Knight on the Dilution of Certified Collision Repair: Certification Without Compliance  

The collision repair industry is at a tipping point. For years, we’ve been told that becoming an OEM-certified repair facility is the gold standard — proof of professionalism, training, and commitment to doing repairs right. In theory, certification should mean something. It should signal to consumers that their vehicle will be repaired to manufacturer procedures, with proper equipment, by trained technicians.

But in too many markets, certification has been watered down and abused. The truth is harsh: a certificate on the wall does not guarantee a quality repair. Everyone in the industry knows it.

No one will say it.

Every market has that shop — the “butcher.” They hold every certification imaginable. They contract with every insurer. They advertise as “factory-certified,” and they tell consumers they're certified when they take phone calls. And yet their work routinely violates the very standards those certifications claim to enforce. Sloppy welds, aftermarket parts, incomplete structural bonding, seam sealer smeared like finger paint, missing clips and bolts, misaligned panels, overspray, and corrosion starting in critical areas. These are repairs driven by insurer cost-containment, not OEM procedures.

Recently, my Ford Bronco even directed me to one of these shops, the same shop whose butchered work lands in our facility repeatedly. If the OEM considers that “certified,” then consumers are being sold a lie.

A recent example underscores the danger. A late-model Toyota came in for a minor left

front-end repair. We noticed the front bumper was barely attached. Inspection revealed a major prior repair done two years ago — holes in welds, misaligned structural components, missing hardware, improper seam sealing, improper welding, and rust spreading through welded joints. The shop never followed OEM procedures. They followed the insurance estimate like a recipe card. The shop was even bold enough to leave part labels on the parts identifying the shop. A random call revealed they had been “Toyota-certified” since they opened four years ago! What does this mean to certified shops that are truly repairing cars the right way?

The car belonged to a young college student, unaware that she had been driving an unsafe vehicle. She is far from being alone. Consumers trust OEM certifications, assuming quality is assured. But too often, it isn’t. OEMs are selling a promise they do not consistently deliver. Certified networks are supposed to meet strict standards, but butcher-level repairs are still labeled “certified.”

It gets worse. Most OEM audits are performed by individuals with little or no technical experience. They simply visit to “check off the list” to verify that the shop has sufficient parking lot lighting and still has the equipment in place. Of course, they make appointments ahead of time to let the shop know they are coming. Many auditors have never repaired anything, much less welded, never sectioned a panel, never calibrated ADAS, and in many cases, have never even washed their own car. Yet, they are expected to judge compliance on safety-critical repairs. It’s no different from insurance estimators, who have never repaired a vehicle, dictating methodology. How can they audit something they’ve never done? They can’t. And yet, they do.

You cannot serve two masters.

There is no realistic way for a high-volume contract shop — under DRP cost controls, labor concessions, parts restrictions, and cycle time pressure — to simultaneously follow OEM procedures on every vehicle. Something has to give.

Either:

• You lose money on every proper repair,

• You selectively repair only some vehicles correctly, or

• You ignore OEM procedures when they conflict with insurer cost control

OEM procedures take time, proper tooling, research, weld testing, structural measuring, and ADAS calibration. Insurers rarely pay for it. Something has to give — and in too many certified shops, it’s the OEM procedures that get tossed aside.

And let’s not forget that in most states, you don’t need a license to open a collision repair shop, dismantle vehicles, and “repair” them. Yet you must be licensed to cut someone’s hair. I’m not proposing licensing — it would likely be another money grab — but it highlights how unregulated and unsafe the system can be.

Real accountability is the only solution.

OEMs must police their networks seriously. The only effective oversight is random inspections and repair file investigations . Not scheduled audits, not paperwork reviews by non-technical staff, not facility checklists that confirm equipment exists but not that it’s used. Real oversight means:

• Random inspections of completed

• Disassembly

• Verification that OEM procedures were followed on every vehicle

• Proof of weld tests and ADAS

• Case file comparisons of estimates versus actual procedures

• Repair plan

Until that happens, certification will continue to be diluted, and consumers will continue to be misled. Certification itself is not the problem; lack of enforcement is!

The truly good certified shops want to see accountability. They want to see shops FIRED from the program!

Collision repair is technical, specialized, and safety-critical. Shops that ignore OEM procedures are not saving time; they are endangering lives .

The uncomfortable truth:

If you aren’t repairing cars correctly, why pursue certification at all?

For too many shops, the answer is simple: to get work steered to them by the OEM. Certification has become a marketing funnel — a way to bring cars in the door. For shops ignoring OEM procedures once the car arrives, it’s nothing more than a badge.

OEMs must decide: is certification for consumer protection — or shop or OEM promotion? Shops must decide: do you want to be certified on paper or in practice?

Because certification without compliance isn’t certification at all — it’s steering dressed up as safety.