Why Auto Body Associations Matter

**🎙️ Podcast Show Notes:

Independent collision repair shops today are navigating a storm that seems to come from every direction. 🌪

Insurance pressure, tight labor rates, technician shortages, and constantly evolving repair procedures make it feel like you’re fighting every battle alone. Add in ADAS calibrations, EV repair, scanning requirements, and safety standards, and it’s easy to look at membership to an organization like the Alliance of Automotive Service Providers, the Society of Collision Repair Specialists or your local Auto Body association and wonder if it’s just another expense on the books without any real tangible benefit?

In this week’s episode of the Mind Wrench Podcast, we break down why local, state, and regional collision repair associations exist in the first place and how they can become one of the most powerful tools an independent shop owner has. These organizations help shops come together to create a stronger collective voice when dealing with lawmakers, regulators, and industry stakeholders. When shops unite through associations, they gain the ability to advocate for fair repair practices, push back on harmful policies, and protect the future of safe and proper repairs.

We also dig into the practical benefits. Associations create opportunities for training, shared knowledge, and real-world networking that often turns into mentorship and collaboration. Being part of a professional organization also signals credibility to customers and partners who value ethical repair standards and transparency.

From legislative victories in Rhode Island to powerful collaboration at the AASP Illinois Collision Repair Trade Show, this conversation highlights how associations are making real change across the industry.

Key Takeaways

🔧 Strength in Numbers – When independent shops stand together through an association, they gain a louder voice with lawmakers, insurers, and regulators.

📚 Access to Education and Insight – Associations provide training, industry updates, and peer learning that help shops stay ahead of rapidly changing repair technology.

🤝 Community Beats Isolation – Networking with other shop owners creates mentorship, shared solutions, and a support system that helps you navigate industry challenges.

If you’re an independent shop owner tired of feeling like you’re fighting every battle solo, this episode may change how you think about industry involvement. Subscribe to the podcast, share

Transcript

Why Associations Exist

Rick 0:00

Hey, have you ever wondered why local, state, and regional body shop associations even exist? What is their main function? What is it they're actually trying to do? Or are they doing anything besides collecting a fee from the members and the suppliers? Well, hopefully yes. But those thoughts are probably in the minds of many shop owners right now, all right? Welcome to the minority. Thanks so much for stopping in. If you're a returning listener and haven't done so already, please take a minute and click the follow or subscribe button and then rate and review the show. When you rate and review the show, the algorithms for Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, iHeartRadio, Amazon Music, and all the other platforms will see that it's valuable and show it to more people that have never seen it before. And hopefully it can help them too. I would really, really, really appreciate your help sharing this word with your friends and family as well. And if you're a brand new listener, welcome. I hope you find something of value here that helps you in your personal or professional life as well. Please make sure to click the subscribe or follow button so you never miss another episode. If you've been listening to the show for a while, or been on the receiving end of my daily quote of the day emails, or maybe just catch my posts on Facebook or LinkedIn, you know I'm all about the quotes, right? If you'd like to start receiving my quote of the day emails, there's a link in the show notes to sign up. It's free and you can unsubscribe at any time. Hey, have you ever wondered why local, state, and regional body shop associations even exist? What is their main function? What is it they're actually trying to do? Or are they doing anything besides collecting a fee from the members and the suppliers? Well, hopefully, yes. But those thoughts are probably in the minds of many shop owners right now, right? Whiff 'em. Ever heard that phrase? Whiff em? What's in it for me? If you've never attended a local association event, never been part of a regional conference, or even experienced a paint manufacturer's twenty group, this would probably be a valid question and completely understandable. There's a favorite quote of mine that applies here. We don't know what we don't know. Is this just a group that I can join where we sit around, drink beer, and bitch about how tough the industry is and how the insurance companies are screwing us and they control everything and we can't do anything about it? Are they just the good old boys' clubs reserved for those male shop owners that have survived for thirty or forty years and love to just reminisce about the good old days? Is this just a way for the man to get all up in my business and see my numbers and which are none of the damn business anyway, right? If I joined one, would I just be required to attend a bunch of org unorganized meetings, take subpar training courses that are outdated and don't bring any value? Well the simple answer to these questions is no, not even close. And while I can't speak for every one of them, I have attended several over the past few years. And here's what I can tell you from experience. They are not complaint clubs or bitchin' boards. These are well organized, structured meetings and events run by dedicated men and women, young and old, shop owners, vendors, and suppliers to this industry that commit their time and energy into providing an environment of collaboration that benefit not only the shop owners but also the consumers in their geographical area. Local, state, and regional collision repair associations exist to give independent body shops a collective voice, shared resources, and a higher professional standard across the industry. When shops band together through an association, they gain influence and support that would be difficult to achieve alone. Let's take a look at what the main goals are and what value these associations bring to the market. So here are some main goals of collision and autobody associations. Number one, industry advocacy and representation. Associations represent repairs in legislative and regulatory matters in the state or regional level. They advocate for fair repair practices, proper reimbursement rates, and consumer protection. Examples of some of the national organizations that often support these efforts include SCRS, the Society of Collision Repair Specialists, ASA, the Automotive Service Association, AASP, Alliance of Automotive Service Providers, and CIC, which is a collision industry conference. They work with lawmakers, insurers, and regulators to ensure that the collision industry has a voice when the policies affect their repair business. Number two, education and training. Associations promote continuing education to help shops stay current with things like new vehicle technology, think ADAS, EVs, newer substrates and materials, OEM repair procedures, safety standards, and business management. They often host training seminars, conferences with industry speakers covering timely topics, and certification opportunities. Number three, raising professional standards. Associations establish best practices and ethical guidelines to elevate the reputation of the collision repair profession. This may include things like proper repair procedures and how to follow OEM guidelines, safe structural repairs, understanding vehicle safety systems and post-repair inspections, ethical business conduct, transparency with customers, and improving the customer experience. Number four, networking and collaboration. Members get access to a peer group of shop owners and industry leaders facing the same challenges they do. This creates a really powerful environment for things like sharing best practices, solving business problems, mentorship, and collaboration on industry issues. Sometimes the best ideas in a room can come from a shop owner sitting three or four chairs away from you. Consumer awareness and protection. Associations educate consumers about proper repairs, their rights, and how to choose a qualified repair facility. They often promote messaging like safe and proper repairs, OEM repair procedures, and consumers' right to choose a repair shop. If you're running a collision shop, whether second generation, third generation, or original owner, grinding every day, putting out fires, chasing KPIs, working in rather than on the business, and wondering why progress still feels slower than it should, let's take a little pause right here. As a longtime industry supplier, performance coach, and host of this podcast, I've worked inside this industry for over four decades, and I've learned a few things the hard way. Tools and tactics absolutely matter, but mindset drives everything. How you think shapes how you lead, how you hire, how you grow, and how you show up when things get messy. That's where one-on-one coaching makes the difference. You get focused conversations, real accountability, and guidance tailored to you and your shop, not generic cookie cutter advice. The collision repair business has changed dramatically in the last few years. The technology, the tools, the equipment needed to repair today's new vehicles, customer expectations that vary by generation, OEM certifications and repair procedures, ADAS calibrations, electric vehicles, and the ever-growing national technician shortage, it's a lot, isn't it? It can be absolutely overwhelming and very challenging on where to focus first, right? If only I had someone who could help me find clarity in all the chaos. If only there was someone that could help guide me through the changes I need to make so I could create a successful business and increase my net revenue. If only I had a coach that could help me without getting in my way or trying to run my business for me or costing me a fortune. This is where I can help. The goal is simple help you make consistent improvements, build sustainable culture, gain better profitability, and shave years off the learning curve. If you're open to adjusting how you think and how you lead, book a free 15-minute discovery call with me right now. No sales pitch, no blue sky promises, just an honest conversation to see if it's a fit. You have absolutely nothing to lose but everything to gain. Secure a spot now. Now there's some direct benefits for membershops, so if you're to join one of these things, uh you'll experience some things like stronger industry voice. Individual shops may struggle to influence legislation, but associations create collective bargaining power when dealing with insurers, regulators, and lawmakers. Membership dues collected can go towards funding things like lobbyists that work on your local community's behalf, access to education. Members gain discounted or exclusive access to training, conferences, and industry updates that keep them competitive. Business growth support. Associations often provide things like marketing resources, legal insights, management tools, and vendor partnerships. Then there's networking and relationships. Shop owners connect with other professionals, suppliers, and educators across the industry. Those relationships often lead to better ideas, referrals, and great partnerships. Credibility and trust. Memberships signal professionalism and commitment to high standards, which builds confidence with customers. And there's a few benefits for the consumer as well. When collision repairs operate under strong professional associations, customers benefit in several ways. Things like safer repairs. Associations emphasize proper repair procedures and technical training, which improves vehicle safety after a collision. Better consumer education. Consumers learn their rights, such as the right to choose where they want their vehicle repaired. Higher industry standards. Ethical guidelines and professional standards help reduce poor repair practices. Advocacy for fair repair. Associations often advocate for repairs or prioritize vehicle safety rather than cost cutting shortcuts. Now while there's many examples across this country that show proof of the positive results a local association can realize, there's no finer example than the Autobody Association of Rhode Island, which not only has the highest severity in the country at seven thousand two hundred fifty three dollars, and yeah, that's higher than California. But also has been able to get several legislative bills passed, like the antitotal loss bill and the mandated OEM parts replacement bill, which is for vehicles actually up to six years old, and several other pro consumer rights bills, all because they have a strong and relentless body shop association. Very recently I attended the AASP Illinois conference in Chicago that featured several top industry speakers, like Mike Anderson from Collision Advice, and it also assembled a few panel discussions. I was fortunate enough to sit in on one of those panels, and there were three folks from a local state legislator, Secretary of State's office, and consumers right advocate sat in on this panel to discuss how to affect change, working for improving consumers' rights when it comes to collision repair, as well as sharing their stories of how they're working on getting a few new bills written and passed that benefit both the collision shops as well as the consumers. This is the kind of action a good state or regional association can generate. So just to summarize, despite what you may have thought before this message today, these well organized groups of men, women, vendors and suppliers don't just get together to drink, bitch, and complain about the things that they can't control, or reminisce about the good old days or pick apart each other's performance numbers. No. They roll up their sleeves, they get to work on the things they can control. And here's an important tip. Nobody, and I mean nobody, has ever complained their way to success. They use strength in numbers to work towards positive change. They provide focus on important and timely industry topics. They conspire to deliver top shelf education and training to their members and drive better experiences and education for the customers and the community they work in. Knowing what you've learned here today, does this sound like something you'd be proud to be part of? Well, I know if I owned or managed an independent collision repair shop, I know I sure would. Now I've been part of this industry for well over forty years, and I can tell you from firsthand experience, the general population has a less than positive view of the body shop, right? Especially if they haven't been into one over ten years. And chances are if they had an experience back then, uh the experience they may have had was probably not a good one, right? Although as an industry, we've come a long way to upgrade facilities and repair quality and the customer experience, but the insurance carriers have become increasingly more demanding and difficult to work with, as well as suppressing rates while increasing premiums. The OEMs are requiring more and more stringent and expensive repair processes on these new computers on wheels we call cars. A safe and proper repair is more challenging and costly to achieve for our clients, the consumer, the residents and our communities. And the volume of repair claims has been declining, and the large MSOs are continuing to absorb more and more of that work through scale. Now all these factors, which are invisible to the legislature that writes and passes bills that inadvertently impact the independent shops in a negative way, they're almost impossible for one single shop owner to overcome. We need strength in numbers. We need to circle the wagons. And joining your local or regional body shop association is the best way to do just that. So if you have a local association, by all means join it. If you don't have an association in your area, start one. It may very well be the most impactful and meaningful step you can take in your business. That's all I had for you today. Thanks again for tuning in. I really appreciate your support, and I hope you have a great week. I can always be reached at www.ricksilover.com, or you can find all my social media links, podcast episodes, blog posts, and much more.