PITTSFIELD, Mass. - Many auto body shops in Berkshire County are seeing part shortages and supply chain disruptions from 2022 carry into 2023, causing headaches for customers and technicians alike.
What You Need To Know
- Auto body shops are seeing part shortages and supply chain disruptions from 2022 carry into 2023
- John Bilotta, owner of both Pittsfield Quality Auto Body and John’s Automotive in Pittsfield, said his shops are having to wait for all kinds of parts for all makes and models
- Car owners getting in winter accidents are seeing long waits to get their cars looks at
- The Pittsfield Police Department reported 69 minor motor vehicle accidents between 4:15 p.m. Dec. 23 and 3:51 p.m. Dec. 25 alone
Pittsfield Quality Auto Body is working to repair a 2022 Jeep as fast as they can after an accident in the fall, but they can only work with what they’ve got.
As car owners in the area wait for their vehicles and others struggle to make new appointments, John Bilotta said the problem stems from the availability of shops and parts.
“We have very poor availability of body shops and repair shops in the area," Bilotta said, "People are just closing up. And then getting a hold of these parts, it’s crazy.”
Bilotta said customers of essentially every make and model should be prepared to wait if their car needs work these days.
“I’m being told by Honda right now a full year before we see certain parts,” Bilotta said.
As invoices from months ago pile up with parts just coming in, Bilotta said another issue his shops have run into with new electrical parts is sometimes they just don’t work.
“The other problem we’re having is parts failure," Bilotta said. "New out of the box, about 35% failure of new parts failure.”
Failure on parts across the board leading to frustration for both technicians and customers.
"Well, it's frustrating for them to put a new part in and have it fail right out of the box," Bilotta said. "And then they go back and question whether or not they diagnosed it right - 99% of the time they did. And the frustration on the customers end. They get a new part in, we get the car and finally get it repaired and call them back and tell them - sorry, part doesn't work."
Despite all the bumps in the road, Bilotta said passion is what keeps him going.
“I like what I’m doing, that’s the key," Bilotta said. "You’ve got to like what you’re doing.”
Adding to the list of issues, Bilotta also spoke about the industry-wide problem of staffing, with what he said has been a 20% decrease in new people coming into the auto technician trade.
His message to customers is to be patient and work with auto body shops as they work to get cars back on the roads.