Most technical support departments provide support by both phone and email, but today’s automotive technicians need faster, more dynamic assistance. Welcome to ALLDATA Tech-Assist℠ armed with Rescue Lens, an innovative product from LogMeIn®, Inc.
If a picture is worth a thousand words, then the value of live streaming video is priceless!
Factory repair procedures are essential for many reasons – from identifying and locating materials (UHSS, mild steel, aluminum, magnesium, plastics etc.) to programming a multitude of electronic systems. And today you need OEM information for the structural repairs you used to do in your sleep…before cars became so extremely complex.
The technology just keeps on coming! Systems you now commonly see in your shop include backup cameras, front view cameras, programmable seats and mirrors, collision avoidance, blind-spot alert, parking assist, rear-mounted radar,
Cars and trucks are a big part of people’s lives. They help us go places, do things, and we depend on them like few other things in our lives. People also tend to love their cars and spend lots of money on them. So when defects – real or perceived – are brought to light,
Keeping up with the latest vehicle technology can be challenging these days – numerous control modules, alternative materials, new construction techniques and just plain tricky engineering — just to name a few!
By Karl Kirschenman, ALLDATA Collision Product Manager
You pride yourself on taking a pile of twisted metal and restoring it back to its vehicular glory. It is a marvelous thing to bring back a car to its roadworthy pre-collision state. But when that same vehicle comes back to the shop with minor issues, it presents a scenario that could go for or against you.
By Karl Kirschenman, ALLDATA Collision Product Manager
Did you hear the one about the vehicle that collided with a collision shop? No joke… It really happened in Texas in early 2014. An SUV demolished a collision shop’s wall and ended up on its roof inside a storage area. No word on whether or not that particular shop was selected for the repair.
To me, a car has always been a thing of beauty. The bodylines, the sparkle of fresh paint, the sound of a finely tuned power plant, a glowing instrument panel, chrome shining in the sun and the feel of leather as you strap yourself into the driver’s seat.
By Karl Kirschenman, ALLDATA Collision Product Manager
If you are working on a Chevy® Silverado® or GM® Sierra®, you may have to remove one or more of the body mount bolts. You may then discover that one of the cab mount bolts won’t loosen from the vehicle. The bolt may act like the nut is cross-threaded or no longer secured to the floor pan of the vehicle.
By Karl Kirschenman, ALLDATA Collision Product Manager
The collision industry amazes me. Mostly in a good way. Today’s rapidly changing technologies keep things interesting. New materials, such as ultra high strength steel, plastics, composites and other materials offer up challenges we didn’t have to deal with in “the good old days.”
Mike is a great guy who runs a collision repair facility in Joliet, Illinois. We’ve always had a good relationship and he never holds back when we talk. Good or bad, you’ll get exactly what you asked for – complete honesty.
By Karl Kirschenman, ALLDATA Collision Product Manager
One Friday, I stopped into a friend’s shop to discuss going over to Serino’s Deli® for lunch. Instead, Mike drags me into the shop. I was hungry and I’m thinking this better be some exotic car if Mike is jeopardizing our ability to get a table at the deli.
Has this scenario ever occurred in your shop? You make relatively minor repairs to a vehicle and it appears as good as new. A few days later, the owner brings it back and says you missed something. In this example, the driver’s side door glass on a 2009 Ford
Even though hybrid vehicles have been around for a few years, they still present some unique challenges to both the automotive service and collision repair industries.
Your customer was thrilled with the way you repaired her vehicle as good as new. As she drove off, you knew she would be recommending your business to her friends and family. So, why is she now walking back into your shop looking less than happy?
Dan Espersen ALLDATA Senior Collision Program Manager Jeff Webster ALLDATA Technical WriterApril 2013
Radar – really? If you haven’t seen it in a crunched car yet, you are probably overdue. Vehicles utilizing this technology invented for ships and planes are now rolling (or being towed) into shops as a result of collisions.
It’s a whole new world in the collision business. After your shop repairs a vehicle, it might look as good as new, but how about all those electronic systems that need resetting, reinitializing and adjusting? In the past, you may have subletted these “non-collision” jobs to a mechanical shop. But today, with the right information and a good scan tool, you can keep these jobs – and the profits they generate – in house.
A new car is in the shop, and the front end looks like it ran into a tree. Turns out it did! So what’s it going to take to get it back on the road? Well, it starts with you, the estimator. As an estimator, you need experience, good judgment, diplomatic skills and accurate information.
So what does it mean for you to “one up” the competition? You’ve invested time and money to install the latest and greatest software systems throughout your business. You have the best frame rack and electronic measuring devices available on the market. You have the most talented welders who allow you to replace panels and structural components according to OEM standards, and you have the equipment necessary to refinish vehicles in a way that rivals factory paint jobs. So what more do you need?
Today’s complex vehicles are forcing collision repair facilities to address repair issues they never had to address a few years ago. The diagnostic age is upon us, and without the proper tools, training and information to properly assess and repair these vehicles’ complex systems, your shop may be forced to outsource many repairs that you otherwise could have done.
