Faith Quality Auto Body makes OEM standards a centerpiece of its business

Faith Quality Auto Body ABRN Top Shop collision repair auto body repair If you ever happen to be driving through Murrieta, Calif., and come upon Faith Quality Auto Body, you'll notice two things right away about the shop. First, Faith Quality's buildings sport an ultra-modern, ultra-clean design – one of the most stunning entered in the Top Shops contest. Second, you'll notice that "Faith" is presented in quotes. The name is a reflection of owner Lee Amaradio's deeply held religious beliefs, which he credits for much of his success.

As impressive and notable as all that is, something even more impressive happens inside Faith Quality, in one of the business's glass-walled offices. In that room, Faith Quality puts some deeply held convictions about the "right" repair to work. This work could be setting the stage for some ground breaking changes in the collision repair industry.

So, what is this room and what goes on there? That room is the office of Tony Amaradio, head of Faith Quality's Damage Analysis Department. Amaradio is a full-time negotiator whose job is to go nose to nose with insurers over repair plans. He is not there to compromise.

His job is to provide documentation stating how a repair is to be performed according to OEM standards and to let the insurance companies know the shop will only repair a vehicle that way. Once that is established, a full-time licensed estimator prepares the estimate and comes to an agreed price with the insurance representative before repairs begin.

"A lot of shops will simply agree to do a repair how the insurer wants it. Tony's job is to work with them in a real negotiable way to let them know how we work," says Lee Amaradio. "If they want to do something outside of the recommended OEM repair, we just ask them 'Are you willing to assume the liability?'"

To make sure insurers know they will be held accountable for this decision and any other, the shop utilizes sophisticated audio and video equipment to record all negotiations with insurance representatives (a sign announces that the area is under video and audio surveillance). This protects the shop and its customers.

To make sure the shop sticks to its OEM standards policy, Amaradio stays up to date on OEM repair procedures. He's also knowledgeable in all of the current laws and labor rate surveys. Amaradio doesn't handle this chore alone, however.

Lee Amaradio explains that for the policy to work, especially since Faith Quality works on a number of luxury vehicles, the entire business had to be involved, which means getting as much top-end training as possible. Therefore, four years ago, Faith Quality began a quest to become an OEM certified shop for a number of vehicle manufacturers. To date, it is a Mercedes-Benz USA advanced structural CL certified shop, a BMW approved aluminum repair facility (BMW doesn't certify independent shops so Faith Quality sent its techs to BMW training to become certified) and was just named a Porsche Cars North America certified repair facility. It also is a certified shop for Toyota/Lexus and GM.

In addition, the shop works closely with I-CAR to make sure all its workers have the best training and top certifications. For example, all of the shop's welders are certified to work on a variety of materials. Faith Quality also employs a full-time quality control employee.

"Now when we enter negotiations, we've turned ourselves into the repair experts. It was kind of a battle at first, but now we've earned the respect of the insurers because we do what we say," says Amaradio.

He points out that when the shop made the decision to begin operating this way, it discovered that there were "good insurance companies" who agreed with their approach – they just needed to see the repair documentation.

Amaradio notes that often adjusters are caught between the shop and directives sent down by their supervisors. "If you can supply the documentation, you give them something they can take back to their superiors. Who can argue with that?" he says.

In cases where the insurer still refuses to abide by OEM recommendations, Faith Quality gets the customer involved to help apply pressure. In rare cases where the insurer still refuses, the shop digs into its own pockets to ensure the vehicle is repaired according to factory specs.

Amaradio says all of this is necessary because, unfortunately, too much of the industry has gotten used to doing repairs the wrong way. "The substandard repair has become the norm," he says.

He points to examples such as the widespread practice of tying down Mercedes-Benz vehicles to the jack pad during a pull. "Even the frame machine companies sell the adaptors to tie these cars down to the jack pads. But you can't do this. There are OEM spec sheets that say that if you do this, you'll basically ruin the car and the warranty," says Amaradio.

Faith Quality's battle is thus very much an industry fight to turn the trend away from cost-based standards, founded on norms that too often stray from OEM specs, to those set by those who know the vehicle best, the manufacturers. Amaradio knows he's in for a long battle. But with his faith and convictions, Faith Quality Auto Body is working to change the tide.