The Hidden Damage Problem: Why OEM Certification Changes Everything

A car can look “fixed” and still be unsafe, and the difference often comes down to what you cannot see. We sit down with Andrew, a highly certified collision repair technician at Ozzie’s Body Shop, to talk about the real gap between OEM certified collision repair and the fast, metric-driven mindset that shows up in some high-volume, non-OEM shops.

We get specific about what certification takes today: i-CAR education, ongoing continuing training, and OEM classes that can send technicians to manufacturer training centers for brands like Rivian, Lexus, and Audi. That level of investment changes everything, from having the right repair documentation on hand to knowing when a part must be replaced instead of “made to work.” Megan shares why technicians who can truly do both paint and body work well have become so rare, and why the shop’s standards depend on constant learning.

Then we dig into the uncomfortable stuff: insurance pressure, cheaper aftermarket parts, and the kind of corner cutting that produces incomplete welds, pinholes, cracking seams, and structural work that gets covered up and passed along. Andrew explains why those mistakes are more than cosmetic, how they can affect crash performance, and why “doing it right” is the only real definition of efficiency. We also talk hail damage repair and why “a few dents” can quickly turn into a roof replacement when quality and longevity matter.

If you care about safe repairs, OEM procedures, and how to choose the right auto body shop, this conversation is for you. Subscribe, share this with a friend who’s dealing with a claim, and leave a review with the question you want us to answer next.

To learn more about Ozzie's Body Shop visit:
https://www.OzziesBodyShop.com
Ozzie's Body Shop 
5280 N. Garfield Ave.
Loveland, Colorado 80538
970-667-7849 

Transcript

Welcome To The Body Shop

SPEAKER_00 0:03

Welcome to Crash Course, the Aussies Body Shop Show, where bent metal mystery noises and echo moments meet Northern Colorado's finest collision repair center. Hosted by Megan Mueller, co-owner and CEO of Ozzy's Body Shop, an OEM certified and authorized collision repair facility that's been getting families safely back on the road since 1967. From fender benders to full-on frame repairs, insurance questions to will this ever look right again? Megan's here to explain it all in plain English. With a little grease, a little grace, and a lot of heart. Because around here, the motto's simple. To be the best, you gotta be the best. And your car deserves nothing less. Let's pull into the shop and get started.

SPEAKER_01 1:01

Behind

Meet Andrew And His Path

SPEAKER_01 1:02

every repair is a technician with a story, and today we're pulling back the curtain on what really happens from shop to shop. Welcome, I'm Julie Schwenzer, co-host and producer with Megan Mueller, the co-owner and CEO of Aussies Body Shop, and Andrew, a highly certified collision repair technician there. Andrew, thank you for joining us so much. Megan's told us great things about you. You've worked in the industry. Yeah. You've worked in the auto body industry for years. Can you please tell us how you found Aussies or did Aussies find you?

SPEAKER_02 1:33

I found Aussies as a technician. Having a good reputation of a place to work is a big thing. And I've always heard good things about Aussies. And you know, it just kind of worked that they were looking when I was looking. So we kind of came together and we're here now. And super excited, grateful to be here. It's a fantastic environment and just really like it. Love everyone here. So it's great.

SPEAKER_01 1:58

Yeah, that's great. And Andrew, can you share with us some you know details about your professional background, including how many years you've been in this industry?

SPEAKER_02 2:08

Yeah, uh I started my training in like 2004. I started doing it full-time in 2006 or seven, I forget. Um, but yeah, been doing it ever since. I spent the majority of my career in painting, and I just always liked doing bodywork as well. So uh in the past four or five years, I've transitioned to just doing bod.

SPEAKER_01 2:31

And Megan has mentioned, and in the words of Megan, that you're a gifted body tech and also a gifted body painter. And Megan, you said that's really rare. And you've, you know, obviously been running this company for a while. Why is it so rare? Why is it so difficult for someone to master both? And when Andrew walked in, were you like, whoa.

Why Dual-Skilled Techs Are Rare

SPEAKER_03 2:50

Right. Yeah. So so back in like the 70s and 80s, it was pretty common for technicians to be able to do both. But like we've talked about so much on the podcast, there's so such a specialty in both now, and there's so much knowledge that's required on both ends of that, that to really do a wonderful job at both is just extremely rare. Um, and yeah, like Andrew said, I mean, he started out as a painter and super grateful because um, a jobber that works kind of in our area, um, he knows the quality and the standards that we have here. I know a couple of times I've talked with you about the fact that like it's almost easier for us to apprentice somebody into being like the type of technician that we expect to and to just set the standard as they learn for the quality that we want, rather than to take a technician that's maybe worked at a different shop and try to change their behaviors that they've learned elsewhere. When our jobber mentioned that um he thought that Andrew would be a good fit, you know, really the more I learned, and you can kind of tell after a technician's been here about three days if they're gonna if they're gonna work or not. Um and yeah, he just, I mean, very knowledgeable, extremely skilled, and like we always talk about as well, open to all of the continuing education that's required to work here because the amount of training that these guys have to do is just incredible for all of their certifications.

SPEAKER_01 4:14

Yeah, could you walk us through some of that, Andrew? What is involved in being a certified technician, like what it was it like in the beginning and and now what you have to do to stay up to date?

SPEAKER_02 4:24

Yeah, so in the beginning, I mean it's it's you know, learning the fundamentals of everything, uh, which can be a lot and overwhelming as well. It's then finding that niche area where you're gonna go, whether it's paint, body, whatever, and learning those fundamentals, and then the bigger scope of how to do everything, how to do everything correctly. You know, you've got iCar training, you've got in-person training from OEM manufacturers and all that. It's really cool to be to be a part of that and be able to grow my knowledge and skill set.

SPEAKER_03 5:01

Some of our OEMs require in-person training at their training centers. So Andrew's been out to a few of them. I know you've been to Rivian, Lexus, heading out to Audi to get some more training down there. Um, so really, I mean, traveling kind of all around the US to wherever the training centers are.

SPEAKER_01 5:18

Oh, wow. I think, yeah, some people probably aren't aware about that part that you do have to, you know, go to those centers and they could be far away. Okay, now we have some juicy questions for you, Andrew.

Corporate Speed And Corner Cutting

unknown 5:28

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 5:29

What stands out to you about uh your experiences working with other shops before this one? And I know we can't talk SHIT too much, but you know, ones that aren't certified, the non-OEM.

SPEAKER_02 5:45

Um, big difference. Big difference. Um there it, you know, those corporate shops, their mentality is usually an in Monday, out Friday for just about any repair. They don't mind cutting corners, um, they don't mind gluing things back on as long as they're meeting their metrics as far as getting the car in, getting the car out before it's been there more than a week. So, and some they want in and out in a day, which is just silly. You can't do a quality repair that's gonna have any kind of longevity to it in just a day.

SPEAKER_01 6:25

And then was there a lot of pressure with the insurance that you have to, you know, get the cheaper part, meet the numbers, volume, all that?

SPEAKER_02 6:34

Yeah, there is pressure because there's not really an option. It's whatever the insurance company wants. There's no your professional opinion, there's no what the OEM recommends, it's what the insurance company wants to do. And the insurance company honestly isn't in the business of repairing vehicles or even doing them in a quality manner. It's uh just to get them out and done as cheap as possible.

SPEAKER_01 7:01

And be

Bad Welds Become Safety Problems

SPEAKER_01 7:02

we have some images too that you you both kindly uh are sharing with us. So what happened with this one?

SPEAKER_02 7:09

So this is I think this one is a roof panel that was replaced, and this is where it would be welded on, and that is a hole in the middle of a weld, signifying that the weld uh wasn't a good weld and it's an incomplete weld, so should not have gotten as far as it did in the process, because this was coming to me in the paint department, so signifying that it was ready to be painted and then put back together when clearly it wasn't not ready.

SPEAKER_01 7:41

Okay, so this is a non-OEM shop that you worked with before. Yeah, okay, wow. They wanted you to paint over that, yes.

SPEAKER_03 7:49

Yes, just like no big deal. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 7:54

I know it's like just a bullet hole. No, I'm kidding.

SPEAKER_03 7:56

Right, right. Expo a bunch of exposed metal, all the good stuff.

SPEAKER_01 8:01

Yeah, oh wow, okay. So yeah, and I mean you're coming from both sides, the painter and the actually the internal technician, too. So that's crazy.

SPEAKER_02 8:10

This one I don't remember if it was a rocker or like a B pillar. There's pinholes in the in the material, and you can see a little bit there where it's cracking um around where it was welded, which signifies again a bad weld, and should not have had any material putting put over it. But a lot of times what they'll do is they'll just try to hide them, especially if you have a pickier person that they have to pass through. They try to hide a lot of that stuff so that it just gets painted, put back together, back on the road.

SPEAKER_03 8:46

We just had another one here, um, kind of similar area, and instead they just kind of filled it all up with glaze to where those welds weren't even showing at all. We were redoing some work from another shop for that one.

SPEAKER_01 8:59

So oh wow, that's scary. I wonder how long it takes for the car owner to come back.

SPEAKER_03 9:05

She had gone back this past lady, she had gone back three times, and each time she was dissatisfied. So finally she ended up finding us, and we almost doubled their previous repair just in trying to fix some of the stuff.

SPEAKER_01 9:18

So wow, yeah, that's so frustrating for them. So now we're gonna go to the next one.

SPEAKER_02 9:23

Yeah, again, this one is is covering up bad welds, mismatched panels, uh, just sloppy, sloppy, careless work. It's not always the cosmetic thing that's the problem, is that it's a safety issue that in the event of another collision, the cars won't react the same as they're supposed to prior to the panel being replaced, because they have certain ways they want them to crumple up, to absorb the impact. And when an improper repair is done, you just you don't get that same effect, which can cause the inertia to go somewhere else or shred apart like it's not supposed to. So it's not always about cosmetics, it's about the quality and the integrity of the repair itself to hold the car together the way that it's supposed to be.

SPEAKER_01 10:17

Oh wow, that's really scary looking.

SPEAKER_03 10:22

Oftentimes when vehicle owners do come back, they actually come back simply because they're concerned about, like, you know, I just don't really like how how this other shop got these panels to fit, or I'm just not really happy with the color match. And a lot of times they end up coming in simply because of cosmetic, right? Because they don't have x-ray vision and they can't see further. But oftentimes, if if the cosmetic stuff's not quite right, we find deeper issues quickly.

SPEAKER_02 10:48

Yeah, yeah, there's usually a reason reason the cosmetic stuff's not right. Because usually the cosmetic stuff's the easier thing to do because you have to get the rest of the car aligned perfectly to make the exterior panels fit right. So yeah.

SPEAKER_01 11:01

Oh wow. So there's so much that goes into this. Thank goodness you two are on the case and your team. So, what is this one?

SPEAKER_02 11:12

So I think this is the same vehicle as the previous roof one. Um, but again, just poor welds, they weren't done right, and it's gonna cause the roof to rattle, it's gonna cause it to fail in the event of a collision. Just sad work that these non-OEM shops just really don't pay attention to as closely as they should, unfortunately.

SPEAKER_03 11:36

Yeah, with hail season upon

Reinspections That Reveal Hidden Damage

SPEAKER_03 11:38

us, a lot of people, you know, we talked last time about like the pop-up tents and and those ones that show up. And obviously, in a pop-up tent, they're not gonna be doing a roof, they're gonna send you to a collision facility. But hail damage is not just a simple repair, like a lot of people think. A lot of people think like, oh, it's just a few dents. Like, no, if you're having your roof welded on, you're gonna want to have it done correctly for sure.

SPEAKER_01 12:01

Gosh, how many times do you run into uh like cases like this where they did go to a non-OEM shop and they saw you soon after?

SPEAKER_03 12:10

You know, it's it's scary to think how many people just don't know, right? Or like like how much gets hidden, like we've talked about. Because you can put you can put a bumper over really poor rear body damage. We've even seen a couple of times where they've come back for a reinspection and the work that was supposed to be performed according to the sheet, they just didn't even do because they knew that they could just cover it up um with the outer panel. So I would say I I mean, I don't think we've ever had one come back for a reinspection and be fine.

SPEAKER_02 12:45

No, if there's a reason it's coming for a reinspect, we'll find something. Not that we want to find anything, but it's just there's a if there's a reason they want it re-inspected, I mean there's an issue somewhere.

SPEAKER_01 12:57

Yeah. Now, Andrew, I have a question

Shop Red Flags And Green Flags

SPEAKER_01 13:00

for you then. What advice do you give to technicians when they're choosing a shop and what should they look out for? What are the red flags and the green flags?

SPEAKER_02 13:07

Um well, I'm not a fan of the corporate stores. Um, just because of everything I've seen, they're scary to me. Um looking for the OEM certifications is a green flag for a technician because you it shows they care. It shows that you know they're gonna invest in their technicians long past you know the initial hire. So that's really what I would look for. And just do everything you can to learn the correct procedures, um, whether that's having you know your manager print them out or get you a computer so you can look them directly up. OE is the way to go, because that's the way that the cars were made, and that's the way they should go back together.

SPEAKER_01 13:48

Yeah, and could you share some examples too of some unsafe, outdated repair practices that you encountered before you came to Aussies that were like, what? Like, what just what did I just deal with?

SPEAKER_02 14:01

Yeah, um, most of the pictures that I would take would be to cover my own behind um if anything ever happened because I was in disagreance with it. There's a lot. I had the district manager of a corporate store um tell me, I'm not gonna tell you to cut corners, but do you understand what I'm saying? Cut the corner, get it done, get it out. That's that's all they care.

SPEAKER_01 14:27

Um uh yeah, it's is the biggest challenge that you had with those other shops was that they were just using um cheaper parts. Was that like the biggest problem, or was it other things?

SPEAKER_02 14:42

Um yeah, cheap aftermarket parts not fixing the damage uh that was caused by the accident, uh, because it would take longer to fix, and you couldn't get that in and out real quick, like they want. And yeah, it's extremely disappointing the amount of work that I've seen go through those shops that didn't get fixed, um, or the damage that was caused by the accident didn't completely get fixed. It was throw a bumper over it uh because it's quicker, it's get it in and out, that kind of thing.

SPEAKER_03 15:14

The last podcast that Julie and I talked about, it was about like like mixing speed with efficiency. Yeah. And I was telling her, I'm like, we don't ever want somebody's car here. Like we want it back with them, right? We don't want it here, for sure. But we are gonna take whatever time we need to make sure that it's done the correct way and that we're proud to give them that quality back and put their family back in the vehicle. Yes, absolutely. Um, that's priority over speed.

SPEAKER_02 15:42

Yeah, and honestly, the speed comes from doing it right. That that's plain and simple. There's there's no metric in between. It's you did it right or you did it wrong, and if you did it right, that's the speed it was supposed to be done at. And like that's yeah, all those corporate stores don't follow that. It's quick, quick, quick, get it done, get it done, get it done.

SPEAKER_01 16:06

Sure. And then I guess uh,

Hail Damage That Turns Into Roofs

SPEAKER_01 16:08

you know, last question I have is that um the hail season and you're at the peak right now, and then it's coming back again in several or a few weeks or a couple months or so. But Megan and I were talking about it, and then the damage outside and inside. So, with all your experience, what is that like? Are those more challenging because you can't see the necessarily the internal damage right away? And then you're also dealing with the aesthetics.

SPEAKER_02 16:34

Yeah, yeah. You know, it comes down to you know, a lot of times what the makeup of the material of the car is, if it's aluminum, if it's steel, if it's carbon fiber, plastic, whatever it may be, is it fixable? Is it no, we can't fix it, we need to replace it, you know, that kind of thing. But yeah, some of those that look like, oh, it's just a handful of dents turn into, well, your car unfortunately needs a new roof because you don't want it full of a bunch of mud on top, and you know, it gets hailed on again, and all that just pops out. It wouldn't be a quality repair to you know fill the whole thing with mud or whatever. So, yeah, little little ones can turn into big ones, definitely with hail for sure.

SPEAKER_01 17:20

And then a

Hiring For Quality And Team Fit

SPEAKER_01 17:21

last question too for Megan. It seems like you, you know, you're happy with very happy with Andrew. Yeah. And so what do you do? What do you recommend to when you're uh to other shop owners who are hiring to look for someone like Andrew?

SPEAKER_03 17:34

One, always ask really good questions. One of the things that we do here when we interview somebody is we actually um like I'll sit down with them and and just see if I feel like they might be a good fit for our shop and really discuss with them like what the expectations are and the way that we repair vehicles. And I mean, you have to be willing to do an unbelievable amount of continuing education. I think Andrew just spent his Sunday doing a bunch of Rivian classes, right? So first I like to sit down with them one-on-one, make sure that I think that they might be a good fit for us, and then I like to take them out and have a meet with all the shop, um with all the technicians. Um, and I just I'll just walk away and leave them with the technicians, and and that way they can all kind of ask the questions that are important to them, and then we get together as a group and decide if they might be a good fit. That's my ideal way to to bring somebody on. And even then you get somebody in, and within a few days you're like, nope, never mind. Um, and and keep on the search. Um, yeah, we've you know, we've just been really lucky here though, too, because you know, Andrew came to us, like I was saying, through a jobber, um, a paint supplier, and that paint supplier just knows our shop, knows our ex expectations for quality, that type of thing, and has known Andrew's quality for work for a long time. So he just kind of knew it would be a good fit. So we've had really good success that way sometimes, and then the apprenticeships that we've talked about. Plus, he rides dirt bikes, and apparently everybody that's gonna work here must ride dirt bikes.

SPEAKER_01 19:05

So yeah. Oh, that's funny. It's like I like what you said too, like throw them with the other technicians. It's like an initiation.

SPEAKER_03 19:15

Yeah, there was one guy that he was just straight up honest. He's like, I like to work on my own, I don't like to work as a team, and we were like, not a great fit. Good luck, good luck to you, you know.

SPEAKER_01 19:25

Yeah, absolutely. Well, I want to thank you both so much for your time and explaining, you know, more what goes on behind the scenes and how you do find a qualified, a highly qualified, certified technician and painter, too. So that's exciting.

SPEAKER_03 19:40

Awesome. Thanks, Julie. Thank you. Yeah, thanks.

Final Takeaways And Contact Info

SPEAKER_00 19:48

You've been listening to Crash Course, the Ozzy's Body Shop show with Megan Mueller, serving auto owners all across northern Colorado with certified family-owned collision care. If your vehicle's had a rough day, or you just want repairs done right the first time. For more information, visit OzzyBodyShop.com or call 970-667-7849. Ozzy's Body Shop. To be the best, you gotta be the best. On the road and in the repair bay. Until next time, drive safe, and if life dents it, you know where to send it.