Holiday spirit

This is a picture from San Rafael's 2011 Holiday parade.  What fun we had riding in a fully decorated 1973 Cadillac convertible on the day after Thanksgiving!

Happy Holidays from the Bertolli family to all our loyal customers.  Best wishes for a happy, healthy, and love-filled new year.

Insurance company warranty on auto body repairs??

One of the ways that an insurance company will 'steer' a customer to a specific shop is the use of manipulative statements.  Some we've heard is that the shop is not on our List, so you may have to pay out of pocket for some of the repairs, since THAT shop is SO expensive!  Another is that there may be a delay in the repair time because we have to go out to that shop and INSPECT the vehicle. 
But the most comical statement is that the insurance company will guarantee the work if you use one of the shops on their List.  Since when is the insurance company set up to fix shoddy work?
We are not on any insurance Lists (although we would be if the agreement was fair), and for some reason, customers bring their vehicles to us after having used the shop on the the List.  We understand that in order to make any money at the shops on the List, some corners may have to be cut.  Or maybe the technicians are paid on commission (flat rate), so they hurry repairs and thus make mistakes.  All I can say is that in each case, the insurance company PAID us to do the repairs, and their "warranty" is to make the original shop reimburse the insurance company.
Keep in mind these 'benefits' to using a shop on the List the next time you have an insurance claim.  Save yourself a step and come directly to us for a no obligation, free estimate.

Top Gear (BBC version)

This has got to be one of the best shows about cars on TV right now.  Premise:  get a comedian who loves cars to test them, rate them, race them and generally do crazy stuff on camera.  I love the host, Jeremy Clarkson, and I urge you to check it out.  Yes, people, I watch car shows in my off time.  It's a disease.

This is the pic from last year's Best of Marin story in the Pacific Sun. I thought I'd update the blog and throw a fun picture in. Our business is good and we are able to continue to employ everyone in the shot. We work hard to do a quality job so that most of our work is referrals from other happy customers. Thanks for reading and happy summer!

Water-borne paint is here

Over the past 20 plus years of running Bertolli's, there have been many changes in the way we paint cars. Before my time, there was lacquer. A thin hard paint that was applied in many coats and polished to look great. Unfortunately, the hardness of the paint led to a short paint life and eventually the paint would crack into 'chickenfeet'. You can see this on some classic cars that haven't been restored.
When I entered the industry, urethane was just taking hold. Single stage paint was still being used, but more and more manufacturers were using a base coat/clear coat system which looked shinier and had more durability due to the clear coat. Solvent based urethane has worked well for almost twenty years, but the effect on the environment has brought us water-borne paint.
We have been using water-based primers for a few years and have had excellent results. This was the first stage in lowering the VOC or volatile organic compounds, that are released into the air during the paint process. Solvents are mixed with pigments and applied through spray guns, and then the solvent would evaporate, leaving the color behind. Now water will be used instead of solvent.
We have heat for our paint booth, but we will need air flow to dry the water-based paint. The clear coat is still solvent based, so the heat will still be used for the top coat. The painter needs to have two paint guns in order to avoid contamination. We will also need an additional paint gun washer specifically for water-based sprayguns.
Water-borne finishes take longer to cure, so only a mild soap and water solution should be used for cleaning for the first three weeks. After that, the finish can be maintained as before.

New professional head shot

Stuart Lirette, Marin IJ photographer, took my headshot yesterday and gave me a copy of the one he likes best. Thank you Stuart! Keep an eye out for the Marin Women Businesses insert in an upcoming issue. I'd love your feedback.

Car and Driver article

I just read a humorous article in Car and Driver entitled, "10 Used Cars to Avoid" written by John Pearley Huffman. My favorite part is about salvage titled vehicles:

Insurance companies aren’t in the business of losing money. So it’s a good bet that if a car has been written off as a total loss, it’s because it really was a total loss. If it had been worth fixing, the insurance company would have fixed it.

It’s simple: If a car is so badly damaged that it can’t be fixed to an insurance company’s slight standards, to what standards could it have been fixed?

So Insurance companies have slight standards?? Who knew? The point I'd like to make is, please, please listen to your auto body shop about the correct way to fix your vehicle. And forget, or don't believe what the insurance company says about the 'correct' way to fix a damaged car. They will tell you that the body shop is just 'ripping you off', but in reality, it's the other way around.

Please get an estimate from a body shop when your vehicle is involved in a collision and THEN go to the insurance company, so you will have an idea of the necessary repairs and true cost of the repairs.

To read the entire article, go to
http://autos.yahoo.com/articles/autos_content_landing_pages/909/10-used-cars-to-avoid/;_ylc=X3oDMTE1N2g4Z2k1BF9TAzI3MTYxNDkEc2VjA2ZwLXRvZGF5BHNsawN1c2VkLWNhcnM-,