Jul - Aug 05: Smart Repairs

Smart repairs

Why panel shops should include smart repairs

While smart repairs might seem to be the business of mobile operators, Barry Sholz makes a case for their inclusion in regular panel shops.
In the last six months in the eastern states I have met guys from USA, Canada, UK and Australia all working in other peoples' crash shops, earning more money than the shop owner, living the high life while they are here, and leaving the country with a large amount of money in their back pockets. Good luck to them.
I do agree that hail work does belong to the traditional smash trade, but if the trade is not skilled and equipped to take on this work efficiently and effectively it will continue to miss out - and complain ? simply because it doesn't want to change repair methods.
While hail work will come and go, there are a huge, continuing opportunities in the untapped retail market. Customers are bypassing panel shops every day because of perceptions in which they fear that two dents on a door equals three days without their car, non-original paintwork, and a cost of $500 or more. You can understand why they don't stop.
The smart repair option is: "please have a coffee sir, wait one hour, pay $150 in cash and your car will be returned to pre-dent condition. As a smash repairer you?ll make more gross profit on the repair with this method and you don?t store the car for three days. But if potential customers don?t know you can offer this to them, whose fault is that?
THE WHEEL DOCTOR. The story is the same all over Australia. An alloy wheel is sent away for repair, the waiting time is anything from five to 14 days, the rest of the car car might be finished in 4 days, and it will be stored for the remainder, waiting for the repaired wheel to come back. Do you know how much a day it costs just to store a car? You?re paying the rent. What other businesses in your area are sending wheels out too? Counting in a regional area yellow pages I found 43 smash repair shops, 35 new car dealers and 43 tyre shops, so there is 121 potential customers that could be sending wheels away for repair to the nearest capital city three hours away. If one crash shop in this area were to repair wheels locally they would have these customers as well as used cars and private work. The work would also reduced turn-around in their own shops.

FAST TRACK PAINT REPAIR
Many painters and smash shops believe they have a good grasp of small paintwork repairs but time and time again I see many inefficient practices taking place which reduce gross profit to nothing, thus reducing the importance of fast track repairs to nothing more than getting out of a problem or doing a favour for a friend.
Fast track repairs should be quoted at $80 an hour, which might sound like good money but with a few inappropriate moves this $80 is soon reduced to a very small profit percentage at the end of the job. Of course this raises the question whether your management system can accurately measure profit performance per job.
A dedicated fast track paint area should budget for 5.3 cars per day finished, paid for and out the door. Any fast track paint area not set up well or using a technician not specifically trained for this sort of work will soon fall short.
Listed below are some of the more obvious inefficiencies I come across:
? Does any equipment have to be borrowed from another area to complete the job?
? Is the bumper being removed for painting?
? Is the area being sanded with a 6? sander?
? Does priming take place in a batch prime at end of day?
? Is the basecoat mix larger than 30ml?
Very simple points, and some shops will still argue that there?s nothing of importance in any of these and similar points, yet all these things together definitely do make a difference to your bottom line. You may have noticed, also, that none of the above points have to do with application or preparation techniques which is a whole new subject on its own. It is not about just doing what you always do but doing it faster or smaller.
The trade is evolving and one distinct branch is fast track or smart repairs, where these customers want to be treated as rapid repairs: good quality, sensible price, minimum time.
The opportunity for already established businesses to bolt on a fast-track area and build it into a stand alone profit centre is here and now. If the traditional smash repair trade does not embrace this reality then these concepts will find themselves other outlets in the retail market.
Smart repair is a new approach in thinking and in management strategies where the differences are subtle but the stakes are high.

Barry Sholz is national sales director of Bradleys Smart Repair Suppliers. He can be contacted on (08) 8277 1888.

Learn PDR at low cost
Laury Chibnall is providing a specialist service to those individuals or panel shops that want to take advantage of becoming qualified in the art of paintless dent repairs at low cost.
After travelling to America in 1997 he completed a comprehensive course in paintless dent removal and obtained his certification as a paintless dent technician. On his return, Chibnall founded Ausdent Franchising Pty Ltd, a company specialising in paintless dent repairs and the sale of paintless dent repair franchises.
In his new business venture, Dents R Us, Laury Chibnall specialises in training people in the art of paintless dent repairs. The advantage is that there is no franchise purchase fee or ongoing fees. The only charge is for the training and a comprehensive set of tools.
Paintless dent repair is a cost-effective way of repairing dents in motor vehicles where paint has not been chipped or cracked. It requires no filling or expensive paintwork. The process leaves the vehicle with the original factory finish and without the problem of mismatched paintwork or obvious repair marks.
Paintless dent removal is faster than conventional body shop methods and as a result can be completed on the same day saving time and money for the owner.
Enquiries, Tel: 0438 383555.

The drill on drilling
Recently, an industry commentator brought up the issue of paintless dent repair (PDR) occasionally calling for holes to be drilled in a car body to allow tool access to push out a dent. These holes are invariably in areas that are covered by trim, so they do not affect the appearance of the car. But he questioned their necessity ? and even their validity if drilled in places where structural integrity may be compromised.
John Collins, manager of Identifier Systems, a company that trains and qualifies PDR technicians, had this to say in reply:
"As is the case with all industries, there are highly qualified and skilled tradespeople with many years experience that do an exceptional job - and there are some that simply do not.
"The PDR industry is no different. A properly trained and experienced PDR technician can achieve amazing results without cracking the paint or drilling any holes. Light to medium and some heavy type hail damage can be repaired very successfully without any issues if done by an experienced PDR technician.
"Paint cracking issues usually come from inexperienced people trying to do PDR repairs to vehicles damaged far beyond their relevant experience. Hole drilling is sometimes a necessary part of the correct process. Moderately difficult access areas can be reached with care and minimal hole sizes, but they must be rust proofed and sealed with a very small plug to eliminate any problems.
"The vast majority of dent repairs can be successfully reached through existing access points within the panel by removing tail lamps, head lamps, door trims and so on, thus reducing the need for drilling. Again this will depend on the experience and pride in workmanship on the part of the technician.
In Australia, there are many smash repair and PDR companies that come highly recommended by the dealer, trade and insurance industry and again a lot of repairers that are not. Paintless dent removal is a multi million dollar industry both in Australia and overseas. The credibility of this industry is in the hands of individuals that seek professional training in PDR most importantly, professional training institutions with trainers that have many years experience in all facets of PDR."
Collins also made the point that PDR seems to be moving from mobile operators to in-house trained employees/contractors. His company has been receiving numerous enquiries and is training people of both sexes and all ages - Australia wide and internationally.
Identifier Systems offers two, three and four week PDR courses at its centre in Southport, Queensland.
Enquiries, Tel: (07) 5591 6488.

Color Tech is paint specialist
Color Tech was among the first on-site paint repairers in Australia when it began in 1990. Since then, it has continually improved the tools, products and techniques used in its repair systems. Rather than diversifying into dents, vinyl, trim or glass repair, Color Tech has focused on perfecting onsite paint repairs.
Color Tech is a franchised team of independent business owners working for themselves but not by themselves. Franchisees benefit from comprehensive training and support. Color Tech provides sales and marketing guidance and takes care of the administration, leaving franchisees to do what they do best: repair vehicles and save their customers time and money.
Cosmetic chip and scratch damage require something better than a brush touch, but the costs of refinishing can be prohibitive ? especially for car dealers. Color Tech's unique airbrush repair methods suit this type of work perfectly. Cars are now reconditioned to an excellent standard, on-site, in a day. The car doesn't leave the premises and the cost is much less than overall refinishing.
Franchisees receive extensive training in plastic repair and can reshape bent bumpers and repair broken plastics using both hot and cold plastic welding methods. The Toyota Kluger Color Tech has grown steadily since inception with a focus on consistent skills and quality. There are currently over 30 Color Tech franchisees across Australia, with the majority having worked previously as wage earners in panel shops.
In the last year Color Tech has successfully expanded to both Melbourne and Brisbane, giving national coverage and the ability to fulfill exclusive contracts for national fleet owners.
Enquiries: www.colortech.net.au

U-POL?s SMART Solution
A recent addition to the U-POL range is the unique 20:85 1K Smart Clear.
Smart Clear is a single-component formulation that gives a two-pack result. It is ideal for rapid spot repairs, finishing small part repairs, and great for colour matching spray-out cards.
Smart Clear is supplied ready for use; no thinning, hardener, mixing or measuring is needed. It hardens rapidly (around 30 minutes touch-dry), exhibits excellent build, flow and gloss retention and may be used over all basecoats. It is UV resistant and contains no isocyanates.
Smart Clear dries to a mirror gloss without buffing, and saves the paint shop real time and money. Available in 5 litre and handy one litre cans.
Enquiries, Tel:0418 72 6984.

The Smart Guys
The work in the smart repair market is quite massive, in the body repair industry alone it is estimated to be worth over $500m annually, and growing. With well over a third of all motor claims moving into the realms of smart repair its time the industry took notice of the work that?s on offer, and not ignore it as it did the paintless dent repair phenomenon.
The Industry is currently serviced in the main by non-tradespeople, but who are providing a service. TyProducts on the market allow them to do a reasonable job that satisfies the market at a cost well below that of a bodyshop, and without the inconvenience of the client bringing the vehicle to the bodyshop.
The Smart Guys market their range of products and mobile services via the bodyshops and help them tap into the massive amount of work currently on offer from dealerships, car yards and other untapped sources. They assist in setting up the bodyshop with the unique tools and systems to enable them to develop and secure this work. They supply the systems, kits and consumables for scuff and scratch, plastic repair, fabric and leather repair and wheel rim repair.
Don?t allow yet another profit opportunity to pass you by. Be a Smart Guy!
Enquiries, Tel: John Smith (03) 9557 4760.