The Death of Craftsmanship: Why Auto Body Repair is Becoming a Commodity (And How We Fight Back)

Walk into almost any shop today, and what do you see? Flat-rate chasers glued to their screens. Shop owners more concerned with DRP compliance than repair excellence. Insurers squeezing margins to the bone. And worst of all? A complete erosion of the pride and craftsmanship that once defined this industry.

We’re standing at a dangerous crossroads: auto body repair is being reduced to a commodity — a low-cost, high-volume transaction where quality is an afterthought. And frankly? That should scare every serious shop owner reading this.

But it’s not too late to take the wheel. If you still care about the craft, this is your wake-up call.

The Rise of Assembly-Line Mentality

Insurance companies have trained the average consumer to think that all repairs are equal — a dent fixed at Shop A is the same as Shop B, so go with whoever is cheapest or “preferred.”

Shops have enabled this by playing along: rushing repairs, writing estimates to satisfy adjusters rather than cars, cutting corners that no professional would have tolerated a decade ago.

The result? The disappearance of skilled metalworkers and craftsmen. A technician today is too often reduced to a parts-swapper and a paint-sprayer.

This isn’t the business we signed up for.

My Ideology: Repair is Leadership

The core belief I push every day: Auto body shops must lead the repair, not just perform the repair.

That means:

Writing a true repair blueprint (not a DRP estimate disguised as one)

Educating the customer about what they actually need, not what their insurer thinks they should pay for

Holding every technician to a craftsman standard, where a flawless repair is a matter of personal pride, not profit per hour

Refusing to play the commodity game — because once you’re just another option on a spreadsheet, you’ve already lost

This is about taking back control, not begging insurers for permission.

Why This Approach Works

When your shop becomes known for leadership, quality, and integrity — not just volume — everything changes:

Your reputation attracts the right customers (the ones who care about safety, quality, and value)

You build a team of true professionals who believe in the mission

You increase ticket averages because you’re writing complete, compliant, safe repairs, not watered-down estimates

You reclaim respect — from customers, from peers, even from insurers (begrudgingly)

And let’s not sugarcoat this: not every shop will survive this transition. The race-to-the-bottom shops will struggle as AI estimating, insurer control, and consumer distrust take hold.

The question is: which side do you want to be on?

Closing: The Future Belongs to the Shops Who Care

The death of craftsmanship in this industry isn’t inevitable — but it requires action.

You have a choice today:

✅ Keep running your shop like an insurer-controlled commodity — and watch your profit, pride, and people erode…

or

🔥 Take back your leadership role as a craftsman shop — where quality, not cost, drives your business.

I know where I stand.

Where do you?