Edmonton, Alberta — The auto insurance situation in Manitoba is in limbo; in British Columbia it seems to be scandal after scandal, and nestled right in between in the capital of Alberta is Modern Auto Body, who has been going it alone in Edmonton for the past 53 years.
The Edmonton shop had recently achieved certification to perform repairs on Tesla vehicles; a bold route to take in the land of the F-150, but Modern’s assistant manager Jason Findlay remains unworried as this all falls into line with the shop’s proven business model.
“We strictly only do luxury brands, so we’re pretty solid [in that area]. All the brands we certify are luxury brands. Porsche, BMW, Bentley, Jag and Rover-certified. So adding Tesla to that; yes it’s a domestic brand, but they have a more luxury-style appeal to them. With how strict they are with their procedures and with the way their cars are repaired, it just made sense to us.”
“Currently, Modern is the only Porsche-certified facility in northern Alberta, and we’re the only Mercedes-certified shop in northern Alberta. Adding Tesla is a huge one for us, because as you know, cars are becoming more electrified and that’s the way it’s gonna go,” said Findlay in a phone interview with Collision Repair.
“A lot of the big brands are saying by 2025, 2030, 2035, they wanna be fully electric. So it’s about trying to stay ahead of the bell curve on it and be proactive and get to the certifications before other shops.”
In an industry environment where more and more shops are buddying up with a banner, Findlay and his team are committed to going it alone in the name of quality repairs.
“For Modern, it’s always incredibly important to be OE-certified. We have zero insurance contracts, so we’re not a DRP for anybody,” said Findlay.
“We do not like having any relationship with insurance companies because Modern is either black or white: it’s either right or it’s wrong. So a repair has to be done, in our opinion, to manufacturer guidelines. If they’re not, and they’re done by insurance guidelines, unfortunately, insurance companies tend to cut corners; everybody knows this in this industry.”
A hot take? Maybe, maybe not, but it’s clearly been working so far.
“We’ve been open for 53 years now; privately-owned; family-owned. To say that we haven’t had any insurance contracts for that time and are still as successful as we are just says something about our quality,” said Findlay.
