With the approaching new season of racing, we are reminded of the interest and excitement brought to our industry by national coverage of these sports. Their growth has been phenomenal over the last decade and is bringing more awareness of the automotive industry to another generation.
With the success of several popular car customizing shows on television, we also have new interest from an additional segment of the population. Hence, there are more custom vehicles on the street today. Maybe you’ve already seen some of these in your shop.
Maybe you’ve already seen some of the complications.
From the estimating side, there are a few considerations and maybe it’s best to think about them ahead of time and be prepared--customer expectations, insurance coverage and custom parts.
Isn’t it amazing how fast a crew can repair a race car? A big crash can be repaired overnight, including drive train, body work and painting. Even all those advertising logos are perfectly restored. Overnight!
In those custom shows, an old car or truck that can barely make it down the road and has buckets of mechanical, body and paint problems is completely redone in 30 minutes. Not just repaired, but customized! The engine is updated, all the rust and other defects are repaired, a wild paint scheme is applied, and some unusual accessories are perfectly installed.
They make it look easy. We know it’s not, but customers may end up with some unreasonable expectations. We are the ones that have to set practical timeframes with the customer up front. You should have your own way of figuring out how long the vehicle will be tied up, knowing everyone wants it repaired in less time no matter what you say. It’s a tough balancing act between guessing that everything will go right or that everything will go wrong. Actual time is somewhere in between.
Here’s an interesting formula from an experienced estimator that you might consider: Figure one day for each four hours of body labor and one day for each eight hours of refinish labor, adding a day for any normal mechanical repair. Your experience and shop efficiency may dictate some adjustment to this, but after determining a fairly reliable formula, you can better set customer expectations up front.
Special wheels, spoilers, and ground effects packages are examples of custom accessories added to an otherwise normal car or truck. Many of these are quite expensive. Post-accident time is too late for an owner to discover his add-on customizing is not covered under his insurance policy.
It’s unlikely that you want to be the bearer of that bad news, however, you generally don’t get to coach people about their insurance coverage before the accident. There are others that do. As an education issue, keep this in mind when talking with custom shops, insurance agents and owners of these “special” vehicles. Let them raise the question so it is, hopefully, addressed before it becomes a problem.
Where did those parts come from and how are they installed? Business opportunities arise from questions like these.
Replacement parts for repairs on these customized cars and trucks need to be purchased from somewhere. Here is a chance to negotiate a good discount, look into handling some of these accessories, and consider customizing as another business offering. It may not fit the way you do business today, but if your market area is seeing more and more of these, don’t rule it out before you check it out.
It could be that some of your technicians would love to show a creative side. Flaring fenders or creating fancy paint jobs can leave much for the imagination. Customizing certainly isn’t for everybody, but you never know until you ask.
At a minimum, keep a few current catalogs around to help with estimating these custom features so your estimating process isn’t disturbed too much when one of these rolls, or is towed, into your shop.
“Tuner” cars and “decked-out” trucks are probably in your market area today. Be prepared to take advantage of this business should they need your services.
“Today I will learn. Tomorrow, when opportunity knocks, I will be prepared.”
— Abraham Lincoln
