October 2000 Editor's Page
The Devil Made Us Do It

They say that idle hands are the devil’s tools, or somehthing like that. Well, idle minds must be the place where the devil hatches devious plots involving the collision repair industry. Well anyway, that’s our excuse and we’re sticking to it. This month’s INSIGHT features a report on the difference in treatment being encountered in today’s shops by men and women. I'd have to say we were hoping to encounter some sort of sexist underbelly of the business, perhaps an entire army of creepy people who prey on unsuspecting men and women just looking to get an estimate on their car.

What we got instead, for the most part, was a bunch of professional estimates on our car. While our secretive plan did not uncover what you would call the underbelly of the industry, however, it was quite revealing about the estimation process in general.

Our feature story this month examines the industry’s use of salvaged parts. In the wake of the State Farm case and the general movement away from non-OEM parts, it would seem natural that the industry would turn to salvaged parts in an effort to control costs. Our feature story illustrates, however, that this is not the case across the board.

There are a number of issues involved in this important area of the industry, and our feature will let you know not only what they are, but how they are being addressed. Perhaps no issue in the salvage arena is hotter than that of the airbag. Take a look at page 17 to see how that dilemma is being handled. It’s an informative look at this increasingly important aspect of the business.

After reading the feature story, you might want to flip to this month’s TrendLine, which asks shop owners their thoughts on the issue. It’s a mixed bag, but there is no shortage of problems cropping up.

This month’s Market Watch indicates that shops around the country are looking forward to some lousy weather to usher in an uprise in business. The dog days of summer have given way to fall, and numerous shops are happy to see it happen.

If you’re looking for some comic relief, flip through and find this month’s cartoon. It’s a doozy.

Finally, we’d like to thank all of our readers for their responses to our recent reader’s survey. Your responses go a long way to helping us determine not only what we’re doing right, but what we’re doing wrong. And in the end, giving you a newsletter you enjoy reading and find informative is our number one goal. So thanks for your help. We’ll do everything we can to take your responses into account.