new jersey automotive june 2014

www.grecopublishing.com

June 2014$5.95

THE OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE ALLIANCE OF AUTOMOTIVE SERVICE PROVIDERS/NEW JERSEY (www.AASPNJ.org)

AND THE AUTOMOTIVE RECYCLERS ASSOCIATION OF NEW JERSEY (www.ARANJ.org)

TM

Help FOUND: SkillsUSA Brings Tomorrows Workforce to YOU - pg. 36

AASP/NJ Offersan Aluminum Repair

REALITY CHECK

WHATS THE BIGGESTThreat to Your Business?

NJAJUNE2014_1-64_FINAL.qxp_Layout 1 10/7/15 2:13 AM Page 1

Ask us about

TOLL FREE PARTS HOTLINE:

1-888-PARTS-28FAX:

201-487-2618 201-488-5756DIRECT:

Multiple Deliveries DailyWe Stock Just About Everything

Well Help You Get More Cars Out theDoor Faster!

Paul CimilloParts Manager

278 River St., Hackensack, NJ 07601

WWW.TOYOTAOFHACKENSACK.COM

Hackensack

ImageIstockphoto.com/Ibrahim Sari

Hackensack

SERVING THE NORTH JERSEYAUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY FORSERVING THE NORTH JERSEYAUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY FOR

OVER 30 YEARS

2 New Jersey Automotive June 2014


New Jersey Automotive June 2014 5


VOLUME 44, NUMBER 6 June 2014P.O. Box 734

Neptune, NJ 07753

EXECUTIVE DI REC TORCharles Bryant732-922-8909 / [email protected]

2013 - 2015 OFFICERSPRESIDENTJeff McDowell, Leslies Auto Body732-738-1948 / [email protected]

COLLISION CHAIRMANDave Laganella, Peters Body and Fender201-337-1200 / [email protected]

MECHANICAL CHAIRMANKeith Krehel, Krehel Automotive Repair, Inc.973-546-2828 / [email protected]

TREASURERTom Elder, Compact Kars, Inc.609-259-6373 / [email protected]

SECRETARYThomas Greco, Thomas Greco Publishing, Inc. 973-667-6922 / [email protected]

BOARDJerry McNee, Ultimate Collision Repair, Inc. 732-494-1900 / [email protected]

Sam Mikhail, Prestige Auto Body908-789-2020 / [email protected]

Ted Rainer, Ocean Bay Auto Body732-899-7900 / [email protected]

Anthony Sauta, East Coast Auto Body732-869-9999 / [email protected]

Randy Scoras, Holmdel Auto Body732-946-8388 / [email protected]

Anthony Trama, Bloomfield Auto Body973-748-2608 / [email protected]

Brian Vesley, Valtek, Inc.973-278-1444 / [email protected]

BOARD ALLIEDJoe Amato, The Amato Agency732-530-6740 / [email protected]

Mike Kaufmann, Advantage Dealer Services973-332-7014 / [email protected]

PAST PRESIDENT ATTENDINGTom Elder, Compact Kars609-259-6373 / [email protected]

CONTENTS

NEW JERSEY AUTOMOTIVE is published monthly and is sent to AASP/NJ and ARANJ members free of charge. Subscriptions are $24 per year. NEW JERSEY AUTOMOTIVE is published by Thomas Greco Publishing Inc., 244 Chestnut St., Nutley, NJ 07110. The editorial contents of NEW JERSEY AUTOMOTIVE are copyright 2014 by Thomas Greco Publishing Inc. and may not be reproduced in any manner, either in whole or in part, without written permission from the publisher and/or editor. Articles in this publication do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Thomas Greco Publishing Inc. Cover photo by Alicia Figurelli Image Credits: Page 14: thinkstockphoto.com/NemanjaZs; thinkstockphoto.com/MeePoohyaphoto; Page 17: thinkstockphoto.com/Mike Watson Images; Page 32: thinkstockphoto.com/Feverpitched; Page 42: thinkstockphoto.com/moodboard; Page 50: thinkstockphoto.com/TimHesterPhotography

PUBLISHERThomas Greco ([email protected])MANAGING EDITORAlicia Figurelli ([email protected])EDITORJoel Gausten ([email protected])ADVERTISING DIRECTORNorman Morano(800)991-1995 ([email protected])ART DIRECTORLea Velocci ([email protected])OFFICE MANAGERSBrandi Smith ([email protected])Sofia Cabrera ([email protected])CONTRIBUTING EDITORSCharles Bryant Tom Greco Jeff McDowellMitch Portnoi Dave Laganella Ron Ananian

Published by: Thomas Greco Publishing, Inc.244 Chestnut Street, Suite 202, Nutley, NJ07110Corporate: (973) 667-6922 / FAX: (973) 235-1963Advertising: (800) 991-1995 / FAX: (732) 280-6601

www.grecopublishing.com

The Alliance of Automotive Service Providers/New Jersey

Ron AnanianJim Bowers

Charles BryantDon ChardGuy CitroEd Day

Dave DemarestTom Elder

Bob EverettThomas GrecoRich Johnson Wes KearneyNick KostakisJim KowalakJoe Lubrano

Michael LovulloSam MikhailRon MucklowGeorge PetraskRuss Robson

Jerry RussomanoGeorge Threlfall

Cynthia TursiLee VetlandPaul VigilantRich WeberBrian VesleyGlenn VillacariStan Wilson

HALL OF FAME


AASP/NJ MEETING PREVIEW 14 AASP/NJ Offers an Aluminum Repair Reality Check

LEGAL FEATURE by Mitch Portnoi17 Diminished Value and the Rules of Evidence

COVER STORY Photos by Alicia Figurelli and Frank Ingram19 10th Annual Lou Scoras Memorial Golf Outing Highlights

VENDOR SPOTLIGHT23 Haydell Industries and the Secrets Behind Nitrogen-Based Spray Systems

WHAT SAY YOU?26 Whats the Biggest Threat to Your Business?

NATIONAL FEATURE32 Federal Lawsuit Alleges Insurers Conspiracy to Control Collision Repair Costs

FEATURE by Joel Gausten36 Help FOUND: SkillsUSA Brings Tomorrows Workforce to YOU

PARTSTRADER NATIONAL FEATURE42 A Sad Affair: Thoughts on the PartsTrader National Rollout

NO BRAKES by Ron Ananian50 Flying into Oblivion

AUTOMOTIVE RECYCLERS OF NEW JERSEY56 Legal Update 57 Wharton Insurance Briefs

8 OUT OF BODY (AND MECHANICAL) EXPERIENCES10 PRESIDENTS MESSAGE12 MECHANICAL CHAIRMANS MESSAGE

15 AASP/NJ REGIONAL MEETINGS NOTICE30 MEET THE BOARD62 NJA ADVERTISERS INDEX


OUT OF BODY (AND MECHANICAL) EXPERIENCES

Block #1

Last weekend, I came across a docu-mentary called, The History of the Ea-gles. The film was a three-hour look at thepopular band from the 70s that is still sell-ing out arenas around the world. It was afascinating look behind the scenes of one ofRock and Rolls biggest acts.

Truth be told, I was never a big Eaglesfan when they were at their height. I foundthem kind of boring, and the only album Ihad was Hotel California. (In 1978, EV-ERYONE had Hotel California.) But as Igrew older, I began liking them more andmore. My wife was always a big fan, and on

one of our anniversaries, I surprised herwith tickets to their show at the Meadow-lands. I had to admit they really impressedme, in spite of hearing for years that theirlive shows were like listening to the recordand watching a poster. Great music, incred-ible harmoniesand those songs! I neverrealized how many of them I knew.

After watching the documentary, I wasdriving with my daughter (whos 20) and Iasked her who she thought was bigger, theEagles or Bruce Springsteen. She didnthesitate, and answered, Bruce. I said,Well, you say that because hes from

Jersey and hes always around. She said,No, hes much bigger than the Eagles. Icant even name anyone in the group. Aftermy heart sank at those last words (MYdaughter not knowing whos in the Ea-gles???), I asked her to name some Eaglessongs. Umm, Hotel Californiathats allI know. I said Ok, and took out my phoneand played her Take It Easy. Thats theEagles? I then played One Of TheseNights. THATS the Eagles? Life In TheFast Lane, Heartache Tonight, Best ofMy Love. Those are all Eagles songs?!


by Thomas Greco, Publisher


I then asked her to name some Brucesongs. UmmBorn In The USAummm She started to laugh. Kids today!So I played Born To Run. Nope. Bad-lands. Dont know that one. HungryHeart. That sounds familiar.

Its hard to say which one of these actsis bigger. Based on record sales, the Eaglesdwarf Bruce (100 million to 64 million).Concert-wise, both sell out everywhere theyplay. Influence-wise, Bruce is cited muchmore than the Eagles, especially politically.As artists, though, you really cant go wrongwith either one. If youre smart, you will beinto both. I know I am.

Back to the conversation with mydaughter. Based on my little test, I asked herif she now thought the Eagles were biggerthan Bruce. I don't know, she said,exasperated. Whats the difference, Dad?No ones bigger than the Beatles.

Now thats MY kid!


NJA


As I write this message, AASP/NJ justconcluded its 10th annual Lou ScorasMemorial Golf Outing. Its hard to believethat a decade has passed since we lost Lou,but I think I speak on behalf of those clos-est to him when I say that I cant think of abetter way to honor his memory than a re-laxing, fun day of golf with the people inthis industry who cared about him the most.Special thanks go out to all of this yearsgenerous sponsors, our participating play-ers and all who came out to support thisgreat event.

Now that weve closed the book on an-other successful Golf Outing, its time tofocus on another important goal we have inplace for members: Training. We atAASP/NJ try to make education attainableand valuable to our members. As we gearup for the summer, weve got a series oftraining opportunities set up that will proveespecially applicable to shops in our area -AASP/NJ member or not.

Industry speaker and New Jersey Auto-motive technical writer Larry Montanez willbe on hand for two informative presenta-tions - one on June 24 in Totowa, the otherJune 26 in Toms River - on aluminum re-pair practices, with an overview of howshops should change their processes in lightof these new materials entering our industry.Best of all, attendee shops will receive acertificate upon completion of this coursegood toward 2014 New Jersey auto body li-cense renewal. To learn more about theseeye-opening courses - and why YOU shouldbe aware of your processes regarding alu-minum repair - see page 14.

PRESIDENTS MESSAGE

Gearing Up forthe Summer


by Jeff McDowell

NJA


As some of you may be aware, Iopened my auto/truck repair business backin October of 1982. Since that time,along with mechanical repair, I havealso been involved in commercial snow

plowing. Throughout 32-plus years, mycompany has been involved with every win-ter storm.

During my years in business, I havewitnessed huge differences from winter to

winter, with every one of them having itsown personality. Some have been mild,with relatively warm temperatures and a lotof rain. I heard these winters resulted fromglobal warming. Other winters had broughtcold temperatures accompanied with a lotof snow and ice (with no explanation as towhy). Some winters have started early andended early, while others started late andstuck around. While I am not a meteorolo-gist, I have learned how to respond to theseevents as I have lived through them.

Recently, I negotiated a contract for alarge plow site that wanted a seasonalcontract. For those unfamiliar, a seasonalcontract will usually include all snow plow-ing and de-icing built into one set price.Bean counters (financial folks) love thesecontracts, as they can give some stability tocost of service. In order to arrive at a fairprice that was palatable to both parties, Ifigured I needed to know how much snow Icould expect on an average winter. I hadsubscribed to a weather service, and so I hadcertified snow totals for a long time. I gath-ered my records for the last 11 years, addedthe cumulative snowfall (425.7 inches) anddivided by the number of years to give mean average snowfall of 38.7 inches peryear. This number caused me to think backon my college professor, who used to say,Statistics dont lie, but liars do statistics:Although the average snowfall was 38.7inches, we have never in that time receivedsnowfall close to that number.

The closest amount was 31.9 inches,which is well below, and 41.6 inches, whichis several inches above the average. I hadfaith in my numbers, but decided to call myweather service to confirm my results andget their perspective. The weather serviceagreed on my recent 11-year average, butsaid the long-term average was consider-ably lower - more like 29 or 30 inchesof snow. And if I had included the 2013-2014 winter, with 68 inches of snow, my av-erage would be 41.1, making the short-termaverage even higher. So much for globalwarming!


MECHANICAL CHAIRMANS MESSAGE

So Much forGlobal Warming!

by Keith Krehel

continued on page 59



AASP/NJ MEETING PREVIEW

AASP/NJ OFFERS AN ALUMINUM REPAIR REALITY CHECK

As vehicle manufacturers move to-wards aluminum as a way to adhere togreater government pressure to improve gasmileage, repairers throughout the field areworking to adapt to these changes in orderto take advantage of the opportunity tobring these vehicles back to pre-accidentcondition. But are the majority of shopstruly ready to take on such advanced vehi-cles? According to industry presenter andNew Jersey Automotive technical writerLarry Montanez (P&L Consultants), the an-swer to that question is a resounding no. Inhis travels consulting with shops across thecountry, Montanez has seen more than hisfair share of major mistakes when it comesto the structural realignment and welding ofaluminum.

I see a lot of components getting de-stroyed by aluminum welding, he reveals.Aluminum welding is very, very different;it takes a lot of practice and effort.

A large percentage of shops out therecant repair cars properly, he adds. Thatcan [range] from not being able to paint thecar properly to structural repairs and weld-ing. This can be attributed to a multitude ofthings insurer influence, lack of pride,lack of training, lack of spending money to

buy proper equipment or just not caring -[and that's] on steel cars.

Fortunately, Montanez and AASP/NJare working hard to provide shops with thetools and information they need to surviveand thrive in these technologically chal-lenging times. On June 24 and 26, the asso-ciation will host Montanez for two specialAluminum Repair Training Meetings de-signed to give attendees a real-worldglimpse of some of the crucial things theyneed to know in order to tackle these vehi-cles. The June 24 gathering will be held atthe Holiday Inn in Totowa; the June 26meeting will be hosted at the Clarion Hoteland Conference Center in Toms River. Theevening seminars will provide an overviewof new metals and other substrates, alu-minum repair equipment requirements andunknown procedures. Attendees will re-ceive a training certificate that will qualifyfor renewal of their 2014 New Jersey AutoBody License.

In order to get the absolute most out ofthese events, Montanez recommends thatshops read his articles on the subject (in-cluding his feature in last months New Jer-sey Automotive) and check out his RepairUniversity video on aluminum repair at

www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfZhoi_ygSc.Also, its a smart idea for any repairer trulyinterested in doing aluminum repair to startsaving their pennies; according to Mon-tanez, implementing a proper aluminumarea to repair the 2015 Ford F-150 and sim-ilar vehicles will take a bare minimum of$100,000.

AASP/NJ encourages its members toattend these classes and heed the informa-tion and advice offered. In Montanezsmind, any shop that attempts to repair alu-minum without proper knowledge andtraining could be putting their livelihoods atconsiderable risk.

Within another year or two whenthese [2015] Fords become popular, a goodpercentage of the shops will be buying backthose cars so much so that they might beout of business.

Dont be one of those shops. Get in-formed. Visit www.aaspnj.org or call (732)922-8909 to sign up for these meetingstoday.

There is a huge problem plaguingthis industry, andits about to get awhole lot worse.

NJA



REGIONAL MEETINGS NOTICEAASP/NJ PRESENTS:Aluminum Repair Training Meeting

Larry Montanez of P&L Consultants will conduct anOverview/Training Seminar Covering Aluminum Repair

Learn what the future holds for you. This seminar will discuss and provide an overview of the fol-lowing topics: New Metals and other Substrates, Aluminum Repair Equipment Requirements,

Dispelling Myths, The Truth about Aluminum and Unknown Procedures. Attendees can expect tocome away with a better understanding of what the industry will look like in the next 5 years. With

more and more vehicles having aluminum construction, this is a Must Attend Meeting.

Attendees will receive a training certificate that will qualify for renewal of your 2014 New Jersey Auto Body License.

Food & Beverages will be Served

COST: MEMBERS: $50.00 NON-MEMBERS: $150.00 - PRE-REGISTRATION REQUIRED!

Company_________________________________________ Phone ____________________

I/we will Attend (check one) ___ NORTHERN Meeting/June 24 ___ SOUTHERN Meeting/June 26

Total Number of Member Guests_______ @ $50.00 = $______________

Total Number of Non-Member Guest _______@ $150.00 = $______________

Clearly Print Attendee Names for Certificate:_____________________________________

Seating Will Be Limited Register Now!TO REGISTER, return registration form with check made payable to AASP/NJ to:

AASP/NJ, PO Box 734, Neptune, NJ 07753

To pay/register via fax with a credit card, fill out the information below and mail tothe address above or fax to 732-922-9821.

Name on Credit Card: ____________________________________ Card #: ___________________________

Billing Address: _______________________________________ Town: ______________________________

State: ______ Zip Code: _____________ Amount to Charge: $____________

Questions: Call AASP/NJ Executive Director Charles Bryant at 732-922-8909

SOUTHERN REGIONAL MEETINGDate: June 26, 2014 Time: 6:00 PM

Location: Clarion Hotel & Conference Center ( formerly Quality Inn )

815 State Route 37 West, Toms River, NJ

NORTHERN REGIONAL MEETINGDate: June 24, 2014 Time: 6:00 PM

Location: Holiday Inn - #1 Route 46, Totowa, NJ


LEGAL FEATURE by Mitch Portnoi

In trying a recent dimin-ished value case in UnionCounty, I ran across an issuethat spells out the entire prob-lem with proving a diminishedvalue case in New Jersey. Whilemy expert pointed to years ofexperience in repairing andeven valuing vehicles (as a usedcar dealer), the Judge was out-wardly unimpressed with theexperts valuation and wanted toknow how he had arrived at thepost-accident amount.

If the expert had referred tothe numerous conversations hehad with car dealership repre-sentatives, he would have heardobjections as to the hearsaynature of his testimony - thatis, he was testifying as towhat someone else had toldhimthat is the definition ofhearsay. Alternatively, had he

testified that his valuation wasbased upon years and years ofexperience in the sales of carsthat had previously been in ac-cidents, his knowledge of themarketplace and buyers ingeneral, his opinions wouldhave been dubbed a net opin-ion - in other words, not basedon credible scientific or appro-priate expert testimony - and

would arguably be excludedfrom the case. Therein lies therub.

The only alternative wouldbe to bring in a dealer whowould testify (if you could gethim/her in court) that a vehicleloses considerable value once asignificant loss occurs to thevehicle - hence a diminishedvalue. Another alternative

(though less practical, as aplaintiff would have to incur asubstantial out-of-pocket ex-pense/loss) is to have the clientsell the vehicle. However, wewould then be arguing about thebona fide nature of the sale andwhether the Plaintiff got as fulla value as he/she could havegotten.

The reality of the situationis that a diminished value orvaluation expert must provideas much data as is available toassist the trier of fact as to thelost value of the vehicle. Theymust scour the Internet andlocal dealerships for vehiclesthat have been in losses andwhose valuations are similarlyreduced. They must provide realexpert testimony based on more


DIMINISHED VALUE AND THE RULES OF EVIDENCEDiminished value experts must provide expert testimony based on more than just their years of

experience and knowledge of the marketplace.



Platinum Sponsors: The Amato Agency,All American Auto Salvage, Hertz Rent-A-Car, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, PPG

Gold Sponsor: Thomas Greco Publishing /New Jersey Automotive

Silver Sponsor: Auto Body Distributing Co.

Bronze Sponsors: Cosmos Ocean CountyAuto Wreckers, United Bank Card/Harbortouch, Flemington Car & Truck Country

AASP/NJ Thanks All This Years Sponsors:

Refreshment Carts: Cosmos Ocean County Auto Wreckers

Hole in One Sponsor: Maxon Hyundai-Mazda

Lunch Sponsor: All American Auto Salvage Dinner Sponsor: The Amato Agency

Hole Sponsors: Parkway Auto Body, Keystone/LKQ Corp., Auto Body Distributing Co., Metropolitan Car-O-Liner, NJGCA, Mike Kaufmann, Bradley Car Care, Dover Dodge-Chrysler-Jeep, Continental Auto Parts, Lakewood Toyota, East Coast AutoBody, Meadowbrook Insurance Services, Walters Auto Body, All American Auto Salvage, Mountain View Auto Body,First Class Auto Glass, L&M Auto Center, Hertz Rent-A-Car, Flemington Car & Truck Country, DuPont/Axalta CoatingSystems, FMS Managers, USI North America Paint Booths, Albert Kemperle, Freehold Nissan, Princeton Dealer Services, Mitch Portnoi-Post, Polak Law Firm, Greco Publishing/New Jersey Automotive, Lees Auto Body, Meadowlands Exposition Center, Maxon Hyundai-Mazda, Norwood Auto Parts, Holmes & McDowell, StormLogix Web Design, Anthonys Auto Body, Bloomfield Auto Body, Central Paint/Central Motor Parts, Fred Beans Subaru, Sals Auto Body, Norgate Technologies.

Prize Sponsors: NUCAR, Cosmos Ocean County Auto Wreckers, Fred Beans, Hertz Rent-A-Car, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, The AmatoAgency, Maxon Hyundai-Mazda, Progressive Insurance Company, Meadowbrook Insurance Services, Collision Equipment Co., Auto Body Distributing Co., Travelers Insurance Company, Utica National Insurance Company, I-CAR,PaintEx.

Special thanks to Hertz for checking in this years guests and providing players withawesome gift bags, Cosmos for their incredibly generous door prize donation, Joe Amatoand Randy Scoras for their efforts during this years dinner and Lee Vetland and the staff of the Colonia Country Club for making our 10th annual Lou Scoras Memorial Golf Outing anunforgettable event.

AASP/NJ acknowledges ALL of our generous sponsors and urges the industry to rememberthese names when purchasing products and services.

AASP/NJ 10TH ANNUALLOU SCORAS MEMORIAL

GOLF OUTING



CONGRATULATIONS TOTHIS YEARS WINNERS!1st Place (Score of 66): Enterprise Rent-A-Car Team

2nd Place (Score of 66): Compact Kars Team

3rd Place (Score of 67): Continental Auto Parts Team

4th Place (Score of 68): FMSManagers, LLCTeam

Longest Drive: Male: Ron Van Warner; Female: Bonnie Scoras

Closest to the Pin: Male: Larry Ceverberg; Female: Bonnie Scoras


1st Place!2nd Place!

3rd Place!


AASP/NJ 10TH ANNUALLOU SCORAS MEMORIAL

GOLF OUTING




VENDOR SPOTLIGHT

Have you been dreaming about a high-end coating application solution that provides superior finish with significant cost saving of bothtime and dollars for your shop? Advanced Coating & Application Technologies from Haydell Industries, using third-generation membrane,is a radically innovative and proprietary technology that eliminates every shortcoming of compressed atmospheric air. It offers full controlover the three principal problem-causing variables: Heat, moisture/humidity and electrostatic charge. Compressed air has been thestandard fluid carrier, but it is fundamentally flawed in heat control, moisture humidity and static electricity:

HEAT Compressed Air has variable tempera-tures that change throughout the day; as aresult, the volume of air molecules alterspaint density in the fluid carrier. This dis-torts color, necessitates changes in airpressure and alters chemical reactionrates, especially solvent/water evaporationand drying times. Nitrogen Technology - Temperature iscontrolled and constant, allowing for pre-dictable and reproducible results. Control-ling heat obviates the necessity ofsolvents/water to manipulate viscosity.

MOISTURE Compressed Air allows moisture to initi-ate and accelerate several coating prob-lems. Moisture alters paints dryingefficiency, leaves imperfections on the sub-strate, causes film defects such as blis-tering and is a primary factor ofcorrosion. Nitrogen Technology brings the fluidcarrier dew point down to anhydrous levels(-58F/-50C), eliminating all traces ofmoisture and water.

STATIC ELECTRICITY Compressed Air generates undesirablestatic electricity in spray applications, dueto the friction-intensive route to the nozzlebefore application. A net negative charge inthe compressed air and fluid cause them torepel one another. In addition, sanding,polishing and tacking add a negativecharge to the target substrate. This isclearly undesirable for a process reliantupon the adhesion of one substance to an-other. This also encourages contaminantattraction of dirt, dust and fibers to thefreshly-painted substrate, as well as filmdefects, causing metallic particles and

color pigments to change position and cre-ating inconsistent color and coverage. Nitrogen Technology uses static elec-tricity by positively charging the fluid car-rier. This attracts the negatively-chargedtarget substrate.

The main difference between majoritypure Nitrogen and Haydells Blended Nitro-gen is compressed air consumption. Major-ity pure nitrogen uses 18+hp of thecompressor system for one painter using atypical HVLP gun, while Haydells PatentedBlended Nitrogen uses only 5.8hp of thecompressor using the same gun. Conven-tional compressed air uses 5hp with thesame gun. When using Haydells system,actual consumption drops below conven-tional compressed air. This is because ofHaydells perfect fluid carrier design, whichallows you to reduce pressure at the gun toachieve superior results. In terms of per-centages, majority Nitrogen uses 300 per-cent more compressed air, while Haydellssystem uses only 20 percent. This repre-sents an average energy savings of over$2,100 per year per painter.

In a recent side-by-side comparison ofHaydells system, Eurosiders system andNitro Heat with no ionization, a world-lead-ing car manufacturer, chose Haydell ascore technology for all manufacturing. Theresults were that without ionization, no sig-nificant results were recorded. Haydellssystem had 20-plus percent more materialsavings and over 50-percent increase inappearance quality over Eurosiders Major-ity pure Nitrogen, thanks to Haydells third-generation patented Blended Nitrogen.Overall tests indicated that Haydells unithad a return on investment of less thanseven months much faster than that ofthe next closest competitor.

ADDITIONAL BENEFITS OFNITROGEN TECHNOLOGY Corrosion Protection - Without protec-tive coatings, bare surfaces weaken andcorrode long before their usual life ex-pectancy. Third-generation nitrogen tech-nology greatly reduces failure to adhereand also reduces voids where water, oxy-gen and other contaminants contact baremetal and initiate the corrosion process. Particle Size - Reduced particle size innitrogen technology eliminates many coat-ing film defects and increases dispersionstability. Fluid Carrier Composition - Each coat-ing is applied with an identical fluid carrier.Haydells technology ensures better cover-age, higher transfer efficiency, enhancedadhesion and reduced overspray. Green - Users enjoy a 20-30-percent re-duction in VOC emissions, while harmfulsolvents needed to change viscosity arecut to between 50 and 100 percent.

COSTS/LABOR SAVINGSRepeated testing reveals the technologysaves 2030 percent materials and 3050percent in labor. Labor and material sav-ings are due to greater coverage in a sin-gle pass with this technology. Greatertransfer efficiency and faster drying timessignificantly reduce the need for a re-do.

SEE IT FOR YOURSELFTo start seeing the quantitative and qualita-tive proof that the Nitro Tech Spray PaintSystem will save your company money,provide a superior product to your cus-tomers and give you a sure advantageover your competition, call today at (800)877-4362 for information about viewing aproduct demo, or visit www.haydell.comor email us at [email protected].

NJA

and the Secrets Behind Nitrogen-Based Spray Systems


WHATS THE BIGGEST THREATTO YOUR BUSINESS?

WHAT SAY YOU?

BERKELEYHEIGHTS

Our Labor Rate is the biggestheadache we have to deal with. Ourrate is nothing compared to whatthe mechanical guys get, or theother skilled trades. And the workwe do is just as critical - we keepfamilies safe on the roads. Whenyou look at it that way, and com-pare it to the cost of living, its ajoke.

Things are changing too quickly.Every day, I open the newspaperor your magazine or go online andlearn about some new huge thingcoming down the pike thatsgoing to have a major impact onmy shop. I make sure my guysand I get training and I try tomake the investments to keep upwith the changes, but its like theeight ball is behind me. I worrythat at some point, its going tobecome too expensive or too diffi-cult for me to stay ahead.

Steering. Its been happening inour shop more and more often, andthe insurers are getting more bla-tant with their tactics. I guess Ivebeen labeled as a problem by thembecause I fight to be paid fairly forthe work I do.

The shop down the street. We are ourown worst enemy in this industry. Istand up for myself and I win some ofmy battles, but for every time I sendan insurer away and think Ive comeout ahead, theres a shop right aroundthe corner thatll do what I just re-fused, for cheaper.

My overhead. Its obscene what itcosts to be a small business ownerin New Jersey.

The greediness of the insurance companies. Theyre making us work longer and harder,but paying us less to do it. They dont want to share the wealth that weve helped create -instead, theyre outright stealing from the shops and their customers.

If I had to narrow it down toone particular thing? Cash flow.We do fleet work and somejobs for local government, andso theres a lot of money outthere on the road. The jobs aredone and the money is set tocome in, but its not coming inas fast as Id like when I stillneed to keep the lights on andpay my guys.

JERSEYCITY

NEPTUNE


VINELAND

MORRISTOWN

SAYREVILLE

TRENTONKEYPORT

It seems every day there's a new threat. Thecurrent one is PartsTrader, of course. I refuseto allow the insurance companies to pick andchoose where I purchase my parts from andthen charge me and the parts suppliers a feeon top of it! It's a concept beyond ridiculous.Every shop and dealer I've talked to says it'sa nightmare.


Are you getting the most valuefrom your membership!

AASP/NJ MEMBERSHIP PAYS!

ATTENTION AASP-NJ MEMBERS

Exclusive Programs forAASP/NJ MEMBERS ONLY

Garage Insurance Dividend Plans

Discounted Workers Compensation

Group Health & Disability

Employer Free Programs(For Employees Automobile, Homeowners, Boats, Etc.)

Retirement & Savings Plans

Call The Amato Agency for more details:800-763-6574

or visit www.amatoagency.com4900 Rt. 33 - Ste. 103, Neptune, NJ 07753Phone: 732-530-6740 Fax: 732-530-6727



For all we have to offer, visit us at

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After high school, I went to Denver Automotive & Diesel College in Colorado for four years to study mechanicalrepair. After graduation, I came back to New Jersey and my father had bought a repair shop in Oakland withattached land that he wanted to use to run his construction company. He needed someone to run the six-bayrepair shop, so I did that right out of college. All this time, I was literally driving past Peters Body and Fenderand thinking, That will be my shop one day. It was my dream. Twelve years ago, I was able to make thatdream come true and purchase the building from the former owner. Ive never looked back.

You are the current Collision Chairman for AASP/NJ. What originally inspired you to join the association?The former owner of Peters, Mark Pezzuli, introduced me to Eddie Day, Glenn Villacari and Pete Cook. These guys were extremely successfulbusinessmen, and all three sat on the AASP/NJ Board of Directors at the time. I remember thinking to myself, Theres got to be a correlationhere. I contacted [AASP/NJ Treasurer] Tom Elder and expressed an interest in joining the Board. The roundtable aspect of sharing informationwith other shop owners really appealed to me. Today, I still feel like it was a smart move, not only to help better my own business, but to alsohopefully help make some positive change in the industry as well.

Are there any particular goals youd like to accomplish as an AASP/NJ Officer?Im very committed to helping to grow membership in the association. Im on the AASP/NJ Membership Committee to help further that goal,and I think I can offer a unique insight as someone whos seen both the collision and mechanical sides of the industry for many years. I haventbeen around forever, but Ive been a shop owner for 34 years and have seen a lot.

With such a diverse background, youve experienced issues from both the collision and mechanical side of the industry.Across the board, what would you say is the most pressing issue for repairers today?Id have to say that the lack of unity between repairers is really whats hindering the industry the most right now. Its frustrating to see how manyshops are out there that are not taking advantage of all that a group like AASP/NJ has to offer. I totally understand the challenges associatedwith running a shop, but the response to those aggravations shouldnt be to quit bettering yourself, or to bury your head in the sand.

Name one thing that your industry colleagues may not know about you. Im an avid skeet shooter. I love spending time on the range shooting clays and targets. When Im not doing that, boating is another big passionof mine.

After all these years in business, whats the one thing about the job you love the most?Ive been doing it for over 30 years, but I still get such a thrill from taking a car thats been destroyed and making it new again. It never gets oldto me.

Whats one piece of advice youd like to share with people reading this?Make sure to take everything in moderation. Dont go overboard, and before jumping into anything major, think about how it will affect you inthe long term, not just in the now. That carries over to business, personal life, anything.

How did you get your start in therepair industry?

MEET THE BOARD

30 New Jersey Automotive June 2014NJA

DAVE LAGANELLA



NATIONAL FEATURE

FEDERAL LAWSUIT ALLEGES INSURERS CONSPIRACY TO CONTROL COLLISION REPAIR COSTS

NJ COLLISION &MECHANICAL INDUSTRY PROS:

WHATSON YOURMIND??New Jersey Automotive invitesyou to take our2014 NJAIndustry Survey.

Visit the linkbelow and let usinto your shop fora few minutes!

http://tinyurl.com/NJAsurvey2014or, if you have a smart-phone, scan the QR codebelow to enter survey (must have a QR code reader)

All answers will be keptconfidential and will beused in a future issue ofNew Jersey Automotive.Please call (973) 667-6922 if youhave any questions.

A lawsuit brought by a Pennsylvania-basedcollision repair facility was filed April 30 in theUS District Court for the Northern District ofIllinois, Eastern Division, naming State Farm,Allstate, GEICO, Progressive, Farmers, LibertyMutual and Nationwide and defendant insurersalleging they illegally conspire to control thecollision repair process and the cost of repairs.As originally reported by CollisionWeek Online(www.collisionweek.com), the suit, CrawfordsAuto Center v. State Farm et al, also namesUSAA, Travelers and American Family as con-spirator insurers, though not defendants.

The plaintiff seeks to have the suit grantedclass action status representing any repair facil-ity that has done business with the defendant in-surance companies since January 1, 2006.

According to the complaint, DefendantInsurers and Conspirator Insurers, through var-ious means but, in particular, their DRP rela-tionships, have created an artificial market ratefor repairs the prevailing rate that has beenimposed upon repair facilities throughout thecountry (DRP and non-DRP), and has enabledDefendant Insurers and Conspirator Insurers toartificially suppress compensation to repair fa-cilities for insured collision repairs.

In the sweeping 164-page complaint, theplaintiff alleges that each of the defendant in-surers violates the Racketeer Influenced andCorrupt Organization Act (RICO) by operatinga separate enterprise in conjunction with the In-formation Providers (Audatex [AudaExplore],CCC or Mitchell) that they use internally, or re-quire or recommend to their DRP networks.

The complaint alleges that DefendantsAllstate, GEICO, Progressive, Farmers, LibertyMutual and Nationwide, together with the re-spective Information Providers with which theyhave a standing relationship, have each formedseparate association-in-fact enterprises withinthe meaning of 18 U.S.C. 1961(4). Thus, All-state has formed an association-in-fact enter-prise with CCC (the Allstate Enterprise),GEICO has formed an association-in-fact en-terprise with CCC (the GEICO Enterprise),Farmers has formed an association-in-fact en-terprise with CCC (the Farmers Enterprise),

Progressive has formed an association-in-factenterprise with Mitchell (the Progressive En-terprise), Liberty Mutual has formed an asso-ciation-in-fact enterprise with Audatex andCCC (the Liberty Mutual Enterprise), andNationwide has formed an association-in-factenterprise with CCC (the Nationwide Enter-prise).

The complaint states that, Defendant In-surers conducted the respective enterprisesthrough a pattern of racketeering activity byfraudulently establishing and misrepresentingthe prevailing rate for collision repairs to vehi-cles covered by insurance, including: (1) hourlyLabor Rates; (2) reimbursement for paint andmaterials;(3) the scope and extent of com-pensable repairs; and (4) parts prices.

The injury to plaintiffs is under-compen-sation for collision repair work and services onvehicles covered by insurance, including thesuppression of hourly labor rates, suppressionof compensation for paint and materials, sup-pression of compensation for parts and sup-pression of compensation for the scope andextent of the repair procedures performed. Thecomplaint also alleges that, Defendant Insur-ers have made false and misleading representa-tions of fact, and concealed and omitted factsregarding the prevailing rates for insured colli-sion repair services and compensable repairprocedures.

This is a major, major development forour industry, and it's been a long time coming,states AASP/NJ Executive Director CharlesBryant. A sweeping suit like this, especiallyone with the RICO Act tied in, will be very dif-ficult for the insurers to sweep under the rug andnot take seriously.

This issue goes all the way back to theConsent Decree of 1963, Bryant adds. Forover 50 years, the Consent Decree has prohib-ited insurers from getting in bed with the In-formation Providers. This suit could haveenough impact to really make a difference; itsgoing to be difficult for those named to ignore.

New Jersey Automotive will provide up-dates on the lawsuit as developments occur.

NJA


FEATURE

For years, the annual SkillsUSA Collision Repair Technol-ogy State Championships haveoffered New Jerseys mostpromising secondary and post-secondary vocational studentsan opportunity to showcasetheir talents before a team ofvolunteer judges from all seg-ments of the industry. EveryJune, the winner from the statecontests has an opportunityto compete in the National

Leadership & Skills Conferencein Kansas City, MO. In additionto the prestige that comes frombeing considered the best in thestate or country, these giftedcompetitors gain direct accessto employers and opportunitiesthat they would not be able tofind on their own. Although asmall number of industry mem-bers actively support SkillsUSAeach spring, this years event(held April 5 at the Somerset

County Vocational & TechnicalSchool in Bridgewater; seephoto spread in last monthsissue) drew the largest groups ofcollision industry sponsors andvolunteers in at least a decade.Best of all, many of these kidsgot to meet and converse withthe shop owners, dealershipmanagers and industry vendorswho will soon employ them. Ifyou ever need an example ofjust how positive the industry

can still be for those who put thetime in to make a difference,this would be it.

This years festivities wereespecially enjoyable for An-thony Thompson (NJM Insur-ance Group), who first beganvolunteering his time at Skills-USA four years ago. Startingout as a judge, he soon dec-ided to take a more active rolein gaining support from theindustry.

What Ive learned is thatthere are a lot of people whowant to give they just dontknow to whom, or how much,he says. I kind of connect thosepeople.

If youve ever complained about notbeing able to find new help in thisindustry, youre looking in thewrong place.

HELP FOUND:SkillsUSA Brings Tomor?


Photos courtesy of Anthony Thompson (NJM Insurance Group)



Because there is no estab-lished budget for the CollisionRepair contest, the event suc-ceeds through equipment, sup-ply and monetary donations.Looking to really step it up thisyear, Thompson called upon asmany shops and vendors as hecould. With logistical supportfrom Auto Body DistributingCo. (who helped coordinate thedonations with the shops),Thompson soon had an impres-sive assortment of supplies andspecial prizes to award to de-serving students. This yearsgrand prize winner, AnthonySibaja of Somerset County,walked away with a jaw-drop-ping tool chest donated byDCH Collision Center (NorthBrunswick). Each of the 15 stu-dents who competed wereawarded an amazing array of

prizes including safety glasses,an SK socket set, gloves, aBlaise of Color bag filled withtools and more. The instructorswho attended in support oftheir students even receivedfree 3M safety kits. Later thisyear, AASP/NJ will award Sib-aja with a $500 check to assisthim in moving forward withhis career.

Thompson is still amazedat the outpouring of support hereceived from his industrypeers.

I was turning away $1,500checks, he says. I said, Howabout $500 this year, $500 nextyear and $500 the year afterthat? You dont have to writesuch a big check; support theprogram for the next few years,not all in one shot.

Thanks to the followingjudges for their help in making the 2014SkillsUSA Collision

Repair Technology StateChampionships a success:

-Anthony TramaAnthony ThompsonCharity RitterChuy BarreraEdgar Chaves, Jr. Howard FreedmanKeith HollowayJames BurkshotMichael BonsantoSteve BaurEdward Winkins

Students shine at SkillsUSA and (bottom pic) learn at DCH Collision Center.(Photos courtesy of Anthony Thompson/NJM)



FEATURE

Founded in 1965, SkillsUSA is a nationwide partnership of students, instructors and industry wor ?gether. SkillsUSA works to ensure America has a skilled workforce. The nationwide career and tec ?ucation student organization annually serves more than 300,000 high school, college and postsecostudents and instructors in technical, skilled and service occupation instructional programs. Sk active support of more than 600 corporations, trade associations, business and labor unions at t

When seeking volunteersto judge the action, Thompsonmakes it a point to select mem-bers from as many different seg-ments as possible. When astudent hits the floor, he or sheis performing for everyone fromshop owners to insurance per-sonnel to refinishing manufac-turers to receptionists.

Every judge represents ajob that one of these kids canget, he explains. We do a littleQ&A afterwards, and if some-ones interested in being a man-ager or an estimator, bodymanor painter, we have someonethere who represents that part ofthe industry.

As Thompson worked tobuild a strong pool of judges, hesometimes risked ending upwith more judges than actualcompetitors - a result of the factthat the number of collision re-pair programs continues to de-crease.

The problem is theyreclosing so many auto collisionprograms in New Jersey, heexplains. Theyre combining;where we used to have everycounty represented with autocollision, I think we maybehave 15 programs left in [thestate].

Naturally, Thompson andthe rest of the SkillsUSA crewhave worked hard to adapt tothis reality. The upward successof SkillsUSA in recent times isthe result of efforts to stream-line and restructure the stateevent to better mirror theNational competition. This in-cluded making the Refinishingcompetition, traditionally heldon the same day as CollisionRepair, a separate event heldearlier in the year. This also

meant doing things like elimi-nating the wheel alignmentportion of the competition, in-corporating welding parametersthat are more in tune with I-CAR, having students create aframe pulling plan and mak-ing the interview segment of thecompetition a much more infor-mal process. In the past, com-petitors had to contend withmaking repairs on inconsistentparts with varying damage;now, the students work on OEMfenders thanks to generous sup-port from the Chrysler Corpora-tion. Volunteers ensure that eachstudent repairer starts on thesame playing field by using aspecial fixture to create theexact same damage on eachOEM fender.

In years past, we had af-termarket parts donated, andsome of them had differentdents, offers longtime NJSkillsUSA Collision Adminis-trator Peter Fryzel (I-CAR).How could you really judge astudent having different damagein the parts?

In addition to securing theright tools and equipment forthe competition, Fryzel andThompson made sure that theinstructors from the participat-ing schools were engaged in theSkillsUSA process.

In the past, the instructorsreally didnt know what thecompetition was about, Fryzelsays. Now that were into con-sistency that parallels [the Na-tional event], the instructors areable to teach their students whatelements of the competitionthey should be practicing, andI think they feel more comfort-able with that.

Starting out with Skill-sUSA as a judge more than adecade ago, Fryzel believes thatthe event has only started toreach its true potential.

In the last several years,Ive seen a consistent improve-ment in not only the representa-tives, but the talent pool andtheir skill sets, he observes.From their appearance to theirinteraction to their knowledgeof how to protect themselvesfrom hazardous materials, itsinspiring. Thats why I do it.

Of course, the fact thatmore than a few participants getto meet with potential hires isalways a major plus.

These are the people whoare going to be running our in-dustry, notes Fryzel. Some-times, some of the body shopssee a talented person, andthey're essentially giving thema business card at the end of theday. They say, Come see me.Youve got a job. Thats reallywhat its all about.

A former vocational stu-dent and night school instructor,DCH Collision Center ManagerKeith Holloway was very happyto donate the tool cart for thisyears competition and add hissupport to the automotive stu-dent community.

I support it because Icame from it, he says. Itshard to find good people, so if Ican do my part to help sponsorit and help keep it active, then Ifeel better.

Away from SkillsUSA, Hol-loway opens his doors to areastudents who want to explore his32-person, 43,000 square-foot,260-car-a-month facility andgain insight into collision repairprocesses in the real world. As

manager of one of the largestToyota-certified facilities in thestate, Holloway wants to makesure his operation has access to and continues to encourage the best and brightest in tomor-rows workforce. Being a partof SkillsUSA helps him accom-plish this goal.

Its hard to really come bypeople who want to learn thisindustry because more studentsand kids are gearing towardscomputers and things like that,he shares. But in reality, thecars arent going anywhere;they need to be repaired andmaintained. If we could getmore body shops and collisioncenters to support the students,maybe then theyll be more re-ceptive to learning the tradewhen they see involvement anda lot of people doing it.

Greatly encouraged by the2014 event, the SkillsUSA vol-unteers look forward to seeingeven more industry memberstaking the time to come down toBridgewater on a Saturday andhelp their future employees starttheir industry journey. Thosewho have never participated in or even heard of SkillsUSAare missing out on a great solu-tion to one of the industrysbiggest problems.

As Thompson says, Thereare many kids involved, manykids who want to do this andmany new students getting intoshops. The reason youre notseeing them is youre notinvolved.

NJA



PARTS TRADER NATIONAL FEATURE by Joel Gausten

For two years, the national collision repair industry has workedhard to push back against the spread of insurer-mandated partsprocurement. From a major lawsuit in Mississippi to legisla-

tive campaigns in a variety of states, the call to stop the imple-mentation of State Farms program with PartsTrader (and similarendeavors by other insurers) been heard loud and clear. But on April23, PartsTrader announced that it had succeeded in making its con-troversial product available in all 48 continental states and the Dis-trict of Columbia. Notably, the product has been made available toshops regardless of their DRP affiliations, and has also been madeavailable as a free market item in Rhode Island and Massachusetts,where State Farm currently does not write auto insurance.

According to PartsTrader, there are more than 7,500 repairersand 8,500 suppliers currently active on the system, with OEM com-prising more than three quarters of active suppliers. Additionally,the company claims to have processed more than 750,000 quote re-quests and generated more than 1 million confirmed parts orders.

While many companies would love to experience these kindsof sales figures in todays economy, the fact remains that Parts-Traders success in the American market has very little to do withthe strength and popularity of its product. Due to the conditions oftheir Select Service agreements with State Farm, shops must usePartsTrader in order to stay on the insurers Direct Repair Program.Unfortunately, this prevents many users from voicing their com-plaints with their insurance partners out of fear of retaliation.

But that doesnt mean the shops and suppliers cant talk to us. With PartsTrader now in place across the country, our phones

continue to ring off the hook with calls from repair pros looking toshare their thoughts on the system. From what weve heard from

these industry professionals, PartsTrader is far from the successstory it claims to be.

One of the North Jersey markets most popular wholesale deal-ers, Brogan Cadillac in Totowa prides itself on providing excep-tional service to its customers. When word came down that some ofhis customers had recommended his department to be involved inPartsTrader, Brogan Parts Manager Chris Stephan was willing ifa bit uneasy to oblige.

A couple of shops that we deal with wanted us to be on it sothat they could keep buying their parts from us, he explains.Theyre good customers, and they want to keep using us, but theycouldnt buy the parts they wanted to from us on these State Farmestimates unless we were on PartsTrader.

Despite his customers use of PartsTrader, Stephan tells NewJersey Automotive that he has yet to encounter a body shop that ishappy to be on the program.

Its going to kill them; its going to cut their profits, he says.Its the insurance company squeezing every nickel out of the shopand the dealer. Once this starts and takes off with them, youregoing to see other insurance companies jumping on.

Although Stephan says that PartsTrader has brought him busi-ness from shops he has never worked with before, these orderscome with considerably lower profit margins than jobs that comefrom outside the system. More work for less money - does thissound familiar?

If you want to sell the parts on PartsTrader, you have to al-most give them away, he says. And the shops are forced to usethem if youre not going through PartsTrader, you cant get theparts. The only reason were on [PartsTrader] is as a convenience

A SadAffair:Thoughts on the PartsTraderNational Rollout



to our shops...We're on there not for the new business; were onthere as a service to our existing customers.

Based on his use of PartsTrader, would Stephan say the prod-uct provides enough value to his business as a mandated feature toencourage him to willingly purchase it off the shelf in the free mar-ket?

I would say no, he says. Nothing good is coming from this,but this is the way business is going. Youre going to see bodyshops say, Im not going to be your DRP anymore, and thenyoure going to see the smaller guys closing up because theyre notgoing to be able to survive if theyre not DRPs.

And with those words, Stephan strikes at the very heart of thematter. Naturally, one of the greatest things that prevents a shopfrom leaving PartsTrader and thus their State Farm DRP is thefear of lost jobs. This was a thought that weighed heavily on themind of one east coast-based shop owner until he finally decidedthat enough was enough and walked away in 2006. Thats right;this repairer said goodbye to State Farm long before PartsTraderwas even written in an American trade publication. For him, the in-surers Most-Favored Nation clause was enough to make him headfor the door. Now, as many of his peers struggle to adapt to a sys-tem they dont want in order to appease a partner that apparentlydoesnt care enough to hear their thoughts or concerns, this owneris even more confident that he made the right decision.

State Farm has expressed interest in me - through some oftheir appraisers - in having me back on their DRP network, heshares. Quite honestly, I have not picked up the phone because ofthe PartsTrader issue.

Interestingly, his shop has been successful in adding at least

$200,000 a year in sales through area marketing and encouragingword of mouth from satisfied customers in the eight years since heleft State Farm. Could a shop like this become the rule rather thanthe exception? Are other shops and other markets willing to learnby this example and leave these relationships? Maybe not.

I do know guys who talked a lot of smack that they were notgoing to do PartsTrader when State Farm came knocking on theirdoor, but then they complied and gave in to it because they saw itas losing the bulk of their business, he replies.

Not surprisingly, these concerns are echoed in other parts ofthe country. In Virginia, repairers and parts suppliers were made toadapt to PartsTrader in February. In addition to one prominent usedsupplier in that state telling us that more than 100 body shop cus-tomers recommended him to the program (and thus made his re-fusal to participate potentially devastating), dealers that work withnew OEM parts are feeling their own pressures.

Our volume of PartsTrader bids is growing, offers one Vir-ginia-based parts manager. In the beginning, we bid on every re-quest. We now are picking through the requests and bidding onrequests from our current customers first. The remaining requestmay be bid on if time permits. Those remaining customers call onoccasion concerning a bid that was not placed. We will place thebid, but we explain to them the reason why it was not placed in thetime allotted.

Not surprisingly, shops in the market empathize with their sup-pliers pain.

None of our regular vendors like it; one of our favorite OEMparts guys works on straight commission and now has to do more



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NO BRAKES by Ron Ananian

Til next time, Im Ron Ananian, The Car Doctor, reminding you thatGood Mechanics Arent Expensive; Theyre Priceless.

Ron Ananian, owner of R\A Automotive in Waldwick, NJ (est. 1978), is heard weekly in 140 marketson his nationally syndicated radio talk show. He is a working technician and former AASP/NJ Board member. Beyond his radio show, Ron writes and speaks for the automotive industry at trade showsand events. Visit The Car Doctor online at www.cardoctorshow.com.

We are facing what appears to be an insurmountable task: Parts replacement is agrowing problem and getting bigger every day.Here are some candid observations from mydesk here at the shop.

Flying intoOblivion


Like many of you, I track business using a spreadsheet. Ivenoticed a trend in the past four years, and its getting exponentiallybigger every 12 months. We consistently sell more labor but lessparts; labor sales are up and parts sales are down (way down). Ona weekly basis, I am speaking to more and more NEW salesmenfrom different parts suppliers, looking for business. Its no secretthat many of the parts walking in the door say, Made in China.BUT there is good China and bad China. After researching toverify, I cannot find a dealer that DOES NOT pay their technicianswarranty labor to replace dealer installed parts. Unless you are partof an aftermarket parts program (and even then there are issues),there is no replacement labor paid from an aftermarket parts sup-plier (and definitely not at a real world Labor Rate; the best I haveseen is upwards of $50).

The question is, WHY? Lets look at these issues one at a time.

Parts sales are down because there are less legitimate parts to sell.Exhaust replacement is nonexistent (just look at the national muf-fler chains that are no longer in existence, or muffler only), me-chanical parts on vehicles made in the last 10 years last longer andthere are less of them on cars. To be honest, electronics are doingmore every day, including power steering, throttle, brake and steer-ing control. That means no more power steering pumps, racks orother related components. No more throttle cables, linkages and soon. Suspension components, struts, front ends and steering dontfail like they once did. Brakes are the last bastions of replacementparts; they are the last whale in the room. We are working harder,with more labor, to replace LOWER COST or fewer parts. Thatswhy parts sales are down; its all in the numbers. And they will con-tinue to head in that direction for the foreseeable future, especially

with the trend of module repair/replacement growing. (For the sakeof this article, we will not bring up the ultimate parts sales killerwords: SOFTWARE UPDATES or REFLASHING.)

There are more salesmen in the door every week because thereare fewer places to sell parts. The pie is shrinking and the reach ofyour local parts house has to grow. When was the last time youheard of someone opening a NEW auto repair shop versus takingover an existing one? Thats true at least in this part of the country;maybe elsewhere, land is cheaper and overhead is lessmaybe itsover the rainbow, but its not here.

There is clearly a good China and a bad China when it comes toparts, and why is that? How come certain manufacturers can specout a part, have it made overseas and its good quality, and othersmake poor quality that doesnt last? We recently purchased someignition coils for a Thunderbird. It was all Motorcraft (OE) stuff,and the bag said Made in China, For conversations sake, wewere replacing two bad aftermarket coils the customer had installedat another shop. I knew the brand; they were a house brand froma major chain, and they were made in China (Bad China; they onlylasted five months). Its obvious to me that one of the reasons forthe quality level choices is that the dealer and manufacturer PAY thetechnician to replace the part IF it goes bad under warranty; they re-alize the cost of running a shop with overhead. The aftermarkethands you another part and says, Go ahead, install it for free.While I understand the cheaper cost of the aftermarket part allow-ing a higher parts margin is supposed to offset some of that labor,thats not a true statement in many cases today, especially if there



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ARANJ 2014 Officers

President Bob Dirkes

Dirkes Used Auto Parts609-625-1718

[email protected]

1st Vice PresidentIan Szoboszlay

Ocean County Auto732-349-0332

[email protected]

2nd Vice PresidentDarryl Carmen

Lentini Auto Salvage908-782-6838

[email protected]

3rd Vice PresidentJoe GoodmanLeesville Auto732-388-0783

[email protected]

Past PresidentNorm Vachon

Port Murray Auto908-689-3152

[email protected]

Executive DirectorBrian Snyder

Auto Recyclers of [email protected]

ARANJ 2014Board ofDirectors

Mike RonayneTilghmans Auto Parts

[email protected]

Marvin LeadbeaterBamber Lake Auto609-639-6500

[email protected]

Mike YeagerEL & M Auto609-561-2266

[email protected]

Rodney KrawczykAce Auto Wreckers

[email protected]

Mike CaputoLacey Used Auto Parts, Inc.

[email protected]

ARANJ The Automotive Recyclers Association of New Jersey

Legal UpdateAccess to Government Records Cannot be Denied Based on Irrelevance

On May 13, the Appellate Division of the New Jersey Superior Court issued a decision in American CivilLiberties Union of New Jersey v. Division of Criminal Justice, which prohibits custodians of governmentrecords from redacting information deemed irrelevant in response to a request under the Open Public RecordsAct (OPRA). This decision, which reverses the decision of the trial court, eases the burden on the requestorthat would have otherwise resulted if the custodian of a government record were permitted to determine whatinformation was relevant to an OPRA request.

OPRA was adopted to enable the citizens of New Jersey to examine and obtain copies of documents andother information deemed government records and maintained by any government agency, commission, of-ficer or authority. Under OPRA, the custodian of a government record must, upon request, provide an oppor-tunity for inspection, examination and copying of a government record. Although all government records maybe inspected, examined or copied, OPRA excludes some categories of records from the definition of govern-ment records. For example, criminal investigatory records, documents subject to the attorney-client privilegeand portions of documents containing social security or credit card numbers are all excluded from the defini-tion of a government record. There are 21 such categories under OPRA. The public has no right under OPRAto examine records falling into these categories.

In addition, access to a government record may be denied under the common law (case law or precedent)if it is deemed that the public interest in keeping the government record confidential outweighs the privateright of access.

In American Civil Liberties Union, the American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey (ACLU) requestedrecords pertaining to automatic license plate recognition (ALPR) technology. The Division of Criminal Justice(DCJ) responded by providing 79 pages of redacted documents with the notation that redacted informationwas not relevant to the ACLUs request. The ACLU immediately filed a complaint alleging that the redacteddocuments violated OPRA and the common law right of access. The ACLU contended that the records it re-ceived constituted government records and that the custodian had no legal authority to redact those records andwithhold information based on the unilateral decision that it was not relevant.

The trial court found that the ACLU did not seek information concerning projects that did not involve au-tomatic license plate recognition technology, and that it was reasonable to conclude that the redacted infor-mation was not relevant to automatic license plate recognition technology. As a result, the trial court agreed withDCJ that the government records provided were responsive to the ACLUs request and did not violate OPRAor the common law right of access. The trial court determined that it was reasonable to require the ACLU tosubmit a subsequent OPRA request after receipt of the redacted documents if the ACLU determined that itnow wanted the entire document.

In reversing the trial courts decision, the Appellate Division found that there was no basis in OPRA forconferring on the custodian the power to determine what information was and was not relevant to a request.The Appellate Division further found that a custodian might only refuse access to records (1) that do not qual-ify as government records because they fall into one of the categories of records excluded from the defini-tion of government records, or (2) where the public interest in confidentiality outweighs the public or privateinterest in access. DCJ admitted that the redacted information did not fall into any such category and that it qual-ified as government records. As a result, the Appellate Division found that access to the type of recordssought in this case must be unfettered.

The Appellate Division was also troubled by the trial courts decision to burden the requestor with the re-sponsibility of refining its request to include redacted information. The Appellate Division determined that thisburden ran counter to the strong public policy favoring the prompt disclosure of government records.

The Appellate Divisions decision simplifies the OPRA process for members of the public, especiallythose who may not have the benefit of legal counsel. It also increases the odds that a person requesting gov-ernment records will obtain the documents and information he or she was looking for without the need to makemultiple requests. On the whole, the Appellate Divisions decision eases the burden on citizens seeking docu-ments under OPRA.

For further information, please contact George J. Tyler, Esq. or Matthew J. Krantz, Esq. at (609) 631-0600.

Tyler & Carmeli, P.C.GEORGE J. TYLER MATTHEW J. KRANTZ

1 AAA Drive, Suite 204, Robbinsville, New Jersey 08691(609) 631-0600 Tel (609) 631-0651 [email protected] [email protected]




WhartonInsurance Briefs

With hurricane season in fullswing, its important to have aprogram in place or be preparedfor a windstorm. Here are a fewbasic steps to follow:

Pre-Storm Precautions: Evaluate all build-ing structures as to the damage they couldsustain. Inspect the grounds for conditionof trees, as dead or dying trees could causedamage or injury during high winds. De-velop a list of emergency phone numbersof contractors.

Building Precautions: Close unnecessaryopenings and make windows and doorsweather-tight. Check for broken window-panes and nail down loose window fram-ing. Close windows on the windward sideof a hurricane and open windows on theside of the building away from the stormsapproach to reduce a dangerous pressuredifferential. Inspect roof coverings androof perimeter flashing. Secure or removework in progress, temporary structures,trailers and scaffolding.

Post-Storm Actions: Immediately initiatesalvage activities. Develop plans to securefacility against looters and trespassers.

Always review and update your ac-tion plan annually. As always, if youshould have any questions regarding thisarticle or your insurance program, pleasecontact me.

Mario DeFilippis, AAI, Vice President,Wharton Insurance

[email protected](800) 221-0003 ext.1320


This past winter was brutal, with long-term extremely cold temperatures through-out most of the season. I think it was themost difficult winter I have ever dealt with,with 68 inches of snowmore than doublethe long-term average of 29-30 inches.

If the last 12 years carried a 41.1-inchaverage snowfall, how could anyone use theterm global warming when the long-termaverage is much less?

Even the tree huggers have changedtheir tune and now use the term climatechange. All extreme weather is now theresult of climate change. Wow! How doesthat work? How do you prove that?

By the way, my home down the shore(in the Seaside area) was recently heavilydamaged in Superstorm Sandy. Again, manyexperts blame climate changebut when astorm ravaged Long Beach Island in theearly 60s, there were a lot of similarities,like flooding and the ocean cutting access tothe island. At the time, only the weather wasto blame.

In conclusion, according to my obser-vations and documented records, theweather has always been ever-changing,somewhat erratic and to this day only some-what understood, with some people at-tempting to put their own spin on itsexplanation for whatever cause they chose.


MECHANICAL CHAIRMANS MESSAGEcontinued from page 12

NJA

are fewer parts being sold. Fact is, cars aregetting more and more labor-intensive on adaily basis. And who in their right mindwants to install poor-quality parts as an at-tempt to make a higher profit? Sounds likesomeone who thinks the best way to avoidspeeding is drive faster to get where youregoing to avoid longer time behind thewheel. Makes no sense, at least to me.

The aftermarket offer of Labor Ratesresembles a government health program:Full of hot air and promises, and rarely de-livering. The price of the bad parts does notjustify the lack of quality we as an industryinstall on a daily basis. We need to lookdown the road because we are flying intooblivion, partly because technology isdriving us there, but more because we aremaking the choice in the parts we use, andthe way we allow manufacturers to treat us.

NO BRAKEScontinued from page 50

THE BOTTOM LINE ISAuto repair five years from now will

look different than today, and drasticallydifferent than just 10 years ago. Most of theparts (the few we may sell) will come fromdealer sources; there will be two, maybethree major aftermarket parts chains. Momand Pops will be few and far between.There will be cheap repair shops count-ing on volume to cover their comebacks,and quality repair shops that can providesuperior service and long-lasting repairs.Like now, but in more clearly defined posi-tions and sight.

Some parts houses will continue asthey are currently doing, selling OE-levelparts to independents. They provide qualitythat can drive more business in our direc-tion. But repair shops need to step up andpurchase more from them than from theplaces selling junk. Repair shops hold thekey to the whole problem; where they de-cide, and what they decide, to purchase will NJA

dictate what parts brands survive and whatdo not.

One more observation: It's a funnything, but the perfect storm now seems toexist. The aftermarket is manufacturingmany parts for the OEs, and on the same as-sembly line as the aftermarket part justnot to equal specs. Be aware there is clearlya difference. Imagine if the aftermarketramped up their game, made better or likequality, offered labor programs to qualifiedshops and made it mandatory that shopstake training. Things might get better! (I canhear it now: That Ananian guy is a jerkproposing more regulations and rules.)

We are fighting an uphill battle. Likethe 8th Air Force in WWII, we are per-forming daylight bombing and not realizingthe consequences at a decision level. We arecreating our own destruction; someoneneeds to stop the bleeding before the gameis over.

LEGAL FEATUREcontinued from page 17

than just their years of experience andknowledge of the marketplace. Though thisis difficult to do, it is necessary to prove thelosses that are occurring to thousands of ac-cident victims throughout our state and na-tion.

As difficult as it is, I am continuing totry these cases throughout the Northern por-tion of New Jersey and attempt to educateour Judiciary about the practical considera-tions that occur after a car accident. In fact,I was recently conflicted from trying a casein front of a certain Judge in Bergen Countyafter my expert had told me he had recentlydone a diminished value report for thatJudge. I had tried a diminished value casein front of that Judge approximately twoyears earlier. The expert advised me of thiswhen we were on our way to the courtroom.At least that Judge apparently understoodthe concept. My advice to shops and attor-neys in New Jersey is to keep trying thesecases and to refer them to qualified attor-neys in order to educate the public and theJudges in this State.

NJA

PARTSTRADER NATIONAL FEATUREcontinued from page 43

work to get less pay, offers one Select Ser-vice shop owner. The local salvage yardsand other smaller vendors have to pay anuncomfortable amount to participate, butfeel they cant afford to opt out...As it is,this is just something else to be a drag onour industry.

With PartsTrader just now beginningto settle into the national market, it remainsto be seen if users will ultimately find valuein the mandated product, pursue legalremedies to what many perceive as insurerintrusion or simply decide to reevaluatetheir standing as a Direct Repair shop forState Farm or any insurer that would con-sider a program like PartsTrader. But fornow, one thing is certain: Very few people if any at all are enjoying the experience.

As one prominent east coast parts sup-plier sums it up, Parts margins will sufferand smaller body shops and suppliers willhave to find other profit centers to make upthe difference. Most of us feel we are al-ready in an open market. We compete onprice and service to maintain our wholesalebusiness. State Farm shows no faith in anopen market based on anything but price. Ithink that is a sad affair.

NJA


new jersey automotive june 2014

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