new jersey automotive november 2014

November 2014$595

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)

www.grecopublishing.com

TM

NJA1114.qxp_NEW JERSEY AUTOMOTIVE 10/29/14 8:23 PM

2 | New Jersey Automotive | November 2014


New Jersey Automotive | November 2014 | 5



NORTHEAST® 2015 SPOTLIGHT18 AASP/NJ Unveils New Website Design for NORTHEAST® 2015

VENDOR SPOTLIGHT by Joel Gausten20 Nucar Wholesale Parts: Dedication and Experience from the Top Down

LEGAL FEATURE by Mitch Portnoi, Esq.24 Workers’ Compensation - A Primer

NATIONAL FEATURE28 Test Drive: NJA Takes Toyota’s Latest for a Spin

FEATURE36 Scam Alert: Why Your Shop Could Be at Risk

COVER STORY by Joel Gausten44 Privacy in Repairs: Will “Black Boxes” Change the Industry?

THE LIST48 If You Won the Lottery, What Would You Do with the Money?

NO BRAKES by Ron Ananian52 The Cycle of Repair

AUTOMOTIVE RECYCLERS OF NEW JERSEY55 Wharton Insurance Briefs

P.O. Box 734 Neptune, NJ 07753

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

2013 - 2015 OFFICERSPRESIDENTJeff McDowell, Leslie’s 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]

PUBLISHERThomas Greco ([email protected])DIRECTOR OF SALESAlicia Figurelli ([email protected])EDITORJoel Gausten ([email protected])MANAGING EDITORJacquelyn Bauman ([email protected])ART DIRECTORLea Velocci ([email protected])OFFICE MANAGERSofia 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, NJ 07110Corporate: (973) 667-6922 / FAX: (973) 235-1963

www.grecopublishing.com

VOLUME 44, NUMBER 11 | November 2014

8 OUT OF BODY (AND MECHANICAL) EXPERIENCES10 PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE11 SPOTLIGHT ON NJA

12 EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S MESSAGE16 MECHANICAL CHAIRMAN’S MESSAGE58 NJA ADVERTISERS INDEX

NEW JERSEY AUTOMOTIVE is published monthly and is sent to AASP/NJ and ARANJ members free of charge. Subscriptions are $24 per year. NEW JERSEYAUTOMOTIVE is published by Thomas Greco Publishing Inc., 244 Chestnut St., Nutley, NJ 07110. The editorial contents of NEW JERSEY AUTOMOTIVEare 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. Images courtesy ofwww.thinkstockphotos.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

CONTENTS



OUT OF BODY (AND MECHANICAL) EXPERIENCES

Seriously. Can I have my sportsback? I love sports. Always have. Alwayswill. Football, baseball, basketball, box-ing, hockey and tennis - if I can find agame to watch, I’m good. Now, I don’t likeall sports. You can keep soccer,NASCAR, golf and a whole bunch of oth-ers. That doesn’t mean I don’t respectthem. If you like to watch those sports,more power to you. But unfortunately, intoday’s 24/7 social media/cable news-dominated world, when it comes tosports, the actual games are the lastthing you hear about. I’m just going to use a few recent ex-amples to prove my point. Let’s start withAmerica’s favorite sport: Football. Football

is a passion of mine. Played it, coachedit, watch it, love it. But over the last yearor so, the game itself has been lost in themedia. Concussions. Ray Rice. Racistteam names. Child Abuse. Sexual as-sault. I can go on. But let’s take these fivesubjects one at a time. There has been a massive campaignto have the NFL compensate former play-ers who may have suffered brain damagedue to playing professional football. Theargument is basically that the NFL wasnegligent in letting the players know thepotential dangers of the game. HELLO? Ifthe object of the game is to knock the liv-ing crap out of each other, there is boundto be some brain damage. Did theseplayers not figure that out before they

ever put a uniform on? Look, I’m not un-sympathetic to these guys, especially theolder ones who didn’t make any money inthe early days. But come on. It’s football! I just hate the hypocrisy and greed. Ifthe issue was negligence (which the en-tire debate is based on), then why aren’tthese players suing their colleges? Ortheir high schools? Or their towns wherethey played recreation football? We allknow why. They go where the money is.As for the players of this century? Please.High risk, high reward. Ray Rice? Any guy who hits a womanis a dirt bag, a coward and a criminal.There’s no hidden facts or agenda aboutany of that. So what’s the big debateabout? I’ll tell you what the big debate is

CAN I HAVE MY SPORTS BACK?

by THOMAS GRECO, PUBLISHER



about. The media always wants to spreadthe blame in order to extend the story.First, they went after his wife. Look, thewoman is no brain surgeon for marryingthe guy after he decked her like MikeTyson, but she is in no way to blame.Then, they went after NFL CommissionerRoger Goodell. By the time the newscycle had ended, I thought Goodell hadthrown the punch. Vultures. The Washington Redskins. Any timeyou deal with racist topics, you are tread-ing water. I am obviously not NativeAmerican, so I can’t tell you if the word isan insult or not. All I know is that, assomeone who has been on this earth for54 years, throughout those 54 years, ifyou said “redskin,” the only thing thatwould come to my mind would be thefootball team. I can’t be the only one tothink like that since no one ever brought itup as a racist term until maybe three orfour years ago. But now you have an-nouncers and newspapers and websitesrefusing to use the word. Effing hyp-ocrites. I hate it! Adrian Peterson. If you hit your childhard enough to leave marks, you shouldgo to jail. End of story.

Sayreville. I am not going to repeatthe details of this story here. If you aren’taware of it, please Google Sayreville foot-ball. I don’t have a word to describe thisincident. It’s just so f#$king SICK. I havebeen in plenty of locker rooms where wedid some crazy things. Some kids wouldurinate in others’ shampoo. Others wouldforce kids who hadn’t “matured” yet todress in the stalls. I even remember oneof the bigger kids putting me in a head-lock until I almost passed out one time injunior high. Looking back, I can’t justifyany of it. But none of it compares withwhat went on in Sayreville. My son playshigh school football. To think that hecould have been a part of something likethat (either way), oh man. I just can’t.SICK BASTARDS. I could go on. Basketball? I was en-joying the NBA playoffs earlier this year,then the Donald Sterling thing cameabout. And again, it’s the hypocrisy thatgets me. I can remember reading aboutwhat a racist scumbag Donald Sterlingwas in a Sports Illustrated article 20 yearsago. Yet, he makes a racist statement ina private conversation that TMZ getsahold of and the guy is forced to sell his

business? That’s a scary thought. What’sworse are the “heroes” of the situation.The NBA Commissioner who threw Ster-ling out and took his business? He’s beena part of the NBA for decades. Neverheard him say a thing about Sterling be-fore. The coach who held everything to-gether? The guy could have coachedanywhere in the league, but two yearsago he decided to take Sterling’s money.Guess the discrimination lawsuits filedagainst Sterling over the last twodecades didn’t bother him then. The starpoint guard/player’s union rep whowanted to boycott? He was a free agent ayear ago. Could have played anywhere.You guessed it. He took the racist’smoney. Seems to me that, unless it’s con-venient, the only true color these guyscare about is green. Then we come to baseball. Since A-Rod was gone, thank God the year wasrelatively quiet except for the canoniza-tion of Derek Jeter. ONLY KIDDING. Jeterdeserved everything he got and more. Atrue class act. Something today’s sportsworld is sorely lacking. So please. Can I have my sportsback?

NJA


I have a flip phone, and I’mproud of it. The fact that I don’t use a smartphone has become a bit of a runningjoke between some of the AASP/NJ

Board members and myself. I’m perfectlyhappy using my cell phone for its in-tended purpose - to make and receivecalls. I don’t personally have a need topost photos, watch kitten videos or crush

candy. I use my computer for emailingand web surfing, and treat my cell phonelike a phone. And it seems in our indus-try, I’m among many people who feel thesame way. But although I may not be standingon line for an iPhone anytime soon, I dohave a very high appreciation for tech-nology. And unfortunately, that’s wheremany industry members and I part waysin our thinking. In repairing vehicles for aliving, I feel it’s necessary to accept andadapt to technology when it’s prudent -or, in the collision repair industry’s case,critical - to do so. Too many seasoned in-dustry veterans around here think theyknow better, or that “I’ve been repairingcars this way for 40 years, so I don’tneed to relearn anything.” Well, that’s adangerous way to think, especially whenyour reluctance to change could meanthe difference between life and death. The truth of the matter is that the ma-terials, procedures and even the vehiclesthemselves are constantly evolving. If weas repairers aren’t evolving just asquickly, we’ll soon find ourselves left be-hind. AASP/NJ is committed to helpingour members stay ahead of the curve,and will be planning some in-shop train-ings in the coming months to keep youinformed and educated on these innova-tive products and processes. Stay tunedto future issues of New Jersey Automo-tive or AASP/NJ’s website, www.aaspnj.org, for details. Still think you know better? Tell me…how will you repair the 2015 Ford F-150when it comes through your shop doorsnext year? That’s what I thought. I hopeto see you at a future training event.


PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

Don’t Get Left Behindby JEff MCDOWELL

NJA

HappyThanksgiving

to all AASP/NJ membersand supporters!


Several prominent Board members have noted the popularity of New Jersey Automotive among high-rankingindividuals in the industry. Recently, Tom Greco, president of TGP, the publishing company behind New JerseyAutomotive, received a letter (see below) from MVC Chairman and Chief Administrator Raymond Martinez, inresponse to editorial he posted in the September 2014 issue. “It’s great to see that someone like Chairman Martinez reads our magazine,” says Board member Brian Vesleyof Valtek, Inc. “It’s a clear demonstration of how important it is to have a monthly publication voicing the industry’sconcerns.”


SPOTLIGHT ON NJA


The best thing about being in business for yourself is thefreedom that comes with being in a position of ownership.In a self-owned business, one has the ability to set the

hours that the business will be open to the public, what thebusiness will charge for the products or services the businesssupplies, who the business caters to and so on. At the sametime, the business owner has to be prepared to deal with thestress that comes with that role. When the business is thriving,all is good; when things get slow, the stress level automaticallyrises, forcing the business owner to take action in order to sur-vive the hard times. In order for a business to be successful, the owner has toset the price for the products they sell or the rate they chargefor the service they provide to an amount that the public is will-ing to pay. Determining the prices or rates that the market willbear is often a difficult task, and is usually accomplished by al-lowing the prices and rates to seek their own level. If they areset too high, people are not likely to give that business theirpatronage. On the other hand, if the prices or rates are set toolow, the business will fail. It is crucial for the business owner tostay on top of this aspect of the business and seek to set oradjust their rates and prices to just the right level. Another component of becoming successful and creatinga reputation that draws in consumers is the level of customerservice and customer satisfaction the business delivers. Thereis no better advertisement than word of mouth. When a cus-tomer is treated really well and talks about the level of serviceor the quality of the product they received from a local busi-ness, other potential customers are bound to give the businessa try. If the business owner can maintain this level of serviceand quality, the community will begin to learn of their reputationand automatically flock there. Once the business has an estab-lished reputation, the business can be marketed based on thatnotoriety.

Unlike a person who holds a job working for someoneelse, the business owner does not get paid vacations, sickleave, raises or bonuses in the same manner that someoneworking for the business receives. The business owner earnsthose perks when the business does well. At the same time,the business owner is never guaranteed to have a paycheckwaiting for them at the end of the week. Because of this, it iscrucial that the owner maintains control of the business. In reference to these examples, the collision industry is nodifferent than any other type of business. However, over theyears, the collision industry has lost control and it is devastat-ing the industry. They have unknowingly surrendered to the in-surance industry. It is the insurance industry that sets the ratesthat the collision shops charge for their services. It is the insur-ance industry that determines what services shops ultimatelyget paid for - regardless of whether or not the shop agrees. Inessence, the collision industry has turned the decision-makingprocess that normally comes with business ownership over tothem. Unfortunately, the insurance industry has no interest inmaking sure the prices that shops charge allow for a fair andreasonable profit that will enable the shop to thrive. Instead,the insurance industry is constantly attempting to cut more cor-ners in an attempt to raise their own profit level, rather thanconcerning themselves with the shop’s best interest. It is amazing that the insurance industry has been able tostrip members of the collision industry of the privilege of set-ting their own rates and charging what will keep their busi-nesses thriving and profitable. What other type of business hasa third-party standing between them and their customer, dictat-ing what the customer will ultimately pay for the services andproducts the business sells? It is common for an insurer’s ap-praiser to come to a shop, look at a damaged vehicle, discusshow the vehicle will ultimately get repaired and dictate howmuch the shop will get paid for the services being provided tothe customer. This defeats the whole concept of going intobusiness for oneself rather than working for someone else.What’s interesting is how the insurance industry has been ableto accomplish this. Over the years, the insurance industry has created a sortof imaginary world that the collision industry has simply ac-cepted as reality. Insurance companies consistently come tocollision shops and say things like, “We don’t pay for that,” or“We only pay this much for that.” Insurance representativesconstantly prepare estimates that list vendors they want theshops to utilize. They then tell the shops that, if they don’t pur-chase the parts from the vendor listed, the insurer will not payany additional cost incurred. Appraisers continually dictatehow they want vehicles to be repaired, and state that they willonly pay to have the job done according to the estimate theyhave prepared, including the type of parts for which the insureris willing to pay - like used or aftermarket as opposed to newOEM parts. These decisions are more often than not beingmade by an insurance appraiser that could not even remove a


EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S MESSAGE

Taking Back Control ofthe Collision Industry

by CHARLES BRYANT


fender, never mind replace, repair orpaint one. Over the years, the insurance indus-try has convinced the majority of the col-lision industry that this is just the waythings are supposed to work - that theysomehow have the right to conduct busi-ness in this manner. Nothing could befurther from the truth. In reality, the onlyway an insurer has the right to dictatehow a vehicle will get repaired and howmuch the insurer will have to pay is ifthe insurer chooses the option in the

insurance contract to repair the property.That is, physically take the vehicle andhave it repaired. Contrary to popular be-lief, if the insurer chooses this, they havethe right to control all aspects of how thevehicle gets repaired: What type of partswill be used, how much they will payfor labor and materials and even whowill make the repairs. The reason thatinsurers almost never choose this optionis because along with the rights men-tioned herein comes liability for anynegligent repairs. In other words, if the

insurer chooses the option to repair theproperty or pay for the claim in repairsrather than in money, the insurer can beheld liable for any negligent repairs thatresult in damages to another. For in-stance, if the insurer were to choose thisoption and they repaired a vehicle with aused suspension, and the suspensionfailed after the vehicle was returned tothe owner, the shop as well as the in-surer would be responsible for any injurythat resulted from that accident. If the insurer DOES NOT choose theoption to repair the property, they giveup the right to control the repairs. Theycan attempt to negotiate with the shop ofthe insured’s choice, but the shop isunder no obligation to comply with theinsurer’s wishes on how to repair the ve-hicle or what those repairs should cost.As long as the repair shop’s charges arereasonable, the insurer is on the hook forthe repairs. Unfortunately, over the yearsthe insurance industry has brainwashedthe collision industry into thinking thatthey have the right to dictate how vehi-cles get repaired and how much they willpay for the repairs. The problem is thatthe insurance industry has become toogreedy and has pushed the collision in-dustry into a corner. Had they been rea-sonable and acknowledged the changesin costs required to repair damaged ve-hicles properly, things would have nevergotten this far. However, now the colli-sion industry is fighting back with avengeance. Lawsuits are being filed allover the country, and many shopsbringing these issues to the courts arewinning on short pay claims. On top of the smaller Assignment ofProceeds/short pay court cases, thereare numerous larger, more complicatedlawsuits already filed in various placesaround the country - and word has it thatthere are more to come. The LouisianaAttorney General has filed suit againstState Farm. A multi-district litigation suitout of Mississippi has been filed againstnumerous insurers - six states havejoined that suit, with many more statessaid to be joining soon. RICO has beenadded to a major class action suit out ofIllinois against numerous insurers. Lastly,a former class action suit against StateFarm for aftermarket parts that resultedin a $1.2 billion settlement that had beenoverturned after numerous appeals byState Farm is scheduled to be revisited


EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S MESSAGE

continued on page 53



MECHANICAL CHAIRMAN’S MESSAGE

As many of you recall, last winterwas brutal here in the Northeast, withmonths of cold accompanied by heavyamounts of snow and ice. During atypical winter here in the US, one area,or perhaps two, get a heavy winterwhile many other areas are less active.

What made last winter unique isthat pretty much the entire country hada significant winter, along with most ofCanada, resulting in a huge consump-tion of salt. Because of this, many endusers, municipalities and snow con-tractors ran low or completely out of

salt. In some ways, it could have beenworse here in the Northeast, as thesnow and ice only subsided aroundthe end of February, just as salt sup-plies were exhausted. If winter hadcontinued even a couple of moreweeks, things could have been muchworse. Fast-forward to today, and saltsupplies are still “unsettled.” Here’swhy: Logistically, it takes more than sixmonths to re-supply all of North Amer-ica. The understanding in the industryis that it may take two years or moreto bring product level back to pre-“winter from Hell” levels. Presently, there is more demandthan there is supply. Many wholesalersare not taking new customers and arenot even selling to their present cus-tomers products that they did not pur-chase last year. Prices are up 10-40 percent, withsome products on monthly allocation.Add to this the fact that (by my under-standing) the world’s largest supplierof magnesium chloride has haltedexportation of their product.

SUGGESTIONS: Stock up early; purchase what

you need now while it is available.Get enough to see you throughoutthe season, as the odds are that itwill quickly become scarce if we seea significant winter.

Use it properly. A barrier coatprior to snowfall prevents snowfrom bonding to the pavement, al-lowing easy removal later, with lesssalt needed by the storm’s end. Re-member, two light coats of salt arebetter than one heavy one.

If you plan on reselling, line up areliable supplier, one who will likelyhave product - not necessarily thecheapest.

NJA

GOT SALT?by KEITH KREHEL



NORTHEAST® 2015 SPOTLIGHT

AASP/NJ Unveils NewWebsite Design forNORTHEAST 2015

The Alliance of Automotive Service Providers of NewJersey (AASP/NJ) has recently unveiled a new web-site design at www.aaspnjnortheast.com

to streamline the organization of the upcoming 38thannual NORTHEAST 2015 Automotive Services Show.NORTHEAST, which will be held March 20-22 at theMeadowlands Exposition Center in Secaucus, is thelargest regional trade show of its kind in the country. Amultitude of exhibitors and guests from around the worldcome every year - from Massachusetts, New York and NewJersey to Canada and Japan - to partake in this educa-tional and networking event. This year, the number of ex-hibitors is growing faster than ever before, with booth salesalready up 58-percent from where they were at this timelast year. Because of this rapid influx of participants, thenew website will showcase not only a new, sleek design tomake it easier to locate desired information with minimumeffort, but also a revamped floor plan page that will facili-tate the management of the show for both the administra-tion and the exhibitors.

In the past, the floor plan page was a flat design de-picting the general layout of the convention floor. The newpage eliminates any potentially ensuing struggle or confu-sion through a user-friendly design that differentiates thevarious statuses of booths on the floor. The interactivepage allows vendors to see which booths are occupied,unoccupied and reserved in the layout of the trade show inreal time.

“We’re bringing NORTHEAST to the next level,” saysAASP/NJ President Jeff McDowell. “We’ve been consis-tently growing in size and we’ve finally found a way to helpus accommodate the huge jumps we’ve had in participa-tion. Our industry is constantly changing and becomingmore technological. Here’s one way that we’re keeping upwith it. Keep an eye out for other ways that we will be usingtechnology to move things forward.” At the time of this writing, a number of vendors havealready signed up, almost five months in advance for thisevent. These vendors include such industry heavy hittersas Accudraft, Metropolitan Car-O-Liner, Axalta, BASF,Valspar and ProSpot, among many others. Online pre-registration opens on November 1. Check out the newwebsite as well as future issues of New Jersey Automotivefor updates this event.

For more information on NORTHEAST, visitwww.aaspnjnortheast.com, the NORTHEASTAutomotive Services Show on Facebook, theNORTHEAST Automotive Services Show YouTubepage (www.youtube.com/user/AASPNJNORTHEAST) or onTwitter @AASPNJNORTHEAST /#NORTHEAST2015.For more informationon AASP/NJ, pleasevisit www.aaspnj.org.

NJA

Top-notch educationalopportunities

Over 150 industry-leadingexhibitors

Fun for the whole family,and more!

Save the Dates forNORTHEAST® 2015!MARCH 20, 21, 22

Proudly Presented by

VisitWWW.AASPNJNORTHEAST.COM

for details


VENDOR SPOTLIGHT by Joel Gausten

Dedication and Experience from the Top Down

Left to Right: Bill Grasso (operations manager), Bill DiRusso (parts director), Dennis Davenport (general manager),Bill Curren (NJ sales rep), Nick Halliday (sales manager)

When it comes to the auto repair busi-ness’ relationship with OE products, noone understands it better than NucarWholesale Parts. For nearly 35 years,Nucar has been servicing tri-state area cus-tomers with OE parts, largely with thesame core of dedicated employees. Theyhave seen the good, the bad and the ugly ofthe business throughout the years, and havelearned to adapt to shops’ needs. Over the decades, Nucar WholesaleParts has grown to an 80-employee busi-ness with an 85,000-square-foot warehousestocked with over $6 million of investedinventory. These high-quality parts are pro-vided to shops thanks to a delivery fleet of34 vehicles. Such growth is not only a re-sult of good service and building lasting re-lationships with customers, but has alsobeen accomplished by owners and uppermanagement who are dedicated and com-mitted to the repair industry.

Nucar’s current owner, Chris Dagesse,acquired the enterprise in 2010 largely dueto its parts department. “After Chris met with the foundingowner, Dave Greytak, and reviewed hisbusiness, it was clear to him that there wassomething special here at Nucar with ouremployees and our relationship with the re-pair business and our customers, [some-thing] worth investing in,” says DennisDavenport, Nucar’s general manager.“Nucar will continue to be committed tothe industry and invest in our parts depart-ment, including the opportunity of a newwarehouse in the future for better effi-ciency.” Along with the commitment fromwithin Nucar, Parts Director Bill DiRussoand Operations Manager Bill Grasso knowthe importance of the factory/OE manufac-turers’ investment in ensuring professionalparts services. Both of them are repeating

members of GM and Mazda’s Parts DealerCouncil, who elect top national performersin parts sales and experience to work onways the manufacturer can help dealersfulfill their customers’ needs while helpingthem understand the business from thefront lines. Currently, Nucar ranks nation-ally in parts sales, #1 with Mazda and #10with GM. Through the support of thesecouncils, better part availability and expe-diting has evolved. Additionally, Nucarprovides competitive pricing, aftermarketprice matching and technical training in-cluding GM-sponsored technical clinicsheld in Nucar market areas throughout theyear. Besides the investment and dedicationfrom management, Nucar knows that suc-cess in the wholesale business takes a salesteam willing to make the effort to knowand understand their customers.This in-cludes appreciating how important those




efficient parts deliveries are to a shop’sfinancial success. Part of Nucar’s supportand commitment is seen in their participa-tion in many area associations and gather-ings. A member of AASP/NJ, Nucar is anongoing vendor at the NORTHEAST® Au-tomotive Services Show in Secaucus and asupporter of many of their customers’events and charity endeavors. These spe-cial outings are regularly attended by SalesManagers Nick Halliday, Bill Curren andtheir countermen. “We believe in supporting our cus-tomers in many ways,” offers Halliday.“Such memberships and events give us anopportunity to personally meet and learnmore about the business.” But with all this said, like their cus-tomers and other suppliers, Nucar con-stantly faces the daily challenges that comefrom being a part of a changing industry. “Whether it be with our customerprocesses, the competition, the control ofthe insurers and/or technology, there is notime for us to rely on the past,” sharesDiRusso. “We must consistently andproactively change ourselves, our opera-tion and our processes.” Unfortunately, some current industrytrends are not always favorable. “PartsTrader has forced some of ourcustomers to order elsewhere, and it is up-setting that some loyalty that has been builtover years has gone away,” DiRusso says.“Earlier this year, we changed some ad-vanced programming in our computer sys-tem, but later discovered that the basics ofthe system did not work for us. This causedmany process issues, which hurt our serv-ice. So we changed back to our originalsystem and are currently working on somenew parts delivery management softwarethat will allow us to better manage deliver-ies and delivery times, which is very im-portant.” One thing is clear: Nucar is undauntedby change and is dedicated from the topdown to serving the repair industry.

To find out more about Nucar, visit www.nucarparts.com or email [email protected].

Right: As another service, Nucar hostsGM technical clinics in the tri-state area.

Above: Inventory is key to Nucar’s success.

NJA


LEGAL FEATURE by Mitchell Portnoi, Esq.


I tend to write about topics that I am currently dealing within my own practice, which is why my topic this month concernsworkers’ compensation. I currently represent workers who havehad an accident at their employment or who have been exposedto chemicals, toxins or industrial irritants (possibly loud noises)that can cause long-term issues such as pulmonary issues, breath-ing issues, hearing loss or even the functional loss of a portion oftheir body – whether it be a limb or the torso entirely. Once theworker is evaluated by their doctor (as well as a doctor for the in-surance company representing the employer), the courts use achart to determine the amount received by an injured worker for“permanency benefits.” These permanency benefits can run any-where from nominal amounts for smaller injuries, to permanentdisability benefits which can last the lifetime of an injuredworker. In cases of a 100-percent disabled worker, these benefitscan also extend to the dependents of the injured worker and mayeven extend beyond the injured worker’s life. It is important to understand that workers are entitled to ben-efits other than the permanency benefits indicated above. They

are also entitled to medical benefits for the treatment of their ail-ments, as well as temporary disability for the time they are out ofwork. The medical benefits are rather self-explanatory; the onlyreal issue is that the insurance company representing the em-ployer is permitted to direct the medical treatment of the em-ployee (the “petitioner” in workers’ compensation parlance). Thatis, if the insurance company wants to use Dr. X, then the peti-tioner must use that doctor or be forced to pay out of pocket forthe doctor of their choice. Temporary disability will pay for 70percent of an employee’s income while the employee is out ofwork and “under active medical treatment” for that authorizedwork-related injury. This 70-percent payment is also tied to amaximum amount of wages in New Jersey - for 2014, that maxi-mum weekly amount is $843. Not coincidentally, that is also themaximum rate for “permanent disability” an injured worker mayreceive on a weekly basis. While the workers’ compensation system is often misunder-stood, it is in existence for the protection of both the employeesand the employers, and should be utilized as such. It provides for

WORKERS’ COMPENSATION - A PRIMER



NJA

the security of the employer by protecting them against cata-strophic injury through either fault, or no fault, of their own, andit is there for the protection of the employee by permitting bene-fits for which they may not otherwise be covered. The courts pro-vide a watchdog component to the system, whereby benefits maybe pursued in contested matters and attorney fees may be ob-tained by successful petitioners. The bottom line is that employers should not be fearful of theworkers’ compensation system, courts or insurance companies, asthey exist for everyone’s benefit. For more information regarding your workers’ compensationprogram and coverage, please do not hesitate to call me at(973) 228-9900.


TEST

DRIVE


On October 15 and 16, New Jersey Automotive Editor JoelGausten was among a select group of automotive journalistsinvited to test drive the all-new 2015 Camry, Yaris and Sienna

at a special press event in Ponte Vedra Beach, FL.

The new Yaris boasts an updated exterior, giving it a more dominatingappearance on the road than that of its previous generations.

NATIONAL FEATURE

NJA TakesToyota’s Latest

For a Spin



Like the previous-generations’ de-sign, the 2015 Yaris comes in three-door and five-door liftback

configurations, but the style is all new.The new model comes from Toyota’s ED2design studio located in the South ofFrance, where they know “Hot Hatches.”The new Yaris is also assembled inFrance, where they have been manufac-turing the Yaris since 1999 for the Euro-pean market. The new Yaris gets anaggressive new look with a horizontalchrome grille treatment that appears tocontinue right into the headlamp. Thelarge grille opening gives this fun-to-drivecar just the right touch of “mean” in itsappearance. A lower windshield angle,short overhangs and wheels pushed out tothe corners give the new Yaris a sporty,road-hugging stance. A highlight of the 2015 Yaris cabinhas to be the improved interior design.High-quality fabrics and greater surfacearea, along with raising the front of thecushion, make them more comfortable onlonger drives. Once behind the wheel, Gausten wasamazed by how far the Yaris has come. “Although the Yaris has always beena dependable and affordable ride, I al-ways felt the car could use a little moreTLC in the visual department,” he says.“The new version of the Yaris not onlylooks better, but it feels better as well.With the 2015 edition, Toyota has finallydeveloped the aesthetic charm - especiallyon the inside - that this great car has al-ways deserved. Plus, it drives like adream.”

When redesigning the Camry for2015, Toyota went bumper to bumperand floor to roof, changing or re-engi-neering nearly 2,000 parts. Only the roofremains unchanged, and it caps off theboldest Camry body ever. That providesan idea of the scope of the transformationthat also endows the new Camry with astiffer body structure, enhanced aerody-namics and its quietest ride ever. The re-designed, upscale interior and advancedinstrumentation with intuitive controlshelp to keep the driver safely focused onthe road. The 2015 model is easily thebest-handling and most comfortable-rid-ing Camry ever. Beneath the bolder bodylines, the Camry’s body structure hasbeen bolstered with additional spot weldsto enhance rigidity. Retuned suspensionsystems in all models put an edge on han-dling agility while taking the edge offbumps. And for the 45 percent of Camrycustomers who have been choosing thesporty SE model (and who are, on aver-age, 12 years younger than other Camrycustomers), there’s even bigger news: TheSE is joined by a sharper-handling XSEgrade, with 18-inch wheels, suspensiontuning and added luxury. Like the pre-mium XLE grade, each of those sportymodels is available with the choice of a178-hp 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine orthe 268-hp 3.5-liter V6. The Camry Hy-brid is available in LE, XLE and the eco-fun SE grades. “Smooth is the best word I can use todescribe the latest incarnation of theCamry,” Gausten says. “If you enjoyedthe Camry of the past, you’ll want to

check out the 2015 edition for yourself.The engineers and designers at Toyotahave outdone themselves this time.” The only family van to offer an all-wheel drive option, the 2015 Sienna is theideal choice for hauling a large family orloading up all your stuff for a weekendgetaway. Inside, Sienna really shines withan array of upgraded interior appoint-ments and new convenience features, al-lowing the family hauler to remainkid-friendly in a parents-rule environ-ment. After the new and enhanced safetyfeatures, the one new Sienna feature for2015 that will have moms and dads talk-ing is the Driver Easy Speak option. Ifyou’ve ever had the urge to use a bull-horn to carry your voice to back seat pas-sengers, Driver Easy Speak is your dreamcome true. Using the microphone fromthe Sienna’s voice-command multi-mediasystem, Driver Easy Speak conveys yourvoice through the audio system’s rearspeakers. Combined with a standard con-versation mirror integrated into the over-head console, Driver Easy Speak is thenext best thing to having a hallway moni-tor in the van. “The 2015 Sienna is not only incredi-bly comfortable to drive, it offers some-thing unique for parent drivers in need ofa better way to balance navigating theroads in front of them and handling theaction going on in the seats behind them,”offers Gausten. “I love the fact that Toy-ota puts so much thought into includingspecial features to add just that littleextra to heighten the driving experience.”

For more information on these vehicles, please visit www.toyota.com/yaris,www.toyota.com/camry and www.toyota.com/sienna.

NJA

The 2015 Sienna is a dream for families, showcasing a smoother ride whilegiving parents new options like Driver Easy Speak to help them rule both theroad and the car.

The completely redesigned Camry notonly received a bold refurbishment inits appearance; its body also exhibitsmore spot welds for enhanced rigidity.



New Jersey Automotive has received reports from membersthat they have been contacted by sales representatives urgingthem to set up an in-shop meeting to discuss ways to improvetheir shop’s bottom line through this company’s slew of manage-ment tools. Once in the shop, these representatives claim that theshop is in desperate need of these managerial consulting services,insisting on receiving a financial commitment from the shop tobegin work right away. One reader tells New Jersey Automotivethat he was turned off by the company’s “high-pressure pitch”and ultimately refused to allow them to work with his facility. “They said they wanted 15 minutes of my time,” says theshop owner. “It was quite smooth; they said, ‘We have a programfor auto repair,’ and they make it sound like coaching. Two orthree guys come down, and it’s not 15 minutes. They just sat mein my own place and didn’t let me go...It was very awkward,high-pressure and they were here for hours. They basically didn’twant to let go until I gave them a check. They sounded quite con-vincing, but I wasn’t going to give them a check.” By refusing the company’s advances, this shop may haveavoided one of the most common and longest-running scams af-fecting small- to medium-sized businesses across the country.Here’s how it works: A representative from the company calls orvisits a business and talks the owner into having a meeting to re-view the shop’s financial status and possible areas of improve-ment. This review is typically offered for a few hundred dollars.Before the business owner knows it, the company has rackedup thousands of dollars in charges without producing a singlepositive result. Perhaps the most high-profile example of this con was re-vealed in 2009, when Chicago Attorney General Lisa Madiganfiled a lawsuit against International Profit Associates, Inc. (IPA),a Buffalo Grove, IL-based management consulting firm. The At-torney General’s Office alleged that the company used “wide-ranging deceptive practices to ensnare hundreds of small-business clients into consulting service contracts that fail to fulfillthe defendants’ promises to boost their clients’ bottom lines...IPAtypically charges the small businesses tens of thousands of dollarsfor services that fail to provide any constructive or useful infor-mation and do not result in any increased profits...IPA allegedlytargets businesses through telemarketing, offering an initial eval-uation of a prospective client’s business for a nominal fee rangingfrom $300 to $2,500. Once on site for the initial analysis, IPAsales associates allegedly convince small business owners thattheir companies are in serious financial trouble if they do notimmediately retain IPA for consulting services.”

FEATURE

SCAM ALERT:Why Your Shop

Could Be at RiskIf you’re a small- to medium-sized

automotive repair or serviceshop, it is not uncommon for youto receive phone calls from com-

panies offering you everythingfrom tax services to sales con-sulting. Unfortunately, it is alsoeasy to fall prey to companiesthat have only one objective –draining your shop of cash.


The suit also named International TaxAdvisors, Inc., Integrated Business Analy-sis, Inc. and Accountancy Associates, LLCas defendants. Like IPA, these companieswere based in Buffalo Grove. “International Profit Associates takesadvantage of small businesses by paintingan inaccurate and dismal picture of theirfinancial condition and then conning thebusiness owners into hiring IPA consult-ants who promise to turn things around,”offered Attorney General Madigan in apress statement at the time of the suit. “Itis an unfair and deceptive scheme that hasplayed out hundreds of times, as reflectedin the considerable number of complaintsthat my office has received from smallbusinesses that lost tens of thousands ofdollars to IPA.” “The only report the clients get is thisparticular review, which is really the in-voice,” explained plaintiff attorney RobertReda during a Fox News report on the

suit. “It says, ‘We did this, this, this andthis. And oh, by the way, you owe us$12,000.’ The clients look at the total [andsay], ‘What? You didn’t do anything.’” Other companies that appear to havesimilar business practices have been thesubject of complaints to the Better Busi-ness Bureau (www.bbb.org).

New Jersey Automotive urges readerswho are contacted by any third-party taxor business consulting company to re-search that entity before agreeing to ameeting or accepting any of their services.An educated business owner is a protectedbusiness owner.


and

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Materials Calculatorin Bergen, Passaic, Essex and

Hudson Counties in New Jersey.

CALLOffice: (973) 696-3176or Cell: (201) 452-0987

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COVER STORY by Joel Gausten

From major retailers facing customer data security breaches to celebritiesseeing their private photos posted online for the world to see, concerns overownership and protection of data have never been greater. In the midst of

these issues, fast-moving legislation in the Garden State aims to establish thedefinitive owner of the data collected by a vehicle’s “black box” technology.

From major retailers facing customer data security breaches to celebritiesseeing their private photos posted online for the world to see, concerns overownership and protection of data have never been greater. In the midst of

these issues, fast-moving legislation in the Garden State aims to establish thedefinitive owner of the data collected by a vehicle’s “black box” technology.



Better known as event data recorders,the black boxes found in the majority ofvehicles on today’s roads record vital in-formation that can be retrieved to betterunderstand a vehicle’s operating conditionat the time of a collision. Factors typicallydocumented by a black box data recorderinclude speed, the brake system status,whether or not head or hazard lights wereon, yaw rate, airbag deployment and eventhe number/position of occupants in a ve-hicle. Introduced on September 11 by As-semblyman Paul Moriarty (D-Gloucester),Assembly Bill 3579 states that “...no per-son, except the owner of the motor vehiclethat contains the recording device, or theowner’s representative, may retrieve, ob-tain or use data recorded, stored or trans-mitted from the recording device,” withthe exception of the following instances:

The owner of the motor vehicle, or theowner’s representative (such as an attor-ney or spouse), consents in writing at thetime the data is retrieved, obtained orused.

The recorded data is retrieved or ob-tained by a law enforcement officer pur-suant to a search warrant issued by a judgeof the Superior Court, or upon order by acourt of competent jurisdiction or anotheradministrative authority having jurisdic-tion to issue such an order.

The recorded data is used for the pur-pose of improving motor vehicle safety,security or traffic management, includingfor medical research on physical reactionto motor vehicle accidents - provided thatthe identity of the owner, operator or otheroccupant of the motor vehicle is not dis-closed with respect to the data. The disclo-sure of a vehicle identification numberwith the last six numbers deleted shall notconstitute disclosure of the identity of theowner, operator or other occupant.

The recorded data is retrieved or ob-tained by a licensed new motor vehicledealer, a motor vehicle repair or servicingfacility and a technician or mechanic atsuch a facility, or the manufacturer of themotor vehicle, and used for the sole pur-pose of diagnosing, servicing or repairingthe motor vehicle.

The recorded data is retrieved or ob-tained pursuant to a legally proper discov-ery request or order in civil action.

In addition to the above, “no personshall knowingly alter or delete data on arecording device, or knowingly destroy arecording device within two years after acrash event that resulted in bodily injuryor death.” A person determined to be inviolation of this law would face a civilpenalty of $5,000 for each offense. The bill gained substantial momentumon October 2, when it was approved –with amendments – by the NJ AssemblyCommittee on Consumer Affairs. The billwas revised to state that a “recording de-vice shall not include personal recordingdevices, such as video cameras, dashboardcameras or mobile telephones with record-ing capabilities.” Additionally, a newexemption was added to allow foremergency medical personnel to accessthe data:

The recorded data is accessed byan emergency response providerand used for the sole purpose ofdetermining the need for, or facil-itating, an emergency medical re-sponse in the event of a motorvehicle crash, and assisting theemergency response provider inperforming its duties.

Currently, the bill is awaiting reviewby the NJ Senate Law and Public SafetyCommittee. Assemblyman Moriarty, who tellsNew Jersey Automotive that he is sponsor-ing the bill independently without the urg-ing of any one particular group or specialinterest, says that his support of this legis-lation stems from a concern over con-sumer privacy. “To me, it’s a security issue of whoowns the black box and who should beable to get information from it,” he says.“If a car has a black box, it can basicallytell everything that you’re doing, fromwhen you’re putting your seatbelt on tohow fast you’re accelerating. That’s prettydetailed and important information. Agood question is, if you own the car, doyou own the black box and who can haveaccess to the information in that? It’s likeyour personal computer. As far as I’m con-cerned, there should be some statewideregulations on whose property it is, whocan access that information and what theycan do with it. It seems certainly reason-able that if somebody has to work on yourcar and needs to retrieve information fromthat, they might be able to do that as longas the information is not used for anything

except for analyzing a car. Any informa-tion that’s taken out of it shouldn’t beshared except if it is aggregated with otherlike information, and any detailed infor-mation is owned by the person who ownsthe car. If they wish to give it out, theycan. If they don’t, they don’t have tounless there’s a subpoena. It’s prettystraightforward stuff as far as I’mconcerned.” Additionally, Moriarty reasons thatpassage of the bill would go a long way inresolving legal disputes that could resultfrom a motor vehicle collision. “If there’s a civil case where two peo-ple are disputing and suing each other,there may be a way to settle this disputeand find out what the truth might be by ajudge saying, ‘Yes, let’s look at the blackboxes,’” he says. “Under those circum-stances, since it’s a civil action and a courtsanctions that a subpoena should be or-dered or signed to get that information,that should go forward. “Let’s say there’s a dispute as to whathappened in a car crash,” he adds. “I say Iwas traveling across the highway, and Ihad a green light and you must have had ared light, and you just kept plowingthrough and we collided. You say the op-posite, and no one was there to tell. Theremay be a way to re-construct the scenewith the help of some of the data.” The idea of using black box data inauto crash litigation was established longbefore the current bill: In 2013, New Jer-sey-based actress Amy Locane (MelrosePlace) was sentenced to three years inprison after being found guilty of vehicu-lar homicide and assault by automobile ina 2010 crash that killed a 60-year-oldwoman. Prior to the conviction, SuperiorCourt Judge Robert Reed allowed datacollected from Locane’s vehicle on whatcaused the accident to be allowed as evi-dence in the trial. Naturally, this growth in black boxevent data recorders has had an impact onthe automotive service and repair indus-tries. As the black box discussion movesforward, AASP/NJ Mechanical ChairmanKeith Krehel wants to see any legislationregarding this technology work to protectconsumer privacy at all times. “I would hate to see where policewould have the right to go into the blackboxes and say, ‘A-ha! Here’s three speed-ing tickets!’” he says. Additionally, Krehel cautions thatnot every situation behind the wheel is asblack and white as the information that



COVER STORY

might be documented in an event datarecorder. “Let’s say the speed limit is 65 milesan hour on a street, and you’re doing 55and weaving in and out,” he says. “Eventhough you’re not exceeding the speedlimit, you’re causing a dangerous situationbecause you’re driving aggressively orworse, and you could cause an accident.But let’s say the guy’s driving on the Park-way at 7am in South Jersey, there’s no-body on the road and he goes a few milesover the speed limit. Is he causing a dan-ger to society? Not really. He’s breakingthe law, but he’s not really endangeringpeople around him, [just] himself.” No stranger to dealing with data-re-lated issues in his business, AASP/NJmember Tom Elder sees the proliferationof data-collection technology in vehiclesas an opportunity to keep everyone honest. “The customer comes to me and says,‘Ever since the repair job, the ‘check en-gine’ is on,’” he offers as an example. “Onmany cars, you can tell [the number of]key cycles and hours; [the data] gives you

some sort of a distance as to when the‘check engine’ light came on. I fire it upon the computer and I see that the ‘checkengine’ light’s been on for 97 cycles of thekey. The car was in an accident and wasn’tdrivable; nobody turned the key on and off97 times. You do catch customers in liesall the time.” Elder says that data collected on vehi-cles can help repairers identify everythingfrom odometer fraud to SRS malfunctionsthat occurred long before an accident –thus proving a customer wrong if he or sheclaims that an SRS light is on as the resultof a repair. While black box data offers plenty ofpositives, its use introduces the possibilityof something no body shop wants to tackle– delays in cycle time. For example, whathappens if a customer’s insurer refuses tocover a claim because the data revealsthat he or she was speeding or drivingrecklessly? “If this information is made readilyavailable, more people are going to take inthis information and use it to slow down

the body repair [process],” Elder says.“Whether that’s fair or unfair, I don’tknow.” Unsurprisingly, this is one of manyindustry-related concerns to come to lightin an era of driver data collection. What ifa car you repaired is involved in a subse-quent accident and your previous work isinvestigated for possibly affecting the per-formance of the car and influencing thecollision? What if the data event recorderultimately identified a performance-basedproblem caused by a prior repair per-formed at your facility? And what if a re-pair facility is able to use the vehicle datathey retrieve from a customer as a market-ing tactic to somehow keep that customercoming back to their place? These are se-rious questions to consider. Fortunately,Assemblyman Moriarty is open to hearingwhat auto professionals feel about thistechnology – and the goals of his currentlegislation. “I’m an open-minded person,” hesays. “I always understand that sometimeswe put together pieces of legislation with

continued on page 53


“I’d take the money andopen up four more bodyshops.”

“I’d buy a wave pool. I knowit sounds strange, but I tookmy kids to Dorney Park afew years back and we wereall nuts for it. Even thoughthey’ve grown up a bit sincethen, I think we’d all still geta kick out of that.”

“If I won the lottery,I’d take a long trip tonowhere in particular.I’d see everywhere Italked about goingwhen I was a kid.France, Italy, Mexico,China – wherever. Ijust want to see theworld.

“I’d pay to put my parents ina better place. They workedtheir whole lives to give meeverything I had growingup, and I’m working now todo the same thing for them.But if the money justshowed up on my door oneday, it would definitely makelife easier.”

“Pay for my kid’s college tu-itions in full so they can goto the school of their dreamswithout being stuck with amassive pile of debt. Then,I’d take my wife on a round-the-world trip.”

“Pay off my debts andthen donate the restof it to the Alzheimer’sAssociation. I lost mydad to Alzheimer’s afew years back; Idon’t want anyoneelse to have to gothrough that.”“Retire and take my wifesomewhere nice. Maybesomewhere tropical, butnothing too insane. I’m old.I want to take it easy.”

“Sell my auto body shop,buy one of those beautifulhouses right on the water atthe shore that are so big youcan’t tell if they’re a houseor a hotel, move in myfamily and spend all my timefishing.”

“I hear you can buy aprivate island these days.That sounds pretty good tome. The less people I haveto deal with, the better.”


If You Won the Lottery, What WouldYou Do with theMoney?

THE LIST

Well, the first thing I would do isget a chunk of it in small billsand roll around in a pile of money.Let’s be honest, who hasn’tthought of doing that? And then Iguess I’d have to do somethingresponsible with it, like pay offmy mortgage.

“Depending on how much Iwon, I’d buy a Cakewalk. It’sa 280-foot, 14-guest yacht

that costs like $150,000,000.Does the lottery go up that high?”

“Retire with mybrother. I’m 71,he’s 75. Honestly, Iwouldn’t even do anything crazy with the money. I’d just sit back and relax foronce.”

We reached out to some of our readers to find out what they would do with a few extra million in their pockets.


One of the things I love about repairing cars is the rangeof complexity and the challenges that are created on a weeklybasis. Successfully overcoming these challenges is part of whatmakes a good mechanic better. The cream always rises andso must we to meet the challenges of the day, both in life andin work. This week, the shop was really humming. We had a ton ofsmall repairs and some bigger ones too. It is funny how somejobs come in particular patterns – it always seems to work thatway. One repair brings in a similar repair until the run endsand the next cycle begins. Just like in life, in auto repair thingstend to come in threes. A 2011 Buick, a 2009 Toyota and a 2010 Honda all camein with complaints of steering wheel shake and shudder athighway speeds over 50mph when the brake was applied.Every car was road tested twice – before and after the repair.Faults were verified and estimated to repair; all of them wereissues related to front brake rotors that had excessive run out.The faces of the rotors were not parallel and out of round. Thiscan be caused by a few different things. Two of the vehicles, the Honda and the Toyota, had recentbrake work done at another shop, and it’s interesting to notethat the hardware for the calipers had no lube, were rusty andgritty and clearly were not replaced when the brakes wereserviced. Keep in mind, if the pads don’t slide, they can stickand overheat the rotors, creating this very problem. It was ob-vious that the last mechanics had no attention to detail. Lastly,judging by the effort required for the impact gun to remove thelug nuts on all three cars, they were too tight and not evenlytightened. Once those three cars were taken care of, the cycleof repair shifted and moved on to something else. The next three vehicles to complete their cycle neededbrake lines. Rust never sleeps and Old Man Time finally cre-ated some issues that fortunately happened when the ownerswere close to home. The drivers were local or pulling out ofthe driveway when the lines failed. Seems like we did so manybrake lines this week – Bk31, Bk33, PAE-60 – all part numbersfor inventory of fittings and lines that we sold, so many ofwhich that I started to see them in my sleep. Some count

sheep, some count parts. The life of an auto mechanic is com-plicated. After a few days of brake rotors, lines and the usual oilchanges and maintenance, fate decided to kick things up anotch and hand us three more vehicles, this time in need ofcomputer replacement, reflashing and software updates. Outcame the dealer-level scan tools, the battery charger andmaintainer and several hours spent downloading, installingand following exact procedure for computer software updates.It is quite the culture shock from running brake lines or replac-ing pads and rotors. Clearly, we were running the gamut ofwhat repairs are becoming as shops evolve and change. The last twist of the week was a ’99 Ford E150 van on Fri-day. Maybe it was supposed to happen this way: After havingdone all of the above repairs on separate vehicles, youguessed it...this one needed it ALL, including new ball joints.Who knows? Maybe next week, we’ll start doing ball joints andhave a run of those.

THE BOTTOM LINE IS... To be successful in both life and work, you have to beflexible, alert and ready. It is a cycle from one end of the scaleto another; you never know what either of them will throw atyou. If you have the ability to roll with changes and adapt, yourchances of success increase exponentially. Thanks to technology, auto repair from both sides of thecounter is evolving and changing by the minute. Shop ownersand technicians, as well as our collective customers, are see-ing extremely different procedures and repairs than just a fewshort years ago - a trend which is bound to continue. If we asrepairers are not prepared to deal with the massive scope andscale of these different operations, we are bound to fail. Autorepair mirrors life; we must expect the unexpected. Beware ofthe evolving cycle and what it brings to the shop. Remember, life is like cheap underwear: You never knowwhen it’s going to creep up on you, or drive in the door of yourshop.

’Til next time, I’m Ron Ananian, The Car Doctor, reminding you that“Good mechanics aren’t expensive; they’re priceless.”

Ron Ananian, owner of R\A Automotive in Waldwick, NJ (est. 1978), is heard weekly in140 markets on his nationally syndicated radio talk show. He is a working technicianand former AASP/NJ Board member. Beyond his radio show, Ron writes and speaksfor the automotive industry at trade shows and events. Visit The Car Doctor online atwww.cardoctorshow.com.

NO BRAKES by Ron Ananian

THE CYCLE OfREPAIRFrom ball joints to brakes to computer repair, the scale ofdifferent jobs in one week in auto repair is demandingand sometimes difficult. Isn’t it great?

NJA




soon, with allegations of wrongdoing bythe insurer and the deciding judge. All ofthis litigation occurring all over the coun-try is a clear indication that the collisionindustry is on its way to taking back thecontrol that has been surrendered to theinsurance industry. The bottom line is that one industryhas no business controlling another.Collision shops that have been payingattention to all the litigation and under-stand how things are actually supposedto work will soon be leading what isbeing referred to as the New AmericanRevolution by taking back control of thecollision industry. This has been a longtime coming, but it is well on its waynow. We will be watching and keepingour members aware of the results asthey happen. Stay tuned.

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’SMESSAGE continued from page 14

NJA

COVER STORY continued from page 46

all the best intentions, and somepeople who this will affect the mostsometimes point out unintended con-sequences we didn’t consider. That’swhy no bill should be rushed to a vote;there should be dialogue and severalprocesses...There are a lot of differentplaces where affected parties, stake-holders, et cetera can weigh in, andwe always look forward to hearingfrom them because many bills getamended before they get to becomelaw. We’re happy to hear from peoplein these industries if they think there’ssomething that can make the bill betteror if they think there’s something in [it]that is detrimental or unintended.” The complete text of Assembly Bill3579 is available at http://legiscan.com/NJ/text/A3579/2014. Assem-blyman Moriarty’s recent voting recordcan be found at http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/bills/BillsBySponsor_First_Prime. asp.

NJA


AudaExplore, the USbusiness unit of SoleraHoldings Inc. (NYSE: SLH)and a leading global data-driven solution provider toinsurance carriers, repair-ers, dealerships, fleet own-ers and suppliers, hasintroduced a PredictiveAnalytics Solution as partof its new Decision Sci-ence Platform. The Predic-tive Analytics Solution,which is fully integratedwith AudaExplore EstimateCheck, is a real-time, data-driven solution that usesadvanced algorithms toaccurately automate busi-ness processes, increas-ing efficiency andproductivity. It includes re-pair-versus-replace analy-sis and parts and laborrelational modeling. The predictive prod-uct is part of AudaExplore’s Decision Sci-ence Platform, which im-proves performance by

leveraging data to predictbusiness outcomes anddrive actionable insights.The Decision Science Plat-form includes visualizationtools that make it easier tospot trends, as well as mo-bile access for fast, on-the-go decision making. Itcurrently offers estimatinganalysis for partial andtotal loss, parts and laboranalysis to manage qualityand costs and repair ana-lytics to understand DRPperformance, with addi-tional tools to come. “Our Predictive Ana-lytics Solution and our De-cision Science Platformleverage 40 years ofprocess expertise through-out the vehicle ownershipexperience to help reducegaps in the decision-mak-ing process,” said BillGroves, chief data & ana-lytics officer at AudaEx-plore. “By accuratelyautomating this process,

our customers can be-come more efficient andprovide better service totheir customers.” A key feature of thePredictive Analytics Solu-tion is its ability to predictwhen external sheet metalparts should be replacedversus repaired. AudaEx-plore models suggest thatmore than 20 percent ofbumper covers and hoodsthat are replaced could in-stead be repaired. On average, it costs$300 more to replace afront or rear bumper coverrather than repair it. Thecost variance rises to $479for hood panels. By identi-fying parts to be repairedinstead of replaced,AudaExplore’s Predictive

Analytics Solution couldcollectively save insurancepolicyholders millions ofdollars annually while im-proving the customer ex-perience, reducingsettlement times and in-creasing trust amongshops, insurers and theend consumer. Backed by AudaEx-plore’s years of industryexperience and robustmodel deploymentmethodology, the Predic-tive Analytics Solution ismade to be technologyagnostic and scalable,and it can be implementedquickly with minimal IT en-gagement. For more information, visitwww.audaexplore.com.


AudaExplore IntroducesPredictive Analytics Solution with Launchof New Decision Science Platform ABOUT AUDAEXPLORE:

As owners expect greater service throughout the life of their ve-hicle, AudaExplore helps businesses reimagine the ownershipexperience through its proven data-driven solutions. By deliver-ing global data, easy-to-use technology and deeper insightsinto the ownership lifecycle, AudaExplore is leading the industryin making insurance carriers, repairers, dealerships and fleetowners and suppliers more efficient and competitive. AudaEx-plore is a business unit of Solera Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: SLH),the leading global claims solutions provider serving theautomotive industry. For more information, visit www.audaexplore.com or follow us on Twitter at @AudaExplore_.

Predictive Solution Uses Data to Ensure Better Business Outcomes, Improving Efficiency and Productivity

ABOUT SOLERA:Solera is a leading global provider of software and services tothe automobile insurance claims processing and decision sup-port industries. Solera is active in 70 countries across six conti-nents. The Solera companies include: Audatex in the UnitedStates, Canada, and in more than 45 additional countries; In-formex in Belgium and Greece; Sidexa in France; ABZ and Mar-ket Scan in the Netherlands; HPI and CarweB in the UnitedKingdom; Hollander serving the North American recycling mar-ket; AUTOonline providing salvage disposition in a number ofEuropean and Latin American countries; IMS providing medicalreview services; Explore providing data and analytics to UnitedStates property and casualty insurers; Service Repair Solutions,a joint venture with Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe, that pro-vides solutions for the service, maintenance and repair market;and I&S, a provider of software and business managementtools, third-party claims administration, first notice of loss andnetwork management services to the US auto and property re-pair industries specializing in glass claims. For more informa-tion, please refer to Solera’s website at www.solerainc.com.



ARANJ 2014 OfficersPresident

Bob Dirkes, Dirkes Used Auto Parts609-625-1718 [email protected]

1st Vice PresidentIan Szoboszlay, Ocean County Auto

732-349-0332 [email protected] Vice President

Darryl Carmen, Lentini Auto Salvage908-782-6838

[email protected] Vice President

Joe Goodman, Leesville Auto732-388-0783

[email protected] President

Norm Vachon, Port Murray Auto908-689-3152

[email protected] Director

Brian Snyder, Auto Recyclers of NJ609-714-2339 [email protected]

ARANJ 2014Board of Directors

Mike Ronayne, Tilghmans Auto Parts609-723-7469 [email protected]

Marvin Leadbeater, Bamber Lake Auto609-639-6500 [email protected]

Mike Yeager, EL & M Auto609-561-2266 [email protected]

Rodney Krawczyk, Ace Auto Wreckers732-254-9816 [email protected]

Mike Caputo, Lacey Used Auto Parts, Inc.609-693-0898 [email protected]

ARANJ The Automotive Recyclers Association of New Jersey

Wharton Insurance Briefs An ARA Member Owning a dismantling/recycling facility can be an environmental headache.Leaking fuel tanks, waste fluids and water runoff can migrate onto your neighbor’sproperty or into someone’s water supply, which could result in a compulsory clean-up effort or a third-party lawsuit. Luckily, there is insurance coverage available toprotect your assets. Dismantlers/recyclers and landowners can purchase pollution coverage toprotect their businesses against liabilities that may arise from a pollution condition.The policy would cover the cleanup costs of the pollutants, contaminated soil andwater on the affected property. In addition, the policy can provide coverage forproperties adjacent to your business, as well as properties down stream or downgradient. It also can cover the legal defense and judgment awards for a third-partylawsuit for bodily injury or property damage. These policies can be written for multi-ple years with various deductibles and coverage limits. If you have an interest in discussing this coverage further or have any con-cerns with your current insurance coverage, please contact me.

Mario DeFilippis, AAI, Vice President800-221-0003 (1320) • 908-513-8588 (cell) • [email protected]



Acme Nissan................................................6Amato Agency..............................................7Audi Group ................................................30-31Axalta Coating Systems ..............................IBCBMW Group ................................................42-43Bridgewater Acura........................................38Brogan GM Parts Center ............................8Cadillac of Mahwah......................................41CCC Comp-Est ............................................37Classic Audi ................................................10Clinton Acura................................................57Cosmos Recycled Auto Parts ......................14Crane Chevrolet ..........................................57Cycan Industries ..........................................25Empire Auto Parts ........................................58Flemington Group ........................................19Fred Beans Parts ........................................13Future Cure..................................................16Glen Toyota..................................................OBCHyundai Group ............................................26JMK BMW....................................................5JMK Saab/JMK Fiat ....................................41Klean Frame ................................................58LKQ..............................................................25Maxon Mazda ..............................................27Maxon Hyundai........................................32-33Mazda Group ..............................................47Mercedes Benz of Freehold ........................46Mike Kaufmann Dealer Group ....................37Mini Group ..................................................34Mitsubishi Group..........................................51Mopar Group................................................4NORTHEAST® 2015 ..................................18NU-CAR...................................................22-23Paul Miller Audi ............................................50Porsche Group ............................................39PPG ............................................................3PPGMS........................................................24Prestige Motors............................................55Princeton BMW............................................15Princeton Mini ..............................................9Saw Mill Auto Wreckers ..............................56Subaru Group ..............................................49Town Audi ....................................................56Toyota Group ..............................................35Toyota of Hackensack..................................IFCValtek ..........................................................53VIP Honda....................................................38VW Group ....................................................40Wheel Collision Center ................................53


new jersey automotive november 2014

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