Editorial: Right idea, wrong method

Sunday, Feb. 4, 2007 | 7:47 a.m.

A n association of auto body shop operators is pushing for a state law that would assign the Department of Motor Vehicles the responsibility of judging the quality of individual shops.

The Nevada Collision Industry Association wants the Legislature, which starts its 2007 session Monday, to approve the creation of a "Class A" designation for auto body shops. The association also seeks to have the DMV assign and regulate the designation.

Michael Spears, a founding member of the association who owns a Henderson body shop, spoke to Las Vegas Sun reporter Ed Koch. "Wouldn't you as a consumer want to know that the shop that is doing major collision repairs on your car has ongoing training of personnel and certified equipment to make proper repairs?" Spears said.

Most people, including us, would answer yes to that question. But we do not want a state agency, much less the DMV, which can barely keep pace with its current responsibilities, rating the quality of a private business' work.

How is someone from the DMV, or any state agency, supposed to know-whether X brand of equipment is better than Y brand, or whether someone's certificate from a training course equals someone else's 20 years of experience?

Because the Class A designation would give shops that hold it a competitive advantage, the rating system would be vulnerable to corruption. Gifts in exchange for the rating are not hard to imagine.

And if the quality of work by body shops is to be rated by the state, why not have the state rate engine repair shops, tire shops, muffler shops and so on?

The state's Business and Industry Department and its industrial relations division already promote training and safety at job sites, but without offering subjective views on a business' quality of work.

The idea of rating quality is good. But the method should be patterned after the Better Business Bureau model or guides such as those published by Zagat, Fodor, Michelin, AAA and Mobil.