The Collision Repair Shop of 2036: What Are You Building Toward?  

Walk into any successful collision repair shop today, and you will see something very different from what existed 10 or even five years ago. Vehicle technology has accelerated. Customer expectations have tightened. OEM influence has expanded. Insurance relationships continue to evolve. Equipment, training, digital communication, and ADAS requirements have all advanced at a pace that many shops are struggling to keep up with. 

Now imagine what the collision industry will look like 10 years from today. 

2036 is close enough to be reachable yet far enough to require planning, not guesswork. 

The shops that will dominate 2036 are not waiting for the future to arrive. They are building toward it now with clarity, with discipline and with a strategy designed to carry them through the next decade of disruption. 

This article lays out a roadmap that helps collision shop owners understand what 2036 will demand and what decisions today will shape their long-term success. 

The Collision Repair Shop of 2036 Starts with a Clear Vision Today  

The shops winning in the mid-2030s will not be the ones that simply added more equipment or chased whatever trend seemed important that month. They will be the shops that built with purpose. 

By 2036, the highest-performing collision shops will be the ones that understand their ideal customer, know their ideal job mix, stay focused on the work that makes them profitable, align their team behind a shared mission, and rely on training to create consistent outcomes. 

Shops without a clear vision will spend the next decade reacting to every new technology and requirement. Shops with a vision will spend the next decade shaping their business around what they want it to become. 

Vision is not about predicting 2036. Vision is about deciding what your shop will look like when you arrive there. 

If you don’t know where you want to be in ten years, everything you do today becomes reactive instead of strategic. 

Customer Experience Will Be the Defining Competitive Advantage

Quality will not set you apart in 2036. Quality will be assumed. Every viable collision business will be able to fix a car correctly. 

The shops that stand out will be the ones that deliver a customer experience that feels effortless, transparent, and immediate. By 2036, customers will expect real-time updates, digital communication that answers questions before they even ask them and full visibility into the repair process. They will expect the entire experience to feel as simple as ordering online. 

Today’s customers are already trending in that direction. The next generation will demand it. 

Shops that lean into this shift will earn loyalty, referrals, and a strong brand presence. Shops that resist it will feel outdated and frustrated. 

ADAS and Calibration Will Be Central to Survival, Not Optional Add-ons

ADAS requirements are already reshaping the collision industry. By 2036, they will define it. 

A shop that cannot handle ADAS calibrations in-house or through a precise and well-managed process will not stay competitive. Modern vehicles rely on sensors, radar, cameras and complex electronics. Every repair affects these systems. 

The collision shop of 2036 will document calibrations with manufacturer-level precision. It will either build a fully functioning ADAS department or develop rock-solid partnerships with trusted calibration providers. There will be no in-between. 

Shops that treat ADAS as someone else’s responsibility will face serious liability, extended cycle times, and shrinking profitability. 

Developing Technicians Will Matter More Than Finding Them

The technician shortage is not going away. By 2036, the shops winning the talent race will not be the ones that magically find perfect technicians. They will be the ones that grow them. 

A decade from now, the most successful shops will have clear training paths, clearly defined roles, mentorship programs, structured onboarding plans and work environments that give people a reason to stay long-term. 

Technicians entering the workforce now and over the next decade want more than a paycheck. They want a future. 

As Cassundra Croel of DRIVE, also a FenderBender columnist, says, “Technicians don’t stay because you hired them. They stay because you grow them. If you want loyalty, invest in who they can become.” 

Your investment in your people will determine your capability in 2036. Training is not a cost. Training is your competitive advantage. 

The Shops That Thrive Will Be Built on Systems, Not Memory

The collision shop of 2036 will operate like a tightly run manufacturing environment. Every workflow, from repair planning to parts management, calibrations, and customer communication, will have a defined and repeatable process. 

Systems will be integrated into the daily rhythm of the shop, not notebooks that gather dust. 

By 2036, your shop will need live KPIs, clearly defined responsibilities, digital workflow management tools, efficient blueprinting practices, lean production methods, and dashboards that provide real-time visibility into what is happening. 

Shops that operate on memory, rushed problem solving and nonstop fire drills will not survive another decade of rising complexity. 

Systems support people. They remove chaos and make consistent excellence possible. 

Croel captures this perfectly: “A shop without systems is not a business. It is a daily emergency. The future belongs to shops that choose discipline instead of chaos.” 

Data Will Be the Foundation of Every Decision

Data is already playing a role in daily shop operations. But by 2036, it will define them. 

Cycle time will be monitored in real time. Technician efficiency and productivity will update hourly. Parts delays will be tracked and anticipated. Profitability will be visible by job, technician and even by the day. 

Shops that embrace this data will run smoother and make decisions faster. They will identify bottlenecks before they become crises. They will maintain profitability even when external pressures shift. 

Shops that avoid data will fall behind. Guesswork cannot compete with clarity. 

You do not need endless KPIs. You need the right KPIs and the discipline to use them every single day. 

DRPs Will Not Define Winning Shops in 2036

The collision repair industry is experiencing a shift in referral power. OEM certifications are expanding. Digital search and AI recommendations are influencing customer decisions. Direct-to-consumer marketing is becoming more effective. Word-of-mouth is happening online at a massive scale. 

By 2036, the shops that thrive will not depend on DRPs to survive. They will use DRPs strategically but build a business model that does not rely on concessions or narrow margins. 

A strong 2036 shop will stand on its own reputation, its own marketing presence, its own customer experience, and its own brand authority. 

Do not build a shop that only thrives if DRPs thrive. Build a shop that thrives because you built a business that people trust. 

Efficiency Will Come from Clarity, Not Harder Work  

A destructive myth still circulates in the industry. Better workflow means more pressure and more hours. 

This is not true. The collision repair shops winning in 2036 will not be the ones grinding harder. They will be the ones eliminating confusion and wasted movement. AI tools, integrated workflow systems, automated communication, and real-time tracking will remove daily friction across the shop. 

Efficiency is not intensity. Efficiency is clarity.  

Shops that focus on clarity will reduce mistakes, increase output, deliver cars faster, create happier customers and support healthier career longevity for their teams. 

Chaos disguised as productivity will not survive the next decade. 

Leadership Will Be the Deciding Factor

The biggest gap between today’s average shop and tomorrow’s high-performing shop is not technology. It is leadership. 

Your team is building the shop you teach them to build. Every day, intentionally or not. 

The collision shop of 2036 will need leaders who coach instead of control, set expectations clearly, hold their teams accountable, build trust, solve problems and keep the shop calm even when the industry becomes more complex. 

“The future of collision is not about who has the best equipment. It is about who has the best leadership,” Croel says. “Equipment does not win loyalty. Leaders do.”  

Equipment will evolve. Vehicles will evolve. Technology will evolve. Leadership will always steer the business. 2036 will belong to owners who grow as leaders. 

What You Build Today Determines Where You Stand in 2036

Picture two shops in 2026. 

One owner says they will deal with industry changes as they come. The other decides to build for the future they want. 

By 2036, one of those shops will be struggling to keep up. The other will be thriving with strong profits, a stable team, and a clear identity in its market. 

Success in 2036 will not arrive by accident. It will be shaped by the decisions you make now. The systems you implement. The training you prioritize. The leadership you develop. The customer experience you deliver. The data you track. The people you invest in. The long-term vision you commit to. 2036 is approaching, even if you do nothing. What are you building toward?  

A Practical Roadmap to Becoming 2036-ready

Start by defining your long-term vision. Decide what kind of shop you want to operate in 2036. Think about your culture, your team size, your revenue mix, your certifications and the type of customer experience you want to be known for. Put it on paper. Share it with your team. Lead toward it daily.  

Then build repeatable systems. Identify your biggest bottlenecks, document your process, train your people and refine it regularly. 

Commit to training and development so your technicians grow into the future with you. 

Transform your customer experience with transparency and real-time communication. 

Make ADAS part of your core workflow instead of an afterthought. 

Use your data every day to guide your decisions instead of relying on instinct. 

Finally, develop leaders at every level so the business does not depend entirely on you. 

2036 Will Arrive Faster Than You Think. Start Building Now.  

The collision industry will continue to change and the pace of change will increase. New technologies will appear. New business models will emerge. The expectations placed on shop owners will grow. 

Yet one truth will always remain. Shops with clarity, systems, leadership and a long-term plan will always rise above the noise. 

You are not just repairing cars. You are building the business you will own in 2036. 

Make sure it is one worth owning.