As spring sets in and the prom and graduation season approaches schools realize the need for education about drunk driving. Teaching their students about the realities of alcohol combined with impaired driving and its consequences can be a tough feat. But when done correctly can impact a student’s life, and spread to the friends and family around them helping them make better decisions and hopefully avoid the wrong one when getting behind a wheel.

Heidi Deary, daughter of Dan Deary, owner of the Phoenix Auto Body Shop, Capitol Collision Repair, writes about how a High School presentation has changed her view on drunk driving, and its harsh realities.

Hoping to reach other teens with a message about the dangers of drinking and driving, we here at Capitol Collision are posting this letter written by Heidi explaining her concerns about drunk driving and what she has learned from her experience.

Dan Deary, states:

“I started Capitol Collision 25 years ago now, Heidi grew up around the body shop” Deary continues, “At first we kept her away from the gruesome piles of metal that used to be cars before their collision. But as she got closer to the age of driving or even riding in cars with other teenage friends driving, I was glad that she was becoming aware of the consequences associated with auto accidents”

In an interview with Deary, he stated that 90% of the work they perform at his auto body shop is major collision repair. “The way cars are designed these days with crumple zones to absorb the impact of a collision, we don’t see to many minor bumper repairs. Sometimes the cars look like the accident was a lot worse than it probably was, but sometime you can tell someone got hurt. Every once in a while cars come in from a collision sealed up with the Hazmat stickers meaning someone died, it’s hard not to be affected by everything, especially with a daughter getting closer to the age of driving. You’d be surprised by the amount of times we come across alcohol bottles or beer cans people have hidden.”

Dan is very proud of what his daughter has learned and hopes to share her message with a wider audience benefiting more young people during this festive season. The following is a letter written by Heidi Deary:

“The Hard Truth” By Heidi Deary

As a high school junior, and the daughter of an auto body shop owner, I am well aware of car accidents that students have. At my dad’s body shop, Capitol Collision Repair, I have seen a lot of badly wrecked cars. I was however, not ready for “The Hard Truth” and just how much of an impact the following would have on me.

On a Thursday morning, hundreds of juniors and seniors were told to sit on the bleachers of the football field to watch a very special presentation. On the football field there were police officers and firemen and a blue tarp covering two vehicles that were facing each other. The presentation we were about to see was about the dangers of drinking and driving to help us in making decisions, not just for Prom Night in the coming week, but in our futures as well. I had no idea how much this presentation would impact me, I find myself thinking about it very often. The information I gained from it has helped me better myself when make decisions.

The head police officer started off the presentation by telling us the scary statistics about auto accidents of teenage drivers and then telling us they would be showing us a mock collision to portray exactly what happens when a car accident occurs and the dangers of mixing alcohol and driving.

Suddenly, the loud speakers blasted with the sounds of two cars colliding and the police officers pulled a tarp off, to reveal two very damaged vehicles that have been involved in a collision. Instantly, police cars, an ambulances and fire trucks with sirens blaring, entered the football field. They stopped at the scene of the accident, got out of their vehicles, and rushed to the cars to perform the necessary procedures taken when called out to the scene of an auto accident. Inside the two cars were teenage students still dressed up for their “Prom.” One student was drunk, one was injured and one student was dead. The drunken student was taken to a RV looking Police car where his blood level would be checked. One of the other students was covered with an orange body bag and put in an ambulance.

The next part of the mock collision and my favorite part was the arrival of a helicopter. From off in the distance we could hear the thunder of a helicopter and it became even more apparent as the helicopter circled around the football field, then slowly started to descend, it was so close to us that our hair was blowing. Medics rushed out to the accident, putting the young girl on a stretcher and then took off from the football field to take the inured student to the hospital. The mock accident came to a close, but not before one final speaker addressed us.

A lady walked up to the track with two poster boards showing a girl with her family and friends. The lady introduced herself and said she was the mother of a 21 year old who was killed in an auto accident. A drunken driving car crash that took the life of her daughter, a daughter that was not even in a car with the one drinking. She was in the car with a friend and the friend’s daughter. The friend was also killed, leaving the daughter without a mother. A mother killed senselessly all because some stranger decided to drink and drive.

As she continued, tears welled in her eyes, as well as mine, because of the sadness losing a loved one really brings. She continued to talk about the “what ifs.” What if her daughter had gotten in the car a minute later, or what if she had been stopped at a red light before entering the street on which she was killed? She also stated that she works for an afterschool program and watching mothers come in and pick up their daughters is saddening because she will never again be able to do that with her daughter. She will never be able to hold her daughter, comfort her, or smile over the beautiful grandchildren she could’ve had. Holidays and birthdays will be forever different because there will always be someone missing. As she wiped tears from her eyes, she told us to always be aware that we all have decisions to make and when we make them, we affect not only ourselves but other people and our surroundings.

As I mentioned, at my dad’s collision repair shop I’ve seen some badly wrecked cars and never did I stop and wonder how that accident affected people’s lives, or may have even taken someone’s life. Now, I can’t help but wonder if all the wrecked cars I’ve seen were really just an accident, or if they were caused by someone making a wrong decision.

The reality of the sadness and anger that comes with losing someone can really hit home when you see how it affects someone else. We never think such a catastrophe can happen to us but hearing it from people and seeing it first-hand can show it can happen to anyone, when someone decides to make a wrong decision. A few beers are NOT worth the troubles you can cause someone else when you decide to drive drunk or impaired. Trying to imagine the feeling that the woman got when two officers showed up at her door telling her that her daughter was killed in an auto collision, or trying to fight through the pain of knowing you killed someone while sitting in a jail cell, just isn’t worth it. We all must learn to use good judgment and try to make the best choices. The presentation we saw has opened my eyes to make sure I never drink and drive because even one wrong decision, however small, can make a huge impact in someone else’s life, as well as my family’s and my own.

End of Letter

“I’m very proud of her” Deary says, “Not only does it ease my stress of her being out with her friends, but it’s so powerful, to the point and short enough that if people have their teens read it, I really feel that it has to make at least a little impact and hopefully their teen has a second thought getting involved with drinking and driving.” We at Capitol Collision hope that this story can reach teens that are going out in the coming weeks to make smarter decisions and hopefully sway them from underage drinking, and if not at the least getting behind the wheel after they have become intoxicated.

We at Capitol Collision do NOT endorse underage drinking. But feel that education of the youth and knowledge about real world consequences can make for better decision making choices than ignorance and denial of the harsh realities.

Heidi Deary is a Junior at Mountain Ridge High School, Glendale, AZ

Phoenix, Arizona, March 15, 2012; A Phoenix auto body repair shop – Capitol Collision Repair, has won the 2012 award as the number one shop for auto body repair out of their Phoenix area competitors. This is the 2nd year in a row that Capitol Collision has won the coveted Phoenix award, as voted on by local; My Fox Phoenix, Arizona Highways, AZ Family, KTAR, & Link Town Mojo Page users. These local television, radio & news media companies are among the largest and most influential venues in their Phoenix industries. The award is based on 3 different factors; Service, Value & Quality.

Darren Moran, VP at One Source Fleet Solutions’ Phoenix division, presented the award during the yearly awards ceremony. “This is the second year that I’ve had the privilege of presenting Capitol Collision with the award. Their commitment to providing quality auto body repair and outstanding customer service has paid off with the votes they’ve received from their Phoenix customers“ says Moran.

Capitol Collision Repair CEO, Dan Deary, and General Manager, Eric Boyer, accepted the award on behalf of the company. “This award belongs to the whole collision repair team at Capitol, everyone has to do their part in order to maintain the high level of quality in our paint and auto body work and customer service standards we’ve set for ourselves here at Capitol Collision.” Dan says proudly “ We’ve had a spot open and waiting for this award for a while now, with every new award we receive, we leave another area bare as a reminder to all of us that we need to constantly strive to outperform our competition and fill in the blank spot with our next award.” The award will be in good company with other awards and recognition Capitol Collision has received over the years. Capitol has earned the “Circle of Excellence” as a local Phoenix auto body shop, and they’ve also been recognized as a Top Merchant in the Phoenix, Metro area as a leader in the auto body repair industry.

In 1988, Capitol Collision Repair started out as a small family owned collision repair shop, and has since grown into one of the largest independently owned auto body shops in Phoenix. Capitol continues to grow at an amazing pace as evidenced by the amount of loyal and well known insurance agencies and fleet companies that only use Capitol Collision for body work. They’ve also become one of the highest rated auto body repair shops in Phoenix with some of the largest internet directories, such as Google, Yellow Pages.com and Phoenix City Search. Their recognitions and awards can be viewed on their newly redesigned website at, http://www.capitolcollision.net

“We get tons of compliments on our new site” Dan states, “I think it reflects our level of professionalism.”

With an impressive fan base of nearly 1,000 Facebook followers for Capitol Collision Repair, I’d say he’s right.

We all know that car salesmen may stretch the truth, but the advertising the car manufacturers make about the expected gas mileage of one of their new cars, should not. Or so thought Heather Peters, who was promised at least 50 mpg from the car she purchased, a 2006 Honda Civic Hybrid. “It barely made it to 30 mpg” she states.

Other owners of Honda Civic Hybrids realized they weren’t getting the gas mileage they were promised either. The group started a class action lawsuit against Honda, which they eventually settled out of court for. The amount that Honda agreed to pay came out to about $100 per person, plus rebates toward a new car. Many took the settlement, but it didn’t satisfy Peters. She refused the settlement and instead, filed a claim in the Los Angeles County small-claims court system. A former lawyer, Peters chose to take her case to small-claims court in order to avoid paying the court fees and the cost of hiring an attorney. Peters won the case and was awarded $9,867, which is just shy of the $10,000 maximum judgment a small claims court can award.

Peters has opened the eyes of Honda Hybrid owners everywhere, making them see that they can file the same type of case and receive similar compensation. This isn’t the news that Honda wanted to hear, it could mean that they may have to pay out a lot more than they had originally anticipated. As Heather Peters said in a statement to Jalopnik, “It’s a great victory for all Civic Hybrid owners!”

She has also created a website, dontsettlewithhonda.org to try and encourage others to follow in her footsteps and take their cases to court as well. Peters added, “Honda should be afraid that people may decide to follow my advice and sue them”. On the website she includes information to help other Civic owners file a small-claims case and win.

These 2011 gasoline-engine vehicles get 40 mpg highway: ²
Ford Fiesta SE sedan; city 29; hwy 40; cost $16,785
Ford Fiesta SE hatchback; city 29; hwy 40; cost $17,285
Chevrolet Cruze Eco; city 28; hwy 42; cost $18,995
Hyundai Elantra; city 29; hwy 40; cost $15,695
Smart ForTwo; city 33; hwy 41; cost $15,440

Look for these in 2012:
     Ford Focus SE sedan; city 28; hwy 40; cost $19,585
Honda Civic HF; city –; hwy 41; debuts spring
Hyundai Accent; city –; hwy 40; spring
Hyundai Veloster; city –; hwy 40; summer
Kia Rio; city –; hwy 40; fall
Mazda3; city –; hwy 40; fall

So…if it sounds too good to be true, beware, it probably is. And if you are buying a used car, most certainly include a auto body repair shop, like Capitol Collision, in your list of pre-purchase inspection. It takes a short time and if you are one of our customers, there is no charge for this service.

For more information, please visit Capitol Collision Repair’s website or call us today at 602-253-1630.

As the owner of the vehicle you will need to report the claim. If the insurance company would allow us, we would do this for you but there is specific information about the accident, which they need to speak to you directly about.  It is important to report the claim as soon as possible to avoid needless delays.

When you report the claim, you will be provided a claim number.  Advise the insurance company that you have chosen Capitol Collision as the auto body shop you want to repair your car. Do not allow the insurance representative to direct you to another repair facility. BY LAW you can choose any repair facility. To read more about your rights click the following link:

Call Capitol and give us the claim number and we will handle the entire claim process for you. We’ll even set up the rental car or if you do not have any rental coverage, we’ll provide you with a free loaner car.

Call us today and our experienced staff will make this part of the auto repair process easy for you.  Let us handle it all for you. It’s like having your cake and eating it too!

We make dealing with your insurance company a piece of cake

Working with the insurance company after an accident can be time consuming, confusing and intimidating…and stressful to say the least!

Learn more by reviewing the Motorist Bill of Rights provided by the ASA

Capitol Collision has been a proud member of the ASA since 1988

Step 1. Vehicle drop off & Estimating
Step 2: Disassembly of Damaged Parts
Step 3: Body, Frame & Mechanical Repairs
Step 4: Color Matching and Painting

Our counselors will provide a free visual inspection within minutes and will offer professional advice on helping you with your insurance claim, rental car, and
towing. Digital photos and a full damage report is then sent electronically to your insurance company for they’re processing and approval. Once the approval is in place we are ready to begin the actual repair

This step may be the most important to providing you will a fast repair. During this process the damaged parts are removed from your vehicle that will reveal “hidden
damage” . By identifying all the additional parts and repair procedures required at this initial state, we can order all parts at once which is a great time saving so
parts are not ordered and received piece by piece.

Parts are ordered and our I-CAR trained technicians carefully repair your car to its original manufacturer’s specifications. Our highly-skilled technicians work one
on one and in teams to ensure a fast, quality repair. The frame, welding, and mechanical equipment we use are all state-of-the-art to ensure that each car is perfect.

We use only BASF paint products that are mixed at our site to assure an accurate color match on your car. Our BASF Trained paint teams work together to carefully prepare your car, which will be refinished in one of our two state-of-the-art
downdraft paint and cure booths.

Reassembling your car is just as important as the repair process itself. At this stage we have the opportunity to guarantee the quality of our work from the inside out.
We precisely replace every part, bolt and accessory on he vehicle to exactly the same way it was when it came off the showroom floor, to your complete satisfaction.
Expert buffing enhances the luster of the new finish and provides for a factory product, which looks and feels just like it did when it was factory new. A full detailing is performed so that your car is presented looking like it came off the showroom floor.

Our unique quality control inspection checklists are ONLY available at Capitol Collision Repair. Every technician, body, paint and mechanical, checks for quality throughout the repair process and at the final stage they put there personal
signature of approval of the repairs they performed. The final inspection is the most unique part of the repair where we not only perform a final check on the repairs, but we are final checking our mechanical items and detail of the car. If required your vehicle is test-driven which assures your vehicle will drive like it did when it was new.

To ensure your happiness and we employ CSI Complete, an independent customer satisfaction company who will call you and ask you a couple of brief questions to ensure your complete satisfaction. We take your satisfaction very seriously and for the month end of May 2010 our CSI rating is 99.8% customer satisfied.

Click Here to See The Capitol Collision Customer Service Index Report

Nowadays, every bit helps. We recognize the value of the almighty dollar and have designed this program which will allow you to add a little more green to your pocketbook or wallet.

The way the Capitol Collision Repair Referral Rewards program works is simple. All you need to do is tell your friends, neighbors, relatives or co-workers about Capitol Collision Reair when they are in need of collision repairs. When your referral becomes a Capitol Collision Repair client, we will send you a reward check for $50.00. See, you really can get something for nothing.

When it comes to safety items such as bumper reinforcements, brackets and energy absorbers that can play an important role in the crash management characteristics of vehicles, GEICO insurance has taken the proactive step of no longer specifying aftermarket replacement parts for these components when repairing their customers’ vehicles.

GEICO informed its staff of the companywide policy change this week citing the recent industry dialog surrounding the quality of aftermarket bumper reinforcements.

The company communication states: “As of today, and until further notice, companywide procedure will be to specify only new OEM or recycled OEM bumper reinforcements, absorbers and brackets. It is important that this message be clearly communicated to everyone on your staff.”

As an added measure, to avoid even inadvertent use of these parts on GEICO estimates, the company has modified its claims management software to raise an electronic flag informing the adjuster of the new policy. According to the GEICO notice, if an adjuster inappropriately selects an aftermarket replacement for a safety related part, the adjuster will see a prompt that states “Company Policy is OEM or Recycled.”

The company communication offered the following explanation, “While we are not aware of any issues relative to reinforcements, absorbers or brackets that appear in the CCC database, we are suspending our current policy on aftermarket bumper reinforcements, absorbers and brackets effective immediately until we can gather additional information.”

GEICO also noted that, “Our company continues to support the use of aftermarket parts as competitive, safe part choices in collision damage estimating and repair.”

Mounting Industry Concern

The consumer safety implications of using untested aftermarket parts has taken center stage in industry dialog recently after shocking live demonstrations before industry leaders attending recent meetings of the Collision Industry Conference (CIC) focused a spotlight on the issue.

Leaders saw the stark differences between the collision performance of untested aftermarket parts and their OEM equivalents during live demonstrations given in November 2009 and January 2010 by recognized industry repair expert Toby Chess.

Chess gave presentations including video and live demonstrations that clearly illustrated the inferior construction techniques and materials in some aftermarket crash parts that could seriously compromise the crash management characteristics of a vehicle repaired with these parts.

The Auto Body Parts Association (ABPA), who represents more than 150 manufacturers, distributors and suppliers of aftermarket crash parts, was quick to respond. Earlier this week, the ABPA took the unprecedented step of recommending to its members that they discontinue the production and sale of aftermarket safety related parts unless they have sufficient test evidence indicating that the parts will perform equal to the original OEM part in a subsequent vehicle collision. Specifically, the ABPA suggested a review of five categories of parts including bumper reinforcements, bumper brackets, energy absorbers, radiator supports and steel bumpers.

American Honda is urging all collision shops, independent repair shops, used car dealers, or any non-Honda or non-Acura auto repair facility to check for any applicable safety recalls each time a Honda, or Acura vehicle is serviced, repaired, or inventoried.

To that end, the company has issued a position statement in which it states, “Although American Honda notifies the current registered owner (as identified through state vehicle registration data) each time it conducts a safety recall, not all owners receive such notices (due to change of address or ownership or lack of current registration) and even when notices are received not all owners respond to such notices. If all sales and service facilities were to check for applicable safety recalls for all vehicles that come into their facilities together we can ensure that necessary safety repairs are made to all vehicles owned by our joint customers.

Honda suggest that customers will view this effort as a value-added service and says that finding an applicable recall is easily done by visiting www.recalls.honda.com and entering the vehicle VIN. Any recall for that VIN will be noted, including the status of the repair, open or fixed.

In the event that a recall operation is required, Honda asks that the shop not attempt to service the vehicle but refer the owner to a local authorized Honda or Acura dealer where the service will be performed free of charge.

Customers with additional questions may be referred to Honda Customer Service at 1-800-999-1009, select option 4, or Acura Client Services at 1-800-382-2238, select option 4.