IN THIS ISSUE

Collision Repair · General Auto Repair · Tire & Wheel · Auto Glass · Towing & Roadside · Car Wash & Detailing

What to do about it: Pull your parts ledger for the last 12 months and flag every airbag, inflator, module or steering-wheel cover bought through a marketplace; those VINs are your exposure. Name one approved source for restraint parts this week -- dealer, OEM-authorized supplier or licensed dismantler -- and put it in writing for whoever buys parts. If a seller account was part of your salvage income, clear the listings yourself: eBay-initiated removals do not count against compliance history, but relisting can cost you selling privileges. Add a line to every restraint estimate recording the part's source and invoice number. If you suspect a counterfeit inflator in a car on your lot, do not probe the terminals; call the OEM, then NHTSA at 888-327-4236 or Homeland Security Investigations.

Why it matters: NADA's first-half figures, reported September 23, put dealership body shop sales at $3.94 billion, up 0.8% from $3.91 billion a year earlier but still 1.7% below the $4.01 billion of first-half 2024. Volume held up because sales per repair order rose nearly 10%; the shop count did not. The 1.5-point drop in franchised dealers running an on-site shop, the largest midyear decline in at least eight years, pushes collision volume -- especially warranty-adjacent and OEM-certified work -- toward independents and MSOs. Ask the service directors at the two or three nearest dealers whether their body shop is still open. If it closed, get on their referral list before an MSO does.

Why it matters: The Oklahoma law, in force since November 2025, caps storage on total-loss vehicles at $39 a day for the first ten days and $75 a day after that, and limits billable administrative labor to four hours. Twelve collision shops and a state association sued, arguing it singles out one trade while salvage yards, mechanical shops and dealerships face no such limit. A dismissal motion was denied in June 2026 and both sides have moved for summary judgment. Oklahoma Farm Bureau, the state's seventh-largest personal auto writer at 3.6% share, filed its amicus brief September 1 citing operators charging $250 a day and one $3,550 storage bill. No trial date is set. Price the four-hour admin ceiling into your rate sheet now.

Why it matters: Three F-150 campaigns -- NHTSA 26V576, 26V577 and 26V578 -- cover roughly 223,500 trucks for incorrectly manufactured rear-axle tail bearings, improperly tightened suspension fasteners and an unsecured fuel tank. Ford also recalled 2,711 2026 Broncos for a metal burr that can tear a curtain airbag (26V580), 86 Mustang Mach-Es (26V582) and seven Explorers (26V581); Toyota recalled 8,521 C-HR EVs (26V570). Dealers do the remedy work, but customers ask you first. Carfax's tracker, updated September 14, says about one in five vehicles on U.S. roads carries an unfixed recall, including 1.3 million under do-not-drive orders. Run the VIN at write-up and note the result on the order.

Why it matters: State Farm's September 15 release covers July 1, 2025 through June 30, 2026: $1.9 billion paid by that insurer alone and more than 1.6 million animal-collision claims industry-wide. National odds improved to one in 145 from one in 139, but claims peak in the October-to-December rut. For a general repair shop the work is radiators, condensers, cooling fans, hoods, lamps and front suspension -- usually insurer-paid and drivable. Stock front-end cooling parts for your three highest-volume nameplates before mid-October, and tell service writers to ask about animal strikes rather than logging the job as an unknown impact.

Why it matters: The letter, reported September 25, seeks relief under Section 201 of the Trade Act of 1974 -- a safeguard reaching every import source at once, unlike the country-specific antidumping orders now in force. It proposes no rates and names Thailand as the largest 2025 exporter of passenger, light truck and medium truck tires to the United States. Nothing changes for dealers until USTR acts and the ITC opens a case, and there is no docket yet. A broad safeguard would hit third-tier imports hardest, the tier dealers say sells best. Ask your two largest suppliers what a global safeguard does to landed cost and whether price sheets hold through the first quarter.

Why it matters: The California Energy Commission's replacement-tire efficiency program adds an estimated $1.50 per tire from 2029 and $6.50 from 2033, against projected fuel savings of about $179 over the life of a set on a typical gasoline vehicle. Dunlop Tires North America, in material reported September 18, argues that math ignores what manufacturers will trade to hit rolling-resistance targets -- shallower tread, shorter service life -- and that an economy tire's Phase 2 benefit falls from $153 to nearly $14. Dunlop is answering with a California curriculum and dealer comparison tools, not a suit. Assume the 2029 ticket rises, and record tread depth at removal now: mileage-warranty arguments are where this lands.

Why it matters: SB 988 was presented to the governor at 6 p.m. on August 31, after the Assembly passed it 78-0 on August 24 and the Senate concurred 37-0 on August 26. It writes ADAS calibration disclosure into the Civil Code, bars incentivized claim solicitation and carries civil penalties. Newsom's September 18 (92 bills signed, 25 vetoed) and September 20 (76 signed, 24 vetoed) updates do not list it, and the deadline to sign or veto is September 30 -- two days after this issue. California glass shops should draft the disclosure language, calibration record format and consent script now. If it is signed, the duties attach to work written after the operative date, not to the day you change your forms.

Why it matters: Assembly Bill 5494, introduced September 14 and referred the same day to the Assembly Science, Innovation and Technology Committee, is narrow: it bars AI from making the final denial, not from touching the file. Penalties reach $5,000 per violation across automobile, homeowners and flood lines. It has one sponsor, Assemblyman Chris Tully of Bergen, and no hearing scheduled, so treat it as a signal rather than a deadline. For glass and calibration work, where a denial often arrives as a flat schedule cut with no named adjuster, ask for the adjuster's name in writing on every declined calibration line, and keep the reply with the file.

Every input rose by double digits except synthetic rubber. The same survey has dealer retail sellout down 1.3% in August after gains of 0.9% in July and 0.6% in June, so the cost is not being recovered at the counter yet. Expect manufacturer price letters before winter fitment; keep fill-in orders short until they land. Source: Healy: Third Tier Tops Survey (Modern Tire Dealer, Sept. 22, 2026)

Why it matters: NICB announced the arrangement on September 24. Honk contributes real-time data from the towing and roadside lifecycle, and the two will circulate fraud intelligence on predatory towing, impound, storage and salvage across more than 1,200 property and casualty insurers and self-insured organizations. No fraud-loss figure was published and no state program was named. For legitimate operators the practical change is that invoice patterns, not just consumer complaints, trigger an insurer referral. Tighten the file: photograph the vehicle in place before hookup, log the dispatching authority by name, itemize every line. An unexplained gate or storage fee is what gets pulled.

Why it matters: The petition, filed September 3, alleges the companies kept towing from areas not clearly marked and kept charging excessive fees, breaching a 2022 court order that settled for $9,000 in restitution and costs plus a $14,500 suspended civil penalty. The office is now asking for more than $220,000, roughly fifteen times that suspended amount. A consent order is not a one-time cost; signage and fee-posting get re-litigated. Photograph every tow-away sign you rely on with a date stamp and file the photo with the invoice. Pennsylvania's Act 46 posting, itemized-billing and payment-acceptance duties take effect December 17, with penalties to $5,000 on a repeat.

Why it matters: The International Carwash Association's CAR WASH Pulse for the second quarter of 2026 has 64% of retailers calling conditions positive and nearly two-thirds reporting rising membership sales -- the first uptick since early 2025, ending a year-long slide. The soft spot is price: member price satisfaction fell to 46%, its lowest in more than a year, and value satisfaction slipped for members and non-members alike; retailers and suppliers both named the economy their top challenge. The survey also found operators believe 53% of dissatisfied customers come back for a rewash while only 17% of consumers say they do. Do not take the next step on membership pricing without a rewash your staff can grant on the spot.

Why it matters: WashTec, a large listed wash-equipment maker, said on September 15 that it now expects a 2026 EBIT margin of 8% to 9%, having previously guided to profit growing faster than revenue, and that return on capital employed will fall below last year's. Revenue guidance stayed at mid-single-digit growth. It blamed consumables running below expectations and delays in relocating production, and booked a further single-digit-million-euro restructuring charge; its board is temporarily the chief executive and finance chief only. It still targets 12% to 14% by 2028/29. A consumables business under margin pressure reprices contracts. Get your 2027 chemical and parts quote in writing before December.

The first three are office paperwork and run to $750, then $1,500 on a repeat. The last three are dispatch and release conduct and run to $2,500, then $5,000 -- and a court can impound the tow truck until penalties are paid and compliance is shown. The cheap three are fixable before December 17 for the price of signage and a printer. Source: PA Towing Law Changes: Act 46 of 2026, requirements and penalty schedule

The kink is day ten, where $39 becomes $75. Billable administrative labor is capped separately at four hours. Twelve body shops are suing to void the cap; Oklahoma Farm Bureau's September 1 brief cited operators charging $250 a day, which would bill $7,500 over the same 30 days. Until the court rules, the cap is the number. Source: Insurer Files Brief Defending Oklahoma Storage Fee Cap Challenged by Body Shops (Autobody News, Sept. 25, 2026)

What to do about it: You don't need a security program. You need multi-factor authentication on email and your accounting login, and one rule everybody follows: nobody changes bank details on the strength of an email or a call — you ring the number you already had on file and confirm. That covers most of it, and costs nothing. The part it doesn't — how the systems are set up — is the day job of our parent company, CyberSainya.

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