NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — After last week's wintry mix, auto repair shops are backed up across Davidson County and more drivers are in need of repair.
John Blanks, owner of Paint & Body Perfectors, says it could take several weeks or months to get your vehicle repaired.
Right now, his shop is backed up.
"There are fewer shops now then there were 46 years ago. There were about 140 shops. There are about 40 shops left, most are corporate shops now," Blanks explained.
He says less than 5 registered body shops are locally owned in Music City.
"I used to have up to 9 body men, 5 painters, 3 people in detail area and the work staff has gone down to 4 body men, 2 painters, and 1 person in the detail shop," Blanks said.
There are also supply chain issues.
"This past week nobody was delivering parts — they were stuck. We couldn’t repair cars without parts," Blanks said.
He said throw in waiting on approval for the insurance company, it’s going to slow down the repair process.
"I can’t order parts or do anything until I have their approval, and then I order parts. They can take anywhere from 5 to 7 days, even two weeks looking at it before they send it to me approved," Blanks said.
Blanks opened his shop nearly 50 years ago, because it's his passion. He doesn’t see the backlog unclogging anytime soon. He hopes customers will be understanding.
Blanks is booked with appointments until the end of March. He is still taking in cars, but just can’t work on them right away.
He says if you’re looking to get your vehicle repaired quickly try looking at shops outside of Nashville, and weigh your options.
Fostering Hope provides Christmas for kids in foster care. I'm delighted to see Fostering Hope expand this year to expand their reach to now include kids in Foster care in metro AND foster kids in East TN hard hit by Helene.
-Bree Smith
