Auto Recycling eNewsletter AutoSalvageConsultant.com

 

For immediate release – January 2010

Written and published by Ron Sturgeon, autosalvageconsultant.com, email to rons@autosalvageconsultant.com.  To register for future free issues, visit http://www.autosalvageconsultant.com.  Don’t forget to watch for our management articles monthly in Recyclers Power Source Magazine, or posted at our web site.

 

This Month’s News

 

Salvage Yard Wins Court Case: A Virginia salvage yard has won a court battle with area residents who complained about noise and pollution from the company’s car crusher.  A district court judge recently ruled in favor of Pick-a-Part in North Stafford, Virginia, saying that the salvage yard was not required to enclose its crushing equipment or end nighttime car delivery and crushing activities.

 

“It’s a big win for me, and a big loss for them,” Pick-A-Part owner John Fields told fredricksburg.com. “But at the end of the day, neither of us won. A lot of it could have been avoided.”

 

To learn more, read the full article here.

 

Peer Benchmarking Sessions Beneficial to Auto Salvage Business:

With all the ups and downs that come with a changing economy, it can be helpful to work with other auto salvage professionals and learn from one another’s experiences.  Ron Sturgeon, a leading motivational speaker and business guru, has been in the auto salvage business for more than three decades.  He leads peer benchmarking sessions for dozens of different industries, giving business owners a chance to put their heads together in order to solve common problems.

 

“It’s about cooperation,” says Ron Sturgeon. “We only accept one participant from each market area in order to avoid any type of competition.  These sessions really help people work together and get results.”

 

Learn more about how peer benchmarking can help make 2011 your best year yet. The next group will be on May 14, 2011.  Register now.

New Auction Company for Salvaged Auto Opens in Shepherdville, Kentucky: Although many business areas are suffering in the uncertain economic growth of the recent months, Insurance Auto Auctions, Inc. is actually expanding. The company, which handles auctions for cars with salvage titles, has opened a fourth location in Kentucky.  IAA serves rebuild shops, auto recycler, wholesalers, and other industry sectors. IAA’s parent company is KAR Auction Services, Inc., which owns 155 salvaged auto auction facilities in the United States.

Read more about the expansion in Business First.

Stalled Car Stolen and Sold to Salvage Yard: When Alicia Alexander’s car stalled on the Memphis interstate last November, she left it parked on the shoulder for a few hours while she got help from a mechanic.  When she returned, the 1990 Lexus was gone.  It had been stolen and sold to LKQ Auto Parts, a local auto salvage facility.  LKQ began to dismantle the vehicle for parts, removing all four tires, parts of the transmission, and other components.  What would have been a $60 repair is now closer to $3,000.

When they purchased the vehicle, LKQ took the fingerprints of the person selling it.  Police are using that information to try to track down a suspect.  In the mean time, Alexander says LKQ denies any responsibility for the situation and refuses to restore her car to its intact condition.  LKQ did not return calls to Memphis-based WREG.com during the writing of the story.

“I can’t understand how LKQ would purchase the car without checking the VIN number to see that it was stolen,” says Alexander.  Read more here.

New Reality Show to Focus on Salvage Business: A new reality television show on the Discovery channel will focus on the owners of Desert Valley Auto Parts, an auto salvage company with two lots in Arizona.  The show will center on the efforts of father and son team Ron and Jason McClure as the restore classic vehicles.  Each episode of Desert Car Kings, which premiers January 24, will focus on the restoration of a single vehicle.  Viewers will watch as the McClures find the car, fully restore it, and sell it at auction.

“I love working with cars, and I love working with my dad,” Jason McClure told the Phoenix New Times. “Having the cameras around doesn’t change that.” Learn more here.

Canadian Auto Insurance Scam Includes Dozens: There’s no doubt that insurance fraud is big business, but authorities were surprised at the size of a Canada-based insurance fraud ring.  The scam involved over 40 different incidents, a shady rehabilitation clinic, and over ten million dollars. Due to stricter regulation of insurance fraud in the United States, many scam artists have crossed the border to prey on Canadian insurance companies.  This translates to higher premium rates for other drivers.

 

“I would personally just like to see a reduction in rates based on somebody doing something about the fraud,” said Peter Smith, who helped expose a US-based insurance fraud ring in 2002. Read more here.

 

 

How’s Business?

“The person who gets the farthest is generally the one who is willing to do and dare. The sure-thing boat never gets far from shore.”

Dale Carnegie

AutoSalvageconsultant.com was formed in 2001 to help recyclers improve their businesses. The group has become THE definitive source for recyclers’ management and training needs. The founder, Ron Sturgeon is past owner of AAA Small Car World.  In 1999, he sold his six Texas locations, with 140 employees, to Greenleaf.  In 2001, he founded North Texas Insurance Auction, which he sold to Copart in 2002.  In 2009, his book Salvaging More Millions from Your Small Business was published to help small business owners achieve significant success. Ron consults, speaks, and writes about issues key to successful entrepreneurship. Reach Ron at 817-838-8477 8# or contact him on www.autosalvageconsultant.com.