If you are reading this blog, we probably have your car, and you are probably worried because you need it. In uncertain times it can be scary to not have access to your personal transportation. It’s never a convenient time to get into an accident, but this is definitely the worst time. As of this moment, we are still open for business.
But with an unknown and unprecedented pandemic, who knows for how long that will last. As of right now, cars are being wrecked, and they are still coming into our shop, and we are prepared to fix them and are still meeting our deadlines.
But, the supply chain may be disrupted for a while. This is true, especially if you have a foreign car where most of the parts are made overseas. The ports aren’t shut down, but there is a 25% reduction in the number of containers sailing out of China right now, and they are struggling with their own internal trucking infrastructure. But beyond the ports, the factories in China have also faced employee shortages, and with that, production slowdowns.
Even if your vehicle is a domestic brand built in the US, in all cases, some portion of the parts are made overseas. This also includes replacement crash parts that are often damaged in accidents- parts such as headlights, taillights, and wiring harnesses. These parts are still in current supply, but that could change.
When the shipping routes are re-opened, it takes forty days for a container ship to travel from Shanghai to New York City. After that ship arrives, it has to pass through customs, and move through a series of warehouses and truck routes before parts finally make it to our local jobbers.
Another disruption could come if our vendors do any type of shelter in place, which can vary state by state. Already several suppliers such as our paint vendors have been told that they have a work from home plan in place.
The same is true for the insurance company field adjusters who have also been given work from home orders.
As for right now, our employees are all healthy and showing up to work every day, business as usual. From a labor standpoint, we are still all hands on deck, and cars are still getting cars towed-in every day. Estimates are being given, repair plans are being written, and we are scheduling jobs as usual, but all of these factors outlined above are required for us to repair your vehicle.
Concerns for you, the customer.
As of right now, the insurance companies haven’t given us any indication of extended rental coverage in the case of a forced shutdown. Most policies have a cap on the length of rental, but we’ve never had to deal with a situation where shops across the country are forced to shut down. So, we have no idea whether you will be asked to turn the rental in or if the insurance companies will continue to cover your rental. We have no control over that since we only fix the vehicle.
As for right now, it is still business as usual, and it is difficult to predict what the future holds, just know that it might take longer to fix your car in the near future.
We value your safety and our quality of work in the meantime. Please contact us with any questions or concerns. We are here for you.
