RENO – Concours Body Shop is our latest sponsor and we want to welcome them to our site. The company is owned and operated by veteran racer Gil Grieve and his capable staff.

When asked how long he’s been in business Grieve said, “31 years and in this location 29. Well I started in the back building, as times passed and the business grew we went from the big back building all the way to the current location to where I have all three buildings, my 40,000 square feet and my two and a half acres.”

Customers arriving at Concours Auto Body are greeted by the friendly customer waiting room.

And last year there was an addition to the building at 240 Telegraph Street.

“We put the inspection station in June of 2015,” he said. “Basically makes it so we can inspect the bottom of the cars. The new designs for the most part when you open the hood everything is all shielded or shrouded so we can’t see the damage. So if we can get them up off the ground we can see them from the bottom.

“We have better access from the bottom than from the top of the car anymore. So we can get it up in the air, inspect for damage, photo document it for your self and for your insurance company. Just makes a more through estimate is what it does

Owner Gil Grieve stands in the newest addition to Concours Auto Body, an enclosed inspection station.

One bonus is that the area is shielded from the elements so the staff doesn’t have to be out in the weather while doing estimates.

Asked about the type of repairs the business does, Grieve said, “We can do aluminum repairs, we can do high strength steel or what we consider exotic metal repairs. Steering, Suspension, airbags, computer resets and pretty much what would be involved in a major collision we have capabilities to repair.”

Two cars are having their collision damage repaired in one of the repair rooms.

Of course this entails generating a certain amount of waste in discarded parts and accessories. And the company tries to be as green as possible.

‘We’re a full service collision repair and for the most part we try to be as environmentally friendly as possible. We use waterborne colors, which are more important than people give them credit for when it comes down to just sheer green products,” he said. “We recycle our aluminums, our steel, our bumpers, our head light plastics. We truly try to be environmentally friendly for a body shop. It’s been very hard to find avenues to get rid of these damaged parts but we’ve had pretty good success doing that.”

Several staff technicians are installing a new bed on a repaired truck.

This type of business has a set of challenges that need to be addressed.

Explaining those he said, “Electronics, the proprietary information that the current models have, we have challenges getting that information to code resets. A lot of them we do have to take them down to the dealer on the late model stuff, being the current model 24 months back when it’s still under heavy warrantee, we do have to sometimes have to take them back to get the dealers involved to get proprietary resets, air bags, steering angle sensors, ABS control modules things like that.”

And of course customers and their insurance companies are involved in the process.

“Every insurance company has their own program and that’s what they are, they’re programs. Very similar to the medical field they have their preferred providers,” he said. “For the most part I prefer to work from my customer base more than the insurance companies. I am aligned with certain insurance companies but for the most part I still try and go after my client base than my insurance companies.”

After repairs are made any vehicle that needs to be painted is moved to one of the firm’s paint booths.

Then explained the goal of his company and its staff.

“We’re in a time where the stigma of collision repair is to the point where diminished value becomes a big deal. Everybody is afraid of these cars after repairs,” he said. “Well in my world it’s made to be damaged, they sell parts when they are damaged and need to be fixed and if you do the correct repair you can put the value back into a damaged, collision car.”

And he explained that Concours Auto Body is a full service collision store. One that does late model, early model and isn’t brand specific so what ever is damaged they provide the repairs on all types of vehicles, from cars to trucks.

Then Grieve with the mission of the company.

“Just to provide customer service, make quality repairs in a timely manner, put the value back into a person’s property. The to me is the ultimate goal is to get the value back into the car or the vehicle.”

Concours Auto Body at 240 Telegraph Street in Reno.

Those wishing further information can visit Concours Auto Body at 240 Telegraph Street, between Greg and Mill. Their phone number is 775-329-4557 and the website is, www.concoursbodyshop.net.