By CRM staff
Toronto, Ontario — March 15, 2019 — What really happened this week? What were some of the big headlines? Collision Repair has recapped thefive most important stories of the week.
SGI’s announcement at SAAR
The Saskatchewan Association of Automotive Repairers (SAAR) spring conference had a number of special guests speak about issues and trends that are impacting the industry. The Saskatchewan Government Insurance was one of the special guests that presented a number of changes that will be occurring for the industry in the province. On March 11, all collision repair partners must reference OEM repair procedures as part of the repair planning process on all SGI claims, and document all repairs requiring panel or structural component replacement or sectioning including, photos of undressed welds, any sleeves/backing used to reinforce sectioned panels. Less than a month later, on April 1, pre/post-diagnostic scans will no longer be considered eligible sublet operations. Starting in April 2020 SGI will be implementing differential compensation, a tiered accreditation model. In order to be accredited as tier one, shops will have to achieve I-CAR gold class status, purchase the necessary equipment to repair today’s vehicles (resistance spot welder, pulse Mig welder, self-piercing rivet gun, vehicle scan tools, and aluminum repair tools), have welding certification and refinish system product training.
Honda Recalls
Honda announced a recall on Tuesday of 83,977 vehicles in Canada because their Takata airbag inflators can explode and send shrapnel into the passenger compartment. In total there are about 1.2 million vehicles in North and Central America that are being recalled. The recall includes Honda and Acura models from as far back as 2001 and as recent as 2010.
Mitchell Q1 Industry Report
Mitchell released its Industry Trends Report for the first quarter of 2019. The topics that were discussed in the report included, the impact of 5G wireless, automobile design changes that are positive for the environment, and how technology can improve claims outcomes.
Tesla’s Latest
The announcement Tesla made last month, that it would be shutting down most of its stores to keep up with the affordable price tag on the new Model S, has been reverted. Although the price of the new Model 3 will remain at $35,000, the electric vehicle company has decided to keep most of its stores open and raise the price of its other vehicles by three percent.
Canadian First
Pfaff Autoworks in Vaughan, Ont. was the first Canadian shop to receive a VeriFacts Quality Medallion. The Medallion is rewarded to shops who perform quality repairs and operate under OEM procedures.
