Choice Autobody Repair Association fixing cars, industry

Local business supports consumers’ rights regarding insurance coverage

By KAY SEDGMER, Times Leader Staff Writer
CADIZ - “It’s about the consumer,” said Rick Finney. “It just isn’t about the the repair shop or the insurance company. It really is about the consumer and the rights they have to make their own choice.”

Finney, of Cadiz, is the founder and president of the national Choice Autobody Repair Association (CARA) and said he started the organization out of frustration.

“I was really just tired of a customer coming into my shop and apologizing saying they couldn’t have repairs done here because some insurance company told them they had to go to ‘their’ approved shop,” he said. “That’s against the law. Consumers do have the right to decide who will repair their vehicle and how it is done, what parts are used. You do not have to accept ‘counterfeit’ parts. You can work with the repair shop of your choice.”

Owner of Finney Automotive Inc. in Cadiz, Finney knows what he is talking about. He has been in the industry for the past 30 years, operating his own business since 1991.

CARA is open to any industry business in the country, has been getting a great deal of attention in recent months. “We started the association right here in the Ohio Valley about one year ago,” Finney said. “We are growing because our industry does want to educate the consumer. We want to do what it is right.”

Finney has been traveling throughout Ohio and has also made trips throughout the country promoting the association.

“People are interested. We are getting new members all the time,” he said. “Communication is the key to our industry. I don’t look at this as being just a bunch of single shops. We are an industry that should come together to further ourselves and the industry as a whole. A nationwide association is a great way to move forward.

“CARA is not ‘anti’ anything,” said Finney. “We are pro-consumer and our only additional interest is to promote collision education and establish good relationships between the body shops and businesses in the industry.”

Yet, Finney wants the consumer to do their homework when it comes to selecting a business to complete body work on vehicles.

“Just do your research,” he said. “When you go into a shop simply ask to see their state registration.”

He said the registration ensures that a business is insured and also is accountable for their work.

However, there is an exception. “New and used car dealerships do not need to register with the state,” he said. “They are monitored through a state inspector.”

The Cadiz business man is a board member of the Ohio Board of Motor Vehicle Collision Repair Registration. He was appointed to the advisory committee for the Ohio Department of Insurance and is also an advisory committee member for the Belmont/Harrison County Career Center.

Consumers can visit CARA at www.c-a-r-a.org or call 1-877-635-2272 or (740) 491-2736 for more information. In addition, you can find a vast amount of industry information at the Ohio Board’s website at www.collisionboard.ohio.gov/.

“Our top priority at CARA is to empower the consumer, because unfortunately, all too often it’s taken out of their hands,” Finney said.

Sedgmer can be reached at ksedgmer@timesleaderonline.com.