Long-term industry identity and successful panel shop owner Richard Nathan believes the crash repair industry needs to embrace realistic times and rates if it is going to survive into the future.
He says the industry need a method that can easily pass on the costs.
Nathan points to a number of changes – people driving less, safer cars, red light cameras, etc – as being things that have reduced the amount of work panel beaters now get.
“You might get 15 cars towed into your workshop and you’d be luck to repair four or five of them,” Richard said referring to the rise in number of written-off vehicles.
One of the critical areas Nathan said the industry had to watch was insurers capturing clients.
“Insurers want to manage the repair and take control,” he said.
He said the freedom of choice was being eroded with insurers capturing a larger percentage of repairers’ customers.
This results in some repairers “tendering” for work.
“Originally this was for small jobs, but many jobs are now small because of the increase in write-offs,” he said.
“Now tendering for big hits with structural damage is common place.”
But it’s not just the insurers who are to blame.
Nathan said repairers whinge about the price they are being paid, but then “tender” and give the cheapest price to win a job.
“This is killing the industry. Repairers should stop tendering and two quote system’s,” he said.
Nathan believes that if the industry can reverse the write-off issue it will put larger work back into the panel shops rather than sending them to auction.
Many of these vehicles end up going back on the road often with potentially sub-standard repairs.
“Insurers should be looking at this, and the sustainability of the repair industry,” he said.
Part of the ongoing process of improving the lot for the industry was for repairers to fill out field reports.
Nathan, who is also chairman of the NSW Motor Traders Association body repair division, said repairers should send in field reports to the MTA as well as insurers.
“This information can then go to the times committee and give information to the industry representatives,” for revision if required.
He said the MTA was looking to work more closely with repairers to continue to develop our times manual.