ABAT’s Albert Salinas Gears Up for Retirement After 50-Plus Years in Collision Repair
by Alana Quartuccio
After over 50 years in the auto body business, Albert Salinas has decided it’s time to hang up his toolbelt.
Last month, the veteran collision repair professional announced his retirement from South Houston Nissan where he’s been at the helm of the collision center for more than four decades. He will also depart the ABAT Board of Directors, where he’s been an advocate for safe and proper repairs for many years.
“I’ve been in the business since I was 16 years old when I wrecked my Mom’s car,” recalls Salinas about getting into the field literally by “accident.” His mother put him to work at her cousin’s body shop, and the young Salinas was so taken with the work experience that he wound up with a career that would last the next five decades.
He relished in a great career that began with working at several independent body shops and eventually finding a permanent home at what has been known as South Houston Nissan for the past six years; it was David McDavid Nissan for 35 years prior.
“I’ve been at this same location for 41 years with an outstanding crew who have been with me for 25-30 years,” Salinas reflects.
The downturn in the economy added fuel to his decision to retire, but ultimately, “at 70-years old, I decided I’ve had enough.”
Salinas’ passion for the collision world extended beyond the shop as he dedicated many years to advocating for safe and proper repairs on behalf of consumers via his work with the Houston Auto Body Association (HABA) and later with ABAT.
His work with HABA began nearly 20 years ago. According to Salinas, when members and non-members came together at those meetings, they were all technically competitors in the market, but when in the same room fighting for what’s right for the consumers, “the competition stayed at the door. When we were in a meeting, we were neutral, and we helped each other out.”
HABA eventually merged with ABAT in 2019. Salinas recalls the first time Burl Richards witnessed a HABA association meeting and was amazed to see shop owners coming together in that way. It eventually led to the formation of ABAT, which Richards still serves as president. Salinas came on as an ABAT Board member in 2022.
“We volunteered ourselves, our information, knowledge and education. It didn’t matter if a member was with a dealership or an independent shop, or if they were next door or 100 miles away, we just advocated for the consumer and for the shop to get paid for what’s right and the work that needs to be done.”
Looking back on his solid career, Salinas is most proud of “establishing a good reputable shop that’s on its second and third generation” of employees. A career in collision repair left him with knowledge of how insurance companies operate and their efforts to not pay for necessary repairs. “When I tell people about this, they are flabbergasted to hear what shop owners are up against with these insurance companies.” The biggest challenges he’s had to contend with all these years has been “trying to get paid for what’s right for a correct repair.”
As for work with ABAT, Salinas is proud to say, “Our success story is that we got the insurance industry and the consumers’ attention on what needs to be done.”
As he sets forth into retirement, Salinas isn’t sure what exactly will be on the agenda. For now, he plans to “take it one day at a time and see what the good Lord brings us. I’m very pleased to have had a successful career at this facility with a great crew.”
His advice to others in the industry is to “keep up the good work and keep fighting – because if we don’t, we will go backwards.”
Want more? Check out the May 2025 issue of Texas Automotive!