Passing Tests

Our feature article this month predicts that the airbag debate is again becoming a hot issue in the Collision Repair Industry in 2005. Are we full of hot air? We think not. Just observing the efforts by interested parties to come up with a more acceptable name for “used” or “salvage” airbags indicates that we will be discussing airbags this year.

“NBD” (never been deployed) airbag seems to be the current new name frontrunner, although the acronym is certainly not a catchy moniker. “Used” and “salvage” certainly convey shades of less than stellar perceptions of safety.

Certainly the most important question on the table concerning the use of NBD airbags is: Can a non-deployed airbag be tested adequately to determine its reliability when placed into another vehicle? Any NBD airbag debate must address this question first - and if a sure and utterly reliable testing procedure cannot be guaranteed, the whole debate should stop right there until such a test is available.

Speaking of tests, despite some heated disputes in the last few months concerning inaccuracies in refinish labor times on the company’s October CD that led to ADP’s subsequent apology and corrections of refinish times, all three estimating system software providers got pretty good marks from shops that responded to this month’s TrendLine survey. (See page 18.)

ADP actually got higher marks from shop respondents in all categories, including Labor Database, than the estimating software provider received in our last survey on this topic back in 2001.

CCC Information Services’ satisfaction levels have stayed about the same. Overall satisfaction with CCC is currently just a hair under ADP’s mark.

Mitchell International’s approval rating has gone down in all categories since its head-of-the-class showing in year 2000.

Out in California, a test has been failed that unfortunately places a black mark against our Collision Repair Industry. M2 Collision Care Centers, a well-known regional consolidator, was forced into receivership after an acquisition deal with Caliber Collision Centers collapsed. (see page 3.)

An important lesson to learn: Careful attention to the bottom line is needed - no matter how big an operation grows - or you will definitely get a failing grade: from investors, insurers, suppliers, consumers, and employees.