Laura Bertolli

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 hurr...

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!

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 d...

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.

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 aroun...

On Thursday, February 26, 2009, this scene unfolded in front of the shop. The BMW was turning into our driveway when a Ford Econoline van, without slowing down, slammed into the BMW. The driver of the BMW was injured and was taken to the hospital in an ambulance. The roadway was blocked for over an hour. Needless to say, we didn't repair either vehicle. I think the BMW might be a total loss and the van was from out of town and still drivable !

Everyone is feeling the pinch of tough economic times. In the auto industry, we hear of dealers closing on a weekly, if not daily, basis. People are losing their jobs, which leads to them possibly losing their homes. The cost of fuel has affected the amount of driving people do. Some trends that affect the auto industry are: *Poor condition of local roads. Government is feeling the pinch and infrastructure budgets are not able to keep up with the deterioration of roads, bridges, asphalt and concrete. Bad roads put added stress on vehicles. Trucks and SUVs take the stress on the frame. Cars feel pressure on the unibody , which absorbs the flexing and stress on the structure of the vehicle. *Cars are lasting longer. As is evident by the closing of auto dealers, people just aren't buying new cars unless they absolutely have to. Americans are keeping their cars 9.2 years, the oldest age for the average in a decade. Cars will have more rust, minor body damage, and...

Handwashing is easier on your car's finish and will give you better results. Start with the tires and wheels and switch to a different mitt once you're finished. Using the tire mitt on the body can leave unwanted particles on the paint and even scratch the finish. High-quality cleaners for tires and rims will ensure a longer lasting shine. Most of the dirt that appears on wheels comes from brake dust. A good quality rim cleaner will repel this dust, leaving the wheel looking like new longer. As for the tires themselves, dishwashing detergent and a stiff bristled brush work well to get into the pores of the tire and clean out the embedded dirt. When washing the body, be sure to use a product designed to be used specifically on car paint. Some household cleaners, such as dish detergent, can damage the finish. Start at the top and work with gravity, making your way downward, washing one section at a time. Rinse each section thoroughly. The rear of the car should b...

So I have to commute every day from Novato to San Rafael. This 20 mile drive takes between 30 minutes to an hour and a half, depending on traffic. Usually it takes about 50 minutes. Today I saw a woman on the phone with one hand and eating a burrito with the other!!! She was weaving in and out of traffic. This, just minutes after coming to a quick stop with the car behind me quickly stopping only inches from my rear bumper. I looked in my rear view mirror, and about four cars back, a car hit the car in front of it setting off a chain reaction, ending with the car directly behind me. I was happy to not be in that and happy that maybe one of the four cars would end up at my business!! Harsh, but true. Thankfully many drivers are distracted thereby ensuring my business success. Please drive safely!!!!

This story will be aired tonight at 11 pm on Bay Area channel 7. Check out the pic when he was in the shop interviewing me for the story. Pretty cool, huh?

Today at 6 pm on ABC channel 7 in the Bay Area, I will be on Michael Finney's Seven on your Side segment. He did a story on aftermarket parts and the autobody industry. New legislation introduced in the California State Senate would penalize insurers that require repair shops to install aftermarket parts on a vehicle that is still under factory warranty. The bill (S.B. 1059) was introduced in January by Senator Carole Migden (D-San Francisco) and sponsored by the Collision Repair Association of California (CRA). The bill is designed to prevent repairers and customers from inadvertently voiding the factory warranty on a vehicle in case of a failure caused by an aftermarket part. A few weeks ago, Michael, Sen. Migden, my customer, Tommy Kesecker and i were filmed for the piece at Bertolli's Auto Body. I support the bill. I'd love to hear from you if you see it.

to past and future customers of Bertolli's Auto Body. In this day and age of corporate greed, the insurance companies are making it harder for consumers to exercise their legal right to use the auto body repairer of their choice. There is an anti-steering law, but it is never enforced, so the insurance companies break the law all day long. Most people just don't want to fight for their rights and simply go where ever the insurance company tells them to go. This restraints fair trade and affects the quality of auto repairs. The shops on 'the list' are really extensions of the insurance company and the first thing on their mind is to save the insurance company money or risk losing the 'list' status. At Bertolli's , we're not on any list because we want to fix cars the way WE (the repair professionals) would want our car fixed, and at a fair price. Our customers have to be strong willed and courageous to stand up to the insurance company and say, ...

You may have seen the recent 'advertorial' in the Marin IJ. It was in a special section entitled, "Women in Business". Here's the pic. I also attended the annual 'Women in Business' conference sponsored by the Marin chambers of commerce. The keynote speaker was Jill Eikenberry, actress, producer and activist. She was very inspiring. I listened to talks about the female brain and then one on sales. All in all, a very productive day networking. This conference always builds my confidence since the presentations are usually about things I'm already doing in my business. GO SISTERS!

With Premium Gasoline up to $3.99, I thought you might like these practical tips that will help you get the most gasoline for your money. They are from a person who works at a petroleum company in San Jose: 1. Only buy or fill up your car or truck in the early morning when the ground temperature is still cold. Remember that all service stations have their storage tanks buried below ground. The colder the ground the more dense the gasoline, when it gets warmer gasoline expands, so buying in the afternoon or in the evening....your gallon is not exactly a gallon. In the petroleum business, the specific gravity and the temperature of the gasoline, diesel and jet fuel, ethanol and other petroleum products plays an important role. A 1-degree rise in temperature is a big deal for this business. But the service stations do not have temperature compensation at the pumps. 2. When you're filling up do not squeeze the trigger of the nozzle to a fast mode. If you look you will see that the...

I see that the last time I updated this blog was over two months ago! My nephew's death took a toll on the entire family and I didn't start to come out of the funk it caused until recently. Now I want to get back to talking about auto body and insurance issues. The local paper, The Marin Independent Journal, had an article this weekend about the medical field (which, because of its strong ties to insurance, is similar to the autobody industry). Patients are getting billed the difference between what their medical provider pays for services and the actual costs from the doctors who provide those services. Doctors are finally doing what dentists have been doing forever. So sorry, your insurance didn't pay the full amount, you need to pay the difference! (http://www.marinij.com//ci_7494816) Gone are the days where you got three estimates for autobody repair and the insurance paid one of them (usually the lowest). Gone are the days where the adjuster worked wit...

The newest member of the Bertolli family, Anthony, born April 9, 2007, died today of SIDS. The family was going out of town for the weekend and went in to get him up from his nap and he had stopped breathing. What was supposed to be a fun getaway weekend has turned into the worst day of our lives. My sister and husband are hysterical and the rest of us are pretty wrecked. Here I am, crying, unable to sleep and typing furiously just to keep myself busy. This is a reminder that we must treat those we love with gratitude and affection because they could be gone from our lives in an instant. I only wish I could wake up from this and find out it was just a bad dream - the worst nightmare I could have. But I WILL have to wake up and life WILL go on. I know this in my head, but my heart is screaming to stop the pain.

Hi everyone! Just got back from LA and the biggest HIN show! In the pic is Mike Garcia, the Custom Shop Manager for B. Customs. We took the 95 Toy Supra and the car was a big crowd favorite. Unfortunately, we didn't win any awards, but we're gonna do a little work on the car and the display and maybe in Alameda on Sept. 29th, we'll get something! I enjoyed the show and saw many interesting modifications. One thing I heard is that carbon fiber parts are the new chrome. These carbon fiber parts were everywhere - the hoods, spoilers, bumpers, interior door trim panels, dashboards, and even headliners! Most of the cars had doors that were modified lambo, suicide, vertical, door handles shaved, even MagicTouch where you touch the door somewhere and it pops open. Paint jobs aren't as important at this show as much as performance, suspension, wheels, roll cages, carbon fiber, audio/video and such. I saw a rear bumper with two TV screens in the corners - wild! I have more pix ...

They call it Hot August Nights San Anselmo. This car show benefits the town's holiday lights fund. In January 2005, San Anselmo was under 4 feet of water and the flood devastated both merchants and residents alike. Why, city hall just opened this week after 20 months of rebuilding. Funding was lost for the holiday lights, so Helen and her daughter, Lauren Gregory of Bloomworks put together this fundraiser, among others so the town could celebrate the holidays in style and welcome visitors back to their newly remodeled shopping district. The car show was a success. Seventy seven cars were rejected and the money refunded because of lack of space. The cars that did make it were amazing. The best of show went to a '56 Kaiser Darrin - cream color exterior and red interior. Flawless beauty and the cool thing is that the doors open into the fenders - a pocket door on a car!!! I also saw a '61 Pontiac Catalina, the first car I drove and very seldom seen at car shows. I was driving ...

Hello all, Check out bertollis.com where you will enter a portal to choose either Bertolli's Auto Body or B. Customs, the new custom shop. We have been busy working on the '95 Toy Supra that will be entered in Hot Import Nites next weekend in LA. The office remodel is about 90% complete and we hope to have a ribbon cutting party sometime in October. Other than that, summer is almost over, with the kids returning to school. That means that life will be more routine and we can gear up for a busy fall and winter at the shops. I'll be at the San Anselmo car show this Sunday, 8/19/07 and at the Fairfax car show on 9/9/07. Come out, check out the cars and say hello. Yours truly, Laura