Shop Profile: Lance Dixon's prestige one stop shop

If you wanted to buy an exotic car in Melbourne you'd probably find yourself in Doncaster at Lance Dixon. There you could wander into separate showrooms for Bentley, Alpha, Ferrari, Citroen, Maserati, Saab and Land Rover. And if you happened to damage the one of your choice, you could go back to the same address - where you'd find Lance Dixon's panel shop behind the new car showrooms.
The Doncaster shop was completed just over 12 months ago after a short smash shop trial in Richmond quickly ran out of room. And although the new shop ranges over three floors it is already so busy it may also run short of space in the near future.
So far, the shop has been kept busy with just the work generated by the seven distributorships. There are major accident repairs through insurance, third party work and smart repairs that come as an extra to mechanical servicing.
Dixon's panel shop manager, Iain Matthews, says he hasn't had to look for work outside the brands the company distributes, although that is not so say it doesn't come in. Many exotic car owners have the 'other' car which they bring to the shop because they are pleased with the quality of work. The shop completes between 20 and 30 cars a week ‘ some after $100,000 worth of work which might take months because of delays waiting for the arrival of rare parts.
Equipment levels for the shop are, in part, dictated by the brands it repairs. There are two Car-o-liners with full bench pulling racks and they are served by Car-o-tronic measuring. There is also a Car Bench for the brands that specify jig alignment.
A dedicated aluminium bay with dedicated tools is also a necessity for many of the brands. The shop is called upon not only to repair and weld aluminium panels and structural members but various grades of high strength steel and composites.
Many paint companies pitched for Lance Dixon's Prestige Autobody business but the winner was Standox. The estimating system of choice is the emerging Motex with its pocket PC.
The shop is not yet at full strength because it is difficult to find trades people with the skill levels required. Currently there are four beaters (plus one apprentice), four painters (plus two apprentices), and two in administration ‘ giving a total of 13.