Answers to some Frequently Asked Questions
It means that our shop has completed factory training with numerous OEM manufactures on how to properly repair your vehicle. Believe it or not, most “body shops” including dealers that have a body shop, have never taken this training. It’s normally very expensive and requires new tooling and Equipment.
In most cases yes. Not every “body shop” or repair facilities are the same. Most are still repairing vehicles the way that they did many years ago. With the new fuel economy standards that the EPA and Federal Government imposed on all OEM’s manufactures, they have to “lightweight” the vehicles and make them more fuel efficient or face enormous penalties. These are not easily repaired using outdated methods. That is why we recommend only using a certified collision facility – so they can properly repair your vehicle based on the manufacturers specifications.
OEM stands for “Original Equipment Manufacturer” and is used to describe parts made by or for the manufacturer of your vehicle. So OEM Porsche parts come from Porsche, Mercedes parts from Mercedes and so on.
Aftermarket (A/M) is used to describe parts that are produced by a manufacturer other than the one who originally made your car. Aftermarket parts are usually less expensive than new OEM. There are some A/M parts the are utilized in most repairs.
LKQ stands for “like, kind and quality.” Most of us are more familiar with the other term for this category which is “Used Parts.” The term LKQ should more precisely define a sub-category of used parts that are just like the ones on your vehicle before the loss, with a similar age and mileage.
Almost every vehicle color can be matched by utilizing technology and craftsmanship. Certified Paint technicians are factory trained using State-of-the-Art equipment to assure colors are matched to manufacturer’s standards. Some manufacturers send out their own certified paint technicians and the proper paint to ensure the car is repaired and painted to factory specifications.
Technicians receive numerous hours of manufacturer training on most all makes and models. Because we repair so many different types of vehicles our ASE Master and ICAR trained technicians have years of experience and understand the complexities of today’s vehicles.