Body Shop Certifications
Where you take your vehicle to be repaired matters. Not all shops are created equal, and it can be disastrous (and expensive) to choose the wrong shop. In this article, we’ll discuss body shop certifications, and what to look for when considering which shop to repair your vehicle.
I-Car Certification
One of the most ubiquitous body shop certifications is that of I-Car. I-Car (Inter-Industry Conference on Auto Collision Repair) is a non-profit organization that trains and subsequently certifies technicians in the automotive repair industry.
What you should look for (or ask about if you can’t find it easily) is the Gold Class Recognition from I-Car. This certification will separate the 20% top-level body shops from the rest of the pack. The Gold Class Recognition means that technicians on staff have trained and qualified on the latest vehicle models and technologies as well as the most up-to-date repair methodologies.
ASE Certification
ASE Certification comes from the National Institute of Automotive Service Excellence. It’s another non-profit agency that tests and certifies technicians in the field of automotive repair (both mechanical and structural). There are multiple levels of certification, and we recommend that you ask the shop management about what certifications each tech holds.
OEM Certification
This is (in our opinion) probably one of the most important of all the body shop certifications when it comes to making sure the shop you choose is going to repair your vehicle the right way.
OEM stands for Original Equipment Manufacturer – and as you might imagine, the OEM has a very keen interest in making sure that the right repair of your vehicle is performed each and every time.
If a body shop is OEM certified, that means that they are approved by the manufacturer of your car to repair it properly. They make sure that the technicians use the right tools, follow the right procedures, and employ the right parts in your repair.
We have written many articles about the value we place on using OEM parts on every repair. If you have any questions, we’d be more than happy to answer them. Contact us here, or give us a call any time.