On Saturday, November 11, 2023, 19 Appalachian Region members made the trek to Hickory to visit the Appalachian Region Sponsor and Porsche Certified Collision Center, K&M Collision.
The region was hosted by Michael Bradshaw, Vice President of K&M responsible for operations with his team Will, Adrian and Brook. K&M was the first Porsche Certified Collision Center in North Carolina and is still only one of two that exist.
It is an extensive process to be certified starting with being nominated by a Porsche dealer. K&M now has a close relationship with Porsche Asheville, Greensboro, Hickory, Leith in Raleigh and McDaniel’s Porsche in Columbia, South Carolina. Certification requires specific technician training, with purchase of a unique set of tools, welding equipment and diagnostic tools with shop and customer service standards in order to meet Porsche standards to become a Porsche Approved Collision Center (PACC), There are over 100 pages of standards to be met. Similar to a dealership, periodic inspections occur by Porsche North America to ensure the standards are maintained to Porsche standards.
Michael admitted that K&M is not the cheapest collision center, but as Porsche says to be a PACC center then K&M must deliver the best customer service repair service evaluated authorized Porsche factory representatives. Certain crucial structural parts for advanced repairs are only available to PACC centers to ensure the PACC meets Porsche’s the rigorous standards so your Porsche delivers the Porsche performance and ownership experience that you expect from your Porsche.
A non-approved shop may do a work-around since all parts are not available to them. This then may induce safety and structural issues that you may not even be aware occurred since the sub-standard repairs may be behind sheet metal or in inaccessible area. The repairs may look nice but if non-certified work is completed, you may suffer the consequences of inferior non-certified work when another wreck occurs or during resale value if a knowledgeable buyer is inspecting your car.
We soon learned that the team at K&M Collision are experts in not only collision repair work but insurance laws and insurance company interaction. Michael is a recognized expert in collision insurance laws and company interaction having assisted in updating and writing many of the North Carolina laws to protect the customer.
In North Carolina you have the right to take your vehicle to the service repair facility of your choice. An insurance company will often direct you to their preferred network of collision shops. A shop becomes a preferred shop for an insurance company because they have deals with the insurance company to provide the best prices for them instead of you.
K&M is different because they are working for you to ensure your Porsche is repaired to Porsche standards so you have a positive Porsche experience. This often means that the K&M team will go to battle for you with the insurance company to be sure the repairs are done right. One of the Insurance Company network collision centers may want to save money with reproduction parts while K&M to maintain its Porsche certification and to do it right, will only use Porsche certified parts, processes and techniques.
Michael shared with us a Cayenne and a 911 Targa that were apart to demonstrate the various surfaces that need to be bonded or riveted together with special adhesives and rivets from Porsche. A non-certified shop may short-cut this process with techniques that are not certified by Porsche and may ultimately impact other areas of structural integrity.
In earlier years a common technique to straighten a frame was to put the car on a jig and “pull it straight.” If you do that to today’s modern Porsche that uses high strength adhesives to bond panels and surfaces you may actually cause further damage within the car that is not seen by an exterior visual. However, many shops continue to use that technique of repair.
After listening to the K&M team I cannot stress enough how important it is to go to the Porsche Certified shop to be sure the right parts and techniques are used to repair your damaged Porsche.
K&M Collision Center
915 Lenoir Rhyne Blvd, SE
Hickory, NC 28602
T828.569.1275 www.KandMcollision.com
Article by Jim Moore. Photos by Dick Maybach
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