YOUR INSURANCE COMPANY HATES EARL STEWART TOYOTA’S BODY SHOP

This article was written by Alan Nappier, my Body Shop manager. I’ve owned and operated body shops for over four decades…at one time I owned five! I’ve never had a body shop manager as qualified as Alan and never had one that put the customer first 100% of the time the way Alan does. By putting the customer first, I mean considering the customers’ needs above those of the insurance company that pays us for repairing the customer’s car. Please read what Alan has to say carefully:

So, you had an accident and called your insurance company to report it and things seemed to be going pretty smoothly…. Then you told them you were taking your car to Earl Stewart and everything started getting weird…. The claims adjusters’ demeanor inexplicably just changed…. And NOT for the better!! Suddenly they’re telling you they that have a perfect shop in mind for you that will get your car in and out in a hurry and the whole process will be effortless for you. Yep, it’ll be such a great experience, you’ll be GLAD you had an accident. You thank them politely and tell them you’re just more comfortable repairing your vehicle at Earl Stewart, where you bought the car and know and trust the people.

Now it seems like the adjuster is downright angry with you and the real pressure tactics start!! They start making vague yet ominous sounding statements about Earl Stewart Toyota, almost as if they’re letting you in on a dirty little secret….. “We can’t guarantee their work….” “We’ve had problems with that shop….” “They charge more than we allow for repairs and you will have to pay out of pocket…” “If you take it to our shop, you won’t have to wait for an adjuster…” “They ignore our estimates…” The list goes on and on, but, they’re planting their seeds of doubt…. And now you’re concerned and thinking “Earl Stewart Toyota must have done something to cause this hostility by my insurance company…”, after all, your insurance company only has your best interest in mind…..

Well, you’re right, we DID do something to cause your insurance company to hate us and I’d like to tell you what….. We actually had the audacity to tell your insurance company something that they’re not used to hearing…. “NO!!” and they reacted like any spoiled 3 year old would who’s never heard the word before.

But wait, you’re still “in good hands” right? Wrong!! Your insurance company will instruct “their” repair facility to install untested aftermarket crash parts on your vehicle, even knowing that these parts can absorb crash energy differently and affect the timing of your air bag deployment, resulting in possible death and serious injury.

Here’s the really crazy thing…. The insurance company’s “approved” repair shop will do it!! Do you see what’s going on here? Everybody’s making out like Jesse James!! The insurance company is saving money, the body shop is making money, and you? You’re getting scammed!! Your insurance company has been provided with countless documents, provided by the vehicle manufacturers that state that these “cosmetic crash parts” are actually “designed and tested as part of the overall vehicle and may help send impact energy to the SRS sensors. In addition, some of these parts may help GM, Chrysler, Ford, Toyota, for Nissan vehicles comply with several Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) including hood intrusion in the passenger cabin, preservation of proper door operation following a collision and proper airbag function.

You may be thinking “Well, if these parts are that bad, surely there’s a law against using them without my permission…” You’re right again!! Florida statute 626.9743 states “An insurer may not require the use of replacement parts in the repair of a motor vehicle which are not at least equivalent in kind and quality to the damaged parts prior to the loss in terms of fit, appearance, and performance.” Sounds like an open and shut case, eh? The law doesn’t say “if the insurance company believes they’re the equivalent”. It doesn’t say anything about “if the insurance company hopes they’re the equivalent”. The insurance companies need to prove these cheap parts are the exact equivalent to the original factory parts to be in compliance with the law or stop mandating their use. Right? I thought so too….

So, I wrote a letter to the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation!! Went right to the top, straight to Commissioner Kevin McCarty (well, his office anyway…. he’s got “people” for that…). After much arm twisting via the Florida CFO’s office, the FLOIR begrudging agreed to “investigate” our concerns. After a couple of months, we received their response “We have concluded our investigation and found no violation of the Florida Insurance Code.”, and my favorite part….“Generally speaking, the burden of proof that an aftermarket part is not of like kind and quality or as safe as an OEM part rests with the one making that assertion, as opposed to one having to prove that the aftermarket part is of like kind and quality and as safe as OEM.” Huh?? That one left me scratching my head. Why have a consumer protection law at all then? Your insurance company can mandate the usage of any part they desire, so long as it looks the same. Nobody really complains though because, as they say, “dead men tell no tales…”The jury’s still out on this one, but rest assured WE WILL NOT USE AFTERMARKET PARTS TO REPAIR YOUR VEHICLE.! (p.s. Also check out Title 49, Chapter 301 Subchapter II Sec. 30122 "Making Safety Devices and Elements Inoperative" in the Federal Code-you can Google it).

How about used crash parts then?? Your insurance estimator will tell you “they’re factory original parts taken off of a car that’s just like yours”. Really? Was your car damaged so severely that it was deemed a total loss and ended up in a junk yard? The car they want to cannibalize to get your replacement parts was. We won’t even know if the donor car was damaged in an accident, a flood or even a fire and quite frankly, we don’t care-WE’RE NOT GOING TO USE THESE PARTS EITHER!!

Well, what about Earl Stewart overcharging for labor??? THAT sounds pretty shady….. let’s talk about it…. I recently had my lawn mower repaired and it cost me $65 per hour and having an electrician fix my air conditioning at home cost me $75 per hour (plus gas & travel time), plumbers and a/c repairmen are $100+ per hour. If you have mechanical work on your car, it’s liable to cost you anywhere from $100 to $200+ per hour, depending on the repair shop and type of car.

The insurance companies feel that $42 an hour is more than fair to have your collision damaged vehicle repaired and they won’t pay a dime more. If you want to repair your vehicle here, they will tell you that you’ll have to pay the difference out of pocket OR, well….. they know a guy…… Ironically, back in the early 70’s, when Allstate and Sears were all part of the same company, Sears wouldn’t repair your toaster for less than $12 an hour while at the same time Allstate wouldn’t pay more than $7 an hour to have your vehicle repaired. Hilarious, ain’t it? Back in the 60’s, the insurance industry running roughshod over the repair industry was so pervasive and blatant that the Kennedy Administration tackled them before they even got started on the Mafia!!! (see 1963 Consent Decree-Google is your friend) What the insurance industry is doing to the repair industry is a clear violation of antitrust laws and we are part of a class action lawsuit to try to put a stop to it. WE WILL NOT MAKE YOU PAY THE DIFFERENCE IN LABOR RATES!!

Then we get to “charging for supplies and labor operations not customarily charged for in the market area”. This basically means that because they’ve been able to badger, coerce and intimidate some repair shops into not charging for certain supplies and labor operations necessary to return your car to pre-accident condition, they should not have to pay it to anybody whether they ask for it or not. Your insurance company won’t dispute that the materials are being used or the labor operations performed, nor will they dispute the necessity. Their only problem is having to pay for it because at some point, long ago, somebody “cut a deal” to get more business sent their way and it then became the “new norm” for every shop. We will never charge for a labor operation or supplies that cannot be verified. WE WILL NOT MAKE YOU PAY THE DIFFERENCE.

Now you’re probably saying “I never get into accidents so I can’t believe I’m still reading this. Can this guy just get to the point??” and the answer is “YES! Yes I can!!” Please don’t fall victim to your insurance companies scare tactics! The top 5 insurance companies spent over $4,000,000,000 (yep, that’s $4 BILLION) last year to convince you that they’re good guys so that you will buy their product (GEICO alone spent over $1 Billion if that tells you anything). Sometimes, there’s not enough perfume to cover up a smell and not enough lipstick to pretty up a pig and this is one of those times.

Please go to some consumer websites and check out how these insurance companies perform once you’ve had to turn in a claim (a.k.a. became an expense to them). Also keep in mind, the shops that enter into these unholy alliances with the insurance companies see them as their #1 priority and best customer and they will do whatever they are told to stay in their good graces. The insurance company feeds the shop lots of work and the shop does what they’re told to keep the repair cheap. It’s a marriage made in Hell. The repair shops that participate in this fraud are just as, or maybe even guiltier than the insurance companies. They should know better, but, it’s all about the money (insert photo of pigs at trough HERE) ;)

If you have already had your vehicle repaired at one of these direct repair shops and you’re not exactly sure how your car was repaired, bring it by with the invoice and the final estimate and we’ll be glad to take a look at it for you. If the vehicle has not been repaired properly, we’ll point out the deficiencies so that you can return to the shop for corrective repairs. If they repaired your car with aftermarket or junkyard parts, you may be entitled to higher than normal diminished value compensation. WHAT?? Your insurance company didn’t tell you that your car is worth less now and you’re entitled to additional compensation?? You might want to contact Gordon and Doner, they have a division that can handle that for you. If your insurance company has pressured you to not have your car repaired at Earl Stewart Toyota, please email me the details at alann@estoyota.com or Mr. Stewart at earl@estoyota.com and share the gory details.

Earl Stewart Toyota will repair your vehicle properly, per the manufacturers’ recommendations and only with new OEM crash parts. We will guarantee our paint, our workmanship AND the OEM replacement crash parts, for as long as you own your car. That’s right, I said AND THE PARTS!! The manufacturers’ warranty for replacement parts is 12 months or 12K miles. Earl Stewart Toyota will pick up the warranty after Toyota’s warranty expires, this includes parts, materials and any necessary labor to paint and install the failed part. Everything!! If we are unable to convince your insurance company to pay in full for the properly repaired property damage, with your written permission we will initiate action on your behalf to recover the funds. Ultimately, it is YOU who are responsible for ensuring your vehicle is repaired properly. You already had an accident; don’t let your insurance company force you into making a mistake.

Earl’s Good & Bad Car Dealer Lists

www.GoodDealerBadDealerList.com 

I must explain that those dealers listed as “Good Guys” are far from perfect. I urge you to shop and compare prices, stick up for your rights, and do your homework in preparing to buy. South Florida is the “Sodom and Gomorrah” of the retail car business. Listing the best dealers is like listing the most honest inmates in Attica or Leavenworth.

I arrived at my evaluations of these dealers by my weekly mystery shopping reports that I’ve conducted for more than 7 years. I also gather data from my constant interaction with you, the car buyers of South Florida. You call my weekly Tuesday afternoon talk show, “Earl Stewart on Cars” (stream it live at www.StreamEarlOnCars.com 4-6 PM), my cell phone, and text me, you send me emails, and you write me letters about your experiences in buying and servicing your cars. You post comments on my blog,www.EarlStewartOnCars.com.

This list is not static and I update it regularly, adding more “good guys” and dropping the undeserving from the list. Hopefully, I will not have to add to the “bad buy” list very often, but I will if I have to. These dealerships are the worst of the worst and should be totally avoided at all costs. You would be better served to drive an extra 50 miles to buy the make car you seek than buy it from one of these dealers. In fact, you would be better served to buy a different make from a good dealer.

I know I’ve angered a lot of car dealers (so what else is new?) by leaving them off the “good guy” list and especially the bad guys. I urge those of you who are sincere to call me personally and I will be glad to discuss with you what your customers told me about you that led me to omit you from the “good guy” lists. The “bad guys” won’t call me because they know exactly what they are doing and how they are premeditatedly deceiving their customers.

If the make car you are seeking does not show a dealer, it’s probably because not many people buy that make. I listed only the most popular. I suggest that you choose a dealer a “good dealer” who is listed that also sells your make. For example, Schumacher also sells Mitsubishi and Infiniti and he is listed as a good dealer for Chevy and Buick.

BUY YOUR NEXT CAR THROUGH COSTCO

There are lots of third-party new car buying programs out there but the Costco auto-buying program will give you the lowest price and the best protection from car dealers’ efforts to increase the price by dealer fees and dealer-installed options.

My second choice is TrueCar, www.TrueCar.com. My first choice used to be TrueCar, but several auto manufacturers including Toyota and Honda, have recently began requiring their dealers to increase the MINIMUM ADVERTISED PRICE for all the cars they advertise and sell. These manufacturers consider TrueCar dealers that share their best price with TrueCar, to be “advertising” their price. Thus you will no longer find a TrueCar dealer’s lowest price displayed on the TrueCar website. In my opinion, this is a bad thing for the car buyer because it has the net effect of raising the price you pay for your new car.

Unfortunately, Costco requires an annual membership fee, but this fee is nominal, $55, in comparison to the large savings you realize from buying, not only cars, but all of their products. I’ve been a member of Costco for over 20 years and I can promise you that you will save thousands of dollars a year by shopping there. There’s another problem with buying from Costco and that is there may not be a location near you. My answer to that is that you can still buy from them online, www.Costco.com and, if even if you have to drive 20 or 30 miles, you’ll find out that the savings justify your time and gas expense.

The only real problems with the Costco Auto Buying program are not from Costco, but from their car dealers. You probably have had bad experiences buying or leasing cars from car dealers and this is why you’re reading this article. You’re not alone, the Gallup Organization has been conducting an annual opinion poll on Honest and Ethics in Professions for the past 36 years. Last year (2016) car dealers ranked next to last, just above Congressmen. Car dealers have been at the bottom or near the bottom of this list for every one of the past 36 annual surveys. Even though Costco selected their car dealers in good faith and required them to sign a contract obligating them to give you their best price (the price must be lower than the price they sell to anybody else except a Costco member), does not mean that you will get that price UNLESS YOU FOLLOW THESE THREE IMPORTANT RULES.

COSTCO AUTO BUYING RULE ONE. Visit the Costco Auto Program website, www.CostcoAuto.com. You’ll be asked to input your Costco membership card number and other information pertaining to the make and model of car you wish to purchase. From your zip code, you will be advised of the Costco approved car dealer nearest you.

COSTCO AUTO BUYING RULE TWO. You will also be advised of the names of the Costco approved sales representatives at the dealership. It is imperative that you speak to no other sales person other than those named on this list. You should print out the information sheet which includes the names of those Costco sales people that are approved and bring this to the dealership when you visit.

COSTCO AUTO BUYING RULE THREE. When you arrive at the dealership and are sure you’re dealing with the official Costco approved sales person, insist on her showing you the Costco Member-Only Price Sheet which shows your exclusive prearranged Costco member savings. Remember that you are entitled to applicable manufacturer rebates and incentives or special financing. You should also ask to see the manufacturer’s invoice and MSRP for the vehicle you selected so you can see how much you saved as a Costco member.

Remember that Costco rules do not allow their approved dealers to add anything to the Costco Member-Only Price except GOVERNMENT FEES…namely sales tax and the actual cost of the rag and registration paid to the state of Florida. If a Costco dealer tries to add anything else, do not buy the car and report them to Costco. Be especially wary of dealer or port installed accessories like nitrogen in tires, LoJack, protection packages like Toyoguard, floor mats, pin stripes, etc. Also, pay no dealer fees which often carry different names like electronic filing fee, tag agency fee, dealer prep fee, doc fee, notary fee, etc.

If the Costco dealer attempts any of these shenanigans, report him to Costco immediately. If the dealer refuses to make things right, Costco will cancel him as an approved dealership.

“CERTIFIED” USED CARS CAN KILL YOU

Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety (CARS), the leading consumer advocate organization for car owners in the USA, issued a press release on February 6, entitled, “AUTO SAFETY/CONSUMER ORGANIZATIONS SUE FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION, OVER DECISION ALLOWING GENERAL MOTORS AND CAR DEALERSHIPS TO ENGAGE IN FALSE ADVERTISING OF UNREPAIRED RECALLED “CERTIFIED USED CARS.”

For many years used cars that were “certified” by car dealers according to rigid standards set by the car’s manufacturer were considered to be the best, most reliable, and safest used cars you can buy. Certified used cars are required by the auto manufacturer to be carefully inspected and tested by the dealer. Only cars that have passed this careful and extensive examination are permitted to be sold as certified. Because of this, certified used cars carry a better warranty and also cost more…about $1,300 on the average.

Sadly, a very bad and puzzling decision by the Federal Trade Decision has changed the rules that define “certified” used cars. The FTC, for reasons known only to them, have issued a ruling that allows car dealers and manufacturers to call a used car “certified” and sell that car to you without any consideration for dangerous recalls. This ruling is not only very wrong, but in direct contradiction of the Federal Trade Commission’s existing rules against selling any product that is dangerous to the consumer.

This would be a terribly dangerous decision at any time, but given the existing huge and historically unprecedented recall of 44 million cars with defective Takata airbags, it poses an immediate, clear and present danger to all buyers of used cars. To quote from CARS press release, “The FTC’s Consent Orders set a de-facto standard for the auto industry that allows dealers to deceptively advertise cars with dangerous and potentially lethal safety defects that have killed and maimed people. May of those defects jeopardize the lives of not only used car buyers, but also passengers and everyone e else who shares the roads and adjacent areas, including sidewalks, driveways and parking lots.” According to Michael Brooks, Acting Director of the Center for Auto Safety, “Even if there is a 100% certainty that an unrepaired safety recall defect will immediately kill anyone who buys a so-called ‘certified’ car and their family, the FTC would allow car dealers to advertise that car (certified car) as ‘safe’ and ‘repaired for safety.’”

The Takata airbag recall affects almost every auto manufacturer in the world. Weekly you see headlines of additional cars being recalled with defective Takata airbags and the pace is so great that millions of these cars have no available fix. Estimates are that it will be years before enough safe replacement airbags will be available to make all these cars safe.

Hopefully this lawsuit against the FTC by Rosemary Shahan’s CARS and the other consumer organizations will prevail, but this can take a long time. Sadly, until the FTC ruling is overturned, it’s Caveat Emptor, BUYER BEWARE, when you buy any used car. The only way you can know that the used car being sold to you does not have defective Takata airbag or other dangerous recall is to check your cars Vehicle Identification Number or VIN. Click on the website for NHTSA, www.SaferCar.gov or www.IsMyCarRecalled.com. You should also call your car’s manufacturer because they have information even more current than NHTSA. Do not rely on the reports by CarFax or AutoCheck because they are often inaccurate.