PRODUCT TRAINING
and lighter materials require specialty
tools for shaping and welding for collision
repair.
“My recommendation to distributors
is to educate yourself on aluminum and
plastic repair procedures and tools to
become an authority shops turn to when
they can’t find an answer,” adds Dent Fix
Equipment’s Preston. “Currently, those
two categories have some of the highest
growth potential for an equipment
distributor. Steel repair tools are definitely
not an area to forget about, but if
you want to set yourself apart from the
crowd, that’s the way to go,” he explains.
Another consideration is the
increasing prevalence of automotive
structural adhesives, says Monti Tools’
Fischer. These adhesives need to be
removed to prepare the surface for reapplication,
and specialty tools such as
Monti Tools’ MBX and Die Blaster allow
technicians to quickly remove structural
adhesives and create the required surface
preparation for reapplication.
A major trend in the collision repair
industry is the increasing use of technologies
in mid-range vehicles. In a
collision, these sensors can become
damaged, leading to a higher demand
for technicians familiar with electronics.
“A current demand for documented
before and after results in the repair
industry (driven by insurance companies)
brought about the need for
products such as Bee Line’s exclusively
designed system featuring a single
infrared camera that captures the initial
conditions of a damaged frame, allowing
the operator to determine what corrective
measures need to be taken,” says Bee
Line’s Williams.
Using tools that offer before and
after repair documentation helps
streamline diagnostics and ensure a
complete repair.
Selling tips and tricks
The key to selling any tool is to help
technicians (and for large equipment,
shop owners) understand how this tool
will help them work more efficiently
and complete repairs more easily.
Ask the customer questions about
the type of work they regularly perform:
auto body repairs, restorations or
customizations, suggests Monti Tools’
Fischer. What tools are they currently
using, and what problems are they running
into with those tools?
“Ask if the customer is open to a better
way of doing things in this respect,”
Fischer says. Then, recommend the tool
that will best meet their needs, based on
their application.
A word on ADAS
58 Professional Distributor I October 2018 I VehicleServicePros.com
Determine what types of materials
your customers are working with. Aluminum?
Mixed metals? Plastic? You
have an opportunity to suggest specialty
tools for working on each one, and if
the shop doesn’t currently have the tools
to work on materials that are becoming
more mainstream, such as aluminum,
explain the value that adding that toolset
would bring to the shop, says H&S
Autoshot’s Sponhaltz.
“Always provide an ROI/payback
analysis,” adds Bee Line’s Williams.
“Have a clear understanding of the
application, and recommend the system
that best meets their needs, gets the job
done correctly and will maximize the
shop’s productivity and profitability.”
When selling collision repair equipment,
it’s important to consider whether
the tool can produce the quality of repair
to meet or exceed the specifications of
the manufacturer. “Lowering costs is
important, but not if it sacrifices the
quality of the repair,” Dent Fix Equipment’s
Preston says. “Otherwise, that
repair might come back to the shop, but
this time at the shop’s expense.”
He adds that distributors should
strive to educate themselves and be
a knowledge resource that shops can
depend on when trying to expand their
abilities and achieve their goals. Be
knowledgeable of different repair solutions,
and be aware of how and whether
they will work for your customers. Preston
notes that it is often helpful to have
a Good, Better and Best option available
for popular collision repair equipment
to accommodate all budgets.
Conclusion
Collision repair shops offer a variety of
new revenue opportunities for distributors.
Because collision repair shops see
a lot of new-model vehicles, there is
potential for knowledgeable distributors
to help shops navigate the changing
collision repair industry by recommending
innovative products and solutions to
their current problems.
Advanced Driver Assistance Systems, or ADAS,
are designed to increase safety for drivers.
These include systems such as electronic stability
control, anti-lock brakes, lane departure
warning, adaptive cruise control and traction
control. As more vehicles adopt ADAS systems,
they pose an additional challenge to collision
repair shops.
A diagnostic tool that offers Pre-Scan and Post-
Scan capabilities for ADAS modules are becoming
increasingly important for collision repair,
says Daniel Bemiss, marketing director, Autel.
For example, when a technician uses Autel’s
AutoScan feature, it accesses all available
modules in all systems and identifies any ADAS
module, so users can see if there are any modules
and sensors that will need replacement or
recalibration.
“Sometimes, the collision might not have affected
the body panel too much, but the sensor
mounted behind it could have been shifted to a
dangerous angle that would not provide accurate
readings to the module,” Bemiss says. He
adds that it is up to the technician to understand
what needs further investigation after the Pre-
Scan, but a diagnostic tool with Pre- and Post-
Scan capabilities offers insight into which ADAS
modules a vehicle has, helping the technician
make a more accurate repair plan the first time.
Helping collision repair shops understand the
value and time savings of knowing a repair is
completed correctly and thoroughly the first
time can help distributors sell diagnostic tools
with Pre- and Post-Scan capabilities.
/VehicleServicePros.com