The Post-Covid World

It's been a little over a year or so (since this writing) that the world re-emerged from the reality-altering twister that was Covid. It wasn't easy for anybody. A lot changed, but to keep this post succinct and to the point, we'll stick to what's relevant to auto body work and collision repair, and what it now takes to fix your car after an accident.

Delays. That's really the most important word. Delays in getting your car back quickly. But is it only body shops that are delaying things? Ask yourself how long does it take to see a specialist if you need medical care? How long does it take to get those windows you ordered for your home? You can ask yourself questions like this all day long.

JD Power released a new study showing the average repair time for body shops as of October 2023 has increased to 23.1 days, meaning it takes 23.1 days from the day you drop your car off to the day you get it back. That number was 12 days in 2021. This means it takes twice as long to get your car repaired in 2023 than it did just 2 years ago. But why?

Parts shortages and labor challenges are the two main contributors to this, unfortunately, and there's not much that can be done about it. Why are parts hard to come by? Well, we don't have a clear and easy answer, but for some reason, after Covid, the whole chain of making, shipping, and delivering parts got disrupted. Whether the materials needed to make the parts are now harder to come by (probably because of their own part and labor challenges), or whether the logistics of moving these parts around the world got shaken up so hard that it still hasn't fully recovered, we can't quite say, but it's a combination of these factors and likely other reasons as well.

As for labor challenges, in 2023, finding skilled technicians is not easy. People just are not entering the skilled labor workforce like they used to, and at the same time the volume of accidents keeps increasing, so you do the math. Young talent is gravitating more towards making YouTube videos, not re-sculpting a metal panel, but Victory Auto Body has begun mentorship offerings to young people looking to develop new skills to help fill these gaps.

As for Victory Auto Body, we remain steadfast in our commitment to facing these challenges head on. It's been 40 years, and we are still here, we are still answering the phones, we are still swinging hammers and shooting the paint, and we are going to keep marching forward.

So if you need help with your car, whether it's a small ding or a major accident, give us a call, we are here and ready to help.