Toronto, Ontario — Sept. 27, 2019 — This week, a well-regarded repairer referred to a popular vehicle accident history provider service–which gives drivers access to accident histories on vehicles as an insult to industry professionals.
The repairer’s call came after a customer had expressed a desire for a vehicle to be written-off because he had been advised that it would never have the same resale value.
If a vehicle is truly in pre-accident condition, after all, why shouldn’t that be what’s important?
It is a sentiment that stuck with me. So far, my investigations have been limited–but I did get the chance to speak with a representative for a software service that sells accident info to the accident history detailing service.
The rep suggested that accident histories were valuable because they were available. Perhaps, if the service had access to repair procedure info, it would be those that would-be rebuyers paid more attention to.
I suspect such info might be prosaic, and that such services would only provide additional info if it was provided freely–its model is working as it stands, after all. Having said that, if recyclers can create a reasonably widespread parts grading system, I suspect repaired could provide something similar. Even a third party repair grading system would be of benefit.
The idea is in its infancy, but talk of access to OEM repair data is in the air, and I believe Canada’s collision community may be well set to show the industry why open data can be a win-win.
