In this episode of Thrive Radio, host John Rush explores the world of auto repair with Dan and Robert from Brighton Auto Body. They delve into the complexities surrounding insurance claims and the laws that protect consumers from being steered into specific repair shops. Learn how Brighton Auto Body distinguishes itself by offering comprehensive in-house services and prioritizing customer needs over insurance company preferences.
SPEAKER 11 :
This is Thrive Radio, The Extra Mile, with your host, John Rush.
SPEAKER 07 :
All right, welcome to another edition of Drive Radio, The Extra Mile. You hear this every week from 3 to 4 p.m. on Saturdays. Follows up, of course, by Drive Radio, which I appreciate all of you listening. And thank you, by the way, for listening. I get text messages and things in from you folks as you do listen to us each week, and I appreciate that greatly. We’ve got a special show today, by the way, and I kind of had told you all last week we would do this, and fortunately… We gained not only a new sponsor, but some good friends of the show that have been around for a while, Dan and Robert, both from Brighton Auto Body. Guys, how are you today?
SPEAKER 05 :
Doing good. How are you doing, John?
SPEAKER 07 :
I’m doing great, and I appreciate both of you joining us. So before we get rolling, because we’re going to talk about insurance and collision and claims, and we’re going to do as much as we can. As I said a moment ago, if we have to do part two of this, we will, but we’ll get as much covered in today’s episode as we can. But first off, guys, and I don’t know whether Dan, you, or Robert, maybe let’s start with you, Dan. Introduce Brighton Auto Body to everybody and what you guys do that’s different than a typical collision center.
SPEAKER 02 :
You know, at Brighton Auto Body, we do everything A to Z here. We do all the collision work. We do all the mechanical. Everything is done in-house, so nothing has to leave. You know, and basically we work for our customers. You know, we do not work for the insurance companies. So that’s kind of our thing.
SPEAKER 07 :
Nice. Nice. Which we’re going to get into some of that today as well. Now, as far as history of Brighton Auto Body goes, been there a really long time. You guys have been owners for the last how many years?
SPEAKER 02 :
Three years.
SPEAKER 07 :
Three years, last three years. And Robert, introduce yourself, if you would. We have not had a chance to talk, you know, one-on-one, but introduce yourself. And I know each one of you take on different roles there. Explain what you do.
SPEAKER 05 :
So I’m business partners with Dan. I’ve been in the industry for over 40 years in the metro area. Dan and I have actually known each other for almost 27 years personally, working in the same industry. Not only am I still a technician, but I’m also one of the owners that we work on cars every day with these guys.
SPEAKER 09 :
Nice.
SPEAKER 05 :
So Brighton Auto Body has been here for 57 years.
SPEAKER 09 :
Wow.
SPEAKER 05 :
We purchased it from the original owners. The original owners’ sons still work with us. We have employees that have been here as long as 35 years.
SPEAKER 07 :
Nice. Nice. Well, and that’s where Dan and I were talking, and we’ve tried to connect over the past. Because of Roy at ProTech Auto Shield, he’s really been trying hard to get us together, finally made it happen, and appreciate you guys being a part of what we’re doing here on Drive Radio. You guys are the perfect fit, and I mean that sincerely. I’m not just saying that because you’re here now, but literally this is the type of environment that – that we have, that we foster. I appreciate you guys being a part of it. As I said last week, as we were talking, you know, just one-on-one, honestly couldn’t find a better fit for what we need in our listeners. And let’s talk for a moment on the insurance side, because there’s lots of misconceptions, I believe, and part of it is the fault of the insurance company. Part of it is just, I think, lack of education also on the part of the consumers. But let’s talk through this whole process. So all of a sudden… There’s an accident. Now, it could be your fault, could be the other party’s fault, but all of a sudden now there’s an insurance company involved. And, Robert, I’m going to start with you. The insurance company is going to tell me, hey, you need to go to one of our preferred shops to get XYZ. Explain how that’s not necessarily the case.
SPEAKER 05 :
It’s actually against the law in the state of Colorado. What they do is they try to steer work to… Body shops that actually give them concessions and repairs. That’s right. So when they talk about a select server shop or a pro shop or something, what they’re trying to do is they’re trying to steer the repair to one of those facilities so they can minimize their financial liability.
SPEAKER 07 :
They have more control over it, right, Robert? Is it the end of the day? That’s what they’re doing, right?
SPEAKER 05 :
They’re trying to control the repair. They’re trying to control the aftermarket parts, the used parts. Their financial liability is what they’re watching out for. They don’t police the shops that actually do the work. They try to threaten people by saying that you lose the lifetime warranty if you go to another shop. That’s not true. The insurance company does not give you the warranty. That’s right. That’s right.
SPEAKER 07 :
That’s right. No, I’m glad you said that because, again, one of those misconceptions where people think – because they hear the – and by the way, I’ve had these conversations with people, family members even, sometime where it’s like, guys – Time out. It’s your car. It’s damage done to your vehicle. Again, it doesn’t matter whether you damaged it or somebody else did. At the end of the day, you are within your rights, and I mean that sincerely, the rights part of it, to get this vehicle fixed the way that it’s supposed to be. And no, you don’t have to do what the insurance company says. tells you and that’s why you guys are on today this is a big topic for me and and for those of you listening the extra mile we have the opportunity to spend some more time and delve into some topics that we don’t normally get to do on drive radio this is one of those and so okay so dan let’s go to you We now have this insurance company. There’s been an accident. We’re starting this claims process, and all of a sudden they’re steering, because that’s exactly what it is. That’s why they call it the anti-steering law, as Robert was saying, Dan. But they’re trying to steer me someplace. As an owner of the car, what’s my plan of action at that point? What do I say?
SPEAKER 02 :
You know… I’ll probably actually let Robert take this because he deals with insurance way more than I do.
SPEAKER 07 :
Okay, that’s fine. Yeah, that works too. Robert, go ahead.
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, the thing is this. It’s the scare tactics, right? They try to pressure people into doing that. So you always have the right to take your vehicle wherever you want to take your vehicle.
SPEAKER 08 :
Correct.
SPEAKER 05 :
Hands down. They don’t own it. You own it. All they do is insure it. That’s it. So when you push back from insurance companies, that’s when they start with the scare tactics about the warranty, about the storage charges, if there’s storage charges and things like that. When you deal with a reputable company, you don’t have to worry about any of that. What you want to do is pick somebody that actually is reputable, that’s going to stand behind the repairs and let them facilitate it for you. That’s the biggest misconception is the general public does not know the process. Time and time again, we get people to walk through the door that do not understand the collusion process. If the shop’s not taking the time to explain it to you or the insurance company’s not taking the time to explain it to you, find somebody that will explain it to you and that will walk you through the steps and the process and everything else. Every situation is a little different, but it’s the exact same situation when it comes to collusion repair.
SPEAKER 07 :
But I’m afraid, Robert, at the end of the day, if I don’t do what they tell me to do, they won’t pay the claim in full and I’ll be out of pocket.
SPEAKER 05 :
That’s not true because that’s why they’re your insurance company. They insure your vehicle. They will always pay the claim. Claims are good for three years in the state of Colorado once you file a claim. So when it comes to non-drivable vehicles, it changes a little bit because then it’s in a tow company usually or they don’t want to tow it to one of their shops or their direct repair shop. You still have the choice to take the vehicle wherever you want to take it, hands down.
SPEAKER 07 :
Okay, and that’s one of those things that I’ve talked about on Drive Radio for a number of years. I don’t think at times it really sinks in like it should. And, Robert, I’m not blaming listeners or consumers for this because I think, to your point, the insurance companies do a really good job of – how do you want to say this? Force feeding, almost. I don’t know any other way to say it. Really, that’s the scare tactics, as you said. They really force feed into the customer, into the driver of the car, the owner of the car, that this is what you have to do or else. And what consumers, all of you listening, need to do is stand up and say, no, in fact— I hear these guys on the radio all the time, and this is what they say, and I don’t have to do X, Y, Z. And by the way, you can throw me under the bus all day long. I don’t mind at the end of the day, Dan and Robert, because I want people to have the proper information. So at the end of the day, this is where it’s really key. At the end of the day, they get their car repaired properly.
SPEAKER 05 :
They get their car repaired properly, but with a trusted facility, too, that has their interests at heart. That’s the big key is we work for our consumers. We don’t work for the insurance companies. The insurance companies, we’re not direct repair with anybody because we take care of the clients. We don’t cater to insurance companies. We don’t minimize repairs. We do a lot of stuff that’s different than most of the MSO shops or the bigger shops that are out there. That’s who usually contracts with the insurance companies because… They have agreements. They have contracts with the insurance companies.
SPEAKER 07 :
It’s funny, I did an AI on this, and here’s something else that is a myth. By the way, you guys are rolling through exactly what even AI says happens when it comes to claims, so you’re spot on. The myth number three, by the way, you’ve already covered number two. Myth number three is your claim’s going to take longer if you pick your own shop. That’s what AI says, and by the way, that’s another thing that they’ll tell you.
SPEAKER 05 :
That’s not true because when you take care of people, you have to understand something. When they’re in a collision, a lot of them haven’t dealt with it, right? It’s the third most important thing in your life that you have to take care of. So when you make claims, usually a lot of the bigger MSO shops that work for the insurance companies, they won’t even talk to people. They will make you schedule an appointment, usually anywhere from two to six weeks to even get your car in to take a look at it. When you have a facility like ours that actually caters to people, we don’t make appointments for people because people have to do it on their lunch hour. People have to do it after work, before work.
SPEAKER 07 :
Good point.
SPEAKER 05 :
So we accommodate their schedule, and they can walk through our door anytime between 7 a.m. and 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, and we’ll gladly write them an estimate on the spot.
SPEAKER 07 :
Last myth, and I wanted to cover this one because Dan and I talked about this last week. We won’t pay for OEM parts if you pick your own shop.
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, here’s the thing. We take that right off the table. That goes back to the insurance companies protecting their financial liability when it comes to repairs. The legislation in Colorado lets the insurance companies get away with aftermarket and used parts. The reason they do that, they say it keeps insurance costs low, which we obviously know in Colorado it’s not. What we do here at Brighton Auto Body, we price match everything. Our vendors, we’ve known for 20 to 25 years. So when an insurance company writes your estimate with aftermarket parts, We send those to our vendors. We put OEM parts on people’s vehicles at the aftermarket prices. Do we lose a percentage in parts? We do. But what we gain is you did not buy your vehicle aftermarket parts on it. Therefore, they’re not even safe to put on some of the cars. It’s better for your investment, protecting your investment. It’s what you purchased the car with. It’s better for our employees to put them on the vehicles because they actually fit the finish and everything else. And then we don’t have to worry about the aftermarket part warranty anymore. We have an OEM warranty.
SPEAKER 07 :
And you know what? This is a great topic, one that I’ve talked about some in the past, although you guys being right there dealing with this daily, I think you even add some extra credibility to this even over myself. I mean, I know the industry. I know what happens in it, but there’s one thing to be— actually in it like you guys are, literally seeing these pieces, in some cases seeing, you know, a fender from an aftermarket supplier and a fender from the OEM. Explain to me, Robert, if you would, what, I mean, some are saying, guys, come on, a fender’s a fender’s a fender. How could there be that much difference? Explain the difference.
SPEAKER 05 :
There’s a lot of difference. You know, tensile strength of the steel is totally different. Stamping is totally different. Aftermarket parts are mass produced overseas. They’re brought over to us in shipping containers by the thousands. A lot of the OEM parts are still manufactured in the United States. Now, you have foreign cars that actually get parts from overseas, too, but the quality is better. The finish is better. The E-coat is better.
SPEAKER 07 :
Okay, well, stop for just one moment. What’s the E-coat? Explain that to folks.
SPEAKER 05 :
E-coat is the actual primer that they put on parts. So when they mass-produce parts, they have to put some kind of coating on them so they don’t get surface rust, rust, things like that. And you’re really starting to see it more with aluminum. So aluminum, as soon as it’s exposed, it corrodes automatically. Any exposure to air. So the e-coat that they put on from the factories is what’s supposed to be there. It actually has corrosion protection to the panel before installation.
SPEAKER 07 :
Okay. Makes total sense. And what you’re saying is those aren’t created equal. I know for a fact that everything you just said, by the way, spot on, including the actual strength of the metal and so on. On top of that, and this is really what I want you to talk about, and I get it, not everybody is a car person. I mean, a lot of times I’ll be driving down the road and I’ll even tell my wife, oh, that car’s been wrecked. And she’ll be like, what? How do you know that? Number one, the paint doesn’t match. And I can see the sand scratches from a mile away. Bottom line is that car’s already been wrecked. And whoever fixed it did a really bad job fixing it because nothing is even close to what it ought to be. And that’s kind of what we’re talking about here. And some of that fit and finish for all of you listening. And this is where… it’s hard it’s hard for me to explain this over the radio so you guys you know chime in as you as you want to but when you start looking at a body panel and how it fits in other words how does it line up with the panels that are around how’s it lining up with that headlamp bucket that’s going into that fender in this particular case or how is the marker light fitting you know because it might be recessed and so on On top of that, what’s it like as far as where it lines up with the door? Is it the same gap from top to bottom and so on? I mean, these are all little things, right, Robert, that an aftermarket fender may not be accurate in.
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, that’s exactly correct. You know, cars are built a certain way to meet federal standards, right? That’s the whole thing. There are federal standards that actually go into producing vehicles, and that’s bumper covers, that’s lights, that’s fenders. A lot of people consider it cosmetic, but it’s still the structural integrity of the vehicle regardless of anything. Correct. So when those tolerances are off or the tensile strength of the sheet metal is off, it actually puts people at risk when they’re driving on the road or they get in a collision.
SPEAKER 07 :
The other thing really quick that I know is a factor as well, and I know because you guys do this, is we talk a lot about the ADAS calibration things. For all of you listening, there’s a lot of components on your vehicle that when there’s an accident, A, it has to be the right part. B, it will have to be calibrated to make sure the vehicle functions properly and safely once that’s been done. And you guys can speak to this firsthand. Again, not all parts are created equal. And when it comes to calibrating these vehicles and getting them back into quote-unquote specs, some of those parts are not very forgiving in that. Am I correct?
SPEAKER 05 :
Yes, that’s correct, 100%. Yeah, so what you get on some of the components is most of the late-bottle cars anymore, from windshields to mirrors to headlights, they need programming. They need programming into the body control module. They need programming into the integrity of the vehicle. And if you don’t have the equipment to program them, they don’t work. And aside from that, the aftermarket parts, the aftermarket headlights, aftermarket windshields, there’s been bulletins released that actually – Some manufacturers find that you put an aftermarket windshield in their vehicle, they will void your warranty from the factory. 100% because of the ADOS programming.
SPEAKER 07 :
Yeah, and that makes total sense. Again, for a lot of you, I know that ADOS is an acronym we use, but it’s part of your automatic driving system is probably the best way to say that. Blind spot monitoring to lane departure to all sorts of things. I’m also guessing, guys, and correct me if I’m wrong, but a lot of people think, oh, it’s just a bumper cover. A bumper cover is a bumper cover is a bumper cover. Well, until you start putting some of these components we just talked about into it, right?
SPEAKER 05 :
That’s correct. You know, bumper covers were used to be, they were just cosmetic. They were just to go with the flow of the car. Now they have radar sensors in them. Now they have blind spot sensors in them. The repairability of them is almost null and void because you can’t add any material extra. because the radar doesn’t go through the bumper cover. So when you’re sure somebody wants to repair a bumper cover, and you have ADOS components in a bumper cover, you put repair, you put primer, you put paint on there, and then guess what? It won’t program because the mill thickness of the paint and material is too thick.
SPEAKER 07 :
All right, we need to take a quick break. We’ll do this momentarily. And, guys, before we do that, please let everybody know the best way to get a hold of you guys. And I hate to say this, but accidents happen. In fact, I sent somebody to you this morning that actually had an accident and things happened. And, again, at the end of the day, they’re accidents because that’s what it is. It’s an accident. Nobody plans for them. They just come up. And we’ll talk about some of the other classic end of things and so on here as we go through the rest of this hour. But right now, if somebody has any kind of a problem, what number do they call?
SPEAKER 05 :
Call 303-659-4612.
SPEAKER 07 :
All right, 4612. And by the way, they’ll be on our website as well. Go to drive-radio.com, and you can find the guys there as well. We’ll be right back. Thank you guys so much for listening to Drive Radio, The Extra Mile.
SPEAKER 10 :
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SPEAKER 11 :
This program was recorded earlier for broadcast at this time. No phone calls can be accepted.
SPEAKER 07 :
All right, we’re back, Drive Radio, The Extra Mile. Appreciate you guys listening. Again, we’ve got Dan and Robert, both from Brighton Auto Body. And guys, again, thank you so much for taking time out of your day. For all of you listening, we record these on Mondays. There’s no secrets there, so we’re a little bit ahead of time as we play these on Saturday. But guys, thanks for taking time out of your day to join us. really quick going back to the whole insurance process whereby and you know i should have said this to begin with too and and robert this i think is really key given you work with insurance companies a lot you know for for us you know the three of us this stuff doesn’t bother me at all i can talk to an adjuster i can talk to anybody insurance world it’s second nature you know buying a car is second nature it’s just not a big deal the one thing i have to remind myself and my wife is really a reminder of this to me on an ongoing basis This is scary to most people. In other words, it’s very intimidating for a lot of people. And they start talking insurance companies going in to get their vehicle repaired, even buying a car. I, you know, growing up in the industry, it’s just second nature to me. I don’t think anything about it. And I’m always reminded by my wife that this is a very scary time for a lot of people, Robert.
SPEAKER 05 :
It is. It’s a very scary time for a lot of people just because you don’t want to be out there buying somebody else’s problem. Insurance companies, you know, they’re not the most reputable people in the world.
SPEAKER 07 :
That’s why you need to have somebody… And really quick, Robert, to your point, it’s not even the reputable part. It’s they’re out to make the stockholders money. That is their bottom line goal. Everybody knows that. If they can make the claim less money, it puts more money in the pocket of the company, right? Yeah.
SPEAKER 05 :
Absolutely. It’s protecting their financial liability. And a lot of people don’t realize that the adjusters that work for them, they have what they call severity. If they don’t meet their severity every month, they don’t bonus. Their severity means minimizing claim liability and minimizing claim cost per 30 days. That’s how they get paid. That is their job.
SPEAKER 07 :
All right, and I don’t know which one you want to take this one, but the other trend that I’m seeing of late, and I know this because I’m hearing it from folks and I’m watching it in some cases, even individually speaking, and that is cars are getting totaled faster now than they once were. Talk about that if you would.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah, so it’s a mathematical equation for insurance companies. It really has nothing to do with your make and model of the car except for the mathematical equation of what it’s worth. So, they’re totaling a lot more vehicles because of the components and how expensive they are. Airbag deployments, ADAS solutions, radar sensors, all these parts are highly expensive anymore. So, it’s an algorithm for them. If it reaches 70% to 75% of the value, that’s when they start looking at a total loss threshold. Then they look at the local market for what they can actually replace the vehicle for, or… write you a check for so that you lose your vehicle, then you’ve got to go buy another vehicle. Again, it’s financial liability because at the end of the day, it goes to a salvage yard. They recoup their loss selling it for salvage. It’s an algorithm. As long as they can come out ahead, that’s why they look at the total loss threshold is even lower right now.
SPEAKER 07 :
Yeah, and in some cases, some of you might look at a vehicle and think, we had a situation happen the other day with a family member whereby there was a rear-end collision on a family member’s vehicle. And I did the math really quick and in my head kind of knew what the damage was going to be. And it’s like, yeah, that car’s totaled. You probably ought to figure out exactly what you want to do next because at the end of the day, it’s probably unlikely that car gets fixed. And if you do, you’ll be fixing it on your own because the insurance company is not going to want to do that. So that’s a question I’ve got for you, Robert. Let’s say that you’re in that scenario. And in this case, it’s another driver’s fault and your car is technically total. But maybe you like that car. Maybe it’s a car you’ve had really good luck with. Maybe it’s got some sentimental value. What’s your choice with the insurance company when it comes to fixing the car at that point?
SPEAKER 05 :
So the insurance company, they kind of push back on that a little bit. We actually deal with a lot of clients that actually are in that situation where they have a lot of sentimental value to a vehicle. It gets damaged. The insurance company wants to total it. Basically, they give the option of buying the vehicle back less whatever they think they can get for salvage. Right. So, again, it’s back to the mathematical algorithm for them. There has to be a reality to it, though, as far as like structural damage and drivability and safety. So that’s one thing that we look at with all of our clients. We do a lot of customer pay work, a lot, because of that factor.
SPEAKER 07 :
And really quick, I want to stop you for a moment, Robert, because I talked about this last week on air and really kind of doing a mini ad for you guys. Not all collision centers. In fact, what I’m learning is there’s by far and wide more collision centers that won’t do what you’re doing than will do. Am I right in saying that?
SPEAKER 05 :
That’s correct, because a lot of the MSO shops that are out there, they won’t even touch cars that are 10 years old.
SPEAKER 06 :
Right.
SPEAKER 05 :
For us, it doesn’t matter. It’s about what the client wants, walking them through the process, finding the repairability and affordable repair for them, whether it’s a $5 Honda or a $5 million Ferrari. It doesn’t matter to us. It’s what they own.
SPEAKER 07 :
Okay, which makes sense, by the way. But again, for a lot of you listening, that’s not how insurance companies look at it, not how a lot of collision centers look at it. And what we mean by that, really quick, I’ll make sure I explain that to everybody listening. If you have an accident… And you decide that for whatever reason, maybe you’re like me and you have a high deductible and you just want to go ahead and fix it yourself. Maybe it was something that you did wrong or somebody hit you, but they don’t have any insurance. And rather than go through all that rigmarole, you’re just going to go ahead and fix the vehicle yourself. Unless you’ve got an insurance company behind you, there’s a ton of insurance companies or a ton of collision centers, I should say, the majority of which will not actually work on your vehicle because you’re not doing it through insurance. And that’s what you were just talking about, right, Robert?
SPEAKER 05 :
Right. Nor will they even write you an estimate. They won’t even spend the time to talk to you sometimes. We see it on a daily basis.
SPEAKER 07 :
And the excuse that I’ve heard from some of them, by the way, is the whole, well, you know, with an insurance company, if there’s supplemental damage, we can go to the insurance company and it’s easier to get the supplemental damage handled. And it might come back to that always is, OK, well, if you train your customer on the front side properly, even on customer pay, a supplemental claim isn’t that big of a deal. Or am I wrong in thinking that, Robert?
SPEAKER 05 :
No, you’re absolutely correct, and this is the thing. If you’re dealing with a reputable shop and you’re a customer pay, there is no rhyme or reason why you can’t write them an estimate with 100% of what the estimate’s going to be without adding a supplement to it. Insurance companies write every single repair so it needs a supplement. They don’t want to just hand people checks. We’re starting to see a trend in the industry that’s totally changing the supplement process that’s been happening for almost two years now.
SPEAKER 07 :
Talk to me about the whole Carfax, and this is going to lead into diminished value, which I hit on a lot on the program, and I’ve done this in the past because it’s a big deal. Most people forget about it. But talk to me and the listeners about diminished value.
SPEAKER 05 :
So there’s actually an algorithm that the insurance company uses. For one, they’ll deny that they don’t even know what diminished value means. So you can’t make the claim for diminished value if it’s your fault. So if it’s a collision claim, you cannot do diminished value on your own vehicle. If somebody damages your vehicle, then yes, you are entitled to diminished value. There’s an algorithm that every insurance company uses. By severity of damage, value of vehicle, it’s a mathematical equation once again. They owe you that loss. I’ve seen it as high as 15% diminished value on a vehicle because basically it gives you a bad Carfax. The only people that report to Carfax are dealerships, law enforcement, and insurance companies. The typical repair shops do not do that.
SPEAKER 09 :
Okay.
SPEAKER 05 :
One, it’s expensive. For two, it’s a waste of our time to do it. But if you go to trade your vehicle in and they show the bad car facts because X hit Y and it wasn’t your fault, they’re going to automatically deduct 15% to 25% off the value of your vehicle because it has a bad car fact.
SPEAKER 07 :
That’s right. That’s exactly right.
SPEAKER 05 :
So you have to be able to recoup that diminished value.
SPEAKER 07 :
No, and for all of you listening, it’s really a big deal. In fact, most people, to your point, Robert, they don’t understand that end of things. They forget that. And before they know it, it’s three years down the road. They had a fairly large accident, and all of a sudden now they’re realizing, well, wait a minute, you mean I’m losing this much money on my sell or trade or whatever it is? And the answer is, yep, you are.
SPEAKER 05 :
Or what they’ll do is they’ll get you so frustrated on the phone that you just give up. They’ll try to drag it out for so long that you just get frustrated, you get upset, and then you just forget about it because it’s not worth it. They have the tactics of doing that. But if you understand the algorithm and the mathematical equation that they use, which we do and we pass on to people, it makes it pretty easy because pretty much it’s law.
SPEAKER 07 :
That’s right.
SPEAKER 05 :
But they will never tell you that.
SPEAKER 07 :
And for those of you listening, we’ve had several people, BP appraisers, by the way, is one of our sponsors. And for you guys, even for you, Dan and Robert, Burke’s a great guy. If there’s ever an issue whereby an insurance company is not wanting to do something, Burke can go out there and get all of the things. And because he’s a certified appraisal, it’s even different than you guys at the Collision Center saying this is the value. of said car he comes along and really goes to bat and can really fight for people on diminished value because he is that you know quote unquote certified appraiser that frankly the insurance company values more than you than the three of us even though no offense we’ve got just as much experience and can do the same thing we’re not quote unquote certified
SPEAKER 05 :
Right. Yep. That’s exactly correct.
SPEAKER 07 :
Yeah, so for all you listening, we’ve got the ability to help you with these things. And bottom line for all of us, and this is why we’ve got Brighton Auto Body involved with the program for all of you listening. And here’s something else I want to mention, too, for all of you listening. You know what? You might live in South Denver and think, gosh, man, Brighton’s a long way up there. You know it is. And here’s what my answer is going to be to you on that. Do you want your car fixed right in the way you want it done, or are you just going to go with whatever the insurance company says to do because it’s close to home? For me, guys, I’m driving.
SPEAKER 05 :
Right? And here’s the other thing, too, John, just so you know, that we accommodate our customers. So not only do we have somebody that we actually use for a tow company that picks up and delivers cars for us from long distances, if we can, we’ll accommodate picking you up and delivering your car as well. Because at the end of the day, it’s about customer service and convenience. And that’s the reason the company’s been here for nearly 60 years.
SPEAKER 07 :
Well, and I knew that because I had, again, I had a listener this morning asking, you know, hey, what’s a recommended collision center? I need to do X, Y, Z. I plan on paying for it myself. You know, where should I go? So I recommended it to, recommended you guys to, in this particular case, a lady. And she came back and says, man, that’s a long way from my house. I don’t know if I really want to do that. That’s a long ride, whatever. I’m like, hey, time out. Call them first. Find out what they can do to help accommodate you with all of that. Chances are they’re going to make it work when it’s all said and done. So don’t just go the other direction because of the distance. Call them first.
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, not only that, but this is the thing, too, with the technology that we have these days. We actually do fleet companies that are 300, 350 miles from us. They pass hundreds of body shops to bring us work. We do a lot of work with them by photo, right? Email and photo. If you can send us some good digital photos of in number and the stuff that we need, we can get 90% of an estimate written for you. We can do the parts research and everything else. You don’t have to be in our office to do that. Unfortunately, you would like to meet all of our customers, but that way it gives you a general idea of what direction that you need to go. And whether you do the work with us or not, at least you’re informed and you have the information.
SPEAKER 07 :
All right. One thing I want to throw at you guys, this isn’t one of the myths that I pulled out of AI, but I know it’s a myth that can come from the insurance companies. Well, you know, you’ve got a really special color car and the chances of somebody else color matching that that’s not a part of our approved program. You know what? We can’t guarantee that it’s going to be the exact finish when it’s all said and done. What’s your comeback to that?
SPEAKER 05 :
uh that’s not true straight up here’s the thing every collision center has a mixing bank every single vehicle has a paint coat on it right it all goes down to the experience of the painter The time the painter will spend on painting your vehicle. Yes, there are some difficult colors out there. Yes, there is. Very much so. But that’s when it comes down to the people that you do the work with, the people that they have working for them, and the experience they have in the shop. There is no BMW paint. There is no Chrysler paint. Nope, there is not. It’s mixed off a mixing bag. That’s right. And a lot of people don’t realize that the color on your vehicle probably has five or six variances to that one color.
SPEAKER 08 :
Absolutely.
SPEAKER 05 :
So it’s the professionalism within the company that actually… people need to address and understand that we don’t have color match issues because we have painters that have been here 20, 25 years.
SPEAKER 07 :
One thing I want you to throw into this, Robert, I’ve never talked about this on air before, but growing up in the industry, I know this is true. At least it used to be. I’m assuming it’s still the same right now. Guys, listening, you still have to have experience. You especially have to have experience. We have a dry climate here in Colorado. We have huge variances in temperature. Yes, I know we try to keep the inside of the shops the same throughout, but you guys know that it can vary 10, 15 degrees depending upon the time of the year. Our moisture content can vary. My point is some of those really hard-to-match colors, a painter is taking into account everything I just said to make sure things are correct. Correct, Robert?
SPEAKER 05 :
Absolutely. It’s an algorithm and it’s also a controlled environment. So, you know, obviously everything in a vehicle is actually painted in a controlled environment, a paint booth, the mixing room, everything else. It all is heated. It’s either heated, cooled, controlled paint mixing system. So, yes, it’s an algorithm of everything. But what stands behind all that is the professionalism of the person doing it.
SPEAKER 07 :
That’s right. Their experience level, that particular color, how many of these things have they seen? The more years they have under their belt, the better they get at doing it. Nothing against kids coming out of trade school. All for that. I encourage that. That’s fabulous. They need to start learning at some point in time. But do I want some of these Mazda candy colors? No offense, guys. Do I want a guy coming right out of trade school painting that color car? Probably not.
SPEAKER 05 :
No, that’s why when you made the comment earlier that you see vehicles go down the road, they’re two different colors or the shade’s different or the cast is different. That’s why somebody didn’t take the time or the effort to put into actually doing what they needed to do or got paid to do.
SPEAKER 07 :
That’s right. No, great point. Okay. One other question I’ve got on the insurance sides of things is… Okay, we’ve had a collision, and maybe it’s my fault. And maybe I know I’ve got a fairly decent deductible, and I don’t really know exactly what the damage is. This kind of comes back to even your pictures and such. Wouldn’t I be better off to get an estimate? And this is where finding the right collision center, in this case, Brighton Auto Body. Wouldn’t I be better off to get my own estimate and determine, okay, wait a minute, I know that I’ve got a $5,000 deductible. I’ve got a $5,500 or $6,000 claim deductible. Do I really want to go through this process to save $500 to $1,000, or do I just go fix it myself?
SPEAKER 05 :
It all depends on the repair, right? So you’re absolutely correct. We see a lot of people that do that. So, you know, they have high deductibles. People have high deductibles because of the insurance cost. That’s why you need somebody working on your side that’s going to work with you. Let’s sit down. Let’s look at the repair. Let’s do some parts research, and let’s see if it’s actually viable for you to do that. Insurance companies on one claim will probably raise your rates for a minimum of three years. So if you have an agent, that’s always a good person to talk to as well because they’ll be able to give you the structure on if they’re going to raise your rates or not. We’re seeing more and more customer pays because of that. Not only that, but we also work with people. We look at used parts, which are still OEM parts. We find a way to make cost savings, and we still warranty the repairs as long as they own the vehicle. But it’s about information up front before they make a claim. We’ve had people come to us after they’ve made a claim, got an estimate from us, and then went ahead and canceled the claim because it was under their deductible and it was the same repair.
SPEAKER 07 :
Talk to us now that we’re kind of transitioning, guys, because a great segue into the classic end of things. And what I mean by classic, any more, that could be any more. A 90 Chevy K1500, by the way, could be considered a classic. I mean, to me, it’s not, but it is just because it’s getting old enough. And again, there’s a lot of collision centers out there that won’t work on that 90 Chevy. Talk to us about some of the more, I guess you could even call it more custom work that I know you guys do as well.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah, we do a lot of custom work. Here’s the thing when it comes to some of the older stuff. A lot of people have a lot of money into cars, restoring cars, or even refurbishing cars, right? The one thing that you need to pay attention to is when you insure that vehicle, make sure you have declared value on it.
SPEAKER 08 :
That’s right.
SPEAKER 05 :
Because if you do not, they’re going to look at, like you said, a 1990 Chevy truck that’s worth $1,500. When you’ve got $20,000 in the thing, it’s a minimal thing to check on and to add the cost to. But, again, it goes back to the shops, okay? Body shops were built on repair work. It doesn’t matter if it’s 10 years newer or 10 years or older. It’s still the same work. So we work on everything. It doesn’t matter. I mean, we work on 1974 bugs within reason. We don’t do restoration work. We do refurbish work. And we’re always here to help people with anything that they need as far as repairs go. You know, we’ve painted bicycles for people. It’s all still repair work, and it actually satisfies the customer. It’s customer satisfaction.
SPEAKER 07 :
Well, again, I appreciate you guys saying that because, and for all of you listening, I mean this when I say this, there’s not a lot of true collision centers that can take that brand-new 2025 vehicle and bring it back to the way it was new and then also take a 1975 and do the same thing with it, guys. Most collision centers won’t do that.
SPEAKER 05 :
No, they won’t even talk to you about it because to them it’s a waste of time. You know, they think it’s hard for the technicians, and they probably don’t have the technicians with the ability to do it. You know, the repairs don’t change, whether it’s 1975 or 2025. The process is still the same. The paint’s still the same. It’s all still the same process. It’s whether you want to choose to do the work for the client or not.
SPEAKER 07 :
Okay. One of the things that comes up on the program from time to time, and I’m a big one on, you know, as much as people may dislike new vehicles, I tend to like them. I think they’re safe for the technology while it’s very intricate and makes things more difficult working on them. You know, I always say it this way. You now steer a new car where you used to drive or you drive an old car is probably the best way for me to say that. And I mean that sincerely because of how well the new cars work. Uh, other thing I know, this is what I wanted you guys to chime in on the paint quality of today versus the paint quality. When I was a kid growing up and first got in the industry and, uh, you know, mid seventies. Oh my gosh, guys, there is no comparison to the paint quality today versus what we had back then. Is there?
SPEAKER 05 :
No, not at all. I mean, you’re using polyurethane base coat, clear coat systems, anything that’s touched on the vehicle this day for any, any repair facility that’s reputable, you’ll have a lifetime warranty, 100% lifetime. As long as you own that vehicle, uh, The paint’s covered. You know, even our manufacturers, they stand behind us. You know, if there’s an issue, if there’s a fail, which we rarely ever see because the technology’s changed so much, they stand behind us 100%. That’s why we’re able to offer those warranties to all of our clients.
SPEAKER 07 :
Okay, question for you. This is more my question to you guys versus probably listener questions because of my internal knowledge of the auto world. You talked about the paint bank earlier. For those of you listening, that means you guys mix your own paint. You have all of the main colors, metallics and so on, and there’s a formula whereby you determine what a color is going to be. You mix all the way down to certain grams of certain things and so on, and that’s how you get the color at the end of the day. And a good technician even knows what to do in addition to that to really make things match when it’s all said and done. Given all of that, is there better or worse of those systems, or are they all pretty equal no matter who the name brand is?
SPEAKER 05 :
They’re all pretty equal. I’ve been doing this for 40 years, and I’ve used pretty much every paint system out there. A lot of people try to upsell, and I’m not trying to throw any paint company under the bus. the environmental side of it, right?
SPEAKER 09 :
Right.
SPEAKER 05 :
Here’s the thing. There is water base coat out there, but that’s it. Base coat, all the primers, all the sealers, all the clear coat are still solvent based.
SPEAKER 09 :
Gotcha.
SPEAKER 05 :
They have never made a water clear coat. It does not work.
SPEAKER 09 :
Okay.
SPEAKER 05 :
So, um, the paint system, you know, the paint doesn’t make the painter. The painter makes the paint. That’s right. That’s exactly right. You got somebody experienced who’s using it. The products are pretty much all the same. It’s great technology. It really is.
SPEAKER 07 :
Oh, man. The paint world, for those of you listening, it has come so far from when I was a kid working inside of our dealership’s collision center. I mean, it is so different today from what it was then. Even the apparatuses, I guess you could say, the spray systems and so on that we have today, guys. You know, dripless and so on. I mean, it is so much different than what it used to be. You know, no longer is it, you know, siphon or suction fed. It’s gravity fed. I mean, the advancements made have made things in you guys’ world so much better.
SPEAKER 05 :
It has. It’s made everything a lot better. You know, the primers, the sealers, the clear coats, you know. Even the base coats. I mean, it’s just the technology is second to none. And like you said, the equipment as well. You know, the equipment is expensive to use, but if you’re a professional in this industry, you have no problem spending the money to take care of it because it makes everybody’s job easier and it makes the final product and the finished product that much more for the customer.
SPEAKER 07 :
All right, and one last thing that I want to talk about along the lines of paint, too, because I’m a big one on this. For those of you that are listening, and I can’t say this enough, this is kind of where Roy from ProTech Auto Shield comes into play. The better you keep your car, in other words, the better the finish is, the better the interior is, in other words, just overall condition of your vehicle, we go back to the whole diminished value and all of that and the stated value and start arguing with the insurance companies. Let me tell you what. There’s a huge difference in the response from the insurance company on cars that are well-maintained and kept up and look really good versus one that’s trashed. Am I right in saying it that way, Robert?
SPEAKER 05 :
You’re absolutely correct because what they do when they look at any type of repair, they do what they call a DIR, which is a vehicle inspection report. So that goes into the determining factor, especially when it comes to a total loss. They look at the condition of the vehicle, the condition of the interior, the condition of everything. So, you know, to maintain your vehicle, keep it washed, keep it clean, the interior and everything else, it’s second to none when it comes to these kind of claims. It really is because they do take that into consideration when they write these estimates or they look at the values of these cars.
SPEAKER 07 :
One thing, and again, I don’t think I’ve ever talked about this on air because I’ve never had anybody like you guys join me in this way. When it comes to, you know, you get your car in, you’ve had it reconditioned. In some cases, maybe it’s a complete paint job or maybe in another one, the side got painted because of an accident or whatever. How long do things have to cure before I can actually start maintaining it in the way you just said? Or is there a cure time?
SPEAKER 05 :
So it goes back to the technology, right? So believe it or not, the technology states that every vehicle that’s actually painted is actually baked at 145 degrees from anywhere from 30 to 45 minutes. Believe it or not, you can actually pull that vehicle out of a paint booth, let it cool off, and you can color, sand, and polish on it for any kind of imperfections within an hour to an hour and a half. And it lasts. And it’s viable. Yeah, you used to be able to do that, by the way.
SPEAKER 07 :
That was way different from what it used to be.
SPEAKER 05 :
Oh, yeah. Like I said, the technology has changed. You can drive it through a car wash. You can do those types of things. Even though we don’t recommend the brush car washes because they do damage the paint on a vehicle. Yeah, you could go home and you could wash it and do whatever you need to do. Or you could send it to Roy’s. At ProTac, and you can have a clear-brothered ceramic.
SPEAKER 07 :
That’s exactly right. No, absolutely. Thanks for plugging him because that’s exactly what I recommend people do. Absolutely. Okay, so along those lines, and this is where, again, I think there’s lots of confusion because you hear all sorts of people talk about things in regards to paint and fit and finish and so on. One thing that I also know has changed since I was doing this as a young man is the under- sides of things. In other words, the body fillers and the primers, and I want to talk about paintless dent removal in a moment, but when there’s actually collision work done, and unless I’m completely wrong, you’re using a lot less filler than we used to. Or am I wrong in saying that, Robert?
SPEAKER 05 :
You’re correct. There is a lot less filler, but it comes back down to the technicians too. Technicians these days, especially with aluminum repairs, there is not a lot of tolerance for a lot of body fillers or a lot of plastics in any, anymore. It’s the metal work. You have to do the metal work or you have to do the aluminum work in order to get a finish on anything. And if you have any kind of repair, that’s more than an eighth of an inch, as far as like, uh,
SPEAKER 07 :
putty or glaze or anything else then somebody didn’t do the metal work correctly yeah and that was where i was i was heading with that so thank you for saying that for so some of you where you’re looking at you know used cars and things like that and in some cases we’ve got the ability actually look at what the mill thickness is of of that previous repair and so on and yeah if there’s too much on there that’s a red flag it is a red flag and it’s not a viable repair and it will not last All right, let’s take a quick timeout. I want to come back and talk about PDR as we kind of get things finished up. Again, guys, thank you so much. You’re listening to Drive Radio, The Extra Mile. The guys from Brighton Auto Body, 303-659-4612. And it’s brightonautobody.com. We’ll be right back. This is, of course, Drive Radio, The Extra Mile.
SPEAKER 10 :
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SPEAKER 11 :
This program was recorded earlier for broadcast at this time. No phone calls can be accepted.
SPEAKER 07 :
Welcome back, Drive Radio, The Extra Mile. Appreciate you guys joining us, everybody listening. Also, I have Dan and Robert, both from Brighton Auto Body. Guys, Robert or Dan, whichever one, let’s take PDR for a moment. A lot of folks don’t really understand PDR, paintless dent removal. And by the way, it continues to advance just like everything else we’ve talked about so far today. And the amount of things you can now PDR far exceeds what it did when it first came out. Right, Robert?
SPEAKER 05 :
Absolutely. It comes back to the technology, the tooling, and, of course, the technician, for sure. You know, payments and repairs and misconceptions a lot of people have to a certain extent. We do a lot of hail work. Our PDR guys actually work in-house. They do not travel. We do PDR work from three different states. And we do repairs. So when it comes to the insurance companies, insurance companies want to painless dent repair everything because they think everything can be painless dent repaired. So when you have a hail damage in the state of Colorado, they bring in all the CAT team adjusters and everybody’s writing PDR, right? Painless dent repair.
SPEAKER 09 :
Yep.
SPEAKER 05 :
There’s a reason for that. So they come in and they write estimates of $3,000 and every estimate $3,000. They do it for a reason because it goes back to the severity that we talked about earlier in the show. Right. There’s no reality to that. You know, you get a $3,000 estimate, comes into a shop, they will not do a supplement until they know it’s committed for repair, until they see it here, until they see a dent count and see if the work’s in process. Then they’ll come back out or they’ll go through the computer and will actually do the right thing by the client and the customer. 35% to 40% of the time, the hoods usually cannot be painless and repaired, especially aluminum. Roofs are questionable, but what we do is we discuss it with our clients. So our PDR guys are really, really good at what they do. But instead of cutting the roof off of your vehicle and the structure and everything else, we go over the repair with our clients and say, hey, this is what the insurance company wrote. They wrote for a hood. They wrote to replace the roof, this and the other. Now, there’s other ways to do this repair, still give you the lifetime warranty and stay within the constraints of the insurance company without committing insurance fraud. But we talk to our clients about how intrusive the repair goes into their vehicle.
SPEAKER 09 :
Okay.
SPEAKER 05 :
So the technology’s changed. A lot can be painless dent repaired. The misconception that people have when it comes to painless dent repair is this. It cracks the paint. Not necessarily. Not always. No, it comes down to the technician ability. So if a technician, like our technicians, if for some reason a dent cracked paint, we would be painting that panel. We wouldn’t just let it go. Because eventually moisture’s going to get in the clear coat. It’s going to get in the paint and it’s going to rust. That used to be a common thing 15, 20 years ago. These days, there’s a lot of elasticity in the paint products that we put on people’s cars and the metal that’s used, including aluminum. So it is a viable repair, and it’s less intrusive to the vehicle when it comes to the repair process.
SPEAKER 07 :
And again, correct me if I’m wrong, but the tooling and what you guys have available to actually do PDR used to be when they first came out, it was some tools that would go in behind the panel. You’d take some door panels off or you’d try to find an entrance hole. Even that part of it has changed, hasn’t it? In other words, there can be things done where you’re not putting a tool on the inside at all. Am I right in saying that?
SPEAKER 04 :
That’s correct.
SPEAKER 05 :
So there was a lot of times back years ago that people would actually drill holes for access. A good PDR guy, or even our facility, we have a no-drill policy. We do not drill in anybody’s vehicle to give them access to anything. But the technology has changed for glue pulling. So they actually have tools now that actually will glue tabs onto some of the paintless dents, and they can actually pull them from the outside. So, again, the technology has changed. Glue pulling is a huge process with PDR anymore. So they still use some of the tools to get in some of the panels and everything, but no drilling, glue pulling, it definitely has changed.
SPEAKER 07 :
Yeah, and for those of you that have never seen what I’m talking about, and I’ve watched some of these guys at times, Dan and Robert, and I’ve seen videos and such, and I am in amazement at what they can do at times where, for some of you listening, you’ll think, oh, that’s on a high point. That’s on a point of a panel or something along those lines. They’ll never get that out. Yeah, never say never.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah, never say never because a lot of things can be done with the technology. We have a painless dam repair guy who even uses an inductor. So an inductor actually heats the metal, stretches it back out without damaging the paint for some of the bigger stuff that the insurance companies want to replace a roof. We can use an inductor across the roof and get it actually straight. It’ll give you the same warranty without having to cut the roof off.
SPEAKER 07 :
You know what I would say on that for everybody listening? Even if you got, you know, there’s a bunch of dents and you got 90% out and there’s still, you know, that 10% left but you didn’t put a roof on it, do that. Don’t put a roof on it unless you absolutely have to. Guys, that’s me saying.
SPEAKER 05 :
No, you’re absolutely correct because it’s less intrusive to the vehicle. You don’t have to pull the entire interior out. It’s less intrusive. You’re cutting into the structure, and a roof is a structural component of the vehicle.
SPEAKER 07 :
That’s right. And as you know, lots of other things have to go along with that. The windshield’s coming out, other glasses. I mean, you’re doing so much other work that, again, and I’m an anal guy. I’m very particular. I don’t like any dents at all. I’m one of those guys where if there’s a little dent that’s there, it’s getting taken out. I don’t drive vehicles that are dented or anything along those lines. But in that particular case… Well, me personally. In that case, I’d fix it and sell it because that’s just me, but I would not put a roof on it.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah, and I wouldn’t either, but it comes back to educating our customers too. All of our customers are included in our repair process. Once it gets here, we write the supplement. We do all the documentation. We basically cash them out with the insurance company and say, okay, this is what we’re working with. What’s the repair that you would like to do? We’re going to give you a couple of different options. If it needs a roof, it’s going to need a roof. And we’ll tell you that. And we’ll tell you why. We’ll explain to you why. But if there’s a way to paint the same repair and then what they call push to paint, which is to get it all pushed back out, block it a little bit, prime it, and paint it, same warranty, same outcome, like it’s never been touched.
SPEAKER 07 :
I want you to touch on the warranty end of things again, not necessarily with you guys, but just industry-wide. And this is something that I think is really key for a lot of you listening. And that is, okay, yeah, insurance company saying you go to our place, we’re going to give you a lifetime warranty, which, okay, great, fine. That’s usually done by said provider. But what happens in these situations have come up in the past. What if that provider, Robert, is no longer around?
SPEAKER 05 :
It comes back to the shop. That’s the thing. It’s like, you know, one of the reasons we’ve been here for so long, We don’t have a lot of comebacks. We don’t have a lot of warranties. Fortunately, we have a lot of people that we do work for that keep their cars 15, 20, 25 years. We have instances where we’ve seen stuff over the years come back and have a little paint fly in it. We fix it. No questions asked. That’s one thing that this company was built on is the reputation of the warranty. The insurance companies do not give the warranty. The repair facility does. That’s right. And what you’ve got to be careful of is the limited lifetime warranty that you’ll see.
SPEAKER 07 :
Keyword limited.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah. What’s that?
SPEAKER 07 :
Keyword limited.
SPEAKER 05 :
Keyword is limited, yes. Sometimes it’s three years, sometimes it’s five years. In the industry that I’ve grown up in, lifetime means lifetime. It means if you keep that car 25 years and you have a problem with the repair that we have done, we’re going to stand behind it and we’re going to redo it and we’re going to fix it. So those are the kind of repair facilities that, you know… They’re no longer around.
SPEAKER 07 :
Right. Another dumb question on my part. Maybe it’s not dumb, but we just talked PDR and all that. One thing I just thought of a moment ago, you get some of your detail, whatever the case may be, you get some PDR done. Does that change the safety of the vehicle? In other words, there’s a lot of crumple zones on a vehicle. Is that PDR affecting any of that at all?
SPEAKER 05 :
No, it’s mostly cosmetic. The only thing that would affect it is if you have a PDR company that drills holes. And we still see it. If you drill into the structure of a vehicle, you drill into the bottom side of the hood, what you’re doing is you’re changing the structural integrity by minimizing that point of impact. So that’s the only thing that would compromise that.
SPEAKER 07 :
Okay, makes total sense. Now, switching gears just a little bit, let’s kind of go to the repair shop side because I’ve got a few minutes left on that end of things because you guys do full repair work on that end of it as well. And I think the one advantage you guys have on things, and this is a question, and I didn’t ask you this last week, so if I’m catching you blindsided, just say so. But when it comes to people buying used cars and they want to get that car inspected, given the fact you guys are so big on the collision side, that’s got to be an advantage on a used car inspection, or am I wrong in my thought process?
SPEAKER 05 :
No, no, you’re absolutely correct. And we actually see a lot of people that come in and they have total loss vehicles. Right. And that’s the first thing that people do is how am I going to replace my car? One thing that we have done and Dan and I have done over the years, and not just with this facility, just us personally, is if you have a totalized vehicle and you’re out there buying a used car, you know, a lot of the new cars are priced out of the market right now. That’s true. But if you buy a used car, you are more than welcome to bring it by our facility and we will do an inspection on it at no charge.
SPEAKER 06 :
Okay.
SPEAKER 05 :
Because the last thing that we want to do is see you buying somebody else’s problem. Right. Somebody who wants to sell you a car in a King Soopers or a Starbucks, stay away from that.
SPEAKER 09 :
Absolutely.
SPEAKER 05 :
The reputable people that you’re buying something from will actually, if you tell them you’re going to take it to a mechanic for an inspection and they let you take it. That’s half the battle right there.
SPEAKER 08 :
That’s right.
SPEAKER 05 :
And then what we do is we’re impartial people. We’ll pull it in. We’ll pull it up on a lift. We’ll take a look at it. We’ll identify the things that have been done to it. And 80% of the cars on the road have had some work on it. But we’re impartial. You’re not buying somebody else’s problem. Usually the seller shows up with the buyer, and we just give them the information. And that way they can figure it out amongst themselves.
SPEAKER 07 :
Good way to do it. Last thing I’ll talk to you about, we’ve got about five minutes left here before we close things out. Again, I could be completely wrong, but growing up in the industry, I don’t think I am. I’m an anti-salvage title guy. Now, I do understand there might be certain circumstances where that’s all somebody can afford, and maybe that’s the direction they need to head, although I would tell you just go find an older used car that doesn’t have a salvage title. But, guys, you’re in the industry. What are your thoughts on salvage title vehicles?
SPEAKER 05 :
It depends on where you get the car. So Colorado has pretty strict laws when it comes to salvage title vehicles.
SPEAKER 08 :
They do.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah, it’s got a lot worse. I mean, there’s actually dealerships right now in the Colorado area. That’s all they sell is branded title vehicles.
SPEAKER 08 :
That’s right.
SPEAKER 05 :
Now, do your research. Here’s the thing with the salvage title vehicle. A lot of people don’t even know this. If you’re looking at a salvage-tied vehicle and somebody’s telling you that it just had hail or it was just this or that, you can Google the VIN number. If it’s gone through an auction anywhere in this country, it’ll pop up with the pictures of that vehicle by day.
SPEAKER 07 :
And what it looked like.
SPEAKER 05 :
Exactly. And you’ll see time and time again that this thing was a train wreck.
SPEAKER 07 :
You might be buying two cars, not one.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yes, that’s exactly correct.
SPEAKER 07 :
I don’t know how else to say it that way, guys, but sometimes you are.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah, that’s your safe haven when it comes to salvage title vehicles. But not only that, when you have a salvage title in Colorado, somebody has to sign a salvage disclosure, both parties, to mean that they had a conversation about the salvage on the vehicle, and both of them accept the terms of the salvage on the vehicle, and that actually goes to the state and goes along with the title.
SPEAKER 07 :
Okay. and again for all of you listening you know my thoughts on this there are there are probably but a handful out of all of the you know tens of thousands that are out there that are salvaged title and robert you’re right there are dealers that specialize in these and i’m just one where it’s like you know for so many red flags and the fact that there’s other cars on the market even if you have to go a couple of years older to buy what you want in that same price range i am just i’m one where i don’t want to you said it earlier the correct way robert i don’t want to buy somebody else’s problems
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, the thing is this, too.
SPEAKER 05 :
If you buy a salvage title vehicle, always remember this. You’re going to have a hard time selling it.
SPEAKER 08 :
That’s right.
SPEAKER 05 :
Exactly. So if you keep that vehicle for two, three years and it has a salvage title and you go to resell it, that’s going to be one of the hardest things you’ll ever have to do because people salvage. It sticks in their mind, right? That’s exactly right. It’s salvage, and that’s the way Colorado explains it.
SPEAKER 07 :
No, and by the way, spot on on that. That is exactly the way I look at it. That’s why I encourage people to not go down that path. And I think some people think, oh, yeah, I’m going to drive this thing into the ground. Well, then two or three years later, they decide, family circumstances, whatever, something’s changed. Oh, gosh, I need a different car. Problem is, now you’re married to this thing because you’re never getting rid of it, to your point, Robert.
SPEAKER 04 :
And you’re never going to trade it in either because there is no dealership.
SPEAKER 07 :
No one’s taking it. That’s right. No, you literally, I’m not exaggerating. You’re married to that car. You’re going to drive it into the ground. And at that point, it’s probably going to go, you know, either south of the border or to a salvage yard because no one else is going to want to buy that car.
SPEAKER 05 :
And the cost savings is really not that great. It’s not. Not even close. Absolutely. I mean, you’d be better off buying something certified pre-owned or used or a few years older, like you stated. Yeah.
SPEAKER 07 :
All right, give us your little spiel one more time. How do folks get a hold of you and, you know, website, phone number, make appointment, the whole nine yards?
SPEAKER 05 :
So Brighton Auto Body in Brighton, Colorado, 190 Great Western Road. Been here for 57 years. Phone number is 303-659-4612 or brightonautobody.com.
SPEAKER 07 :
And again, we’ll have all of this on our websites. I believe it’s there now, drive-radio.com. And I encourage you guys that are listening, if you need any collision work at all, please give these guys a call. i appreciate you guys greatly this is going to be a great relationship we’ll send lots of people to you you’re going to be a great added value to our community and i just appreciate you guys greatly especially today taking an hour out of your day to talk to us
SPEAKER 05 :
And we appreciate the time and love to be on here.
SPEAKER 07 :
Thank you, John. You bet, guys. I appreciate it. I’ll let you go. Enjoy your afternoon, guys. You too. Take care. I appreciate you very much. And I got about a minute or so left here. Again, Drive Radio, The Extra Mile. And this was another one of those conversations that we just had, whereby one of you sent me a text message and said, hey, could you talk about… This absolutely. So here’s what I’m asking you. Keep doing that. This particular hour is designed to get into some depth of things that we frankly don’t have time to do on drive radio because it’s a call in show and people call in. That’s the whole idea behind having that program the way it is. And we can’t spend. you know, 55 minutes straight talking about a particular topic like we are now. So please, if there’s something you’d like us to delve into more, and maybe it’s a little bit lighter topic and I could split it, you know, 50-50, do that topic along with something else. One thing I’m going to talk about here in the not-too-distant future is the Internet and a lot of what’s on there and the information that’s on there and the influencers that are on there. And are they always right or wrong? And one thing I’ll just add really quick before I close out, influencers… are influencers and they’re making money off of what they produce and what they get you to actually view and watch when it comes to their video. So always remember that when you’re actually watching their videos, you just paid them to watch said video in a roundabout way. You’re paying them to actually watch that video. Your eyes are, your viewership is actually paying them. Guys, that’s it for today. I appreciate you all listening. Again, send us what other topics you’d like us to cover. This has been Drive Radio, The Extra Mile, right here on KLZ 560.
