Different options for small repair revenue…

During times where, operating costs are high and margins slim, pursuing alternative revenue streams becomes more enticing. For many collision centres, small repairs, including fixing dents can be hugely profitable, especially in an environment where consumers are holding to vehicles longer and dealers are looking to maximize revenue on lease returns and used vehicles they acquire.

Different options

Yet when it comes specifically to dent repair, there are different options that collision centres can pursue. One that has become popular over the last 15 years is paintless dent repair or PDR. At CARSTAR Lindsay and CARSTAR Haliburton in Central Ontario, Director of Operations Sean Hartin says that in order for a collision centre to perform effective PDR repairs it needs to find a reputable provider to work with. “It all depends on the technicians at the company.” Hartin stresses that a good idea, is to take a trial-and-error approach in order to find the PDR company that works best with the shop and its technicians. “Don’t just take the best deal, but ensure you ask around and find out the quality of work that’s on offer.”

When it comes to services such as PDR, there is the option of either performing these repairs in-house or contracting them out to independent providers.  Hartin says that in-house PDR offers several advantages. Firstly, that not only does it help drive profitability for the shop, but that it also provides more control over cycle and touch time as well as help broaden the types of repairs that come through the door.

Upfront investment

He says that the key to making it work effectively, is understanding that collision centres will need to invest money up front in order to reap the rewards. “In our case, we rented another building to perform PDR work, because we had such an influx of hail damage,” Hartin explains. “And then we performed body work at our current body shop.”

At Pro Spot, which provides body repair equipment, training and support for collision centres, Russell Duncan, Director of Sales and Marketing for Canada, says that Pro Spot approach to dent repair is a little different.

“For us, dent repair starts with examining the substrate we’re working with.” Duncan says that with mild steel, which traditionally is what most vehicles have used for body work, putting enough of an attachment on the repair area is important to cool the dent, but he also stresses, that it’s important when doing these types of dent repair, the technician doesn’t want to damage the back side of the repair area. He says that temperature control is critical when attaching keys and pulling devices. Taking this approach, says Duncan, leads itself well to glue pulling, helping mitigate any damage on the back side of the panel or repair area.

Combination of pulls

Duncan notes that in some cases, technicians will need to use a combination of key, tap and glue pulls. “Aside from using traditional keys and pullers to remove dents, Pro Spot also offers its VAC-U-PULL Mobile Dent Pulling Towers that are designed to make dent pulling easier, faster and more efficient.

These towers incorporate a proprietary vacuum system which creates an airtight seal on the floor, meaning they can be easily and firmly secured to the floor without the need for straps and hooks. The result saves time and allows technicians to go to work pulling dents faster and more efficiently, including relieving stress and shutting down crown areas.

With more and more late model vehicles using aluminum panels, different techniques are required, since aluminum doesn’t have “memory” like steel. “To move aluminum, you need heat,” explains Duncan. “We can attach a key and use glue, but the difference is that today, we are using Drawn Arc technology instead of pins for aluminum repairs, where we are taking the end of the key, melting it on the surface and then drawing the key up and pushing it back into the puddle, making a connection directly with the dent.” The process allows multiple keys to be lined up very close together, resulting in a very strong pull. “The benefit of Drawn Arc technology,” explains Duncan “is that it significantly reduces the risk of damage to the back side of the panel compared with pin or welding attachments for the pull.”

Maximizing flexibility

 For technicians, Pro Spot has developed a range of dent pulling equipment that’s designed to work with both steel and aluminum, maximizing flexibility when performing these repairs in the shop, plus the introduction of a cordless dent puller allows even more options when it comes to performing light or quick dent repairs.

For reconditioning pre-owned vehicles or repairing those with significant hail damage, such equipment and processes can make a huge difference, both in terms of time and revenue opportunities for the shop.