Imperial, Mo.—As many collision repair shop owners cope with a slowing economy, many turn to restoration body and paintwork, but that’s not as easy as it may sound, said John Riehn, owner of John’s Autobody & Paint.
Riehn will be the first to tell you how much he enjoys the restoration side of his autobody and paint business. However, he pointed out that the two business segments can be very different.
“Restoration customers are always happy to see me, but collision customers aren’t,” Riehn said.
A collision customer comes to our shop out of necessity, while a restoration customer comes with a project that they are excited about, he added.
“I’ve been repairing cars and building show-winning vehicles since before I was 16,” Riehn said. “I was winning awards for cars that I had built that I wasn’t even old enough to drive.”
It was a natural step for Riehn to turn this hobby into a career.
Riehn and his wife, Tracy, opened their shop in the current restoration facility in 1986. Starting out as a three-bay shop and later expanding to six, Riehn said he put his repair knowledge to work growing a successful collision and restoration facility.
When the business outgrew the shop, the Riehns decided to move the collision part of their business to a new building, leaving the restoration work in the original building. “We knew moving into the new building that it was the right decision to keep the restoration work in a separate facility,” he said.
Separating the businesses allows Riehn to cater to the specific needs of each.
To accommodate both segments, Riehn’s 16 technicians specialize on one side of the business or the other.
Restoration customers require more attention than collision customers, he said. During a collision repair, it is generally known what repairs will occur from start to finish; however, during a restoration, there can be several decisions to discuss with the customer such as panel fit, part replacement choices and color schemes.
Estimating and pricing for collision repairs are vastly different from those done for restoration, Riehn said.
As different as the two facilities are they share in common certain key success factors.
Riehn’s restoration & collision facilities both spray DuPont because of the quality and finish of the product, Riehn said.
Although the restoration work accounts for only about 35 percent of Riehn’s total business, in some ways the success of Riehn’s collision shop can be attributed to the eye-catching finished products of the restoration shop.
“We definitely gain collision work from people who see our finished restoration projects,” Riehn said. “Potential customers know that if we can produce a show-winning vehicle, that their late model collision repair is in good hands.”
He said he had eight cars entered at a Monster Mopar show during the 2009 show season. “We took five first place awards,” he said. The other three cars took second place, but they only placed second to other cars Riehn’s shop had produced.
A good reputation with his customers and his finished work bring additional work into the shop, he said.
Riehn said his most effective advertising tool by far is the annual car show held on the lot of his collision repair facility. It’s not unusual to have several hundred vehicles for the show, he said, adding that the show has become an incredible way to open the doors to potential customers, and thank existing customers at the same time.
