Safer Vehicles, Fewer Accidents; Good or Bad?

[Joe Marconi]

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[FROGFINDER]

As a kid growing up in the auto business, my father and I would spend a lot of Saturday afternoon’s at Babe’s Body Shop. Babe was an old Army buddy; and as they reminisced about the old days I would wander around the shop and the yard and look at all the banged-up cars. I would also watch the body men in the shop pound a wrecked car back into shape. One thing Babe knew, there will always be a constant supply of banged-up cars.

 

Fast forward today: Is the body business seeing a decline in accidents? Are safer cars reducing the likelihood of accidents to a point that it is affecting business as usual? Fewer accidents are a good thing, overall. But what affect will this have for the future of the body business?

 

 

Watch the Total Out Rate. Modern vehicles are designed to sacrifice themselves for the safety of the occupants. I see many late model cars that drive and look repairable be totalled due to the cost of all the air bags,expensive HID headlamps, a/c condenser and radiator.Cars that just a few years ago would have been repaired are now recycled to make other products. I have also seen a rise in vehicles that have been wrecked but the customer could not afford full coverage insurance so off to pick a part it goes or they drive with the damage.