by Ken Hendricks, ARA senior industry advisor A recent government announcement focuses on an issue with a long and turbulent history. In the post-war economic boom of the 1950s, mechanics came from all over to work on the growing number of new cars in British Columbia. Many of these mechanics came from the prairie provinces, […]
Skilled Trades Certification: 70 Years in the Making Read More »
by Iva Kestrankova Ed Tretwold retires after 51 years of operating Coast Import Auto Supply. In November 1990, the ARA’s periodical, Automotive Retailer, published a profile with the title A Chairman’s Work Is Never Done, about thenchairman of the ARA’s British Columbia Auto Recyclers division, Ed Tretwold. Fast forward 21 years and Ed has sold
Ed Tretwold: The Chairman’s Work Is Done Read More »
ICBC has announced that fees for the sanitization of vehicles will no longer be paid effective September 7, in line with step 4 of BC’s Four Step Restart. Step 4 sees us moving from a COVID-19 Safety Plan to a Communicable Disease Plan, this means: The COVID-19-specific controls of the COVID-19 Safety Plan will no
ICBC to Drop Allowance For Vehicle Sanitization Read More »
Courtesy of Vehicle Sales Authority of British Columbia (VSA) Please be on the alert for suspicious credit card transactions. An incident has been reported surrounding suspicious credit card transactions with a potential of credit card fraud. Scenario: An attempt to pay for a car was made, using only the credit card numbers without the physical card
Vehicle Sales Authority: Credit Card Fraud Alert Read More »
The Automotive Retailers Association (ARA) applauds today’s announcement by the B.C. government that skilled trades certification is coming to the province in the near future. The association has long-advocated for skilled trades certification for the automotive repair sector, citing that British Columbia is the only Canadian province that does not already have such requirements in
Skilled Trades Certification Coming to B.C. Read More »
RoadSafetyBC has announced a forthcoming increase in the Impound Lot Operator program rates. Following numerous consultations between the ARA and RoadSafetyBC, this $20 increase will be applied to the existing $35.00 admin fee (negotiated on your behalf by the ARA in 2014). The new rate becomes effective July 1st, and only for vehicles impounded after
Impound Lot Operators Program: Increase in Rates Read More »
Are you leaving money on the table? Some towing companies are not charging ICBC for using dollies through the loading and securing vehicle fee (article 4) on the CL332. Load and secure can be applied if loading and securing takes more than 10 minutes. ICBC will accept charges for use of dollies under this category.
ICBC Accepts Charges for Use of Dollies Read More »
by David Ribeiro, ARA senior industry relations advisor Making a business decision without having enough valid information can be difficult. Bearing in mind that “you don’t know what you don’t know,” there is one thing I do know for sure and that is that data will talk to you, if you are willing to listen.
New ICBC Data: Vehicle Crashes & Population Read More »
by Iva Kestrankova (Photo courtesy of Trina Wong) After 32 years of juggling her automotive career with many outdoor activities, Trina Wong recently announced her well-deserved early retirement to commit fully to her family and doing what she loves. When Trina Wong started with Klassic Auto Body, she did not have any automotive experience, but thanks to
With Hard Work Comes Opportunity Read More »
The ARA continues to work with AutoHouse Technologies in summarizing the collision repair industry data on a quarterly basis. This information helps industry to better understand their performance and provides us metrics to better ascertain our performance against other provinces that utilize a crown insurance model (British Columbia, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan). ***Thank you to the
Q1 2021 B.C. Provincial Benchmark Results Read More »