Jerry Wientjes, owner of McCarran Auto Body, is accustomed to a flood of vehicles at his shop every winter.
But not this one.
Wientjes, whose career in automotive restoration spans 35 years, says McCarran Auto Body usually sees a roughly 70 percent increase in cars at its shop during wet winters when roads freeze and unlucky motorists spin out and crash.
But the unusually dry winter means business has hovered at its normal pace of 20 to 30 cars at a time.
"When it snows, we can have over 100 cars," Wientjes says. "I would have to call customers and tell them, 'I can't even look at it (your car) for a week.' It is total chaos."
Body shops throughout the Truckee Meadows many already fighting reduced revenues due to consumer belt-tightening have seen revenues fall this winter because roads remained relatively dry December through February.
Tim Waldren, owner of Paramount Auto Body on Tacchino Street in Reno, says body shops usually add a few repairmen through the winter, and winter revenues can carry shops through early spring. But this year Waldren was forced to reduce his staff.
Wientjes says a huge winter month could lead to more than $250,000 in revenues and go a long way toward a $2 million year. He's generating about half that amount, he says, mostly due to reduced volume. Customers opt to forgo expensive deductibles for their repairs and live with the damage, or do minimal repairs to get their vehicles back on the road.
Factors that lead to busy times for body shops: Daytime snowstorms that cause sheet ice to cover roads by the evening, and morning commutes after snowstorms. Dozens of spinouts across the Truckee Meadows spell a significant spike in revenues for body shops.
"When we get six to 12 inches of snow, it paralyzes travel," Wientjes says. "When we have snowfall we have had more than 100 cars at one time, and it was just absolutely insane. I have got 100 upset people. Nobody likes being in an accident, and it is a challenging situation."
When business spikes, McCarran Auto Body often sublets certain facets of a repair job, such as suspension repair, but this year the shop is self-performing all its work. Any rise in vehicle volume has meant longer hours and six-day work weeks for the crew.
Waldren says this winter has been starkly different from the previous winter with its record snowfalls. The volume of wrecked vehicles due to spinouts is down at least 30 percent, he says.
Paramount Auto Body normally adds four auto body technicians for the winter months, but this year Waldren reduced staffing due to the decreased number of vehicles. Paramount currently employs 28 workers, down from a peak of 48 in 2006.
Highway construction on Interstate 80 has led to some fender-benders and a modest rise in business, says Bill Mardon, collector for Concours Body Shop, but overall vehicle traffic still is down roughly 50 percent. The shop can average more than 100 cars a week when it storms, Mardon says.
Concours employs 38, but during a normal wet winter the shop will carry as many as 48 employees on its books, including several full-time detailers and additional estimators.
Mardon says Concours has adjusted to decreased revenues by cutbacks in expenses, employee hours, and small perks such as free doughnuts or lunches.
"You still have the bills you have to pay, you have employees with salaries and typical expenses," Mardon says. "It has just been very dry. March has been good, it has helped, but it's still not what we need."
Jami Heiskanen, co-owner of A1 Body Shop with her husband Scot, says area body shops can counter the decreased volume by providing excellent service and building a loyal clientele base.
A1 Body Shop expanded in 2008 from its former home in a dated building on Montello Street to a 16,000-square-foot shop on Glendale Avenue.
The shop, which employs 19, has seen a modest decrease of roughly 20 percent from previous years.
"It is the kind of business we are in we fix them when they are in a collision, and weather makes that more prevalent," Heiskanen says. "We haven't been as busy and had as many vehicles, but this is Nevada. Next winter we will probably be buried from head to toe."
One benefit of a dry winter, area body shops workers say, is quicker turnaround times on repairs, and the ability to spend more time with customers.
