Cunningham said he believes the shortage will be driven by technicians' need for an adequate living and benefits.

"We offer our technicians Blue Cross Blue Shield for health insurance, and they also have dental insurance," Cunningham said. "But the burden of heath care has gotten to the point that it is costing $6,000 to $8,000 per month, which equals about 6 to 8 percent of our gross profit." 

 
Cunningham added that many autobody technicians may turn to the mechanical field because the rates and times are better than in the collision field. For example, he said that he recently had a job that required overhauling the left suspension on a vehicle. The ADP estimating software that the insurance companies use quoted the job at 3.8 hours, whereas Alldata set it at 6.8 hours. 

  
"So we are working for a smaller labor rate and a smaller flagged time," said Cunningham, who quickly put a positive spin on the ordeal. "Luckily, we are all driven the same way, which means we are going to become better and smarter businessmen because we don't want a 3 to 6 percent net return on our investment." 

Cunningham said he is aware that it is a tough, competitive market, but he has chosen to be involved in it, and so has his son, Vincent Cunningham, manager and third generation to be involved with the family business. Lloyd Cunningham's daughter, Rachel, aunt, Phyllis Camerlynck, are also involved -- Rachel Cunningham is the secretary and Camerlynck is the bookkeeper. 

 
Vincent Cunningham said the shop has chosen to work with only one direct repair facility (DRP) -- State Farm -- which has been a very positive experience. "It is a win-win all the way around," Vincent said. "They have been rated No. 1 by JD Power and Associates for the last two or three years by customer satisfaction, and there is a reason for it."

Vincent added that State Farm uses good judgment and justifies its use of aftermarket parts at times, which he said he does not mind using, as long as the customer is properly informed.

"Aftermarket parts have their place in the market," said Lloyd Cunningham, who turns to Keystone and Radiator Depot for aftermarket parts and Midway Auto Salvage for used parts. "If you have good communication with your customers, then they will understand that aftermarket parts are very valuable."

Cunningham said that using aftermarket and used parts can often eliminate a car from being a total loss and that he has found that a lot of customers may already have their car paid off or have invested in a new transmission before they get into a wreck, so they want their car repaired even if it is considered a total loss by the insurance company.

"We see a lot of people buying their car back from the insurance companies when it is totaled," said Cunningham, adding that even if it costs the customer $500 to $1,000 more, it may be worth it if they had previously done a lot of work on the car or don't want to buy a new car and have a payment.

"We come up with a way to fix it," he said. "I will get creative and come up with a way to get the customer back in their car. It is not above me to go down to U-Pick It to find a part for a customer."

Cunningham said that total-loss repair has become a good market niche for him. Sometimes it just requires being creative, which he said he learned from his father, who always said, "'Can't' never did anything.'"

For OEM parts, Cunningham said he goes to Cable Dahmer Chevrolet, Metro Ford, and Lee's Summit Dodge.

With six technicians and 12,000 square feet of shop space, he said he averages about 12 to 15 cars a week and $120,000 in sales monthly. 

Cunningham said he has two downdraft paint booths in the shop, Nova Verta and a Saico, with a mixing facility for his Sherwin Williams paints attached.

Cunningham said he also has a Chief EZ Liner and a Kansas Jack frame racks, a tire balancer, tire changer, strut compressor, along with a Hunter alignment machine.

"We can do everything in-house," he said. "As far as alignments go, we are also sent a lot of problems from the insurance companies that other shops couldn't get aligned." He added that he and his techs have spent a lot of time in Hunter classes.

Cunningham, who said he prides himself on having a clean shop along with a clean property with nice trees and a mowed yard, said he recently received a phone call from a man asking where his shop was located.  He said that when he told him, the customer replied, "'I know that building, and that is no body shop.'"

Cunningham said that was the best compliment he could get because he takes a lot of time to make sure his place is neat.

"I spend a lot keeping my building looking nice," he said. "I feel good about it, because it is mine, I own it. I pick up the trash that is littered all across my yard; I don't care who throws it out, and when you think about it, the day you don't have any trash is the day you don't have any business."