New Jersey Automotive August 2014

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CRASH AVOIDANCECRISIS pg. 28

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2 New Jersey Automotive August 2014

New Jersey Automotive August 2014 5

VOLUME 44, NUMBER 8 August 2014P.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]

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 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 fromthe publisher and/or editor. Articles in this publication do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Thomas Greco Publishing Inc. Image Credits: Cover and Page 42:thinkstock.com/Creative_Outlet; Page 12: thinkstockphoto.com/filo; Page 28: thinkstockphoto.com/Sergey Nivens; Page 35: thinkstockphoto.comIngram Publish-ing; Page 42: thinkstockphoto.com/tkacchuk; Page 54: thinkstockphoto.com/missisya

PUBLISHERThomas Greco ([email protected])MANAGING EDITORAlicia Figurelli ([email protected])EDITORJoel Gausten ([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

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


VENDOR SPOTLIGHT16 More Than Parts: Honda Goes Beyond in Serving the Auto Repair World

LEGAL FEATURE by Mitch Portnoi18 A Word to the Wise

WHAT SAY YOU?22 How Have Mobile Shops Affected Your Business?

FEATURE28 The Crash Avoidance Crisis: Will Technology End the Repair Industry?

by Joel Gausten

TECHNICAL FEATURE34 Structural Realignment Changes by Larry Montanez III, CDA and Jeff Lange, PE

IN & AROUND AASP/NJ38 MOTOR Information Systems Announces Mike Lovullo’s Retirement

as Independent Distributor

COVER STORY by Joel Gausten42 Lot Lizards & Broken Laws:

Shops Speak Out Against Mobile Repairers

THE LIST48 What’s Your Favorite Movie Car?

NO BRAKES by Ron Ananian54 Dodging the Bullet

AUTOMOTIVE RECYCLERS OF NEW JERSEY58 Legal Update 58 Wharton Insurance Briefs

8 OUT OF BODY (AND MECHANICAL) EXPERIENCES10 PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE12 EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S MESSAGE

24 MEET THE BOARD62 NJA ADVERTISERS INDEX

OUT OF BODY (AND MECHANICAL) EXPERIENCES

Your Feet’sToo Small

Love him or hate him, I think it’spretty obvious that President Obama is inover his head. Every day, it seems like an-other scandal or investigation comes out,and their frequency has really had a numb-ing effect on those who pay attention.Sadly, most don’t. Many people (espe-cially those under 30) have no clue anddon’t really care about what’s going on.They have become either completely dis-trustful of our politicians (and rightly so),or are so absorbed in the Internet/realityTV way of life that they are completely

ignorant of anything outside of their per-sonal space.

But getting back to the President, I’llbe honest - I didn’t vote for him, but whenhe was elected, I wanted him to succeed. Ihave always felt that no matter who winsthe election, our President is my President.Looking back, if we’re being honest, mostwould say that President Bush was in overhis head throughout his second term aswell. That got me thinking: Maybe, in thisday and age, it’s impossible to be Presi-dent and NOT be in over your head.

Look at those who came before Bushand Obama. Clinton? Love or hate him, hepresided over relatively good economicand peaceful times. His biggest problemwas not being in over his head, but wherehe was getting…Never mind.

Bush 41? He never got a chance to getin over his head. Ross Perot saw to that.Reagan? Say what you want about him,but the guy knew how to lead. A lot ofpeople look to him as the greatest Presi-dent of their lifetimes, and I agree withthem. But could he have led the way he


by Thomas Greco, Publisher

did in today’s world of terrorism, polariza-tion and the Kardashianism? I’m not sosure.

I never thought I’d see the day whereI dreaded reading or watching the news.But as I have said many times before, youjust can’t get an unbiased report onANYTHING these days. Is PresidentObama inept? If you watch most of FoxNews, you’d think he was. Was PresidentBush the devil? If you read the New YorkTimes or watch MSNBC, you’d sure thinkhe was. I don’t agree with either of thoseviewpoints. I just think that the job’s shoeshave become too big to fill and wecertainly don’t have anyone nearly hugeenough to fill them (insert Christie jokehere).

So what do we do? I wish I had theanswer. We all know the candidates whoare out there. Tell me: Do you have highhopes for any of them? If you do, pleaseshare.

I just finished a book called Bouts ofMania: Ali, Frazier, and Foreman and anAmerica on the Ropes, and it’s prettyscary how much the description of the

America of the early ’70s matches whatwe are going through today. The premiseof the book was that this trio of fightersand their boxing wars somehow helpedthe country get through a very bad time.Now, that’s a stretch. Even so, we don’thave an Ali or a Frazier to look to for in-spiration or even a distraction from the bigpicture. Hell, does anyone even know whothe Heavyweight Champion of the Worldis???

But there is a lesson in the book. I’msure that back in the days of PresidentsJohnson and Nixon, some distinguishedwriter was writing about the job being toobig and the lack of candidates, and thatJoe Louis and Rocky Marciano were nolonger around. Then along came a manlike President Reagan, and with himreturned prosperity.

I may be skeptical, but I still havefaith. It’s not impossible to think thereis someone out there who will not beoverwhelmed, who can somehow pull ustogether for the greater good.They’d betterhave some big-ass feet.


NJA

ADDENDUMNew Jersey Automotive's coverage of the

controversy over P&M reimbursement (“TheRight to Revenue: P&M Payments Spark Con-cern,” July 2014) has elicited a strong responsefrom readers. The issues discussed in the featurehit home for longtime AASP/NJ supporterMichael Lovullo of MicroMix (www.micromix.net), who tells us that he has experiencedmany instances of insurers making up their ownrules regarding how they pay shops for P&M.

“I'm in four counties in New Jersey; ofthose four, every [insurance] office is different,”he explains. “Some offices take [MicroMix],while others don't. How can it be that some of-fices will take it, and some offices will not? Theyshould take it wherever they are. The acceptanceshould be done by the corporate office; itshouldn't be, 'Well, the manager makes therule.'”

Mick Fetter, the auto body industry veteranwho developed MicroMix, advises shops new tousing P&M cost accounting systems to take agood look at what they're charging for versuswhat they actually use on a job.

“If you keep track of your actual usage, it'llbe an education process,” he says. “It'll help youeducate the adjusters so that you can do a betterjob of selling your system and that estimate.”

NJA

By the time you read this message,the NACE/CARS Expo and Conferencewill have concluded its 2014 installmentin Detroit. Before you know it, it willbe time for the 2014 SEMA Show inLas Vegas - and after it, AASP/NJ’sNORTHEAST® 2015 AutomotiveServices Show at the Meadowlands. It’sgoing to be a tall order to top last year’sbanner event, but we are already workinghard to do just that. Stay tuned for excitingdevelopments as our 2015 flagship eventbegins taking shape.

Before we get into the excitement oftrade show season, however, we in thecollision field have to first get throughauto body license renewal time. If you’vebeen paying attention in the pages of NewJersey Automotive or on the AASP/NJwebsite, www.aaspnj.org, you’re alreadyaware of the two packed meetings theassociation recently hosted in Totowa andToms River. Over 100 members andnon-members alike came out to theseinformative meetings, presented by LarryMontanez of P&L Consultants, and allreceived certificates good toward thetraining requirement of their licenserenewal. If you were not in attendance ateither of these meetings and have not yetfulfilled your training requirement, time isreally running out.

The renewal deadline at the end ofSeptember is rapidly approaching, and thetime to make sure you have not only yourtraining but also the rest of your paper-work squared away is NOW. AASP/NJmay be holding one last round of trainingsas we get closer to the deadline, so if youhave not yet received a training certificate,please be sure to check your fax machinesand the AASP/NJ website frequently forupdates. More importantly, if you are notyet in compliance - and even if you thinkyou are, but you’re not sure - I urge you tocontact AASP/NJ Executive DirectorCharles Bryant TODAY at (732) 922-8909. We are here to help you!

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

AASP/NJ: Here to Help


by Jeff McDowell

NJA

These days, you can’t pick up anautomotive trade magazine thatdoesn’t have a headline about a

collision shop suing an insurance companyfor failure to pay a reasonable amount forsafe and proper repairs. For years, attor-neys refused to address auto propertydamage cases simply because there wasnot enough money involved to make itaffordable for the shop to file suit on is-sues that so many of them face on a dailybasis. The issues range from receiving afair and reasonable Labor Rate (and rate ofpaint and materials compensation), gettingpaid for the procedures required to per-form safe and proper repairs and more.The problem is that the damage to an auto-mobile is usually an average of $3,000 to$4,000. If an insurance company comes inand shortchanges the shop for about$1,000, it would usually cost the shopmore than that in attorney’s fees alone tocollect the money he or she is rightfullyentitled to. As a result, it has not been eco-nomically feasible to turn to the courts forrelief. Even if the shop was to win the casein New Jersey, he or she would not nor-mally be able to collect the attorney’s fees.All the shop would win, basically, was theknowledge that they were right. In themeantime, the customer would be fumingbecause the dispute has kept them fromthe vehicle for weeks; the relationship be-tween shop and customer would likely befried. For many shops, the best thing theycould do was simply take what the insur-ance company was willing to pay and tryand figure out a way to get the car repairedfor that amount. Well, I’m here to tell youthat those days are over!

If a collision shop cuts corners on oneof the extremely complicated vehicles onthe roads today, disaster will likely follow.Today’s vehicles have to be repaired as permanufacturer recommendations or theshop could to be liable for negligentrepairs, should a faulty repair result ininjuries in a future collision event.

The biggest problem shops face is thefact that consumers simply cannot afford

to be without their car for months at a timewhile these issues get worked out in acourt of law or otherwise. Insurance com-panies know this and use it against theirown insureds and the collision shopsattempting proper repairs on a daily basis.Insurance company appraisers walk in thebody shops and frequently say, “We don’tpay for that” or “We only pay this muchfor that.” I challenge anyone to find thistype of language in an auto insurance pol-icy in New Jersey - or, for that matter,anywhere else in the country. Contract lan-guage is actually closer to “in the event ofan accident or loss, we will pay a reason-able amount to repair or replace your dam-aged automobile.”

There is language found in almostevery policy’s payment of loss provisionsthat basically states, “In the event of anaccident or loss, we will settle your claimin one of the three following manners; wewill either pay for the loss in money,repair or replace your automobile.” Thislanguage is key to what is taking place

today across the country and the reasonthat we’re seeing successful lawsuit aftersuccessful lawsuit against insurersthat refuse to fulfill their contractualobligations to the insured when a lossdoes occur.

Certain attorneys have figured out away to resolve these issues withoutconsumers having to be without their carsfor an extended period of time. In somestates, the attorneys have figured out thatthe insurer is even obligated to pay courtcosts and attorney’s fees when these casesare successful. At the present time, that isnot the case in New Jersey, but I feel con-fident that once this conduct of short-changing consumers who have enteredinto an insurance contract is exposed alittle more, the courts will likely have asecond look at the legal fee issues. Timewill tell, but in the meantime, the amountof money shops are losing - even withoutthe attorney fees factored in - is making itimpossible for the industry to not addressthis major problem.

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S MESSAGE

The Collision Industry Isn’tGoing to Take it Anymore!

by Charles Bryant


The cars on the roads today are notlike the cars that were on the roads yearsago. Today’s vehicles are extremely com-plicated and require special training andequipment to be repaired properly andsafely. Manufacturer recommendationsmust be followed to the T in these repairs.If not, the vehicles are likely to be putback on the road in an unsafe condition,not only for the passengers, but for otherpeople on the road who are likely to crosstheir path as well. This is simply unaccept-

able. I have preached and preached thatthis day would come, and in seeing manytrade magazines’ coverage of lawsuitsagainst insurers, I see that this day is infact here. Collision shop owners have bentover backwards to work with insurancecompanies to resolve these issues and inthe past when the cars were not so compli-cated, a lot of the issues got worked out.That is simply not the case today, and theproper repair procedures simply cannot becompromised.

When I mention the lawsuits, I’m notjust talking about the ones being widelypublicized across the trade press. I am alsotalking about multiple small individuallawsuits across the country, where shopshave repaired a vehicle properly and re-turned the vehicle to the owner after tak-ing an assignment of proceeds to pursuethe balance due for the repairs that an in-surer has refused to pay for. When relievedof the burden of losing their car whilewaiting to resolve the shop-insurer issues,many customers have no problem signingthese papers, which allow shops to take onthe concerns directly with little or no in-volvement from the vehicle owner.

Insurance companies have been ableto shortchange the consumer and the colli-sion industry for so long that the industrygrew to believe there was nothing theycould do to change the system and prob-lems referenced above. However, thegreed of insurance companies has finallyrisen to a level that can no longer be toler-ated. Collision shops cannot afford thetraining and equipment that is required torepair the modern vehicles on the roadstoday without being compensated ade-quately for it. Collision shops cannot af-ford to buy the materials necessary forrepairs without being properly compen-sated for them (never mind realizing aprofit). Collision shops cannot afford topay qualified collision repair techniciansfair and reasonable rates for their servicesunless the shops are being paid a fair andreasonable rate from the insurance compa-nies insuring those vehicles.

I urge the people in the collision in-dustry to open their eyes and gather thecourage to stand up and be counted. Youmust learn to say enough is enough andfight this unjust system the insurance com-panies have created. I have had too manycollision shops call me to say goodbye be-fore they close the doors because theysimply cannot survive under the condi-tions the insurance industry has placed onthem. If there is any collision shop outthere that would like to discuss how to ad-dress the issues in this article, please feelfree to contact me at (732) 922–8909 or byemail at [email protected].


EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S MESSAGE

NJA


VENDOR SPOTLIGHT

With the Honda Accord being the best-selling car for individ-ual American buyers in 2013, the auto manufacturer’s presenceon roadways shows no signs of slowing down. Naturally, with somany celebrated cars on the road, Honda understands the impor-tance of maintaining healthy and mutually beneficial relation-ships with wholesale parts dealers and auto body shops. Hondacurrently boasts more than 30 wholesale parts dealers in the Gar-den State, while recent surveys by Carlisle & Company and

NADA indicate that American Honda has one of the highest partsfill rates in the industry. At least 10 of Honda’s New Jersey-basedwholesale dealers are among the largest in the country. Acura hasa strong presence as well, with eight of the 15 dealers in New Jer-sey among the largest operations in the US.

“Parts availability is a big part of what we bring to theparty,” offers Gary Ledoux, Honda’s assistant national managerfor collision parts marketing. “We have a lot of internal supportfor what we do, and they realize what we do is important for theindustry – and especially for our customers. It’s important forHonda and Acura customers to be able to drive a properly re-paired, safe car. That’s what drives us.”

Honda encourages the use of OEM parts through their Colli-sion Select program, which provides body shops with greater ac-cess to Honda and Acura Genuine parts.

“That helps our dealers work with the body shops to installmore Honda Genuine parts,” Ledoux says.

Of course, encouraging shops and customers to utilize OEMparts is only half the battle. To ensure the safest and most profes-sional repairs possible, technicians must also adhere to Honda’srecommended procedures for their various vehicles. In an effortto better distribute this information to the national repair commu-nity, Honda recently created Body Repair News, a regular bulletinon new models and technologies. Archives of the publication areavailable at www.techinfo.honda.com for Honda vehicles orwww.techinfo.acura.com for Acura vehicles. (Click on “Colli-sion Repair Information and Industry Position Statements.”)

“When we have a new vehicle launch, we’ll send [Body Re-pair News] out to the collision industry along with the launch ofthe car,” explains Ledoux. “This gives a very short Reader’s Di-gest version of the new technologies in the car. It’s not a replace-ment for the full collision repair manual [available online atwww.techinfo.honda.com or www.techinfo.acura.com], but[the publication] has been very well received by the industry. Oneof the things that industry people really like about them is that weshow a white-body picture of the new car, and all of the differentsteels are color-coded so they can see what’s high-strength steel,and what level it is.”

In addition to a sizable in-house department at AmericanHonda Motor Co. strictly dedicated to servicing the auto bodysegment, the company has an ongoing presence at industry eventslike the Collision Industry Conference (CIC). Currently, Ledouxserves as chair of the OE Collision Repair Roundtable, anon-profit collision repair industry association comprised of

American Honda Motor Co.’s Body Repair News offers manufacturer-specificrepair information to shops nationwide.

continued on page 62

MORE THAN PARTS:Honda Goes Beyondin Serving the AutoRepair World As more and more drivers learn each year,American Honda Motor Co. is leading the future ofthe automotive industry.


LEGAL FEATURE

How much insurance is too much?

A Word to the Wise by Mitchell Portnoi, Esq.

The short answer to that question is,you never have too much insurance. As abusiness entity, you literally can never beover-insured. As an individual, the sameholds true. If possible, you should be car-rying as much insurance as is available toyou and then supplement that policy withan umbrella policy (which is often com-paratively inexpensive).

The reasons for this are simple. Wenever know who could be on the receivingend of our negligent missteps or omis-sions. A simple careless act or failure toact could take on monumental damagesand could put your business or personallife on the hook. It is vitally important thatyou understand your insurance coverage,and perhaps even more important that youunderstand what is not covered.

A few cases recently handled in myoffice bring to light these very issues. Inone case, a young woman walking across

the street in a local community was hitby a vehicle occupied by a youngcouple taking their child to thehospital. The injuries to the young woman were monumental and put at risk any and all of the young couple’s assets. Unfortunately for the young woman whowas injured (my client), the young coupledid not have any substantial assets. Thisproblem could have been averted if myclient and her family had significant cov-erage over and above the minimal cover-age of the at-fault defendants. The samegeneral issues apply to any business that issued for the negligent acts or omissions oftheir employees. The failure to have sig-nificant coverage places the business -and, subsequently, all its assets (real es-tate, machinery, furnishings, etc.) at risk.

The stakes are high in your business, and the availability of protection is close at hand. Take advant-age of those protections and speak to an experienced attorney and/or insurance broker to get the right advice. Call me using the information below with any questions you may have.

NJA

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How have mobile repair shopsaffected your business?*

WHAT SAY YOU?

SOUTH PLAINFIELD

“Our shop has seen several jobs come inthat were clearly done by a shop that wasnot operating under the same conditionsas your typical body shop. How good of arepair can you put out if you’re workingoutdoors with the wind blowing all kindsof crap into the paint? I’m sure we’ve lostout on work to these rolling repair shopswho claim to do everything under the sun,but sooner or later, the jobs come back tous to be done the ‘right’ way.”

“We haven’t dealt with it very much inour specific area, but I talk to guys whoare seeing it all the time. I actually sawan ad in our local coupon clippingmailer for ‘we’ll come to you’ bumperrepairs. There’s no doubt they will hurtus - it places a blemish on the autobody industry. And we are the ones whohave to deal with the consequences.When a job comes in and we find priorinterior work when writing an estimate,we have to halt the job to figure outhow to proceed. The customer justwants their most recent job done, butwe’re finding an old, bad repair. And atthe end of the day, all the fingers arepointed at us. The liability lies with theshop that touched the car last. If we decide to ignore that bad repair and thecar ends up having an accident as aresult, we are responsible for thosedamages, even if we didn’t performthe bad repairs in the first place.”

“I think the issue affects a lot of in-dustry members. This is a slow timeof year and the work is out there,but unfortunately these guys aretaking it from the legitimate shops.If you want to really compete withthe mobile shops, you either have tocompromise quality - which alsocompromises your reputation - orreduce your prices and ultimatelyyour profit margins. It’s a no-winsituation.”

“I’m unhappy that I’m forced to competewith them, but the ones who really lose outare the customers. These people are buyingcars either new or certified pre-owned, andare under the impression that the car hasbeen repaired or painted with certain manu-facturer standards in mind. In some cases,what one may think is a factory paint jobcould really just be a spray here and therefrom an unlicensed, unregulated shop. Theconsumers aren’t even aware that this ishappening until they’re in a subsequent ac-cident or the original job peels, chips orbubbles…then it’s up to the real body shopto clean up that mess.”

“I haven’t had any real dealings with mobile repair shops up here in my area, but I’m asmall shop. I talk to guys at high-end facilities and others who are close in proximity tosome big dealerships, and according to them, it’s an epidemic. I guess it depends onwhere you are and what kind of volume you have.”

“Absolute best case scenario, an un-licensed mobile shop in New Jerseyis violating at least one law at anygiven time. Even if the ‘shop’ is fol-lowing all safety regulations and ma-terial handling laws - which we allknow they are not - they’re in directviolation of the New Jersey AutoBody Licensing laws, which plainlystate that a repair facility must behoused in a building. Then there’s theenvironmental aspect, and the factthat they’re violating 6H regulations.Are they spraying clearcoat out intothe open air of a residential neigh-borhood, or worse, driving aroundwith a drum of hazardous waste inthe trunk of a van? Or are they justdumping that waste into a sewerdrain? And that’s not even discussingthe poor quality repairs. Any way youslice it, they’re dangerous to both theindustry and consumers.”

NORTHBERGEN

JACKSON

LINDEN

POINT PLEASANT


ROXBURY

*For more on this topic, read our feature on page 42

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Nucar Wholesale PartsNew Jersey Automotive August 2014 23

It all started with me taking an auto mechanics class in high school. I was fascinated by how things work. I gota job in the JCPenney auto repair shop at the Willowbrook Mall in Wayne when I was 16, and worked my waythrough high school and college. After graduation, I kept the job as I went on to become a high school teacher.One night, after I had been teaching for a couple of years, I came to the awful realization that I was spendingover 80 hours a week either commuting to and from or working at either of my two jobs. Something had togive; I figured at that point that if I was going to work this hard, I might as well be self-employed. Other thanteaching, the only thing I felt comfortable and knowledgeable enough to branch out in was auto repair. Iremembered how my summers off from teaching - where I was working full-time at JCPenney - had felt like avacation in comparison to the grind of juggling both jobs throughout the school year. So I made the decision toopen my own business. In 1982, Krehel Automotive Repair opened its doors in Clifton.

How has the shop changed in the 30-plus years you’ve been in business?Well, most notably, we no longer sell gas. The first location I had, we sold gas and did auto repairs. Because of the area we were in, we ended upwith a lot of commercial work, which in itself was great, but the space of the shop meant that we had to do a lot of work outside in the parking lot.This wasn’t a great choice, especially in the winters. When the second five-year term of my lease was coming to a close, I realized that we needednot only a different building, but a different routine as well. There was no money to be made in selling gas, and we needed more space to work onthe commercial accounts we had gained over the years. I purchased land in our present location and on that site built a 4,000-square-foot facility.About five years ago, I bought out our next-door neighbor’s property - which was about 100 years old and looked every day of it - knocked it downand was able to expand to 10,000 square feet.

Do you provide any other services in addition to mechanical repair? We are a distributor for Klean Frame (www.kleanframe.com), an under-vehicle wash system. We also do plowing throughout the winters. Theway I got into it was kind of funny. The original location “came with” a 1962 Scout in back of the building. It had a three-speed manual transmis-sion, and a manual snowplow. That’s right, I said manual. If you wanted the plow to tilt up, you would pull a knob on the dash. If you wanted tochange the angle, though, you would have to pull over, get out of the truck, pull a pin on the plow and manually redirect it. Not the most conve-nient piece of equipment in a snowstorm…Anyway, we have been plowing snow since Day One, even back when the plows themselves were prettybarbaric.

What brought you to AASP/NJ?[Then-AASP/NJ Membership Coordinator] Ernie Miller. [Fellow AASP/NJ member] Greg Dwyer had mentioned me as a potential member, andafter speaking with Ernie, I joined. It seemed like a great way to help represent and promote the professionalism of the mechanical repair industry.Later, when I was asked to join the AASP/NJ Board of Directors, I did so without hesitation for the same reason.

How did you get involved in theautomotive repair industry?“ ”

MEET THE BOARD

KEITH KREHELKrehel Automotive Repair


You currently serve as AASP/NJ’s Mechanical Chairman. Do you haveany specific short- or long-term goals you’d like to see the associationachieve?I would love for us to grow our mechanical membership. There are so many mechan-ical repair shops that would benefit greatly from joining AASP/NJ. It is my hope thatwe continue to reach out to those shops and encourage them to join us.

What book are you reading right now? Bailout Over Normandy by Ted Fahrenwald. It’s the story of a World War II fighterpilot who was forced to bail out of his plane into enemy lines. I’m very interested inthe history behind the WWII era, and this is a great true story about some of theunbelievable experiences of that time.

What’s one thing your industry colleagues may not know about you?I’m a bit of a thrill seeker! I enjoy racing - go-karts and drag racing, in particular -and I’ve tried flying, but couldn’t get into it. Something about being that high up inone of those little two-seaters was a little much, even for me. I also love scuba diving,especially doing deep-sea dives to explore shipwrecks.

Sounds dangerous.It can be. There was one particular time that got pretty hairy. We were about 100 feetunderwater in an upside-down WWII wreck in Truk Lagoon (a body of water about1,000 miles off the coast of New Guinea). Two buddies and I were swimming alongthe wreck, whose deck was crushed into the sand from impact. We found a channelthat enabled us to get up inside the boat. To our knowledge, that was the only wayin or out. We tied off a line to find our way back to that main channel, and startedlooking around. As we got deeper and deeper, my friends wanted to go a bit furtherthan I did, so I decided to turn around. I swam alone into what I thought was a holeback to that main channel; instead, I ended up in a closet-sized space with no watercurrent and about 18 inches of silt. At the slightest movement, that silt flies up andcreates a sandstorm. As soon as I started moving around in there, there was zerovisibility, and no way to get out by sight alone. Luckily, I didn’t panic; I felt aroundand slowly went hand-over-hand along the outer wall until I found my way. But therewere a few minutes there where I wasn’t sure if I was going to make it out.

What would you say is your greatest accomplishment?Well, being in business for 32 years is definitely up there in my book, but I think mygreatest achievement would have to be working almost full time while maintaininggood grades at - and later graduating from - Montclair State University. The disci-pline and work ethic that were necessary to get through school have stuck with methrough my years in business, and have driven me to keep striving after all theseyears.

Do you have any words of advice for those just starting out in business?Pace yourself. Moderation is key; just because you open your business on a Tuesdaydoes not mean you should run out and buy a Mercedes on Wednesday.

NJA


ABC News SpotlightsUnsafe Repairs

An explosive TV investigative news report byABC Action News in Florida has put the issue ofpotentially dangerous repairs performed by DRPshops directly in front of the motoring public.

According to the report, Florida vehicle ownerWill Dunn was directed by his insurer to use one oftheir Direct Repair shops for the repair of his NissanAltima.

“My insurance adjusters called and...pretty muchsteered me to their shop,” he says.

Dunn claims that shortly after receiving therepaired vehicle, he noticed gaps in the seams in therear of his vehicle. He took his Nissan to Gunder’sAuto Center in Lakeland, where owner Ray Gunderdiscovered a crushed portion of the frame in the rightrear of the vehicle.

“Whoever sits in that back seat is going to be putin major harm’s way,” he said.

According to ABC Action News, Gunder’s AutoCenter is one of 20 Florida collision repair facilitiesthat have filed suit against 30 insurance companies,alleging “a pattern of coercion to force these shops totake short cuts on repairs to keep costs low.” The ABCAction News video is available at www.abcactionnews.com/news/local-news/i-team-investigates/insurance-companies-accused-of-short-cut-repairs-that-may-put-your-family-at-risk-on-the-road.

RICO Suit Plaintiff Opposes Consolidation with Other Actions

As this issue of New Jersey Automotive went topress, Crawford’s Auto Center issued an InterestedParty Response opposing the consolidation of its suitagainst several auto insurers (“Federal LawsuitAlleges Insurers’ Conspiracy to Control CollisionRepair Costs,” NJA, June 2014) with a number ofcurrent antitrust lawsuits against carriers. Accordingto CollisionWeek Online (www.collisionweek.com),these suits include litigation currently filed inMississippi, Florida, Indiana, Utah and Tennessee.

While the Plaintiffs in the case did not seek tohave Crawford’s consolidated with the other lawsuits,Allstate identified the lawsuit filed by Crawford’s as apotential tag along suit.

Explaining their opposition to the motion,Crawford’s response states, “Like the majority ofdefendants who have filed responses to the proposedMDL [multidistrict litigation]...Crawford’s opposesconsolidation of the RICO Class Action with theAntitrust Actions.”

NEWS

NJA


FEATURE

If you’re not careful, you might be put outof business by the same automobilesyou’re working so hard to repair.

From President Obama recently getting headlines by riding acrash avoidance simulator at the Turner-Fairbank Highway Re-search Center in McLean, VA to the ongoing buzz surroundingthe self-driving Google car, it is clear that automotive technologyis accelerating beyond anyone’s expectations. If you’ve spent anyreal time in this industry, you should have at least some familiar-ity with these features:

Autonomous emergency braking systems(designed to help a driver avoid a low-speed crashor to reduce its severity)

Lane departure systems (which track a vehicle’sposition within a lane, usually with a camera mountedon or near the rearview mirror, and alerts the driver asthe car begins to move out of the lane)

Adaptive headlightsElectronic stability control (ESC) to help prevent

rolloversForward collision warning systems with auto

braking

These items represent a small fraction of a technological rev-olution that is not only here right now in many forms, but des-tined to grow long into the future. If you think you can fix carsthe way you did even five years ago, it’s time to wise up.

“This is happening now,” offers AASP/NJ member EddieDay (Collision Restoration, Fairfield). “If people are blindenough to think that this isn’t going to affect the volume and typeof repair coming into your place – and their net – they’re sadlymistaken.”

It’s not just repairers of high-end cars who are in for a rudeawakening, as such vehicles as the Mitsubishi Outlander (MSRPfrom $22,995) boast crash avoidance technology among their fea-tures. It’s not at all difficult to figure out why more and more ve-hicles are leaving new car dealerships with these systemsinstalled.

“It’s a great selling point,” Day offers. “What’s the coolestthing to do? Tell somebody that his or her child is going to besafe when he or she drives their car to college.”

Of course, the proliferation of anti-accident technologies hasled the industry’s more forward-thinking shops to seriously con-sider how they will handle a potential drop in repair work as lessvehicles are involved in collisions. Day, who predicts that thesehigh-tech vehicles will have a dramatic effect within the next fiveto seven years, is already considering adding mechanical andrestoration work to his offerings in an effort to shield his businessfrom a decrease in collision volume.

“The solution is to reinvent ourselves,” he says. “Collisionavoidance systems will be a game-changer in this industry. Activeavoidance on the shops’ part is no way of dealing with this newtechnology.”

Naturally, even the most accident-resistant vehicle can endup getting seriously damaged. After all, your car having all the

The CrashAvoidance

Crisis:Will Technology End

the Repair Industry? By Joel Gausten


crash avoidance features in the world won’t prevent someonewithout that technology from skidding on the ice and slamminginto your parked vehicle. Shop owners need to prepare for theproper training to know how to bring these vehicles back to pre-loss condition if they see them come through their doors. Justimagine what could happen if a technician fails to restore a com-ponent as important as a collision avoidance monitor. The expo-sure - not to mention the legal liabilities - could be endless.

“I think collision repair facilities should rethink their liabilitycoverage threshold, and possibly add an umbrella policy to safe-guard themselves from endless litigation,” Day says.

While many repairers are understandably concerned overhow evolving technologies will impact their bottom lines downthe road, California-based auto body instructor Toby Chess cau-tions shops that there are still troublesome things for them tograpple with right here, right now before even beginning to fretabout the future.

“The biggest problem I’m seeing is that the technology isproceeding three, four, five times faster than our training,” hesays. “Get your house in order, guys. Start looking at whetheryou have the right equipment, the proper training for the equip-ment and the understanding of how this stuff works.”

Over the last several years, Chess has actively reached out torepairers to educate them on such current technologies as theelectronic stability control and steering angle sensor. If his travelshave taught him anything, it’s that even some of the most exten-sive repair facilities in the country are behind the eight ball whenit comes to properly identifying the advanced features in carstoday, let alone in 2024.

“I don’t care if they’re high-end or low-end, people aren’tasking questions. They’re just grabbing keys, filling out someforms and leaving without asking the pertinent questions,” heopines. “Do the customers have a lane departure system on theircar? Do you have ‘hill descent’? That’s going to change how youwrite a sheet.”

According to Chess, the steering angle sensor is perhaps themost critical component of any current vehicle on the road.

“You know what works off that steering angle sensor?” heasks. “Crash avoidance, lane departure, adaptive cruise control,adaptive headlamps, ‘hill ascent’ and ‘hill descent.’”

Although crash avoidance, autonomous braking systems andsimilar breakthroughs are sure to reshape how the industry con-ducts itself in years to come, Chess isn’t convinced that they willspell the end for the repair trade.

“I don’t care how good the [crash avoidance] system is; peo-ple are still going to crash cars,” he insists. “I’ve been told that[crash avoidance systems] have certain speed parameters; theywork at a certain level of speed. It might reduce some of theseverity, but it’s not going to eliminate crashes altogether.”

Chess is not alone in this thinking: An April 2012 report onVolvo’s crash avoidance features by the Highway Loss Data In-stitute made it clear that crash avoidance doesn’t necessarilymean crash prevention:

Forward Collision Warning with Auto Brake is Volvo’sterm for a forward collision warning system that includessome autonomous emergency braking. With Auto Brake,the system will also provide visual and auditory warningswhen speed and distance indicate risk of a crash withthe leading traffic and, if the driver’s reaction does noteliminate that risk, the system will begin emergencybraking to mitigate – but probably not prevent – thecrash (emphasis added). Auto Brake becomes func-tional at speeds over 3 mph and deactivates whenspeed drops below 3 mph. Auto Brake operates whetheror not Adaptive Cruise Control is activated. The audi-tory warnings can be deactivated by the driver. If de-activated, the warnings stay deactivated at the nextignition cycle (emphasis added). Vehicles with ForwardCollision Warning with Auto Brake also have AdaptiveCruise Control, Distance Alert, Lane Departure Warningand Driver Alert.

Will crash avoidance-enhanced vehicles make a huge impacton the collision repair industry? Absolutely. Will they all hit theroad at the same time? Probably not – at least according to theHighway Loss Data Institute. Last fall, Institute Vice PresidentMatthew Moore appeared at a special meeting hosted by AASP’sMassachusetts affiliate to share his organization’s findings onhow soon cars of this nature will dominate the US vehicle fleet.According to Institute research, the average lifespan of a vehicleis 11 years. If you couple that with the fact that pickup trucks andcollectible cars last even longer on the road, it might end up tak-ing quite a long time before something that’s added to all newcars turns up on the majority of vehicles on America’s highways.For example, a 2012 federal mandate required all new vehicles tobe equipped with electronic stability control, but the Institute an-ticipates that it will take decades before the impact of this changeis truly felt.

“This feature’s been standard equipment on all new vehiclessince 2012, and we’re looking at calendar year 2033 before weget to 95 percent of vehicles with this feature,” he said.

Additionally, Moore addressed concerns over the impendingarrival of self-driving cars with great skepticism.

“Do I think people are going to be driving autonomous vehi-cles next year or the year after? No, not at all,” he offered. “Howmany of you folks drive a Ford? Who drives a Google? Thereinlies the rub; Google doesn’t make cars. At this point, the technol-ogy packages that are required to produce a fully-autonomous ve-hicle are prohibitively expensive.”

As far as important technology that is here, the Insurance In-stitute for Highway Safety (IIHS) offers an extensive onlinedatabase of current vehicles with crash avoidance features – aswell as numerous educational videos – at www.iihs.org/iihs/rat-ings/crash-avoidance-features.

Although it doesn’t appear that the collision repair industrywill completely disappear overnight as a result of changes in ve-hicle safety features, repairers who are unwilling to study thesedevelopments and determine how they might impact their busi-ness are in for a very difficult road ahead. If you don’t get on thebandwagon soon, the autonomous brakes you’re likely to feel arethe ones placed on your shop. NJA


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Marlboro Maroon with black interior, matching auxiliary hardtopTan soft top (originally black, but replaced four years ago)

•Original tank sticker/build set•Matching #s 427/400 HP Tri-Power•Original 4-speed transmission (M21)

• 3.55 Posi-Rear• Transistorized ignition• Tinted glass• 4 wheel disc brakes

In the past two years: • The three 2-barrel carbs have been rebuilt.• A new date coded De Witt radiator was installed• A new fuel tank was installed with fuel tanksending unit & fuel pump and all the incidentalsthat go with a fuel tank.

The car was re-painted 23 years ago in lacquer, with aclear in the original correct color…and looks GREAT!!!

Asking Price: $99,000Call Mike at (201) 452-0987

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Through our visits to repair facilitiesand in our training classes, we have seenand heard some troubling things. Manyshops are still using structural realignment(frame equipment) apparatus that may be-long in the Smithsonian. Many in our in-dustry (both insurers and shops) aremisguided on how to actually affix/anchorthe vehicle to the apparatus, and manythink that sill “pinch weld” clamps are thenorm and still acceptable. This article willhopefully clear up some of thesemisconceptions, misunderstandings and/ormisinformation in our industry.

For many years, we have known thatmost German vehicles cannot be anchoredby the sill/pinch welds. This was due tothe configuration of the rocker panel mat-ing flanges, which include adhesives thatcan be damaged. In addition, rocker panelflanges are not designed to withstand theforces the way they are applied duringmounting. We have seen over the past fewyears that high-end German engineeringdesigns are being utilized in lower-pricedvehicles. For example, the 2014 DodgeDart and Jeep Grand Cherokee are nowutilizing the Compact US Wide platformdesign, which does not support jacking oranchoring at the rocker panel matingflanges/sill panels (pinch welds). Althoughyou will have to affix the vehicle to the re-alignment apparatus by the sill clamps,Dodge/Jeep states that you may anchor thevehicle by the sills. However, you mustanchor in at least two other areas, such asthe front or rear suspension mountingareas. Otherwise, you can cause damageto the sill areas during pulling procedures.Generally, this will mean you will need toanchor a fixture or jig to the engine cradleor rear suspension cradle mounting areas.This will require the removal of themounting bolts and/or removal of the cra-dle. Some manufacturers state in their re-pair procedures that there is adhesive inthe sill mating flanges, and anchoring inthese areas will destroy the adhesive bond,weakening the area.

Unless you are using a Celette Benchor a universal fixture system (which

anchor and measure the vehicle in multi-ple areas), most late-model vehicles re-quire additional anchoring. These types ofsystems affix a jig fixture/universal fixtureto the machine and to the vehicle to sup-port and hold other areas on it for measur-ing and realignment procedures. Manyshops have an issue because their equip-ment is antiquated and not designed forthe anchoring and repairing of late-modelvehicles. Many times, we see vehicleswith chains hooked into areas on the un-dercarriage or into uni-rails. This willcause damage to these areas because theywere not designed to have force applied tothem. Additionally, we must all under-stand that electronic measuring or fixturemeasuring is the only correct way to re-align a collision-damaged vehicle.

One of the main issues we see is dam-age assessors (estimators) unfamiliar withthe proper equipment and procedure foraffixing a vehicle to the realignment appa-ratus. In addition, we hear all too often,

“We only get paid 2.0 hours to set up andmeasure.” We also hear technicians say, “Iain’t got time to set it up, ‘cause we didn’tget paid for it.” This way of thinkingneeds to change. We cannot arbitrarilyskip repair procedures because we didn’tget paid for them. Those operations stillneed to be performed.

Surprisingly, it can take upwards oftwo hours to set a vehicle up on a realign-ment apparatus and another two hours toclean and replace all of the anchoringclamps/fixtures. That would be four hoursto set up the vehicle, and that may or maynot include measuring. We know too manyof us have been fooled into thinking that2.0 hours for set-up and measure is thenorm. Although it may have been at somepoint in the past, it is no longer enoughtime (nor is it published anywhere) thatstudies have established that using 2.0hours is normal and customary. Then thereare the many procedures and operationsto affix the vehicle to the realignment

Procedure and Description: Car-O-Liner Labor

Pre-measure vehicle: This will determine the extent of damageand if structural realignment is necessary (or remove and replace the component) 1.0 Frame

Measure suspension components: This will determine if the suspensionsustained any damage. 1.0 Frame

Set Up on Realignment Apparatus: This would include assembling clamps,installing the vehicle, affixing the clamps, removal of the vehicle and clamps, cleaning and replacement of the clamps. 3.0 Frame

EVO Anchoring left front uni-rails (upper and lower): This operationis to ensure that the rails are held in the correct position during the replacement procedures. (Three are required at 0.5 Frame per) 1.5 Frame

Check measurements during the repair process 1.0 Frame

Repair Anchoring Locations 1.5 Body

Refinish Anchoring Locations 1.2 Refinish

Add for Clearcoat 0.4 Refinish

Acid Etch/Epoxy/Primer Anchoring Locations 0.8 Refinish

Mask Underside for Primer and Paint $15/0.6 Body

R&I All Four Wheels 0.4 Mech

Trial Fit Weld-On/Bolt-On for Replacement 3.0 Body

Collision Access Time 1.5 Body

Totals $15.00 7.5 Frame 6.6 Body 2.4 Refinish 0.4 Mech


TECHNICAL FEATURE

Structural Realignment Changesby Larry Montanez III, CDA and Jeff Lange, PE


apparatus that many of you perform with-out realizing they are not included. For ex-ample, let’s use a 2014 Toyota Camry witha frontal impact. The vehicle requires aleft lower front uni-rail (frame rail) and aleft upper front uni-rail. Let’s look at thesetup procedures for structural repairs on aCar-O-Liner system and on a CeletteBench. The procedures and labor times inthe charts below and on page 34 are forexample only and in no way a suggestionof procedures and labor times for eachoperation.

As you can see, there are a lot of pro-cedures to structural realignment that yourtechs are performing without a charge. Re-member that each vehicle repair is slightlydifferent, but structural repair on collision-damaged vehicles generally remains thesame, based on the type of structural re-alignment equipment utilized. Please keepin mind that measuring and diagnosing isthe most important step to any structuralrepair. Also understand that we did not in-clude realignment time/pull time, as wecould not show the damage in an article.

In some cases, no realignment would berequired, due to the fact that all the dam-age is being changed at a mating area thatis undamaged. It is always important tokeep upgrading your equipment and stayup to date on training. Vehicles are chang-ing every single year, and newer types ofsubstrates are just around the corner. Re-member that our industry has grown frompanel beaters and “heavy guys” to repairtechnicians and structural technicians topara-engineers.

We hope this article has helped theindustry to better understand the changesto structural realignment and why upgrad-ing your equipment is so important. Feelfree to contact us if you have any ques-tions.

Larry Montanez, CDA is co-owner of P&LConsultants with Peter Pratti Jr. P&L Consul-tants works with collision repair shops on esti-mating, production and proper repairprocedures. P&L conducts repair workshops onMIG & resistance welding, measuring for esti-mating and advanced estimating skills. P&Lalso conducts investigations for insurers and re-pair shops for improper repairs, collision re-pairability and estimating issues. P&L can bereached by contacting Larry at (718) 891-4018(office), (917) 860–3588 (cell), (718) 646–2733 (fax) or via email at [email protected] P&L website iswww.PnLEstimology.com.

Jeff Lange, PE is a Forensic Engineer andpresident of Lange Technical Services, Ltd. ofDeer Park, New York. Jeff is a Licensed NewYork State Professional Engineer, ASE Certi-fied Master Technician and ASE Certified Mas-ter Collision Repair Technician who specializesin vehicle damage analysis for accident recon-struction, products liability and insuranceclaims investigation. Jeff can be reached at(631) 667-6128 or by email at [email protected].

Procedure and Description: Celette Labor

Pre-measure vehicle: This will determine the extent of damageand if structural realignment is necessary (or remove and replace the component) 1.0 Frame

Measure suspension components: This will determine if the suspensionsustained any damage. 1.0 Frame

Set Up on Realignment Apparatus: This would include affixing the fixtureTowers and MZ Plus, installing the vehicle, affixing the fixtures to the vehicle, removal of the vehicle and fixtures, cleaning and replacement of the fixtures and hardware. Eight Locations (four front and four rear) 4.0 Frame

Additional fixtures left front uni-rails (upper and lower): This operationis to ensure that the rails are held in the correct position during the replacement procedures. (Two are required at 0.5 Frame per) 1.0 Frame

Check measurements during the repair process 1.0 Frame

Repair Anchoring Locations 1.5 Body

Refinish Anchoring Locations 1.2 Refinish

Add for Clearcoat 0.4 Refinish

Acid Etch/Epoxy/Primer Anchoring Locations 0.8 Refinish

Mask Underside for Primer and Paint $15/0.6 Body

R&I All Four Wheels 0.4 Mech

Trial Fit Weld-On/Bolt-On for Replacement 3.0 Body

Collision Access Time 1.5 Body

Totals $15.00 8.0 Frame 6.6 Body 2.4 Refinish 0.4 Mech

NJA

IN & AROUND AASP/NJ

MOTOR Information Systems Announces MikeLovullo’s Retirment as Independent Distributor


Mike Lovullo has retired from hisposition of independent distributoreffective December 31, 2013. As

reported by MOTOR Information Systemsin a company press release, Lovullo was responsible in this posi-tion for MOTOR’s product distribution in Northern New Jersey.

Lovullo joined MOTOR in 1970 as a sub-distributor for hislate father, Michael J. Lovullo. After less than a year, he venturedout on his own and became an independent distributor inNorthern New Jersey and parts of New York City, sellingMOTOR manuals. Lovullo attained an Associate’s degree fromManhattan Community College in bookkeeping, and worked forPrudential/Grace Steamship Lines in the manifest billingdepartment before he began with MOTOR.

“Mike was very generous with his time when it came tohelping new distributors in the northeast, and he was very activein [AASP/NJ],” said Rick Beisel, Northeast regional manager.“He was committed to the business, worked hard at it, andreceived many awards to honor his dedication and hard work.”

Lovullo is grateful for his 43-year career with MOTOR.“I had a wonderful mentor in my late dad, who had started withMOTOR in 1948,” he says. “He taught me all about the business,how to work the territory and how to keep records of customers’buying habits. In the last few years, Rick Beisel offered

successful advice on how to improve my sales, and I thank himfor that.”

Lovullo began selling Comp-Est software to the body shopindustry in 1996 with the help of John Garger, a current MOTORdistributor. When MOTOR aligned themselves with Alldata, hesold the MOTOR Alldata software program until he retired. Healso helped John Griffin, a fellow MOTOR distributor, in his de-cision to join the company; he comments, “I am happy to say thathe has done exceptionally well.” What Mr. Lovullo misses mostabout being a distributor for MOTOR, though, is “seeing all thefamiliar faces I called on every six to eight months.”

Lovullo is currently working one to two days each week,selling software to body shop industry. In his free time, he enjoysreading, cooking, playing the occasional game of golf andrelaxing on the New Jersey shore.

MOTOR congratulates Mike Lovullo on his retirement as anindependent distributor and wishes him a healthy and prosperousfuture!

About MOTORMOTOR Information Systems is the leader in aftermarket information solutions for vehicles.Founded in 1963, MOTOR products include targeted, timely and accurate data to help ourcustomers achieve their business goals. For more information, visit www.motor.com.

NJA

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COVER STORY

Here’s a serious question for the New Jersey auto bodyrepair community: Do you think the owner of an $85,000Jaguar would appreciate it if you brought his or herdamaged car outside and used a propane torch to heatup a panel? Of course not, but this is just one example ofthe careless, unprofessional and potentially lethal workbeing performed by mobile repairers each and every dayin New Jersey.

Despite the fact that the New Jersey Auto Body License Law makes itsclear that a body shop doing business in this state must be licensed, operate outof a building and meet minimum equipment standards, New Jersey Automotivehas been inundated with reports from concerned readers that unlicensed re-pairers are setting up shop in a variety of locations (including some dealershipparking lots) and doing everything from bumper repairs (typically for $150-

$250) to heavy hits. All it takes is one look at Craigslist to see ad after ad for this typeof work, often offered for considerably less money than what a true brick-and-mortar shop would

need to charge to do things by the book. (One mobile repair advertisement we received from a reader boasted“Up to 75% Off Body Shop Prices.”) Some of these mobile operators seem to follow set schedules, performingwork in different parking lots on different days of the week, while others move around in trailers housingmakeshift paint booths. Interestingly, we have also received reports from some shops that even the dealers thatcertified them to do their repairs are allowing mobile techs to paint panels and bumpers in their lots. Who isoverseeing these operations to ensure safe and environmental compliance? How fair is it that one segment ofthe industry is required to go through considerable expense to be in compliance with the law, while anothersegment is seemingly allowed to operate with no oversight whatsoever?

“It all boils down to the greed,” offers one AASP/NJ member. “This kind of work is donebecause the dealer either damaged the vehicle on the lot themselves and wants to get out of it ascheaply as possible, or the customer’s paying correctly to have it done, and these guys are get-ting it done at a fraction of the price and pocketing the rest.”

“I have no problem with somebody making a living, but let’s do it the correct way,” addsanother reader. “I had to get a body shop license, I had to get approvals, I had to borrowmoney from the bank and I had to build my business. I never had to fix a car in a parking lotwith a mound of snow next to me using a propane heater to heat the panel. I didn’t realize itwas that easy to open and run a body shop!”

Lot Lizards &Broken Laws:Shops Speak OutAgainst MOBILEREPAIRERS

By Joel Gausten



To help illustrate the problems that mobile repairerscause this industry, one AASP/NJ member puts himself in acustomer’s shoes: “I just bought a pre-certified Mercedesfrom the dealership. They didn’t disclose any damage or re-pairs to me. I pull up to a parking spot and bump the curb,and my bumper explodes. I go to my preferred shop and theysay, ‘Oh, man. This has been repaired before.’ It needed to bereplaced last time, but somebody obviously repaired it. Wouldyou as the consumer be happy with that?

“Let’s say a car comes in for a small bumper repair, andwe open it up to discover a can of worms,” he adds. “It’ll take$7,000 in repair work to correct it, and the customer says, ‘Ibought the car that way.’”

Another reader tells New Jersey Automotive that one ofhis customers recently broughtin a 2012 Mercedes-Benz S550– a $130,000 vehicle – afternoticing problems with abumper he had had repaired bya mobile shop for $500. Afterreviewing the considerabledamage caused by this repair,the shop wrote $8,000 to havethe bumper fixed properly.

Edward Day, owner of Col-lision Restoration in Fairfield,knows the mobile shop issue alltoo well. He tells New JerseyAutomotive that he is aware of“at least three or four” busi-nesses currently utilizing theservices of these unlicensed re-pairs on wheels and bumpers.

“They’ll go into a dealership and just mask the car andspray while it’s 50 degrees and raining,” he says. “Enforce-ment is the problem. The State of New Jersey does not havethe revenue to support the licensing enforcement, and the mo-bile operations find their way around the licensing.”

In Day’s mind, the growth of mobile operations in NewJersey stems from one thing – a desire to make a profit off acheap repair.

“The bumper guy who is doing each job for $100 mightbe doing eight bumpers a day and making a ton of money,”he says.

Additionally, the AASP/NJ member is concerned over themanufacturers’ apparent reluctance to address the very seri-ous dilemma of dealers allowing questionable repairs to takeplace at the same location they’re actively promoting vehiclecertification programs.

“How do you make a certified shop go through all thiswork, where it’s going to cost him or her $200,000, and thenyou have ‘the bumper guy’ come in your dealership and spotbumpers in?” he asks. “We’re always held to this high levelof accountability, and then you have somebody come in andthrow the cheapest clear on the bottom of a bumper justbecause it camouflaged the nick. When is the dealershipaccountable when they certify that car?”

As Tom Elder (Compact Kars, Clarksburg) sees it, theobvious growth of mobile operators not only insults thoseshops that diligently work to maintain the professionalism oftheir craft, but blatantly breaks state regulations.

“You would not believe the number of people who’ve hadthese jobs done; it’s rampant out there,” he says. “These op-erations are not done by the constraints of the law that waspassed that says that anybody who works on these cars has tohave a location, a building and a license. Many seem to thinkthat the 6H Rule creates an exemption for anyone simplyusing a paint gun with a three-ounce cup or less. That is notthe case; in reality, the 6H rule creates a threshold of threeounces of material being sprayed on any one job or operation.Therefore, anyone performing a job outside in the open air

that requires more than threeounces of material would clearly bein violation of the Rule.”

In Elder’s mind, there is simplyno way these mobile repairers canconduct business the way they doand maintain the standards of theNew Jersey Auto Body LicenseLaw.

“On a nice day, they’ll be outthere painting in the open,” he ex-plains. “They might have a big golfumbrella set up just so the sun staysoff. They’ll be spraying away, andthere’s a cloud of clearcoat goingacross the parking lot...It’s a con-sumer issue, a health issue and alegal issue; the customer’s not get-ting what they are supposed to get.”

Although the AASP/NJ community works diligently tooperate professionally and within the full extent of the law,there are some people who are willing to sacrifice quality –and the reputation of the industry they supposedly represent– for a quick buck. Until a proper and permanent solution tothis dilemma is found, the Garden State’s more reputablecollision repair establishments will continue to battle enemieswho are constantly – and illegally – on the move.

“Whether the shops realize it or not, it is affecting theirbusiness,” offers one member. “I didn’t realize it was thateasy to open and run a body shop out of the back of a pickup,a van, a trailer or portable tents. When those cars are inaccidents and the customers come to a real shop, we have topick up – and clean up – where these guys left off.”

New Jersey Automotive wants to hear fromreaders with any knowledge of mobile repair busi-nesses operating in their area. Please contact EditorJoel Gausten at (973) 600-9288 or [email protected] will be granted upon request.

All it takes is one look atCraigslist to see ad afterad for this type of work,

often offered for considerably less money

than what a true brick-and-mortar shopwould need to charge

to do things by the book.

NJA

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While many of you chimed in about your favorite movie cars, don’t forgetabout all the fantastic rides that also appeared on the small screen! Onereader shares his fond childhood memories of cars in television.

“The Munstermobile was by far the coolest of the cool. How could younot want that funky roadster designed by the legendary George Barris?Barris also designed the Batmobile, the Monkeemobile and Grandpa’sDrag-u-la, which was featured in a Munsters episode. And those are onlya few of the amazing California Barris designs that were featured on1960s TV. So many to choose from!”Images © www.motortrend.com (Monkeemobile); www.strangekidsclub.com (Munsterkoach); www.speed-blur.com (Batmobile); www.munsterkoach.com (Drag-u-la)

THE LISTBEST MOVIE CARIn our newest monthly feature, we at New Jersey Automotive are getting the readers more involved than ever! Every month, we’ll be asking

your feedback on one specific question. This month, we asked NJA readers to tell us about their favorite cinematic cars, with tremendousresults! Want to get in on the action? Email [email protected] with the subject head “The List” - we’ll make sure you’re included in future

mailings! And when you see us pop up in your inbox, please share your opinion! We just might print it in a future issue. And now, on to The List…

1968 Mustang GT 390Fastback & 1968 DodgeCharger R/T440As seen in: Bullitt (1968)You told us: “Two of thecoolest muscle cars ever,battling it out during ar-guably the best car chasescene ever! Definitelycheck out this Steve Mc-Queen classic.” Image ©www.speeddoctor.net

Dodge Challenger As seen in: Vanishing Point (1971)You told us: “Remember Kowalski’s epic roadtrip? That whiteChallenger gets honorable mention in my book as one of thegreatest movie cars ever.” Image © www.mattstonecars.com

DeLorean Time Machine (based on 1981 DeLorean DMC-12)As seen in: Back to the Future trilogyYou told us: “The stainless steel body, two-seater capacity and sleeklook are perfect for time travel, and look so, so cool. What an iconicexotic sports car.”Image © http://www.autoblog.com

1973 Chevrolet BlazerAs seen in: Jaws (1975)You told us: As a Jaws addict, I will alwayshave an affinity for Chief Brodie’s toplessChevy Blazer, complete with emergencylights on the roll bar. Don’t forget the‘Beaches Closed’ signs!”Image ©http://www.imcdb.org/

“Eleanor” - 1967 Ford MustangAs seen in: Gone in 60 Seconds (2000)You told us: “The whole climax of the movie is based around thatcar. It was Nicholas Cage’s arch-nemesis. No matter how many timesthat movie is on, I’ll watch it over and over again.” Image ©http://mustangsdaily.com

1967 Chevrolet CamaroAs seen in: Better Off Dead (1985)You told us: “The movie is an entertaining ’80s teen underdog flick - featuring ayoung John Cusack - but for me, that beautiful black Camaro makes the wholefilm. Ultimate muscle car.” Image © http://autocarscenter.blogspot.com/


1978 Chevrolet ImpalaAs seen in: Law & Disorder (1974)You told us: “This is my favorite movie car be-cause believe it or not, I actually starred alongsideit! I played one of a gang of six guys who had tostrip the car (which belonged to Ernest Borgnine’scharacter in the movie). In the scene, we quicklyremove all four tires and wheels, take the frontseat out, pop the trunk and remove all four doors -which I had set up in my shop to come off withonly two short bolts for the movie. We had a CO2tank on the makeshift tow truck and air wrenchesto do the job in a minute and 45 seconds. And thatwas after our third try!”Image © www.youtube.com

1973 Chevrolet Corvette StingrayAs seen in: Corvette Summer (1978)You told us: “Awesome car and a fun, silly movie.Does a great job of capturing the vibe of the ’70s,too.” Image © http://andoniscars.blogspot.com

’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 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.


A customer walked into the shop recently, dropped her keyson the counter and proclaimed, “It died just around the cornerand won’t start. Can you go get it?” Some conversation ensuedand it was discovered that four days prior, the oil pressure lighthad started flickering on and off. The light then became a con-stant, until finally it died. (“My dad checked and it had enoughoil in it, so I thought the light was wrong!”) It was only twoblocks away, so I grabbed my tech Danny and jumped in the ser-vice truck to go see what we could do. While this was easier thantrying to arrange AAA towing and making the customer wait 90minutes for them to show up, she was quickly becoming a dis-traction to the day’s work schedule.

The little PT Cruiser looked sad and forlorn sitting half inthe middle of the street, broken and busted as it was. A turn of thekey revealed a very fast cranking engine that “sounded” wrong.Yes, the timing belt had snapped. We pushed it the two blocks tothe shop with the help of the truck. Inside the office, I listened tothe story again and after reviewing her file, discovered we haddone a timing belt some four years (but only 12,000 miles) ago.Most likely, the engine suffered a loss of oil pressure and thecamshaft had locked up, which broke the belt. Sure enough, on

removal of the valve cover, the cam sprocket was indeed frozen.Logical as it was, it didn’t appear to be “enough.”

When Dad and I spoke on the phone, it was all about,“Could the timing belt have broken and caused the problem?” Icould hear the bullet loading into the chamber…I instinctivelyknew where this was going.

The next day, a husband and wife consumer duo walked intothe shop. Note that, unlike a customer, a consumer has not yetspent any money with you. Part of the ensuing interactionbetween you is in both of you deciding if they (or you) wantto…or should (spend money). Anyway, this couple’s VW SUVhad a service engine light on; they were “devoted” dealer cus-tomers until this particular day, when they had been told that tofix the service engine light problem, the vehicle needed acamshaft and turbocharger. I thought this was a strange comboand so, feeling sorry for them, we performed a no-charge codescan in the parking lot. This opened the floodgates.

The trouble code causing the light was a misfire on cylinder#4; after driving the car and experiencing how good it ran(smooth and very responsive; turbocharger clearly winding upand working), I wondered if the information from the dealer was

What is auto repair? First and foremost, for many of us, it’s abusiness - or at least it should be. Unfortunately, not manysee it that way. Those who comprise the “not many” groupare mainly vehicle owners or consumers. Consumer, nowthereis an interesting word! Sometimes the consumers end up beingcustomers (more on this later); other times, they truly doCONSUME time and energy, bringing minimal return to thetable. Blame is a big problem in auto repair, and I sometimeswonder how our society came to develop such a “you did this tome” mentality. The phrase “ever since you” can send shiversup and down a shop owner, technician or service writer’s spine,as it invokes a sign of things to come. Whether you realize it ornot, as a shop owner, or anyone in auto repair for that matter,much of your day is spent dodging the bullet.

NO BRAKES by Ron Ananian

Dodging the Bullet

misunderstood…or if thievery was afoot.During the course of additional conversa-tion, I learned that they had indeed drankthe Kool-Aid and serviced the car like reli-gion, following and paying for EVERYservice the dealer and manufacturer pre-scribed. They “believed that their dealer”(until now, their repair shop) was leadingthem down the right path to nirvana; nowfacing a $6,300 repair bill, perhaps theKool-Aid was not as sweet as it used tobe. They wanted direction and guidance -along with an estimate, diagnosis and an-swers - all while standing at the counter.And one last item they failed to mentionuntil the end: the vehicle had an intermit-tent oil pressure light going on and off forsome time now. The dealer was not able torepair it, though they had charged them forthe experience. “We want you to repair thecar, but we don’t want to spend a lot ofmoney.”

“Gee, what a surprise,” I thought.After all, if they wanted to spend money,they would have just let the dealer experi-ment with it. Some shops may havejumped at the chance to take on this job;that’s fine. I get it: Fix what you can,charge for it and pass the “unrepairable”items on to the next guy. But here’s mytwo cents:

If they wanted to spend money to re-pair the vehicle, they would have spent itwhere they were. Their concern was reallyabout trust, not money, and about accuracyand TBAR (theft by auto repair). Werethese repairs going to solve their problem?It was a game of Russian roulette, and Ichose not to play. If I did indeed diagnosecorrectly and the misfire fault was only abad ignition coil (which I suspect waswhat the SUV really needed), the oilpressure light was still an issue. Was it a

mechanical problem or electrical? Whatkind of shape was the engine really in?And what if it did indeed need a camshaftand turbocharger? After all this wonderfulmaintenance and care at the dealer, theengine (which is supposed to be the bestpart of a VW, by the way) still neededsome major work.

I explained all these scenarios and hadthe conversation ultimately guide them to-wards vehicle replacement, or to somevery detailed diagnosis (for which timeand money would be spent).

THE BOTTOM LINE IS…In both cases, the potential for liabil-

ity and exposure for a problem on the partof the repair shop was huge. The PTCruiser conversation did indeed turn to-wards the four-year-old but low-mileagetiming belt; several times, I had to directthe conversation towards the oil pressurelight and seized camshaft. (The beltbroke because something else failed; theengine did not fail as a result of the beltbreaking.)

The VW story is multi-faceted anddepends on your perspective. I see it likethis. If I had diagnosed the misfire and itwas only ignition, there was still an oilpressure problem….which maybe was me-chanical. The dealer had allegedly re-placed the sender and a control unit to noavail. And what if the diagnosis turned to-wards the already-mentioned camshaft andturbocharger? I can hear the conversationnow: “Why are you charging me to diag-nose something we already know?” I triedto mention the phrase “confirmation to re-pair,” but it carries as much weight as thephrase “second opinion” in some cases. Inmy conversation with them at the counter,it was noted that, if the car still needed this

much work despite all the maintenance ithad received, then how good of a car wasit? And what was coming next? Replace-ment with a better car line was a path tobe considered. But for me to get involved,it would take money and time (or abulletproof vest).

In both cases, the consumers clearlydid not understand how a car could be socomplicated to repair. All I could do wasprotect myself from potential futureissues, and share enough knowledge toallow them to make their own informeddecisions. The car is always changing,and what I knew yesterday may not applytomorrow. So I say you better coveryourself…or learn how to duck.


NJA

and

Micro-Mix Paintand

Materials Calculatorin Bergen, Passaic, Essex and

Hudson Counties in New Jersey.

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

Mike LovulloDistributor for

ARANJ 2014 Officers

President Bob Dirkes�

Dirkes Used Auto Parts�609-625-1718�

[email protected]

1st Vice PresidentIan Szoboszlay�

Ocean County Auto�732-349-0332�

[email protected]

2nd Vice PresidentDarryl Carmen�

Lentini Auto Salvage908-782-6838

[email protected]

3rd Vice PresidentJoe Goodman�Leesville 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�

609-723-7469�[email protected]

Marvin Leadbeater�Bamber 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 UpdateNMVTIS Reporting Enforcement and Compliance – Recently, the United States Department of Jus-

tice (USDOJ) has stepped up enforcement of reporting requirements under the Anti-Car Theft Act (the Act).Passed in 1992, the Act required the USDOJ to create the National Motor Vehicle Title Information System(NMVTIS), an electronic database of vehicle history and title information. The regulations implementing theAct were adopted by the USDOJ in 2009. Under the regulations, junk and salvage yard operators - includingauto recyclers - are obligated to file monthly reports of all junk or salvage vehicles obtained by the facilityduring the prior month. The reports are filed through third-party data consolidation organizations such asAuto Data Direct, Inc. or Audatex.

New Jersey took similar measures to prevent fraud and the use of stolen vehicles. However, New Jer-sey’s laws differ significantly from the Act. Under New Jersey law, the owner of a salvage vehicle must ob-tain a salvage certificate of title. When a business (like an auto recycler) purchases a salvage vehicle, it mustapply to the Motor Vehicle Commission to obtain a new salvage certificate of title within 10 days of the pur-chase. To obtain a new salvage certificate of title after purchasing a salvage vehicle, the purchaser mustremit the properly executed and assigned existing salvage certificate of title as well as payment. If the vehi-cle was obtained from out of state, then an additional form containing vehicle, owner and lienholder infor-mation must be submitted.

Some businesses believe that compliance with state laws enacted to address issues with fraud and theuse of stolen vehicles will discharge their requirement to submit monthly reports to the NMVTIS. As a re-sult, these businesses do not file monthly reports with them. These businesses are prime targets for USDOJenforcement officials.

Under the Act, the submission of information concerning salvage vehicles in inventory to the state willonly discharge the NMVTIS reporting requirement if all information required under the Act is submitted tothe state and the state submits the information to the NMVTIS. In order to comply with New Jersey law, asalvage or junkyard, including an auto recycler, is not required to submit all of the information required bythe Act. As stated above, an auto recycler purchasing a New Jersey-titled vehicle needs only to submit theproperly executed and assigned salvage certificate of title with the required fee. The information required bythe Act, including the date the vehicle was obtained and what was done with it (e.g., crushed, sold, etc.),does not have to be reported to the Motor Vehicle Commission. Furthermore, the Motor Vehicle Commissiondoes not submit the information obtained from an auto recycler to NMVTIS. Therefore, New Jersey auto re-cyclers cannot avoid reporting to NMVTIS by satisfying the New Jersey law. Instead, auto recyclers mustcomply with both the New Jersey titling requirements and the monthly reporting requirements under the Act.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]

Wharton Insurance Briefs An ARA MemberWe have had a number of questions and concerns regarding Workers’ Compensation audits. Audits are

normally performed between 30 and 60 days after the expiration of your policy. You may be mailed a formto complete, contacted by phone for the information or have a visit scheduled by an auditor. Whether youcomplete the audit by filling out the forms, over the phone or in person, make sure you are prepared. Youshould prepare a breakdown of payroll by employee and by classification. You will also need supportingdocumentation, such as WR-30s or 941s.

It is important to make the proper classification of each employee. There are several classifications:Auto Dismantler (includes drivers), Iron or Steel Scrap dealer, part sales/counterperson, clerical and sales. Itis extremely important to classify each employee accurately. If you are directing the auditor to your accoun-tant, you should review the information with your accountant before it is released to the auditor.

If you have used subcontractors, you will be requested to supply:• The total cost of the subcontractors work.• A certificate of insurance, evidencing the subcontractors General Liability, Auto and Workers’ Comp.Insurance.

Without the above, the subcontractor cost will be charged as employee payroll. Always request a copyof the auditor’s worksheets for reference. If you should have any questions regarding your audit, please con-tact me.

Mario DeFilippis, AAI, Vice President, Wharton [email protected] (800) 221-0003 ext.1320


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continued from page 16

VENDOR SPOTLIGHT

representatives from OEM vehicle manu-facturers. The group is actively involvedin two websites –www.crashrepairinfo.com (an extensive OE-focusedconsumer information site) andwww.oem1stop.com (which offers OEMrepair information on a variety of makesand models). Additionally, Honda’sProFirst program (profirst.honda.com)recognizes shops for their commitment toa higher level of customer satisfaction byembracing (among other things) regularI-CAR training. On the consumer side,Honda currently offers two world-classinformation websites for Honda andAcura owners: www.collision.honda.comand www.airbagaware.honda.com.

Closer to home, Honda reached out tothe New Jersey collision industry in newand exciting ways in 2014 by exhibiting atAASP/NJ’s NORTHEAST® AutomotiveServices Show for the very first time.Ledoux was beyond pleased by what the

event offered Honda and the communitythey serve.

“We always heard great things about[NORTHEAST], and that there was a lotof participation, energy and people,” hesays. “We decided to jump in on it, and itwas a very good experience.”

Looking ahead, Honda will surelycontinue to provide the finest OEM prod-ucts, repair information and technical in-sights available to a rapidly-changingindustry.

“In the past, you could use a calendarto mark changes in the industry,” offersLedoux. “Today, we need a good pair ofrunning shoes! It’s moving at exponentialspeed, so we continue to monitor the in-dustry, see where things are going andevaluate what we can do to best servicethe industry and our Honda and Acuracustomers.”

NJA

New Jersey Automotive August 2014

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