When it comes to performing post-collision safety inspections, the majority of repairers see the need to do them, according to the findings of the most-recent “Who Pays for What?” survey this summer. But there is some uncertainty among shops about exactly what is required, under what circumstances it’s required, and sometimes even if it’s required -- and many shops feel the automakers are not doing enough to improve the situation.
“Please make the requirements for inspections very clear,” the owner of a shop in South Carolina pleaded with the OEMs when responding to the survey.
“We need clearer procedures,” an estimator at a large MSO location in Ohio said.
When asked what they want automakers to know when it comes to safety inspection procedures, the most common feedback, perhaps not surprisingly, revolved around two words: “recommended” and “required.”
“Please make safety inspection procedures ‘required’ instead of ‘recommended,’ and specify which are required in which events (i.e. airbag deployment vs. seat belt deployment vs. location/nature of damage vs. structural and non-structural repair),” the manager of an independent shop in Illinois said.
About half (49%) of the 476 shops answering the question about said they perform safety inspections at least the majority of the time. But when asked why the inspections aren’t performed in all cases, the largest group (33%) said it’s not clear what is "required" versus what is "recommended."
“OEMs have to be more vocal about the necessity, and the repercussions of not doing them,” said the manager of a high-volume independent shop in Florida.
“More manufacturers need to require, not recommend,” an Idaho shop owner said. “And more definition of a ‘collision’ would be helpful also.”
The latest quarterly “Who Pays for What?” survey is open through the month of October. It focuses on billing and payment practices related to scanning and calibrations, aluminum repair and shop supplies. Shops can take the survey here.
Survey participants receive a free report with complete survey findings along with analysis and resources to help shops better understand and use the information presented.
The survey can be completed in about 15 minutes by anyone familiar with their shop's billing practices and the payment practices of at least some of the largest national insurers. Each shop's individual responses are held in the strictest confidence; only aggregated data is released.
The results of previous surveys are also available at www.crashnetwork.com/collisionadvice.
