IT'S TIME TO KILL THE SACRED COW

While I was in Australia several times in the early 2000s, their industry was wrestling with the similar flat rate issue. Their slogan, "Funny Times ... Funny Money" was bringing to light how bad this system really is. There was lots of talking, but little doing until, "Real Time ......

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Automotive Body Repair News 2011-08, Vol.50 (8), p.10
Main Author: Passwater, Tony
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Automotive repair services
Estimates
Fees & charges
Flat rates
Management of change
Real time
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:While I was in Australia several times in the early 2000s, their industry was wrestling with the similar flat rate issue. Their slogan, "Funny Times ... Funny Money" was bringing to light how bad this system really is. There was lots of talking, but little doing until, "Real Time ... Real Money" was rolled out by Motor Trades Association and Insurance Australia Group in October 2007. This was a major departure from what was common place for decades. It is unfortunate that many in the industry may not know the difference between the two systems. In our flat rate system the times listed in the estimating guides are for an average technician with average tools working on "undamaged" and/or "non-corroded" vehicles. This is where understanding the procedure pages (P-Pages) and being allowed to use them is so important when writing an accurate estimate of damages. The judgment times to repair a panel are of course not listed in the estimating guides and were generally based on a relationship between actual hours required and the labor rate of the market area.
ISSN:2166-0751
2166-2533