Not long ago, two bills in Rhode Island, Senate Bill 2679 and House Bill 8013, were passed into law. They sought to expand restrictions currently in place on aftermarket parts in first-party claims to any collision damaged vehicle. This resparked a long-running debate between OEM vs. aftermarket parts.

Bill Hanvey, president and CEO of the Auto Care Association, says the law unfairly requires consumers to go to a dealership to get a low-cost part at an inflated price, and creates a false impression that aftermarket parts are inferior.

On this episode of CollisionCast, Hanvey and Tom Tucker, director of state affairs for the association, discuss the bills and why they believe they set a bad precedent for the collision repair industry.

From hiring the right manager to keeping tabs on their performance, there's a lot that goes into finding your right hand man. Here's everything to consider. Here are some tips from Steve Morrow, owner of Capitol Collision Center, on how to find the perfect manager.

Conner Brothers Body Shop has become a beloved, embraced body shop in the Chester, Va., community. Owner Kevin Conner details how he grew that operation and how he built himself back up after his father sold three of the family's four body shops.

As the general manager of five Cole's Collision Centers, Josh Jewett has a ton of experience mentoring managers in training. In this episode, he details his keys for grooming managers for success, the difficulties one can often run into when coaching managers, and how to empower managers who feel unsure of themselves.

Barry Snyder of Axalta Coating Systems discusses how a paint job in your body shop can affect the LiDAR technology that’s crucial to how autonomous vehicles function.

When J.R. Hubbard moved Selecta Auto Body into a new 10,000-square-foot building a few years ago in downtown San Francisco, he did so after thorough research and planning. Here's how Hubbard readied his processes, employees and customer base for his business's big change.

For this month's edition of CollisionCast's How I Did It series, FenderBender spoke with Rocky Champion, who runs the $2 million Barrett Collision Center in Abilene, Texas. Champion details how he took his father's DRP-heavy shop to a OEM-certification-focused shop, how he ensures an ROI on OEM training, and why he ultimately decided to become part of the CARSTAR model.

As millennials slowly overtake the workforce from baby boomers, shop owners will likely need to shift their management styles to accommodate the succeeding generation. Zac and Matt Ciaschini, owners of the $1.9 million Full Tilt Auto Body in Easthampton, Mass., manage a staff largely comprised of millennials, and are in a unique position to offer some advice. From leadership style to in-shop technology to creating a career path for employees, here is their blueprint for managing millennial employees.