Collision Repair | |||
Due to the high costs and values of these vehicles and the emotional attachment, customers have high expectations. Shops are advised to increase their level of customer service in order to cater to this high-level client. "They scrutinize a lot more than a person with a brand-new car because they have an emotional attachment to that car," Girimonte says. "They love that car. Everything that happens they take personal. It's like working on one of their kids." To make sure expectations are met, CARS is meticulous about its work, Barber says. Technicians spend extra time wet sanding and buffing and often will duplicate the original factory spot welds. "On antique and classic cars, people expect their cars to be [repaired] better than their memory," Barber says. "We actually go back in with the correct spot-welding equipment and measure and locate the spot welds in exactly the same place as the factory did."Barber's shop also will pick up the vehicle and deliver it back to customers. But the shop doesn't use the standard rollback. To help prevent further damage, the shop transports the vehicles in an enclosed trailer. When writing estimates, there aren't many reference materials to find out how long and how much it is to make repairs. Those who specialize in restorations often have to rely on their own or their staff's knowledge and give a ballpark figure. When Rumschlag writes an estimate, he relies on his years of experience. "The times to take things apart, in most instances, there aren't any books," he says. "There's no flat-rate guide, so you just use good, common sense. You just write down how you're going to do the repair and what you're going to have to do." Similar to the collision repair industry, if additional work has to be completed, a supplement will be written and the customer and, if applicable, the insurance company, will be notified. Depending on how detailed the work is, repairs could take months. The 1961 Corvette Barber's shop repaired was there for four months. Because of downtime in between paint coats and while waiting for parts to be delivered or fabricated, they aren't worked on as often or as quickly as late-model vehicles. During those downtimes, the cars need to be stored somewhere, taking up valuable space where other repairs can be done. Then the age and condition of the vehicles have to be taken into consideration. "The unfortunate thing is that people have cars that are restored and they sit for quite a while. If it gets in some type of accident, it's difficult to match what was done because it could be 10 years old," Marquis' Lewenthal says. "If it's a newer restoration, it's pretty simple. But if it's an older restoration, then it goes into where do you stop painting or refinishing?" When that happens, Lewenthal says customers need to decide whether to accept what the insurance company is going to cover or pay for the difference. Parts and paint Depending on the vehicle make, model, year and extent of work, parts might be available. The growth of collectible cars has also led the way for an increase in companies specializing in parts for those vehicles. |
