working together to ensure America has a skilledworkforce. The nationwide career and technical education student or-ganization annually serves more than 300,000 high school, college andpostsecondary students and instructors in technical, skilled and serviceoccupation instructional programs. SkillsUSA has the active support ofmore than 600 corporations, trade associations, business and laborunions at the national level. SkillsUSA programs teach leadership, citi-zenship and character development to complement technical skill train-ing. The organization emphasizes respect for the dignity of work, ethics,workmanship, scholarship and safety. For more information, go towww.skillsusa.org.

FEATURE

MASSACHUSETTS



THE TIME FOR CHANGE IS

AASP/MA Statewide Meeting RecapBy Joel Gausten


For years, a seemingly small number of repairers across thecountry worked hard to fight back against the growing domi-nance of the insurance repair industry. From taking insurers tocourt to receive short-pay reimbursement using the Assignmentof Proceeds and other methods to defending their professionaldesire to return a vehicle back to pre-accident condition usingOEM recommended procedures, these shops have pushed forthe rights of an entire industry. But now, the days of these bravebusinesses doing all the work by themselves are over. In herrousing first-ever presentation before AASP/MA members, notedOhio-based automotive industry attorney Erica Eversman (chiefcounsel for Vehicle Information Services, Inc. and the founderof the Automotive Education and Policy Institute) offered atten-dees of the May 13 AASP/MA Statewide Meeting in Westbor-ough a look into some of the ways the industry has become amore collective and cohesive entity ready to stand up for itselfagainst interference by insurance carriers.

Speaking to one of the largest crowds in AASP/MA meetinghistory, Eversman offered an extensive – and at times highly op-timistic – appraisal of the collision industry’s attempts to changethings for the better. In her mind, shops throughout the countryhave been hugely successful in recent times in building a solidcommunication network across state lines on issues of impor-tance. For example, she cited the email list created by Floridarepairer Ray Gunder as one way shops from various regions arestaying in touch.

“Collision repairers are being much more open with eachother in terms of sharing and providing information, pointing outwhat’s going on and getting good tools,” she observed. “Infor-mation is the key. If you can’t pass the correct information on toyour customers, employees, legislators or anybody else you’redealing with, you’re done.”

Addressing the kind of information that can be shared

among shops, Eversman devoted considerable time to dis-cussing some of the common misconceptions regarding an-titrust laws as they pertain to the repair industry. According toher, general discussions of rates, discussions of procedurescharged or even agreements among non-director competitors(who can’t control the marketplace) to fix rates are not illegal.However, agreements among direct competitors to charge arti-ficially high rates are against the law.

“[Let’s say] every single collision shop in Westboroughagreed that everybody will charge $100 an hour...and that is theflat rate and nobody will go below that,” she explained. “That isthe type of thing that is not proper; that is price fixing.”*

On the subject of legislation and litigation, Eversman ad-vised attendees to be prepared for a long road if they elect topursue either option as a way to address their issues, as “legis-lation and litigation are two of the ugliest things you ever have todeal with.”

“You have to make certain that you [are] ready and willing toaccept what happens when you go on [that] route,” she ex-plained. “You have slightly more control over litigation, but again,so many things depend on who the judge is, who the attorneysare [and] who you get on your jury.”

While on the topic of collision court cases, Eversman in-formed attendees of a major 164-page lawsuit filed on April 30by the Pennsylvania-based shop Crawford’s Auto Center againstState Farm, Allstate, GEICO, Progressive, Farmers, Liberty Mu-tual and Nationwide (with USAA, American Family and Travelersidentified as conspirators, but not as defendants). The suit al-leged that these insurers, through various means including theirDRP contracts, “have created an artificial market rate for repairs– the prevailing rate – that has been imposed upon repair facil-ities throughout the country [DRP and non-DRP], and has en-abled Defendant Insurers and Conspirator Insurers to artificially

The national collision repair industry is getting smarter than its adversaries can possibly imagine.

COVER STORY

*For additional insights into antitrust, read this month's Legal Perspective on page 20.



suppress compensation to repair facilities for insured collisionrepairs.” The plaintiff further alleges that each of the named in-surers have violated the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Or-ganization Act (RICO) by requiring their DRP shops to use one ofthe three Information Providers (AudaExplore, CCC, Mitchell) asa condition of that DRP agreement. According to Eversman, thecase has been at least three years in the making and has beenfiled as “a hopeful class action.”

“I have great hopes for what this could mean for the indus-try,” she said.

In addition to crediting email chains and industry publica-tions as great vehicles for shops to gain and share information,Eversman noted the power of trade associations as a way tostrengthen bonds between members of a particular trade.

“This is the best possible forum that you can have for find-ing information, airing grievances and finding out solutions,” shesaid. “Every profession does this.”

Later in the presentation, Eversman stressed the need fora nationally funded independent study of the differences be-tween collision and mechanical rates, relaying some of her re-cent experiences arguing a Federal Court case in the southerndistrict of New York.

“Allstate actually brought in three different experts – onlyone of whom is an economist – to testify that ‘of course the me-chanical rate is higher for mechanical shops because they haveto have all this sophisticated specialty equipment and have allthis training they have to give their people,’” she shared. “Colli-sion repairers are doing mechanical [work] every day! We knowthat you have to have substantially more equipment and have farmore diverse training and substantially greater skills...and thesole distinction is that insurance doesn’t pay for 95 percent ofit.”

Eversman added that she had difficulty understanding whyany shop owner would willingly agree to perform mechanical pro-cedures at collision repair rates.

“That absolutely blows my mind that anybody would dothat!” she exclaimed. “Why would you ever go backwards onceyou have your line in the sand?”

Eversman concluded her presentation with a brief overviewof “bitcoin,” a digital technology that could have a substantialimpact on how businesses handle monetary transactions in thenear future. According to her, bitcoin is a decentralized form ofdigital currency (also known as “cryptocurrency”) that is createdand held electronically with very minimal transaction fees.

“No one controls it,” she explained. “It isn’t printed [or]

based on a bank or government; it is a worldwide currency. Oneof the things people say is, ‘[Bitcoin] isn’t backed by anything.’Neither are our dollars today...FDR took us off the gold standard;Nixon in the ’60s took us off the silver standard. The only thingthat our paper money is backed by is basically the goodwill andgood faith of the US government.”

Eversman shared that she first became interested in inves-tigating bitcoin when Overstock.com announced that it wouldaccept it as a form of currency.

“Overstock says that its sales increased by [about] $1 mil-lion a month by accepting bitcoin,” she offered. “Something theydid not expect was the fact that that 85 percent of the peoplewho were paying in bitcoin were new users...Something to thinkabout.”

More information on bitcoin is available at www.coindesk.com/information/what-is-bitcoin/ and www.coinbase.com. More in-formation on Eversman is available at www.vehicleinfo.com.

A YEAR OF PROGRESSThe May Statewide Meeting concluded with an update by

AASP/MA Lobbyist Anne Lynch, who began her presentation bynoting that Lynch Associates recently celebrated their first an-niversary with the association. Outlining AASP/MA’s legislativeplans moving forward, she shared the association’s new philos-ophy of addressing a variety of issues with numerous state agen-cies at one time as opposed to focusing energy on one piece oflegislation (such as the Labor Rate Bill) again and again. Addi-tionally, with Massachusetts soon to welcome a new governor,AASP/MA plans to launch a number of a new, to-be-announcedinitiatives at the start of 2015, including asking the AttorneyGeneral for assistance in a variety of areas.

In the meantime, Lynch remarked that the association’s on-going work with Commonwealth Automobile Reinsurers (CAR) toaddress the industry’s issues has been fruitful, adding that thenew CAR standards are set to be revealed at the end of thismonth. Lynch also noted that AASP/MA has also been activelyinvolved in bringing “a tremendous amount of change” to thetable in ongoing discussions with state officials over possible re-visions to CMR 211 and 212. Away from legislative and regula-tory affairs, upcoming AASP/MA events include the annual GolfOuting on June 12 and the 2014 AASP/MA Casino Night atGillette Stadium on November 15 (see page 18). For more in-formation on AASP/MA, please visit www.aaspma.org or call(617) 574-0741.

COVER STORY

(L-R): AASP/MA Lobbyist AnneLynch updated attendees on theassociation’s current and plannedregulatory efforts; Guest speaker Erica Eversman(Vehicle Information Services)with AASP/MA President Paul Hendricks.

MASSACHUSETTS



Several times a year, I find myselfwandering around one of two local“big box” do-it-yourself auto partschain stores. Lately, the high-pressuretactics of their sales people has leftme wondering if I should move to on-

line shopping, or perhaps to anotherstore.

Years ago, with ownership of myfirst car, I began using Castrol MotorOil. Although we stock numerousbrands and weights of motor oil at our

shop, we don’t happen to carry Cas-trol. Now, for oil filters, we stock Puro-lator, and I will either use that or anOEM filter. As a result, when the timecomes to change oil on either of mytwo cars, I will often visit one of ourlocal chain stores to buy the Castroloil.

The high-pressure system startedvery subtly about a year ago, andwould usually go something like this:There I would be, holding my five-quart motor oil jug waiting to checkout when the salesman advises that Icould get a “free” oil filter. I’d replythat I had my own oil filter, but thesalesman would insist that I pick oneout because it was “really” free. Iwould grab a common Purolator filternumber that I knew was a good moverin our service department to appeasehim, and off I’d go to the shop tochange my oil and drop the free filterin our parts room.

Lately, however, the push has be-come relentless. In my most recentvisit, the salesperson insisted that if Idid not get the “free” filter, I would ac-tually have to pay more for the oil it-self. I questioned this, and evidently,in the store’s latest promotion, themotor oil alone is one set price. How-ever, if you also buy the filter, they re-duce the price of the filter and motoroil combined purchase so that it’s ac-tually cheaper than if you had just pur-chased the oil separately. It tooksome time for me to grasp the logic,but after nothing short of an argu-ment, I acquiesced and agreed to“buy” the oil filter. As per the promo-tion, I wound up with the motor oil ata cheaper price.

I don’t mind getting a deal, butlately I can’t seem to just walk in andout without a big discussion. (Maybethat’s why I purchase many items onAmazon.com or at Walmart. No dis-cussions - just show me the price andallow me to pay in peace, thank you.)

I remember the last time I tried to46 June 2014 New England Automotive Report

MARK MY WORDS

HIGH-PRESSURE SYSTEMS



purchase lawn equipment at my localSears store. I got a diatribe on why Ishould have purchased the warrantyand used a Sears card. It just wenton ad nauseam. Now, I just go tosears.com, select my item, pay andwait for the email telling me it’sready for pick up.

In reality, I do believe that shop-ping locally best strengthens our regional economy. However, I also be-lieve that it’s good for the local brickand mortar stores to not overburdentheir customers with overzealoushigh-pressure salespeople.

Hmm…I wonder how much thatoil is on Amazon…

Mark Giammalvo specializes in driveabilitydiagnostics at his family

business, Sam Giammalvo's Auto Sales& Service, Inc. in New

Bedford, MA. He can bereached at samgauto@

samscars.com. MASSACHUSETTS


VICE PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

per month! Best of all, WCRN will work with you to craft consumer-specific adscripts. For more information on taking advantage of this program, please con-tact Guy Ferrante at WCRN at [email protected] or (508) 792-5803 ext. 225.

For me at least, consumer education is a very important topic, and radio isstill a very viable medium of distributing information. It’s a method that hasbeen used successfully in the very recent past, with the Right to Repair radiocampaign garnering huge awareness in getting the message out.

AASP/MA’s MidState Chapter is currently running a test campaign through-out the month of June to check out what kind of traffic can be generated fromthese ads. We have a total of 60 test commercials running over the course oftwo weeks during AM and PM rush hour, and we’ve put tracking in place atwww.yourrideyoudecide.com to gauge the response. We will soon see the ef-fectiveness of this campaign, which we’re hoping will provide even more datato potential advertisers.

We do need a minimum of shops committing in order to keep this speciallow rate, so I encourage you to seriously consider all the benefits that could berealized with your shop participating in this program. (And keep in mind that acomparable campaign on competitors’ stations could run upwards of $10,000.)

I hope to “see you on the radio” soon!

continued from pg. 8

MASSACHUSETTS




NATIONAL FEATURE

With the much-hyped 2015 Ford F-150 less than six monthsaway from arriving at dealerships, the collision repair industry isworking to not only educate technicians on how to handle thesehigh-tech vehicles, but also address concerns over the manu-facturer’s philosophy on critical repair procedures.

After two years of development, I-CAR unveiled a new six-credit 2015 Ford F-150 Structural Repair course (FOR06) onJune 1. According to I-CAR, the new class “covers all topics onaluminum and dives deep into vehicle-specific repair informa-tion. This instructor-led course uses discussion, education anddecision-making exercises to equip technicians to properly re-pair this game-changing vehicle.”

“This is a game-changer in the way the collision repair in-dustry approaches training - to be fully prepared with the knowl-edge, skills and solutions needed before the vehicle debuts,”offered John Van Alstyne, CEO & president of I-CAR, in a pre-pared statement. “Traditionally, repair solutions are not devel-oped until after a vehicle is publicly launched, leaving a gap inrepair readiness. I-CAR commends Ford for its proactive ap-proach, working together with I-CAR to develop a repair solutionthat addresses complete, safe and quality repairs for the new F-150 and doing so before the vehicle enters production.”

According to I-CAR, the Structural Repair offering, combinedwith I-CAR Aluminum Welding Training & Certification, “createsa robust training program to properly and efficiently repair thenew F-150 vehicle. I-CAR will deliver this training to the Forddealer network and independent repairers across the US marketprior to vehicle launch, ensuring a new level of industry pre-paredness.”

Although I-CAR maintains a positive outlook on the future ofthe 2015 F-150, some repairers are finding it difficult to cometo terms with the fact that Ford is currently permitting pulling onthe body structure of the 2015 F-150 – a process not recom-mended by aluminum vehicle manufacturers such as Mercedes-Benz (on the SLS), Audi, Porsche or Jaguar.

“On almost every one of the cars, there’s no pulling what-soever,” offers New England Automotive Report technical writerLarry Montanez. “Audi has some light pulling in only certainareas on the Audi TT because it’s steel and also because there’ssome adjustment to the aluminum in the front with some boltingareas, but that’s it.

“The newer cars won’t let you repair them the wrong way;they’ll let you know that you can’t do something,” he adds. “Butaluminum really lets you know right then and there that you’renot repairing properly. It’s very stubborn; it stays where it wantsto stay.”

Dustin Womble, general manager at the aluminum-certifiedRoger Beasley Collision Center in Austin, TX, noted at the April 9Collision Industry Conference (CIC) in Portland, OR that the alu-minum-structured vehicle manufacturer his shop is currently

certified to repair will not allow pulling on their product, citing aconcern over breaking the bonding agent on the other side ofthe car.

“Ford [has] a different position on that and they’re willing torisk the fact that the bonding agent could be dislodged on theopposite side of the vehicle,” he said. “You are authorizing us tomake a pull on that body structure, is that correct?”

“We are allowing pulling on the body structure, yes,” repliedTom Green, Ford’s body and chassis commodity manager.

In addition to questions over pulling, there also exists aquestion of how shops will be able to see a return on their in-vestment if they pursue repairing the 2015 F-150 or similar ve-hicles that may appear from other manufacturers down the road.What are the primary differences between aluminum repair andsteel repair, and how might those differences affect a shop’s ROIand repair rates?

“We can’t project ROI for shops, but we can say in manycases, the new F-150 will actually be easier to repair,” repliesElizabeth Weigandt, dealer communications manager at FordMotor Company. “The new F-150’s innovative modular structurewill significantly reduce time of repair, saving costs. Ford hasused aluminum in body parts for years, such as in the hood ofthe 1997 to 2014 F-150.”

Additionally, Weigandt stated that the apron tube of the2015 F-150 can be repaired without dash removal, the floorpanand rocker panel can be sectioned without requiring completereplacements and the B-pillar does not require disturbing theroof to be repaired.

For information on current Certified-Recognized shop pro-grams for the 2015 F-150 (as well as a list of approved equip-ment specifications), visit www.certifymyshop.com/ford.

FORD TECH ADVANCEMENTSSPUR EDUCATION, DEBATE

MASSACHUSETTS




Have you been dreaming about a high-end coating application solu-tion that provides superior finish with significant cost saving of both timeand dollars for your shop? Advanced Coating & Application Technologiesfrom Haydell Industries, using third-generation membrane, is a radicallyinnovative and proprietary technology that eliminates every shortcomingof compressed atmospheric air. It offers full control over the three princi-pal problem-causing variables: Heat, moisture/humidity and electrostaticcharge.

Compressed air has been the standard fluid carrier, but it is funda-mentally flawed in heat control, moisture humidity and static electricity:

Heat• Compressed Air has variable temperatures that change throughoutthe day; as a result, the volume of air molecules alters paint density in thefluid carrier. This distorts color, necessitates changes in air pressure andalters chemical reaction rates, especially solvent/water evaporation anddrying times. • Nitrogen Technology - Temperature is controlled and constant, al-lowing for predictable and reproducible results. Controlling heat obviatesthe necessity of solvents/water to manipulate viscosity.

Moisture• Compressed Air allows moisture to initiate and accelerate severalcoating problems. Moisture alters paint’s drying efficiency, leaves imper-fections on the substrate, causes film defects – such as blistering—and isa primary factor of corrosion.• Nitrogen Technology brings the fluid carrier dew point down to an-hydrous levels (-58°F/-50°C), eliminating all traces of moisture and water.

Static Electricity• Compressed Air generates undesirable static electricity in spray ap-plications, due to the friction-intensive route to the nozzle before applica-tion. A net negative charge in the compressed air and fluid cause them torepel one another. In addition, sanding, polishing and tacking add a neg-ative charge to the target substrate. This is clearly undesirable for a processreliant upon the adhesion of one substance to another. This also encour-ages contaminant attraction of dirt, dust and fibers to the freshly-paintedsubstrate, as well as film defects, causing metallic particles and color pig-ments to change position and creating inconsistent color and coverage.• Nitrogen Technology uses static electricity by positively chargingthe fluid carrier. This attracts the negatively-charged target substrate.

The main difference between majority pure Nitrogen and Haydell’sBlended Nitrogen is compressed air consumption. Majority pure nitrogenuses 18+hp of the compressor system for one painter using a typical HVLPgun, while Haydell’s Patented Blended Nitrogen uses only 5.8hp of thecompressor using the same gun. Conventional compressed air uses 5hp

with the same gun. When using Haydell’s system, actual consumptiondrops below conventional compressed air. This is because of Haydell’sperfect fluid carrier design, which allows you to reduce pressure at the gunto achieve superior results. In terms of percentages, majority Nitrogen uses300 percent more compressed air, while Haydell’s system uses only 20percent. This represents an average energy savings of over $2,100 per yearper painter.

In a recent side-by-side comparison of Haydell’s system, Eurosider’ssystem and Nitro Heat with no ionization, a world-leading car manufac-turer chose Haydell as core technology for all manufacturing. The resultswere that without ionization, no significant results were recorded. Haydell’ssystem had 20-plus percent more material savings and over 50-percentincrease in appearance quality over Eurosider’s Majority pure Nitrogen,thanks to Haydell’s third-generation patented Blended Nitrogen. Overalltests indicated that Haydell’s unit had a return on investment of less thanseven months – much faster than that of the next closest competitor.

Additional Benefits of Nitrogen Technology• Corrosion Protection - Without protective coatings, bare surfacesweaken and corrode long before their usual life expectancy. Third-gener-ation nitrogen technology greatly reduces failure to adhere and also re-duces voids where water, oxygen and other contaminants contact baremetal and initiate the corrosion process. • Particle Size - Reduced particle size in nitrogen technology eliminatesmany coating film defects and increases dispersion stability.• Fluid Carrier Composition - Each coating is applied with an iden-tical fluid carrier. Haydell’s technology ensures better coverage, highertransfer efficiency, enhanced adhesion and reduced overspray.• Green - Users enjoy a 20-30-percent reduction in VOC emissions,while harmful solvents needed to change viscosity are cut to between 50and 100 percent.

Costs/Labor SavingsRepeated testing reveals the technology saves 20–30 percent mate-

rials and 30–50 percent in labor. Labor and material savings are due togreater coverage in a single pass with this technology. Greater transfer ef-ficiency and faster drying times significantly reduce the need for a re-do.

See It for YourselfTo start seeing the quantitative and qualitative proof that the Nitro

Tech Spray Paint System will save your company money, provide a supe-rior product to your customers and give you a sure advantage over yourcompetition, call today at (800) 877-4362 for information about viewing aproduct demo, visit www.haydell.com or email [email protected].

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

and the Secrets Behind Nitrogen-Based Spray Systems



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2014 MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION

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Just like good tools and equipment, membership in AASP of Massachusetts isa valuable investment. AASP of Massachusetts works for you through such outstanding programs as: (1) management and technical training;

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MASSACHUSETTS



Audi Group ..........................................................51

Axalta Coating Systems........................................4

Bald Hill Chrysler Jeep Dodge Ram ..................17

Balise Wholesale Parts Express........................44

Baystate Chrysler/Jeep/Dodge ........................42

Bernardi Group..............................................30-31

Best Chevrolet ..................................................IFC

BMW Group ..................................................36-37

BMW/Mini of Warwick ......................................40

Clay Subaru ........................................................12

Colonial Auto Group ..........................................52

Empire Auto Parts ..............................................11

Enterprise............................................................27

Ford Group..........................................................50

Future Cure ..........................................................8

Goyette’s Inc. Auto Parts....................................11

Honda Group ......................................................55

Hyundai Group....................................................38

Imperial Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep ..............................9

Imperial Ford ......................................................50

Infiniti of Norwood..............................................24

IRA Group ......................................................14-15

Jaffarian Toyota/Volvo........................................53

Kelly Automotive Group ....................................IBC

Linder’s, Inc. ......................................................46

Long Automotive Group ..................................OBC

Mazda Group ......................................................45

McLaughlin Chevrolet ........................................27

Mopar Group ........................................................9

Nissan Group......................................................25

Nissan World of Dartmouth ..............................47

PPG........................................................................3

Robertsons GMC Truck ......................................41

Sarat Ford-Lincoln ..............................................41

SATA ....................................................................26

Sentry Group ........................................................6

Subaru Group................................................34-35

Tasca Group........................................................33

Toyota Group ......................................................48

Toyota of Nashua................................................58

Village Auto Group..............................................56

VW Group............................................................22

Wellesley Toyota/Scion ......................................42

AD INDEX



BREAKING NEWS

determinations between May 18,2009 and June 1, 2013. Opera-tors affected by this inconsistency in GEICO’s priorbusiness practices will be allowed to appeal those determinations to the Division’s Board of Appeal. Consumers who elect to appealwill have their $50 filing fee reimbursed by GEICO.

· Implement new business practices to ensure that operators determined to be at-fault for accidents receive

timely notice of the determination as well as an explanation of their rights to appeal the determination.

· Routinely audit the effectiveness of new business practices designed to prevent errors and report the results to the Division over the next two years.

Massachusetts consumers who havequestions about this settlement may callthe Division’s Consumer Services Unit tollfree at (877) 563-4467.

continued from pg. 12

MASSACHUSETTS



new england automotive report june 2014

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