Certification with Icar

A place for professionals to network and discuss the business and technology inside the shop.



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PostPosted: Wed Nov 18, 2015 6:11 am
Just completed 3 courses this past week and have 3 more next month. Did technology 2016 and all I can say is wow. Between aluminum and carbon fiber. Seat lower airbags and more camera and sensors then the fbi can place for survalence. It's gonna be hard to fix these cars without going to a dealer anymore to reset and program parameters for all these things. Has anyone taken that course yet or any others?
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PostPosted: Fri Nov 20, 2015 3:08 pm
The Industry & Mfg's wants it that way, As cars get more & more complex the need to be certified is more important than ever as is continuing education to keep up with technology.

The days of Shade tree mechanics fixing cars is gone, Todays Hot Rodders are armed with Laptop's. Light weight materials such as Carbon fiber & Aluminum & Titanium are all hear to stay thanks to the Aircraft industry finding ways to bring down prices.
As are fly by wire controls such as today's cars with computer controlled throttles and electric power steering. Autopilots with Voice command are all on the horizon as well.
The industry is changing fast the day of having to be certified or Licensed to work on a car or truck is quickly approaching the industry, Lawsuits are driving it that way the need to be able to point blame is the driving factor.

Think about it The mfg of an Autopilot system is not gonna want to be responsible for 1 accident let alone a 20 car pile up or worse on a Busy interstate free way with Hundreds of other cars & Trucks with Autopilots all going at once, This Technology is coming quickly and it will be in every car and Truck in the future. People are lazy and the idea of telling the car drive here while I play a video game or take a nap while the car drives you to work is a real selling feature. and imagine the trucking industry company's will own Trucks that don't need drivers just programmers.
With self driving cars and trucks on Americas roads The need to be able to point a finger at who's responsible will be the driving factor. The ability to point a finger at a car or Truck that was last worked on by an unlicensed mechanic or shop or one that was over due for service will be what Tomorrows Ambulance chaser Lawyers will be looking for or the Autopilot MFG's lawyers protecting their client, the need for complete accurate records keeping or keeping of Log books is a Nightmare in the Aircraft industry so things will be signed in the cars permanent memory with a log entry in the computer to be able to see who and where it was last worked on along with Hundreds of other parameters going on in the vehicle at the time of impact those entry's are only going to be done by licensed or certificated individuals traceable to a licensed shop.
Dennis B.
A&P Mechanic, FCC General radio Telephone Operator
Line Maintenance A&P Mechanic and MOC Tech specialist.



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PostPosted: Fri Nov 20, 2015 4:11 pm
That's very true, its very interesting the technology that's in the cars and coming in the near future. Its funny you mention logging into the computer. We had a pickup come in the was involved in a bad accident that seriously injured someone. They came in with a laptop and traced back speed and braking force at time of accident to see who was at fault. I guess its just kind of intimidating the amount of computers and sensors and I'm sure there is gonna be some shady tree body shops doing improper repairs regardless.
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PostPosted: Tue Nov 24, 2015 12:49 am
It is crazy the amount of airbags in a new car.
I remember an instructor saying while at auto school, by the time a car is out of an accident where all air bags being deployed the car won't even be fixed because the airbags will cost more than the car is worth when fixed. Crazy!
Also crazy how the info during a crash is recorded.
Also between carbon fiber and more aluminum, they're building cars in ways to withstand hard impacts even with lightweight materials.
Any of you ever seen crash test video of a new car and a 70s-80s car?
Makes you rethink when someone says "they don't make them like they used to"
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PostPosted: Sun Dec 06, 2015 3:22 pm
Dennis's explanation is very accurate as to what is starting to happen in the collision industry.It is getting extremely difficult to repair collision damage on new vehicles.It wasn't that long ago you could pretty much repair any vehicle the same way.It is to the point now you have to look at the OEM's approved repair process on a computer program(the shop has to pay for this as well as the training by each manufacturer) and document your repair with pictures to prove it was done properly to protect yourself.It has gotten so bad now that not only will they sue the shop but also the poor tech who worked on it.

Here is one example,our shop just spent close to 100K for all of the necessary equipment to repair the new aluminum ford f-150's(which are a terrible vehicle by the way) and being certified to fix a ford is nothing compared to being factory trained and certified for aluminum for the German vehicles. Definitely getting out of hand and many of us long for the good old days that are long gone........

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PostPosted: Mon Dec 07, 2015 5:21 pm
Jayson m wrote:
Here is one example,our shop just spent close to 100K for all of the necessary equipment to repair the new aluminum ford f-150's.


So the shop spent $100k to repair a truck?
I thought if the repair cost costs more than the cars value after the repair, its not even fixed and written off as salvage?
or was it just $100k for the equipment to fix any of the new f-150s?
Fly like a butterfly, sting like a bee.



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PostPosted: Tue Dec 08, 2015 1:09 am
Our shop just spent close to 100K for the NECESSARY EQUIPMENT to repair the new aluminum F-150's........



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PostPosted: Fri Dec 11, 2015 10:24 am
Our shop is up to 60 thousand. The best part is that they now lowered the standards to become certified so now money spent was worthless. We also became Honda, ford, gm, Toyota, Nissan, and Vw. Here is the kicker we as a industry spend thousands to become certified and knowledgeable for proper repairs then are told by insurance companies that they won't pay for certain procedures needed to make a repair quality and they won't increase pay rates but still want shop owners to continue with certifications.
Good work don't come cheap, cheap work isn't always good!



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PostPosted: Wed Jan 06, 2016 4:20 pm
Mike95Dodge wrote:Our shop is up to 60 thousand. The best part is that they now lowered the standards to become certified so now money spent was worthless. We also became Honda, ford, gm, Toyota, Nissan, and Vw. Here is the kicker we as a industry spend thousands to become certified and knowledgeable for proper repairs then are told by insurance companies that they won't pay for certain procedures needed to make a repair quality and they won't increase pay rates but still want shop owners to continue with certifications.



Its all part of the RACE TO THE BOTTOM so only Monopoly's exist.
Independent shops will continue to fail under pressure to stay certified and only the strongest that franchise will survive and of course Dealer ships. Welcome to Corporate America! were your only worth is the labor of your last job and your replaceable by a stack of applications willing to do more for even less where all the money goes to top and theirs no way out.
Dennis B.
A&P Mechanic, FCC General radio Telephone Operator
Line Maintenance A&P Mechanic and MOC Tech specialist.



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PostPosted: Wed Jan 06, 2016 6:07 pm
That is so true that it makes me sick. We have a certain shop on our area that just put out 200 thousand in equipment and certs and turned around and cut there labor rate to suck up all the work. He now has half of the body shop industry in my area ready to slaughter him.
Good work don't come cheap, cheap work isn't always good!

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