Body Body, Fix My Body Body
Sep. 21st, 2007 12:31 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rickpsAs therapy from the stressful day at work yesterday, I took a spur of the moment trip to an event sponsored by the local BMW car club and my car pusher good friend Dan. The event, held at one of the premier auto body shops in Southern California, Philip Thearle's Autowerks, offered a unique insight into a part of car ownership we never want to experience. For most of us, having an accident with our beloved vehicle is a mini-nightmare of getting one or more estimates, having the wreck dragged off for repair while all the while uttering prayers that the car won't look like hell and that the replacement parts won't fall off after a couple of weeks.
Thearle himself hosted a portion of the evening, speaking from his 40 years in the business, 25 of which as owner of his own business. His pride in his facilities and stellar reputation were obvious, the shop huge (2 stories tall, main repair area could simultaneously repair 20+ vehicles, not counting areas for the paint and detailing shops), immaculate, with tons of high tech repair equipment. He tends to specialize in high end German cars, Mercedes, BMW, Audi. Jaguar has used his repair techniques as their factory standard for auto body work. And he charges quite a bit for what he does. From the 40 or so folks who attended, many of whom had had their cars repaired at the shop, it was evident that the work done was more than worth the cost.
Some interesting tidbits came out of Thearle's talk. As bad as we may think insurance companies to be, auto body shops have it much worse. He noted that the US's biggest auto insurer (think "good neighbor") is the toughest to deal with. They'll refuse to pay for parts, paint, whatever they think they can get away with. Yet some other companies have a heart. He spoke of a young woman who, upon being informed that her aging Toyota Corolla was totaled burst into tears because the car had been given to her by her deceased father. To Thearle's surprise, once the insurance company learned of the woman's situation, they authorized repairs, regardless of cost.
Thearle noted that new cars built with state of the art lightweight materials like aluminum are incredibly costly to repair because the damaged parts must be thrown away since they can't be bent back into alignment. While all body shops can fix a car, few use top quality equipment and techniques to ensure that the car will look and drive like new. He noted that the alignment rigs he uses (Celette for those who might have ever heard of them, definitely not me) ensure a 1 millimeter fitment tolerance while most auto manufacturers are happy to build cars with 1.2-1.5 millimeter tolerances. Impressive.
The last part of the evening, and perhaps the most fun, was when we could try our hands at working in a paint spray booth or using a spot welding rig. Safety precautions alone were daunting, the art to working with this equipment only for those with a lot of experience. We all went away with a much greater appreciation of what it takes to put the shine back on our automotive toys.
As I shook Thearle's hand at the end of the evening, I commented that I hoped I'd never have to come see him but was sure glad his place was around if I needed it. He said he'd heard that a lot. Why am I not surprised?
Thearle himself hosted a portion of the evening, speaking from his 40 years in the business, 25 of which as owner of his own business. His pride in his facilities and stellar reputation were obvious, the shop huge (2 stories tall, main repair area could simultaneously repair 20+ vehicles, not counting areas for the paint and detailing shops), immaculate, with tons of high tech repair equipment. He tends to specialize in high end German cars, Mercedes, BMW, Audi. Jaguar has used his repair techniques as their factory standard for auto body work. And he charges quite a bit for what he does. From the 40 or so folks who attended, many of whom had had their cars repaired at the shop, it was evident that the work done was more than worth the cost.
Some interesting tidbits came out of Thearle's talk. As bad as we may think insurance companies to be, auto body shops have it much worse. He noted that the US's biggest auto insurer (think "good neighbor") is the toughest to deal with. They'll refuse to pay for parts, paint, whatever they think they can get away with. Yet some other companies have a heart. He spoke of a young woman who, upon being informed that her aging Toyota Corolla was totaled burst into tears because the car had been given to her by her deceased father. To Thearle's surprise, once the insurance company learned of the woman's situation, they authorized repairs, regardless of cost.
Thearle noted that new cars built with state of the art lightweight materials like aluminum are incredibly costly to repair because the damaged parts must be thrown away since they can't be bent back into alignment. While all body shops can fix a car, few use top quality equipment and techniques to ensure that the car will look and drive like new. He noted that the alignment rigs he uses (Celette for those who might have ever heard of them, definitely not me) ensure a 1 millimeter fitment tolerance while most auto manufacturers are happy to build cars with 1.2-1.5 millimeter tolerances. Impressive.
The last part of the evening, and perhaps the most fun, was when we could try our hands at working in a paint spray booth or using a spot welding rig. Safety precautions alone were daunting, the art to working with this equipment only for those with a lot of experience. We all went away with a much greater appreciation of what it takes to put the shine back on our automotive toys.
As I shook Thearle's hand at the end of the evening, I commented that I hoped I'd never have to come see him but was sure glad his place was around if I needed it. He said he'd heard that a lot. Why am I not surprised?
