It starts normally enough: a customer arrives at the shop to have his vehicle estimated. The shop estimator does everything right in the sales process and ultimately gets the customer's keys. The damage is low on the rocker from just behind the A pillar to the C pillar. The original repair plan calls for a pull on the rocker to relieve stress and minimize the damage to the outer C pillar, B pillar and rocker, then replacement of the outer rocker panel. The estimate is reviewed and the vehicle is assigned to a senior technician to disassemble. So far pretty standard stuff, right?
Well, not so fast. This vehicle is designed with high-strength steel (HSS) in the pillars and parts of the rockers that the manufacturer will not allow to be repaired. Also, the new OEM rocker panel is too short to replace the entire damaged area. Like many things in our business, simple just became very complicated.
The specialty steel parts information is identified in the estimate, offering the first red flag that more investigation may need to be done. The damaged parts of the vehicle are identified as specialty steels (HSS 440Mpa and 590Mpa). The vehicle manufacturer has published multiple bulletins on the safe repair/replace of components on its vehicles with damage similar to this customer's car, representing a second red flag. The vehicle construction and available OEM replacement parts require a whole new approach to safely restoring this car to pre-accident condition – third red flag.
With rising fuel prices and the looming federally mandated increases in CAFE fuel economy standards on the horizon, virtually every car sold in America is being designed with advanced HSS and construction techniques. Stronger, lighter and safer are the cornerstones for everything being built today. As collision repairers, we are not seeing the normal evolution in vehicle design, but revolutionary new mainstream designs. We need to keep up with these design. If you fix a customer's vehicle today the way you did a few years ago, you may permanently alter its safety and long-term performance in ways you cannot imagine.
Training and certification of industry personnel is more important now then ever. New vehicle specific information classes and estimating knowledge are required, not just old tried-and-true general repair procedures.
What would have happened to the shop and the customer if the vehicle was repaired without changing the repair plan to meet the OEM requirements? Fortunately, we will never know the answer to that question. The shop estimator did the proper research and found the correct answer to all three red flags. The estimate identifying HSS with a flag led the estimator to the proper factory repair procedures and parts choices. The customer was educated as to the process and was elated to have his car back knowing that detail and care was taken to ensure he and his family would be safe.
Did you catch the red flags and understand what could have gone wrong if ignored? I hope you did. If not, it's time to take a look at your training and the information you have available to you every day. Times are changing faster than at any time in the recent past. Are you ready to keep pace? Happy and safe customers tend to be yours for a lifetime.
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