Tag Archives: car
Goodbye Boring Vans – Once Again Step Away From Classic to Future
Imagine all those family men in particular who hate vans. Wouldn’t this be a luxury? You might even argue over who drives it to pick up the children? Who would have first dibs on it? This would be something worthwhile in relation to what most of our families in Canada and the US have been driving. Affordable? Probably not. Realistic? Most likely not. Worth dreaming about? Probably. But we still think an Astro van with 8 seating places is doable. Okay, more affordable. Dreaming is fun though. Body work on this baby? To match or blend the paint, never mind the materials involved in collision? We don’t think we even could phantom the answers to that at this point. This doesn’t even include how to detail such a beauty! But we know at some point we could find it out. 🙂
**Realistically? How would those upswing doors work in a parking lot in North America where they are getting smaller and smaller all the time?
Travelling In the Early Days
We have people who have told us about their early travels. With 30 plus experience in this business, we actually remember. When we say “we”, we speak to at least three of us. Storage was not as accommodating as it is today. One of us remembers a father packing up for a wife, four young girls, and an aunt to travel across the country in a station wagon. Not much room for comfort, no videos, no Smartphones, not much for any luxury, other than singing songs you knew, a tape player that had batteries, and long hours of scenery and stopping off at tourist spots. How times change.
This picture is nothing like what some of the roofs of travelling cars looked like. Trust us.
To the younger generation, be thankful. To the older, be thankful for the memories and the gratefulness we have that we don’t have to tie up (no bungy cords then) to the roof all the luggage we used to have to carry. 🙂
No Parking
Interesting photography.
Remember When? We Do! The Good Old Days At The Drive-In
We love visiting Hemmings Blog. The old pictures are amazing. This one was a Photo courtesy from the Los Angeles Public Library
We are telling our age, but then again, having been in the autobody business for over 30 years, that in itself is telling. Now all this has changed, and there are fewer and fewer drive-ins, but they are still so much fun to go to, and although they are now connected to the radio instead of a side speaker, the experience still remains a feeling of going back to the 60’s, and maybe for some earlier. We also remember how great it was to be able to bring our babies and not worry about them screaming and crying in a theatre, of cooking up some hotdogs in the back of the truck, of starry nights and popcorn. When was the last time you went to a drive-in?
The Arrowhead Teardrop Car
It’s interesting what you can find when you search for “bad auto body work” to educate yourself and the public of how auto body work should NOT be done. Googling such a request provides some interesting information. Nothing to do with bad work, but some intriguing facts and such. So here is one we found particularly interesting. With this, our opinion is no one wants to have a negative when it comes to auto body. Otherwise, we would be showing some here, rather than this. 🙂
Diary of a Bad Collision Repair Part II
It has been almost a year since I wrote “Diary of a Bad Repair” in the November 2010 issue of BodyShop Business, and it’s still business as usual as for some of the body shops in my area as far as cranking out unsafe hack jobs. And yes, the majority are still coming from new-car dealerships, both DRPs and non-DRPs, large independent chain DRPs and the wanna-be DRP shops.
Managers and estimators at new-car dealerships and large chain independent shops are writing poor estimates. The problem is that the majority of these shop managers and estimators are simply serving a public relations purpose.
All the I-CAR training and OEM repair information in the world isn’t worth a penny without real, hands-on working experience and proper training. Would you fly in an airplane knowing that the pilot’s only training was using a flight simulator? Would you trust a nurse to perform a heart 
transplant on you after he or she worked alongside the surgeon to see how it was done?
For this very reason, these shop managers and estimators should not be in the collision repair industry – until they can do the same job as the body tech first. It’s only then that they can estimate the repair cost of a damaged vehicle, whether it’s in my state of North Carolina or other states.
I’m also still seeing shops working off insurance adjusters’ poorly written damage appraisals and not writing their own estimates. Have you not heard that the jury in the Progressive vs. North State Custom case found that the insurance adjuster’s estimate is irrelevant?
Another reason for unsafe or butchered vehicles is that shop managers don’t have real quality control systems implemented. They’re more concerned about cycle time. Also, the body techs cut corners in order to turn labor hours for a big payday. Sadly, the body techs know better, but instead of bucking the boss, they do what they’re told in order to keep bread on the table for their families.
Before I share with you photos and information on two hacked vehicles, I have to ask you, “How should we stop this madness?” Here’s what I propose:
1. Require the vehicle body and structural engineers to repair several of their designs so they can feel your frustrations, then chastise them for designing vehicles the way they do.
2. Require shop managers and estimators to have at least five years of hands-on repair experience so they can write a proper and thorough repair estimate and toss out the irrelevant insurance adjuster’s estimate.
3. Do away with cycle time.
4. Do away with labor hours turned commission pay and pay the repair techs an hourly wage or salary based on their repair skills along with a bonus for quality repairs.
5. License shops, managers, estimators and techs throughout the country and impose hefty fines on them for poorly prepared estimates and allowing unsafe or butchered vehicles back into the vehicle owners’ hands.
I know many states have laws in place to avoid some of these problems, but many are seldom enforced. So other than shooting the vehicle engineers who are designing and placing this chaos on the collision repair industry, the remedy may be in my questions and what it takes to turn things around so that there will be fewer unsafe vehicles being delivered to vehicle owners.
Subaru Impreza
To Our Last Blog About Dirty Windshields – This is Amazing!!
We were researching dirty windshield winners, and found two we liked. One simple one and one that we couldn’t believe! Amazing art, believe it or not. Apparently this gentleman uses dirty windshields as his canvas. Our only question is – How can you even want to clean a windshield with such art on it? Like Chalk Art, it’s the type that you take a picture, then wipe it off. Not easy to do, but when it comes to windshields, it’s important to do for your safety. Enjoy the pictures!
This is Scott Wade's windshield art. Amazing.
What we are used to. Be it the kids in the neighbourhood or our spouse and children. 🙂
Busy Season at Paint Touch Up & Go
We are in full swing with the beautiful weather. We are surprised with such great conditions that collisions are on the rise. However, the sun shining can become a problem. Make sure you retain sunglasses in your car at all times, and your windshield is free of debris and cracks. Mirrors must always be clean, and ensure brakes are checked. Rain season can cause easy slipping on the road if you don’t have proper treads. We, at Paint Touch Up and Go, are happy to inspect your vehicle for possible hazards that may
Fixable yes, and at a lesser cost then replacement, as long as in good working condition mechanically.
end you up as a customer of body work. Our goal is your safety first.
In the interim, it’s worth while at this time of year to make sure your rust spots are repaired and undercoating is added. Winter having taken its toll already, and rain season coming, this is the perfect time. Remember, your vehicle takes you places and is worth the attention it needs to keep you going. Contact us for our Spring Specials. Call 416-875-3095. As much as we love the work, we are more interested in safety and pro-activity to make sure you don’t have extra expenses through neglect of what is, for most people, the second biggest investment next to a home.
Team Paint Up And Go, your dependable mobile autobody gang.
p.s. we also have great prices on Auto Detailing to clean out your winter scuffs, salt and dirt. Check out our services on this site, call us, or email us at painttouchupandgo@gmail.com
Note To Mechanic
An auto mechanic received a repair order that read: “Check for
clunking sound when going around corners.”
Taking the car out for a test drive, he made a right turn, and a
moment later he heard a ‘clunk’.
He then made a left turn and again heard a ‘clunk’.
Back at the shop he opened the car’s trunk, and soon
discovered the problem.
Promptly he returned the repair order to the service manager
with the notation, “Removed bowling ball from trunk”.
Paint Touch Up And Go 
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