December/January 2022

A s we have already seen during the last few pages, wheel alignment and ADAS offers rewards for those businesses who can make the investment and make it work for them. Segueing into crash and body repairs, or at least having the ability to do this sort of work when required, makes sense. In a world where additional income streams are a must, why turn away crash and body repairs when you have the skills in-house to action many of these jobs? With the right kit and support you can create a new business opportunity for yourself. It’s not just distressed sales either, as there are also opportunities to help those looking to personalise their cars. Increasingly important Looking at the opportunity, Adam White, Workshop Solutions Director at LKQ Euro Car Parts, pointed out that much of what is needed will already be in garages, with ADAS being a crucial part of the process, and a progressively more vital area in its own right: “ADAS recalibrations are an increasingly important part of crash and body repair, and body alterations. The technology is already present in 10% of the UK car parc and will be mandatory on all new vehicle registrations from next year. It covers features like engine and transmission control, brake and lighting control, lane assist, park assist and much more. “The chances are that garages with diagnostic equipment from major brands like Hella, Bosch, TEXA, Autel and Hofmann Megaplan will already have ADAS recalibration capabilities. The key is not to restrict their application just to the areas of a vehicle that are visibly damaged. “Any impact to any part of the vehicle body could knock any ADAS sensor out of calibration, meaning the full suite of sensors must be checked before the keys are handed back to the driver. Otherwise there’s a risk that garages send customers away with vehicles that aren’t performing properly, or worse, that are unsafe. “It’s garages’ and bodyshops’ professional responsibility to carry out full recalibrations as standard. Doing so is also 46 AFTERMARKET DECEMBER/JANUARY 2022 CRASH AND BODY REPAIRS www.aftermarketonline.net SIGNIFICANT OPPORTUNITY If you are a bodyshop, crash repairs are the centre of your world, but garages could take some of this market with the right support