Covid crunch hits panel beaters

• Published date: 03 November 2021

A dire shortage of staff and months of waiting on car parts to arrive has put Hawke’s Bay panel beaters under the pump, with many now saying they are fully booked until after Christmas.

Endless Panel Repairs owner Shane MacKenzie says the industry is in the worst shape that he’s seen in his 12 years of operation.

“It’s always been a strange industry — you own a shop, but you’re run under by insurance companies,” he said.

“[But at the moment] we are constantly under the pump and it’s not slowing down.

“We have a delay with parts, and then a delay with customers. We’ve been waiting for eight weeks for bulk parts to arrive from Germany for a late-model Mercedes.”

The shop started to “feel the crunch” with lockdown.

“We are booked pretty much until December end,” MacKenzie said.

He said the amount insurance was paying was not keeping pace with the cost of keeping on staff, and that meant it was now “not an attractive trade for people to work in”.

He said the shop had lost two staff members seeking better money, and now has a total of six staff, including two part-time administrators.

“The workload, the shortage of staff, it’s the worst I have seen.”

He said he had advertised on Trade Me for staff, with little success.

“It’s not going well. We advertise, but don’t get applications.”

Insurance Council NZ insurance manager John Lucas said the staff shortages occurring in the collision repair industry were “no different” to staff shortages affecting other trades, across automotive or construction sectors.

“Insurers regularly review repair allowances to ensure what is being paid is fair and reasonable, and is equitable across the industry to ensure insurance premiums remain affordable for Kiwis,” Lucas said.

“Insurers are committed to ensuring repairs are completed as quickly as possible for their customers and work with the collision sector to enable this.

“Sadly, many of the trades sector have been impacted by COVID-19, resulting in skill shortages, restrictions on migrant workers coming into the country and knock-on effects of supply-chain delays.”

Village Panel Repairs owner Shane Bassick, of Havelock North, said the state of the industry meant he had made the decision to shut up the shop he’s owned for 18 years.

The panel beater closed last Thursday, and Bassick said he was sure his staff would not be out of a job for long.

“The...