WMABA Member Profile: From Disco Ball to German Luxury: A New Era at Tysons Corner Collision Center

by Chasidy Rae Sisk

If you look closely at the ceiling of Tysons Corner Collision Center (Vienna, VA), you might spot a relic from a different era: a disco ball.

Long before it was a state-of-the-art repair facility, the building served as the local ice skating rink. Today, the ice skates and Zamboni are gone, the disco lights are replaced by high-efficiency LEDs, and the only things gliding across the floor are some of the most expensive German-engineered machines in the world.

For General Manager Ian Martin, the transition from a place of leisure to a place of precision is a metaphor for the shop’s evolution. “It’s a beautiful place to work – heated, air-conditioned and packed with top-tier equipment, but what truly makes it special is the culture we’re building within these walls.”

Martin’s path to the helm of a Penske Automotive-owned facility wasn’t a straight line; it was a journey marked by grit and a literal change of heart. After a brief stint in a body shop fresh out of high school, he stepped away from the industry to pursue other goals, working in the golf industry while pursuing an education at Northern Virginia Community College (NOVA) and then transferring to George Mason University; however, life threw a massive curveball. “I was hospitalized for two months and had open-heart surgery,” Martin shares. “When I was ready to return to full-time work, my doctor forbade me from working and going to school simultaneously. I had to make a choice.”

He returned to his roots, heading back to the BMW shop where he had worked a decade prior. He started from scratch at age 31, spending nearly five years mastering the nuances of high-end repair. After a successful tenure turning around shops for other dealer groups, the opportunity to lead Tysons Corner Collision Center arose. “I took over in January 2024, coming in with a month-and-a-half-old baby at home and a new challenge to grow this shop. I’m not afraid of a challenge,” Martin shares.

And as he’s built his family at home, he’s found another family in the shop. “Penske has been incredible. They are very employee-centric. They give me the freedom to make sure my team is taken care of, which allows us to create a true family environment.”

Tysons Corner Collision Center occupies a prime piece of real estate neighboring several luxury German dealerships; with Mercedes-Benz, Porsche and Audi dealerships just a stone’s throw away, the shop’s clientele is as elite as it gets. “We’re fixing $350,000 Porsche 911 GT3s,” Martin notes. “When someone spends that kind of money on a vehicle, they don’t want corners cut. That is what sets us apart – we have no DRPs. We don’t bow down to insurance companies, and we don’t use aftermarket parts.”

As a certified shop for Audi, Jaguar, Land Rover, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche and Volkswagen, the shop’s philosophy is rooted in a total commitment to OEM requirements. For Martin, the reason is simple: liability and safety. As vehicles become more autonomous and sensor-heavy, the margin for error disappears. “You have to follow OEM guidelines explicitly,” he insists. “Even down to a front bumper, we stay OEM because we need to guarantee the thickness of the material. If the plastic is too thick or the paint is too heavy, the sensors won’t read correctly. If I’m unwilling to put my wife and children in that car, I’m certainly not putting a customer in it.”

To maintain these standards, the shop invests heavily in its team of 26 employees. Training isn’t a one-time event at Tysons Corner; it’s a weekly occurrence. “We have people training all over the country on a regular basis,” Martin explains. “Just this week, we had three people at three different specialized schools. I’m very selective about who I hire – I want people who fit our culture and want to grow. In fact, I recently interviewed someone who said they didn’t want my job. I want the opposite. I want everyone on my team to want to take my job one day, because that means they’re striving to be the best.”

Despite the shop’s high-end niche, they aren’t immune to the industry-wide struggle with insurance carriers. Martin views the relationship as a “constant battle” over documentation. “The insurance company’s job is to fix the car as cheaply as possible; our job is to fix it correctly. Most adjusters are reasonable, but they want proof. That’s where our OEM certifications are our greatest weapon. We provide the documentation to prove every single procedure is required. It’s hard for them to argue with the manufacturer’s own blueprints.”

Previously-repaired vehicles that have been brought to Tysons Corner for repairs after subsequent accidents have given Martin a first-hand view of what happens when those blueprints aren’t followed. “We see repairs that should have never happened. How can a shop claim to be certified, which requires installing OEM parts, while simultaneously being on a DRP that forces them to use aftermarket parts? We recently disassembled a car that needed a new quarter panel on the passenger side. The customer told us she had that exact repair completed a year prior by another shop, but we could clearly see where they had cut corners instead of following the OEM guidelines for that repair.”

Tysons Corner Collision Center has a long history with WMABA; the previous GM even served as the association’s vice president. For Martin, the association provides a vital platform for shops to communicate and learn best practices from their peers. “WMABA does a good job of bringing shops together that wouldn’t necessarily talk to each other and create referral networks. If I’m not certified in a particular brand but a neighboring shop is, I can refer that client to them to ensure the car is fixed safely. We have to work together because insurance companies have the money and the lobbyists to rewrite laws in their favor. We only have our expertise and each other.”

As Tysons Corner Collision Center continues to grow under Martin’s leadership, the goal remains the same: perfection. Whether they are navigating the complexities of a $3,000 ADAS calibration or simply ensuring a bumper is painted to factory specifications, the team at Tysons knows that their work is about more than just aesthetics.

“We’re moving into an era of autonomous vehicles where the stakes are higher than ever,” Martin concludes. “At the end of the day, it’s about doing the right thing for the person behind the wheel – it’s about making sure their vehicles are safe to drive.”

Want more? Check out the May 2026 issue of Hammer & Dolly!