Being a regional repairer doesn’t have to mean getting left behind.
The initiative and drive shown by Riverland Collision Centre has revealed utilising remote services like Repairify not only improves workshop efficiency but enhances a business’ reputation.
Time can be the enemy to many workshops. The battle to reduce key-to-key times and still be committed to delivering the quickest and highest quality repair can be an even more daunting prospect due to Australia’s wide-open spaces. This is where Riverland Collision Centre’s story and how they utilised Repairify becomes a model in how to turn a challenge into a business opportunity.
Confronted with advancing ADAS technology and coding gateways that are becoming standard on modern vehicles, Riverland Collision Centre Assistant Manager Jake Beaumont says they were looking for a solution that would enhance workshop efficiency and the customer experience.
“One of our biggest challenges was handling vehicles that required ADAS calibration but had no local dealership support,” Beaumont says.
“For brands like BMW and Volkswagen, the nearest dealership is in Adelaide—about 250 km away. Previously, we had to tow vehicles that distance just to get a calibration done. With Repairify’s remote calibration capabilities, we can now perform these calibrations in-house, saving significant time and costs.”
The business, based in Berri South Australia, caters for a wider range of models and services, but it was often basic services like dealing with the ADAS cameras incorporated into windscreens that showed the urgency of finding more efficient solutions.
“Another major reason was our windscreen services,” Beaumont says. “If a customer needed a windscreen replacement and there wasn’t a dealership nearby for calibration, we had to schedule everything around the dealership’s availability. Sometimes that meant a three-week delay just to complete a simple job. With Repairify, we can now complete these jobs without unnecessary delays.”
Perhaps the most significant impact on the business was the sense that with expert help from Repairify, the collision repair business could take control over its own workflows.
“The biggest issue was timing. Before we had the tools, we had to align our repairs with dealership availability. If a dealership couldn’t take a car for calibration for several weeks, we couldn’t complete the repair and would return the vehicle to the customer. With Repairify, we now control that timeline.”
This has also meant increased business opportunities with upskilling of the workshop in calibration services and remote diagnostics utilising Repairify’s All-In-One Diagnostic tool.
“The Remote Services have been a game-changer,” he says. “Instead of booking vehicles into dealerships, we handle ADAS calibration in-house, which reduces turnaround time significantly. It’s also been great for diagnostics—identifying engine lights and clearing fault codes without needing additional tools.”
As OEMs adopt increasingly sophisticated coding and gateways, this means the workshop is not confronted with time-wasting diagnostic dead-ends when working on a vehicle and they have Repairify’s technical support team to back them up.
“Sometimes we’ve plugged in for a remote calibration and weren’t sure about the fault codes. The Repairify team, which includes former dealership technicians, quickly guided us through troubleshooting.
Their experience has been invaluable.”
“We do a lot of work for O’Brien’s, and they initially set us up with the Bosch system. However, some models were locked, meaning we couldn’t access them with Bosch. With OEM-level diagnostics through Repairify, we now handle these calibrations in-house without dealership intervention.”
For the Riverland Repair Centre this has also added the business opportunity for a wider footprint as other businesses come to them for the calibration services.
From March 2025 Automatic Emergency Braking systems will be a mandatory design rule in all new vehicles sold in Australia. But this is only one element of ADAS dependent car technology. While ADAS systems were first being seen in workshops around 2016, one US study found that by 2023, 90 per cent of new vehicles were equipped with at least six ADAS systems. This changing nature of the car parc shows how quickly the technology has moved into repair workshops and how often this work is required.
“We frequently calibrate radars when bumpers are removed or replaced,” Beaumont says.
“Before Repairify, we couldn’t do many of these calibrations ourselves. Now, I don’t think we’ve had a radar calibration we couldn’t complete.”
“It’s also been great for 360-degree camera calibrations, blind spot monitoring sensors, and radar coding. If a new radar is installed, we can program it before calibration, all through the Repairify system.
“If there’s an issue, we can diagnose it immediately instead of waiting for a dealership. That speeds up key-to-key times, meaning cars don’t sit in the workshop waiting for third-party intervention.”
Riverland Crash Centre grew out of a fifty-year old family business, Rose & Phil Crash Repairs, that current owner Ben brought about seven years ago. Reputation and word of mouth in the community remain important for Riverland Collision Centre and faster repair times have enhanced this reputation.
“Booking jobs is smoother, and we’re delivering faster turnaround times,” Beaumont says. “Customers appreciate that they don’t have to wait weeks just because a dealership is unavailable.”
Part of this is ensuring customers trust the increased expertise of the workshop and they are developing conversations about what the repair process involves.
“Many customers don’t even realise their cars have ADAS features,” he says. “They know the car stays in its lane but don’t know there’s a camera making that happen. When they ask about windscreen replacements, we explain that we handle remote calibration in-house and provide a printed certificate verifying the calibration.”
While Beaumont takes the lead in system development with Ben in the business, the team of nine have adapted readily to the complexity of modern automotive information with the ongoing support of the Repairify team.
“Shane from Capricorn introduced us to Repairify,” Beaumont says. “He explained how it worked, and we were interested in learning more. He arranged for a test and while it seemed a bit complex at first, we realised how beneficial it would be.
“Then Sean and Brad from Repairify provided great training. There was a lot of information to take in initially, but after using the system a few times, it became second nature.”
From these first steps Beaumont says it was a steady path to it becoming a standard part of the business’ workflow and will continue to be into the future.
“It’s essential,” he says. “Without it, repairs would take longer, and we’d be reliant on third parties. We wouldn’t go back.
“Repairify has had a positive impact on our workshop. It has improved efficiency, reduced wait times, and allowed us to offer better service to customers and insurers alike.”