Good morning, and welcome back. If you made it to Las Vegas this week, hope the show floor has been worth the walk. If not, we’ve got the highlights covered.
— Alex M, Editor
Collision chains look past insurance work to find growth
The MSO Symposium, a yearly gathering of multi-shop collision operators, drew a record crowd of about 450 people in Las Vegas on Monday. The backdrop was tough. CCC reported that claims volume is down about 3.5% this year through September, though the monthly drops have eased lately.
Executives from several of the bigger chains shared where they see growth over the next three years:
Doing their own glass and mechanical work instead of sending it to other shops
Fleet accounts, which one called an untapped opportunity
Customer-paid work instead of insurance-paid work, helped along by offering financing
Crash Champions CEO Matt Ebert pointed to another problem. He said about half of a shop’s employees never touch a car, and cutting that paperwork load is one of the industry’s biggest opportunities.
Why it matters: The big collision chains are running out of insurance work to grow on, so they are coming after the work independent shops depend on. Mechanical repair, glass, fleet accounts, and cash-paying customers are the bread and butter of many independents. Now well-funded chains with hundreds of locations want the same jobs.
They also bring things a single shop may struggle to match, like financing offers and new software. Independents still hold an edge with local trust and long-time customers. For some shops, this may be a good time to check in with fleet customers and longtime regulars, so they have a reason to stay when a chain down the road starts calling on them.
Tekmetric adds AI tools for repair info, inspections, and missed calls
Shop software company Tekmetric opened early access to three new tools at SEMA this week. The company says more than 16,000 shops use its platform. All three aim to cut the time techs and advisors spend on work outside the repair itself.
What each one does:
Repair Guide puts OEM repair procedures, wiring diagrams, and service bulletins inside the repair order, starting with eight European brands
DVI Quick Capture turns a tech’s photos and voice notes into written inspection findings, which the tech reviews before sending
Receptionist answers calls the team cannot get to, books appointments, and leaves a summary for callbacks
Each tool has limits on who can use it right now. Repair Guide is only open to shops where at least 25% of jobs are on those European brands. The inspection tool is only on Tekmetric’s top plan, and the phone tool starts with shops using a specific phone system.
Why it matters: These tools go after the same problem Matt Ebert raised at the MSO Symposium. Time spent writing up inspections, hunting down procedures, and calling customers back is time no one gets paid for. Tekmetric says the average shop misses about 160 calls a month.
Software that writes things for you still needs a person to check it. Tekmetric says techs approve every inspection finding, and that Repair Guide adds to the repair info shops already use rather than replacing it. For some shops, it may be worth tracking where your team’s unbilled hours actually go before deciding what to try.
Lincoln hybrids can slip into neutral while driving
Ford is recalling 11,623 Lincoln hybrids because a transmission module can corrode and drop the vehicle into neutral. Almost all are 2026 and 2027 Nautilus Hybrids, with 63 2027 Corsair Hybrids. Ford says it knows of no crashes or injuries so far.
The problem starts in the Integrated Park Module. An anti-rust oil used at the plant can seep in and damage the circuit board inside. That causes a voltage drop that the transmission reads as a command to shift into neutral.
Drivers may get a warning first:
A wrench-shaped warning light
A “Service Vehicle Soon” or “Shifting System Error” message
Why it matters: These are new vehicles, so the fix belongs to the dealer. Still, a driver who sees a shifting error message may call whoever they trust first. A quick recall check can point them to the free repair before you spend time diagnosing.
It is also another case of a hidden electronics problem with no mechanical warning sign. As more of what a car does runs through modules and circuit boards, warning messages like these may be the only clue a driver gets.
Quick Hits:
🤖 Worldpac will open its first automated distribution center near Atlanta in 2027, using robots to pull parts from storage instead of workers walking the aisles.
🏪 AutoZone plans to grow its large parts hubs from about 170 to roughly 300 to win more business from repair shops, where it holds only about 5% of a nearly $100 billion market.
🛑 GM is recalling 67,380 Cadillac and Chevy EVs, including the Lyriq and Blazer EV, because a brake software glitch can cause a brief loss of braking when the driver taps the brakes in a sharp turn over a bump.
🛞 Bridgestone opened a $3 million training center in Akron, Ohio, to teach commercial tire dealers and fleets how to retread tires.
📸 Mitchell released an AI estimating tool for collision shops that builds a first-draft estimate from damage photos for an estimator to review, with Crash Champions rolling it out across its 650-plus locations.
One question for you: Crash Champions’ CEO says about half of a shop’s employees never touch a car. Does that match what you see? Where does most of your team’s time go outside of the actual repair? Hit reply and tell us.
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