On October 28, the Alliance of Automotive Service Providers of New Jersey (AASP/NJ) hosted their 2015 Annual Meeting at the Gran Centurions Banquet Hall in Clark, NJ. Beginning with a cash bar at 6:30, over 150 people gathered together despite the pouring rain to receive important updates from the Board of Directors and to listen to John Eck from General Motors (GM) discuss his company’s newest initiative, MyPriceLink.
After awarding the Stan Wilson Body Shop of the Year Award to Tony Lake of Exclusive Auto Body, New Jersey Automotive Mechanical Shop of the Year Award to Mark Ierubino of Mark’s Auto Center, the Russ Robson Memorial Scholarship to Michael Boffo of Elmer’s Auto Body and inducting Dan Hawtin and Pete Cook into the AASP/NJ Hall of Fame, the lead presentation of the night began.
Eck stepped up to the microphone to outline the various ins and outs of the MyPriceLink program, and to dispel any myths that might be circulating around the industry.
“There have been a lot of misconceptions about MyPriceLink in the media and in day-to-day conversation,” Eck opened the presentation. “People are saying that GM is doing away with list prices. We are not. We are changing how list entry price is delivered to your collision estimating system utilizing new technology that we created with our partner, OEConnection. It’s an opportunity for us at GM to change the conversation with insurers, estimating companies and our dealers.”
Throughout the remainder of the demonstration, Eck attempted to address the various causes of unease that MyPriceLink has brought to the local industry. By the end of his speech, Eck was able to field comments from the audience to respond to the specific questions of the shops in attendance, from how GM will fight the use of aftermarket parts to how they will interact with insurers.
The large turnout thrilled AASP/NJ Jeff McDowell. “We knew we were going to have a lot of shops come out,” he says. “But to be honest, once the torrential rains hit, I wasn’t so sure. It just goes to show you that when there’s a subject that’s this important, our industry resembles the post office. Through rain or snow, etc. We all come out in droves,” he added with a laugh. “Seriously, it was a great meeting. We hope to have more like this over the next year.”
For more information on NORTHEAST® 2016, visit www.aaspnjnortheast.com, the NORTHEAST Automotive Services Show on Facebook, the NORTHEAST Automotive Services Show YouTube page (www.youtube.com/user/AASPNJNORTHEAST) or on Twitter @AASPNJNORTHEAST.