One of the main values of Puget Collision, the parent company of CARSTAR Ideal Auto Body, is “people first.”
“We do that here,” said Jennifer Hern, collision center leader at the Littleton, CO, location. “I don’t treat my people like employees, I treat them like customers.”
CARSTAR Ideal Auto Body
Littleton, CO
303-922-4234
www.carstar.com/locations/co/littleton-15135
Company At A Glance...
Type: Collision Repair
Facility Employees: 45
In Business Since: 2001
Number of Locations: Three
Combined Production Space: 41,545 square feet
Puget Collision LLC owns 50 collision repair facilities spread throughout Colorado, Oregon, Washington and California. Puget’s senior leadership includes CEO Joe Morella, COO Tom Redding, and Gary Hogan, SVP of strategic accounts.
The collision center opened in 2001 and Hern joined the team in 2012. Over the last 12 years, she has moved from parts manager, to estimator, to production manager, to director of operations, to her current title.
Hern said she feels CARSTAR Ideal Auto Body’s culture sets it apart from out other collision centers.
Jennifer Hern, collision center leader at CARSTAR Ideal Auto Body, said the business’ culture, specifically its teamwork, makes it stand out from other body shops.
“Teamwork is everything,” she explained. “There’s not a person in the shop that wouldn’t drop what they’re doing to go help another person; no matter what it is, there’s no ‘that’s not my job’ here.”
The 19,000-square-foot Littleton location has 20 employees and 27 DRPs. “Our main six would be Progressive, State Farm, Allstate, Travelers, Nationwide and USAA,” explained Hern. “We do a lot of fleet work.”
According to Hern, CARSTAR Ideal Auto Body is predominantly an electric vehicle facility.
“About 70% of our work is Tesla or Rivian,” said Hern. “We are both Tesla and Rivian certified, along with other OEM certifications.”
Hern said aside from Rivian and Tesla, which have their own specific platforms, CARSTAR Ideal Auto Body performs pre- and post-repair scans with the asTech® All-In-One.
“Puget purchased all three Ideal Auto Body locations in Colorado in February,” explained Hern. “asTech was already required at the Arvada, CO, shop because of its Subaru certification, so in March, asTech became mandatory for Littleton and Highlands Ranch.”
Hern added the asTech® All-In-One platform is “super easy to use.”
“asTech® All-In-One also standardizes pricing not just for our collision center and not just with our DRPs, but across the country,” she explained. “It helps set a precedent, so it’s not a willy-nilly pricing scheme where one shop can charge this price and then another shop a different price for the same work.”
Hern added the platform “gives us the justification to get paid for what we need.” Redding also shared his experience with the platform.
Dustin Hern, production manager at CARSTAR Ideal Auto Body, showcases the asTech® All-In-One device.
“The asTech interface with CCC, coupled with the diagnostic dashboard, gives us a windshield view of vehicles in process related to scanning and calibration,” Redding said. “It has improved our efficiency and compliance.”
According to the company website, asTech® All-In-One covers more than 45 OEM brands. It allows body shops to perform pre- and post-scans car side with the device or remotely connect to authentic OEM tools, automate the repair planning process, keep all ADAS calibrations in-house, and gives users the ability to program modules.
“A great feature of the new asTech® All-In-One is that it seems to be timelier than its predecessor,” said Hern. “It also has dedicated technicians that walk us through every step of the way.”
Hern said at the Littleton location, the asTech scans are only allowed to be done by three people: herself, the production manager and their mechanic.
“All three of us are very well versed in codes, so whatever comes up, we can then let the estimator know, ‘Hey, we really need to look at this code before we disassemble this vehicle,’ for example,” she explained.
Hern said switching to asTech has enhanced the customer experience, specifically when it comes to safety.
“This is especially true when airbags are a factor,” she explained. “asTech takes the time to look up airbag replacement procedures and include this in their report.”
Hern added she would “highly recommend the asTech® All-In-One” to other auto body shops because it’s “standardizing the way diagnostics, repair planning, calibrations and programming can be performed in house with one platform.”
Autobody News asked Hern how she has found working with the asTech representatives.
“Dan Young with asTech / Repairify is awesome,” she said. “When we’ve had a few hiccups, specifically with EV vehicles, he and his team have gone so far as to rent the same year, make and model to see if they can further give us better support in the future.”
Redding also shared Hern’s sentiments.
“I would echo that the partnership with Dan and his team at asTech is what I value,” he said. “Their team is vested in the success of the partnership, and they care about our results.”
Redding added “transparent communication,” which includes sharing weekly and monthly reporting, has been “a valuable resource for staying close to the pulse of the business.”
asTech® Driven by Repairify™
888-486-1166
astech.com
Facebook: @asTechDrivenByRepairify
Instagram: @astech_official
LinkedIn: @astechdrivenbyrepairify
To read more auto body shop profiles from the October 2024 Shop and Product Showcase, click here.
