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Over Thirty Years of Top Service & Repair | Ace Body & Motor | February 2020
Larry Wieland doesn’t mince words.
“I worked at a few different body shops and the owners weren’t very honest,” he says. “They’d cheat not only the owners, but the insurance companies. I didn’t like any of it.”
Wieland worked days, nights and weekends, saved his money and acquired the basic tools. He started Ace Body & Motor on January 1, 1982, when he was 23 years old. And for over 30 years, Wieland and the Ace Body & Motor team handled both mechanical repair and collision. That all changed about five years ago.
“In 2014, I could see the writing on the wall,” Wieland says, “and body repair was becoming so technical—and materials on cars so advanced—that I knew it’d be a huge investment in welding equipment to continue.”
Wieland describes how collision and mechanical repair would teeter-totter month to month, one side supporting the other as the technology made huge leaps year after year.
“When I started Ace, the mechanic and body shop rates were the same,” Wieland recalls.
“When I dropped the body shop, the labor rate was about half of what the mechanic shop was. It used to be the profit center and it went in the other direction. The insurance company wouldn’t let us raise our labor rate except or $2 or so every few years, and they thought they were doing us a favor.
“It wasn’t profitable anymore.”
Wieland has friends who manage larger shops or are part of an association who were able to upgrade and weather the storm after heavy investment; he wishes them well, but it wasn’t for him.
“We were able to concentrate on mechanical instead of keeping up with all the changes in both industries. It’s simplified it a bit, but everyone is so doggone high-tech, it’s still a chore keeping up.”
Ladies’ Night Out
As the industry continues to evolve, so, too, do the faces of the owners, the technicians and the service advisors. Automotive repair is no longer relegated to “men’s work;” some of the most successful shop owners (and past/present/future contributors to this magazine) are women.
“Ladies’ Night Out started with Christy Jones, owner of R. Jones Collision1,” Wieland says. In 2015, Christy bought the shop from her father and assumed management duties. Previously, Jones had been running Ladies’ Night Out with another companion shop, but the other shop bowed out and she contacted Wieland to help keep the program running.
“She asked if I was interested, and I said, ‘sure,’ ” Wieland says.
A few times each year, Ace Body & Motor markets Ladies’ Night Out via email and in-shop postings. Typically, 15–20 women show up in the late afternoon near regular closing hours. The program offers basic information about common automotive repair, and always features a professional or two who discuss insurance and answer many common questions regarding how and why common repairs need to be made.
“Christy Jones discusses the collision side of it—what to do when you get into a wreck, etc.,” Wieland says.
“My team and I show slides and discuss the basics of car operation and repair. Ladies’ Night Out is always an open Q&A session—in auto repair, there are no dumb questions. Sometimes we blow off some airbags to show the power and the noise they can make, and how they can help save a life.”
“We use many props,” Wieland adds, “like cabin air filters, tie rods and scan tools. We show them old parts. We also serve wine, and we always feature a complimentary dinner, dessert and refreshments. We also give away door prizes, and Christy often gives away a free car detail at her shop.”
Wieland and Jones get so much good feedback from the program that their only regret is they can’t offer it more throughout the year. Both shops handle as much business as their four walls can contain.
“We try to do it every quarter, but we’re doing good if it occurs twice per year because we’re all so busy,” Wieland says.
Set the Toolbox Aside
When asked how long he’ll continue to “keep up”—not only with the technology, but running Ace—Wieland just laughs.
“Oh, I don’t know,” he muses, “the technology is neat. The older I get, the less I want to learn, but I know that’s not going to happen. We have to keep pushing forward. I guess what really excites me is taking a car that’s broken, fixing it, and having happy customers. We have a very good crew and do a very good job and we can fix just about anything that comes through the door.”
Though Ace Body & Motor is soon pushing 40 years, Wieland has no plans of slowing down.
“I like what I do, and I plan on being here for quite a while,” he says, “and I don’t think a lot about retirement.”
Nonetheless, Wieland has realized that part of being a good owner is setting up the shop for future success. If there’s one thing VISION made clear, it’s that, and Wieland has implemented that lesson under the tutelage of his shop coach as well.
“She also taught us about SOPs, and we learned a lot about processes,” he says. “I’m still trying to work on cars all the time—that’s what I like to do—and she said, ‘You need to work on your business and take your toolbox home.’ I get that, but I don’t want to do that.
“Walking in and not touching any of the tools has been a challenge. Referrals, estimates, management—that’s how I clock in now!”
Making the Most of VISION
I took the whole shop last year and I’m sure we’ll do it again this year. It’s costly, but I think it’s important to keep up on the training.
It’s rewarding to return, get back to work and hit the ground running. You like to think that what you’ll learn will stick. It’s hard to find time—everyone is busy. After VISION 2019, we had a couple slow months but this has been our busiest year ever. It’s been nonstop the past six months. Much of it is the economy, and we also implemented a new MaxxTraxx management system as well as a shop coach, which is something else we were excited about after VISION. She came in and worked with us for an intense four days. She was go-go-go and trained us very well—it was expensive, but some of the best money I ever spent.
For instance, she taught us how to really utilize recommended service. We’re talking several thousand dollars of repairs. In the past, many clients have wanted to prioritize just one repair because they couldn’t afford the rest, but if it’s in a past invoice as recommended service—and if they had a good experience with our service advisors—they often say, ‘go ahead and do it.’ You just about fall over when the new item is worth an extra $3,000!
To learn more about preparing your entire team to go to VISION, check out “The Best Investment is in Your Team”.