Certifications

ICBC had their c.a.r Shop accreditation program for almost 25 years, from 1995 to early 2020. Tsawwassen collision had been accredited in the highest levels of this program since its inception in 1995.

As a standard for repair quality the ICBC program had fallen behind over the years and was not up to the reality of modern cars. In 2018 ICBC started planning a new program with more relevant equipment and training requirements. This program, the ICBC Collision Repair Network, was implemented in early 2020, with the equipment requirements mandatory in January 2021. At Tsawwassen Collision we viewed their equipment requirements as a basic minimum, and we had been well ahead of these for many years. ICBC training requirements are fully met with our I-CAR Gold status.

The BC ARA Certified Collision Repair (CCR) program operates collaboratively with the national Canadian Collision Industry Accreditation Program and recognizes the specialized equipment that is needed for correct vehicle repairs as well as the training for the correct use of this equipment.

The requirements for Certified Collision Repairer recognition are more rigorous than the those of the ICBC Collision Repair Network.

The Inter-Industry Conference on Auto Collision Repair (I-CAR) was started in the mid-70s in America as a non- profit organization with membership from all areas of the collision repair industry. The primary objective of the program is the providing of training and technical resources for technicians and others working in collision repair. Today I-CAR licenses its programs in Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

For many years training in BC was dominated by the requirements of ICBC and I-CAR had a very limited presence here. In 2015 management at ICBC realized that training of the industry should not be a core part of their business and they have moved away from their training role. With this change the I-CAR program became the training standard for progressive shops in BC.

In mid-2016, of the more than 450 ICBC accredited shops in BC, Tsawwassen Collision was one of only 23 that had become involved in the I-CAR program. In October 2016, the first of these shops achieved Gold Class level and in December 2016 Tsawwassen Collision was the 9th. We have maintained this every year since and added Gold Class Aluminum in 2019.

Managing a certification program is hard, and at this time none of the mainline manufacturers manage their own. GM, Mazda, and Subaru do not offer collision certification programs in Canada.

From 2018 through 2022 Tsawwassen Collision was certified, through a third party certification organization, by Ford, Kia, Nissan, FCA (Fiat Chrysler America), Honda/Acura, Hyundai and Genesis. Over the last two years we found that these certifications had become very weak. There would be a cursory inspection of equipment once a year, a checklist of documents and then very little contact and really no support. If we wanted to do a proper repair, as we always did, it would be up to us to find the information and do the right work. Nobody checked and nobody helped. There truly was very little behind the plaques on the wall and at the 2023 renewal we dropped the program.

Other manufacturers put conditions on their certification programs that have nothing to do with repair quality. Tsawwassen Collision meets all Toyota repair capability requirements, but Toyota adds the requirement that the repair shop be sponsored by the local dealer. If, as in our case, that dealer has its own collision shop they will refuse to sponsor any other shop to encourage as much work as possible to their own facility.

Infiniti requires a paid subscription to a data collecting service which funnels information on every repair back to Infiniti. Many people are getting tired of constant data collection but even if we accepted it at Tsawwassen Collision our in-house custom designed software systems are not compatible with the data collection system required. Complicated, but nothing to do with repair quality.

The Luxury Brands

The cars cost a lot and the certification programs are very specific and also cost a lot. Tsawwassen Collision focuses on the local community, driving a wide range of vehicles. While our equipment covers the core requirements for these luxury brands there are still significant costs to complete the process, and these would not be justified by the volume we would do. The business model of a facility set up for repair of extensive damage to luxury vehicles is very different from the business model that works for a facility working on a broad range of vehicles and damage types.

That said, we are very comfortable with these cars and very importantly understand our limitations. Damage to a late model luxury car that does not extend into the main structure of the vehicle is well within our capabilities and we have complete confidence in the repair. If the impact is severe and the structure of the car has been affected, we know that without the very intensive brand specific training and tools we should not start that work. We appreciate the trust of our customers who bring this type of work to us while we refer the work to one of the fully certified facilities.

The manufacturer certification is focused on this structural work and many of them restrict sales of structural parts to only certified shops. Our local dealers know us and they sell us unrestricted parts with confidence.