The Cost of Cutting Corners

by Ken Miller, AASP/NJ President

There is a growing problem in our industry, and it deserves to be called out.

As collision claims continue to decline across the country and insurers total more vehicles at lower thresholds, repairable cars are becoming harder to come by. The pressure on shops to stay busy and profitable has never been greater. Unfortunately, some have chosen a path that threatens the very foundation of our trade: compromising repair quality to keep a job from being declared a total loss.

Let’s be clear. This is not innovation. It is deception.

Altering repair plans, skipping critical procedures, performing improper sectioning or leaving frame damage uncorrected just to preserve a repair order is not only dishonest; it is dangerous. These shortcuts put families back on the road in vehicles that may no longer perform as engineered in a subsequent crash. That is something no ethical professional should ever be willing to do.

Across the state, post-repair inspection requests are rising sharply. Independent inspectors are uncovering a disturbing number of incomplete, unsafe and concealed repairs: structural welds left undone, crushed rails straightened instead of replaced and calibrations skipped entirely. Each of these findings represents a betrayal of trust. The vehicle owner believed they were getting their car back safe and sound. Instead, they were handed back a risk they never agreed to take.

We also cannot ignore the growing role insurers play in this problem. In their drive for cost containment, many refuse to pay for required OEM procedures, structural parts or necessary calibrations. This forces honest repairers into an impossible position: either absorb the cost and lose money…or compromise the repair and risk the safety of the customer. Neither option is acceptable.

Every time a shop chooses profit over proper repair or allows insurer pressure to dictate the quality of its work, it erodes consumer confidence and damages the credibility of every professional who does things the right way.

The good news is that the solution lies within our own hands. We can choose to be better. We can refuse to participate in shortcuts disguised as savings born from insurer pressure. We can recommit to the principles that built this industry: integrity, craftsmanship and accountability.

Our responsibility is to those who trust us with their safety and their families’ lives. They assume we are the experts. They assume we care. Let’s live up to that assumption every day. The future of this industry will be defined not by those who cut corners, but by those who refuse to.

Want more? Check out the November 2025 issue of New Jersey Automotive!