Body Shop Express in the Midway District is a family owned- and operated business certified to fix collision-damaged vehicles in half the usual time.
The key is experience – and technology, said Body Shop Express owner Patrick O’Neill.
“Our objective is to provide a full-service, collision-repair facility for the future,” said O’Neill, a Point Loma resident. “We guarantee our work for as long as you own the vehicle. And the insurance companies we do business with back up our guarantee with their own guarantee.”
O’Neill has run the full-service collision repair shop at 3777 Gaines St. with his son Christopher for the past nine months.
Between them, the father-son duo have more than 55 years of ownership and management experience. Patrick runs and operates an import business of very advanced collision repair technology. Christopher runs the collision business incorporating the latest technology and repair procedures in the industry.
O’Neill said Body Shop Express is the type of shop everyone – customers, insurers, manufacturers – wants to deal with because they have a proven, more efficient operating system.
“Typically, the average, $2,500 repair time across the United States for collision is roughly eight to nine days,” O’Neill said noting high-tech robots he employs with his system in painting and other aspects of repairs cuts the time involved about in half.
A walk-thru of Body Shop’s shop is an eye opener. Several cars are being worked on, in various stages of repair, at the same time.
“We have a robot that we use to cure (painting) the product that’s twice as fast,” said O’Neill adding he’s currently processing about 55 cars per week where, otherwise, he would only get about 25 done per week.
O’Neill started his collision repair business in 1998 in Arizona. He sold a total of eight collision repair shops in Tucson, Phoenix and Las Vegas in 2012.
Now the auto-repair pro is locked into doing business in San Diego. He said the key to business success in the auto-repair industry wherever you go remains unchanged.
“We’re customer oriented and customer- and insurance-friendly,” he said. “We built a $24 million a year business in sales by taking care of customers.”
Another essential component to doing business in today’s auto-collision repair industry is to thoroughly network with manufacturers and insurers.
“We’re in an industry where, if you want to stay busy in the future, you have to have the proper training to fix cars correctly,” O’Neill said, adding it’s also critical to “have insurance relationships and high customer satisfaction.”
Bodyshop Express is a certified collision repair facility for OEM manufacturers including Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA), ProFirst certified by American Honda Motor Co. Inc., Nissan, Ford, Infiniti and Hyundai.
For more information, call 619-732-6300 or visit www.BodyShopExpress.com. Where: 3777 Gaines St. in Midway District. Hours: Mondays to Fridays 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Contact: www.BodyShopExpress.com, 619-732-6300.