Shop Profile: 64 West Collision Repair

Jan. 1, 2020
Just three years after purchasing the Avon Park, Fla., body shop he had managed for nine years, Mike Colbert has recouped the investment he and his wife, Maria, made to make the purchase. And he is well on the way toward meeting not only the business

Just three years after purchasing the Avon Park, Fla., body shop he had managed for nine years, Mike Colbert has recouped the investment he and his wife, Maria, made to make the purchase. And he is well on the way toward meeting not only the business goals he set for the company, now known as 64 West Collision Repair Inc., but a personal one as well. Within five years, the Colberts hope to retire and live on the profits they’re confident the company will generate.

When Colbert first thought about purchasing the body shop, which was part of an automobile dealership, his primary motivation was more events-driven than strategic. The dealership had been sold four times during the nine years he was there and, says Colbert, “I didn’t want to work for another new owner.”

The dealership had been renting the shop building, but Colbert put together a plan to purchase the building, the land and the shop equipment. He was confident the business would succeed because the new owner of the car dealership planned to continue to use the shop for its collision repair work. “When we bought it we had about three months of backlog to do,” he adds. Another plus was that most of the shop employees — a hard working team with high quality standards — agreed to stay on.

Colbert, who has been in the collision repair business for his entire career and has been in management positions for more than 25 years, says the transition from manager to manager-owner was an easy one. “The biggest change is not having to ask someone if I can give a customer something to make him completely satisfied,” he says.

Since purchasing the shop, Colbert has reached agreements with two other car dealerships to handle their collision repairs and also has picked up 22 direct repair programs (DRPs), which now generate about 70 percent of the company’s business. In many cases it was the insurance companies who pursued 64 West Collision about joining their programs. “If they hear you do good work and you’re extremely conscious about what you do, they come to you,” notes Colbert.

Although some body shop owners feel that some direct repair programs cut too many corners, Colbert says, “They’re not as tough as some people say they are. If you follow guidelines and give plenty of explanations why you’re doing something, they’ll work with you.” Although profit margins on DRP work are narrower than for other collision repairs, 64 West Collision Repair gets a boost from the high-margin custom work that it also handles (see sidebar, right).

Although the Avon Park area is growing substantially in population, 64 West Collision’s business growth has outpaced it. Since purchasing the business, Colbert has seen annual growth rates as high as 50 percent. Part of that increase came from a streak of misfortune that hit much of Florida 18 months ago — a series of three hurricanes that generated extra business for body repair shops. What 64 West Collision found, however, was that even after most hurricane damage had been repaired, its business remained at a high level. “Our work was so good it just blew up our referral business,” explains Colbert.

The company once again has a business backlog and has made plans to double its shop space by building an additional 5,000-sq.-ft. building before the end of the year. The new building will house an additional spray booth and 10 more work stalls. “We’ll probably hire two more people,” says Colbert, adding that the new space also will provide room for future workforce expansion. In addition, the new building will have 20-foot-high doors to accommodate motor homes, eliminating the need to stay outdoors to work on such vehicles.

Maria Colbert plays several important roles at 64 West Collision. “When a customer comes in, the first thing we do is make friends and get to know them,” says Mike. “Maria handles a lot of that. Everyone knows her.”

Maria also is in charge of inspecting every vehicle before it is turned over to the customer. “She checks every car for imperfections in the paint, any type of overspray and around any areas where we did repair work, to make sure nothing was missed,” explains Mike. “She makes sure the vehicle is clean inside and out.”

Maria’s work is made easier by the fact that technicians in the I-CAR Gold shop are a conscientious group. “If one of our painters paints a door and notes that it won’t match the rest of the car, they don’t even ask; they just blend the paint into the next panel to make it match,” notes Mike. “Everyone works on a car like it’s their own car they’re working on. I’m blessed with people who care about what they do.”

The shop has very low employee turnover, Mike notes. “People like to work for a shop that has a good reputation,” he says.

Currently Mike does most of the estimating, but one of his employees works half-days handling estimating and the other half as a painter. Eventually Mike anticipates turning more management responsibilities over to that person.

The Colberts have built a house on the three-acre lot that also houses the body shop. “When I semi-retire, I’ll be able to watch over the shop,” Colbert says. “The man who will take it over is extremely good at what he does.”

If business continues to go as well as it has been, Colbert hopes to reach his retirement goal within five years.

About the Author

Joan Engebretson

Engebretson is a former editor-in-chief of America's Network. She has covered the communications industry since 1993. In 2002, she won a national gold award from the American Society of Business Publication Editors for her columns. Previously, Engebretson was the editor of Telecom Investor, a supplement toAmerica's Network.

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