For the independent collision repair shop trying to equip itself with automaker collision repair information, expenses can very quickly add up. Buying annual access to the OEM service and repair information Web sites is no small proposition, even if you forgo access to the most expensive sites, such as those of BMW ($2,500 a year), Mercedes-Benz ($2,950), Volvo ($2,600), and Porsche ($5,200).
Sign up for annual access to the repair information Web sites for just nine of the most common vehicle makes on America's highways--Chrysler, Ford, GM, Honda, Mazda, Nissan, Subaru, Toyota, and Volkswagen--and you'll be plunking down an average of nearly $1,000 a month.
The good news is that there are ways to get a lot of OEM collision repair information without spending the equivalent of a detailer's salary. Here are some suggestions for finding the information you need less expensively.
The Web sites
Kia vehicles are probably not a large part of your shop's business, but the company remains the only automaker to make access to its service and repair information Web site absolutely free. The bad news is there's not a lot there for collision repairers: some dimension and frame specs, but not much on sectioning points, weld locations, or metal types.
GM, however, is among the automakers providing the most comprehensive collision repair information and, like Kia, has made it available at no charge. The secret, however, is to bypass the $1,200-a-year ACDelco Web site and go to www.goodwrench.com. There you will find all the automaker's collision repair technical information at no charge, organized by vehicle, make, and model.
Are there times you think you could find the answer you need if you only had an owner's manual for a particular vehicle? Those manuals and technical service bulletins are available at no charge at the Nissan, Infiniti, Honda, and Acura Web sites.
Toyota has recently made its "Collision Repair Reference Guide" available for free through its wholesale parts Web site (www.ToyotaPartsAndService.com). By registering at the free site, you can check the searchable reference guide for high-strength steel locations, jacking and hoisting specs, wheel alignment specs, airbag component replacement information, vehicle identification charts, and more.
For other information from any of the other automaker Web sites, you'll face a fee for access. At $350 a year, the Toyota/Scion site is among the most reasonably priced. A number of others--Honda, Saab and Suzuki--are $500 a year. Most of the rest are $1,000 or more per year, but all offer daily, weekly, or monthly options if you don't need ongoing access.
A chart on the National Automotive Service Task Force's Web site (http://www.nastf.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=3291) summarizes the subscription options and charges, and provides links to the Web sites. And although it hasn't been updated for about a year, a matrix showing what collision repair information is included at each automaker's Web site is also available from the NASTF Web site (http://www.nastf.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=3450).
Another option for finding links to the information Web sites is www.OEM1stop.com, which automakers created in recent months specifically to give collision repair shops a one-page link to all the OEM information Web sites.
The site does not contain any technical information or help shops find what they are looking for once they reach the specific automaker's site. In some cases, however, the links at www.OEM1stop.com will get users a click or two closer to the log-in page of an automaker's Web site. But the site is still not yet as complete as the NASTF listing; a handful of the automakers, including Subaru, BMW, and Audi, had not approved links to their sites from www.OEM1stop.com as of this spring.
Manuals and CDs
Although Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, and Plymouth collision repair information is available through Chrysler's $1,200-a-year Web site (www.techauthority.com), collision repairers may instead want to order printed or CD copies of the automaker's collision repair guides.
Although that's not as convenient as the instant access to the information available through the Web site, the price is right: Each guide is available for just $2 (plus shipping), offering significant amounts of information for a fraction of the Web site access fee.
Some examples of what is available for purchase at the www.techauthority.com Web site (under "Special Products"):
- CDs with body repair manuals for many vehicles, including the Sebring/Avenger and Sebring convertible.
- Publications on such topics as welding and weld bonding, sealer and sound-deadener, plastics repair and nonstructural sheetmetal repair.
- A structural-sectioning procedure guide that provides frame dimensions and front frame-rail sectioning procedures for multiple vehicles; a truck floor partial replacement procedure; and a front lower radiator cross-member replacement procedure. Chrysler notes that most of these procedures are specific by vehicle make, not generalized across Chrysler platform vehicles. The guide also includes Chrysler's position on the use of reconditioned wheels and recycled airbags.
I-CAR online and classroom training
Just as ordering the Chrysler documents in advance isn't as convenient as being able to look information up online at the time you need it, I-CAR classes too have the disadvantage of being available only at certain times.
But while the classes in the past have been more generalized to apply across a variety of vehicles, I-CAR's agreements with automakers in recent years has made vehicle-specific training more available to independent repairers.
For example, I-CAR now offers five Volvo-specific classes, including structural and nonstructural repair, and overviews of XC90 and S40/V50 models. There also are collision repair overview classes for the 2006 Corvette Z06, the 2004 Ford F-150, and for Chrysler, Dodge, and Jeep vehicles.
But I-CAR also offers online training (www.i-car.com) that may help you get the vehicle-specific repair information you need for a car in your shop without the full expense of the OEM Web site access. Need to replace a front frame rail in a Lexus IS300, Dodge Caliber, Cadillac DTS, or Ford F-150? Replacing Boron steel panels on a Volvo XC90 or a roof on a Mazda 626?
Those are among the topics covered by the more than three dozen I-CAR online classes. Each 30- to 60-minute class is available 24/7, costs $45, and earns you a quarter-point toward your Gold Class requirement (provided you pass the online post-test).
Third-party option
A relatively new option for access to OEM collision repair information is Alldata's "CollisionConnect," a subscription service from a company more familiar as a source of OEM information on the mechanical repair market, where it has more than 70,000 customers.
Alldata essentially has agreements with the automakers that allow it to access OEM repair information, repackage into some standardized formats across the manufacturers to make it easier for users to locate what they are looking for, and sell monthly subscriptions to access this online information.
The product includes whatever mechanical and collision information is available from the automakers for 2000 and newer vehicles: sectioning procedures, restraint system, opening and frame dimensions, weld locations, wiring diagrams, recalls and technical service bulletins, aluminum and alternative metals use, etc.
Subscribers who are unable to locate needed information can call Alldata, and its support staff will try to locate the information and get back to the shop within three hours. Such calls, a company spokesman said, help Alldata prioritize what types of information it adds first to the system as it arrives from the automakers.
The company said the product can help shops get OEM information for many automakers' vehicles for less than it costs to subscribe to just one or two OEM Web sites. The information, Alldata said, can help shops create or "justify" more complete estimates and help demonstrate its interest in completing repairs according to OEM recommendations.
The system has been adopted by two larger collision repair chains--Fix Auto and ABRA Auto Body & Glass--and a total of about 1,000 customers, said Dan Espersen, a former ABRA employee who is now Alldata's senior program manager for its collision product.
Espersen said the product is not a substitute for I-CAR or other training (the company even offers a discount on the product to I-CAR Gold Class businesses as well as members of some associations and franchises) but is another tool to help shops stay on top of quickly changing vehicle technology and repair procedures.
Take your pick
Whether it's to improve your shop's productivity, reduce your liability, better match OEM quality and safety, or justify your repair estimates and pricing, access to OEM information is most likely to become increasingly important in the years ahead.
The cost of getting that information will not be insignificant, but there are options that can help keep it from becoming prohibitive.
The latest on "Right to Repair"
Proponents of federal "Right to Repair" legislation, which would guarantee independent shops access to automaker service and repair information, has picked up more congressional supporters in recent months, bringing the total number of co-sponsors to more than 40.
But at less than half the number of co-sponsors a similar bill had at this time two years ago during the previous Congress, it seems unlikely the bill will move forward this year.
The Automotive Service Association (ASA) opposes the legislation, saying government involvement is unnecessary because the automakers are voluntarily making the information available.
Many other organizations in the industry say the threat of the legislation is the only reason the automakers have made the information available and that it is necessary to ensure that the industry isn't relying solely on the "good will" of the automakers.
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