CollisionCast

How I Did It: Robert Molina

Robert Molina is this year's FenderBender Award winner in the Executive category. He led his $12 million body shop beloved by his Miami community by investing in people and technology and instituting a customer-first mentality. Here's how he built his massive, technologically advanced operation.

Disrupt: How to Profitably Move Away from DRPs

Island Fender used to receive 90 percent of its business from DRPs. Feeling he was losing control of his body shop, owner Van Takemoto decided to tone his DRP business down. While painful at first, now his business is thriving. Here's how he did it.

Adapt: ADAS Technology & Your Shop

While, ideally, driver-assist systems reduce the likelihood of crashes, there are still going to be opportunities for work for collision repair shops. To help clear things up, David Aylor, director of active safety testing Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, gives a rundown on the current state of ADAS technology and how those vehicles affect body repair procedures.

Denny Hecker on Body Shops’ Challenging Future

Controversial auto industry consultant Denny Hecker sat down with FenderBender to discuss what he views as the long-term viability of the collision repair industry. Hecker, one of the original franchisees of ABRA in Minnesota, says that, these days, shop operators need to know their market better than ever. 

The Ongoing Debate: ACA on OEM vs. Aftermarket Parts

Not long ago, two bills in Rhode Island, Senate Bill 2679 and House Bill 8013, were passed into law. They sought to expand restrictions currently in place on aftermarket parts in first-party claims to any collision damaged vehicle. This resparked a long-running debate between OEM vs. aftermarket parts. Bill Hanvey, president and CEO of the Auto Care Association, says the law unfairly requires consumers to go to a dealership to get a low-cost part at an inflated price, and creates a false impression that aftermarket parts are inferior. On this episode of CollisionCast, Hanvey and Tom Tucker, director of state affairs for the association, discuss the bills and why they believe they set a bad precedent for the collision repair industry.

Vision: Finding the Perfect Manager for Your Shop

From hiring the right manager to keeping tabs on their performance, there's a lot that goes into finding your right hand man. Here's everything to consider. Here are some tips from Steve Morrow, owner of Capitol Collision Center, on how to find the perfect manager.

How I Did It: Kevin Conner

Conner Brothers Body Shop has become a beloved, embraced body shop in the Chester, Va., community. Owner Kevin Conner details how he grew that operation and how he built himself back up after his father sold three of the family's four body shops.

Disrupt: Forming a Social Media Game Plan

Jenna Gross, chief marketing officer for Moving Targets, shares some insights into how to form a game plan for your target audience via social media and online advertisements.

Vision: The Keys to Mentoring Managers

As the general manager of five Cole's Collision Centers, Josh Jewett has a ton of experience mentoring managers in training. In this episode, he details his keys for grooming managers for success, the difficulties one can often run into when coaching managers, and how to empower managers who feel unsure of themselves.

Adapt: Autonomous Cars & Your Paint Department

Barry Snyder of Axalta Coating Systems discusses how a paint job in your body shop can affect the LiDAR technology that’s crucial to how autonomous vehicles function.