Beyond the Repair Order: How Collision Centers Can Unlock Hidden Revenue Streams

The collision repair landscape is under real pressure. According to Automotive News, total body shop revenue for the top 100 U.S. auto retailers fell 3 percent in 2025, and average body shop revenue per dealership declined 9.3 percent year over year — from $720,761 to $653,582. Meanwhile, the share of dealerships operating an on-site body shop dropped from 38 percent in 2018 to 34 percent in 2025, as national chains like Caliber Collision, Gerber Collision, and Crash Champions continue acquiring independent and dealer-owned shops.

For those who remain in the business, the message is clear: repair revenue alone is no longer enough. Margins are thin, insurance totals are rising, vehicles are more complex, and the repair bay can only produce so much volume in a given day. The collision centers that will thrive are those that build revenue streams around their core operation — not just through it.

Here's a look at where those opportunities live.

The Case for Revenue Diversification

David Roberts, managing director of body shop consulting firm Focus Advisors, put the situation directly: some dealers are simply subscale and finding that running a collision center is "a whole different business enterprise than running a dealership." He cited a large dealership collision center with the capacity to generate $20 million in annual revenue that is only producing $7 million — and questioned whether the return on investment would ever materialize.

For operators in that position, the path forward isn't necessarily to exit — it's to monetize every available asset connected to the body shop, from the relationships they've built to the square footage they own.

"I think the more that dealers look at this, they'll look at maybe concentrating on their core competency — which is sales and service and parts."
— John Masano, Tom Masano Auto Group

Masano's observation points toward something important: collision operations don't have to generate all their value through the repair order itself. Several adjacent revenue streams are available to operators willing to look at the full picture.

Six Revenue Streams Worth Building Around Your Collision Operation

1. OEM Parts Sales to Third-Party Shops

One of the clearest examples of revenue diversification comes directly from the Automotive News article: when Tom Masano sold his collision center to Driving Force Collision, he structured the deal so that his dealership group continues to supply OEM parts to the new operator. This creates a steady, recurring parts revenue stream that requires no additional technician hours, no bay time, and no insurance negotiation.

For dealership groups with manufacturer certifications — Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Ford, Toyota, Tesla and others — this is a particularly strong opportunity. OEM parts carry higher margins than aftermarket alternatives, and certified dealers are often the preferred or required source for those parts. The relationship doesn't end when the repair business changes hands; it just changes form.

Victory Automotive Group, which saw a 79 percent year-over-year revenue increase in its collision business, specifically credited the use of manufacturer parts for all repairs as a competitive differentiator — noting that it cuts repair time and supports customer retention.

2. Real Estate and Facility Leasing

For dealership groups that own their collision center facilities, leasing that space to a consolidator or independent operator is a compelling alternative to outright exit — and potentially more lucrative over time than operating the shop themselves. The Masano model again provides a useful template: Driving Force Collision rents the facility, and Masano Auto Group collects that income without carrying the operational complexity of running a body shop.

At a time when consolidators are actively seeking quality facilities in established markets, dealership-owned real estate is a genuine strategic asset. Operators who understand the value they're sitting on — not just in repair capacity, but in location, facility quality, and market access — can structure arrangements that generate long-term income with significantly reduced operational burden.

3. Fleet and Commercial Accounts

Most collision centers focus their marketing on individual vehicle owners, leaving a meaningful opportunity on the table: fleet accounts. Local governments, delivery services, construction companies, and commercial fleets represent a reliable, high-volume source of collision work — and they often have predictable damage patterns that are straightforward to estimate and schedule.

Fleet accounts also tend to be more insulated from the insurance totaling trend that is reducing repair opportunities on consumer vehicles. When a company's work truck needs to be repaired and back on the road, totaling it is rarely the preferred outcome. Establishing direct relationships with fleet managers — and building service level agreements around turnaround time and parts availability — can create a stable revenue base that is largely decoupled from the insurance cycle.

4. Insurance Company Referral Programs

Insurance referrals are a well-established revenue lever in the collision industry, but many shops treat them passively — accepting referrals when they come rather than actively cultivating insurance relationships. Victory Automotive Group takes a more deliberate approach, maintaining active relationships with insurance providers who direct customers to their shops. That structured approach to referral management contributed directly to the group's strong revenue growth.

The opportunity here is to treat insurance companies as a sales channel, not just an administrative function. That means regular communication with adjusters, consistent cycle time performance that earns preferred shop status, and a clear understanding of which carriers are worth prioritizing based on referral volume and payment practices.

5. Detailing and Appearance Services

A vehicle in the final stages of a collision repair is a natural candidate for reconditioning services. Adding a professional detailing package — paint correction, interior deep cleaning, ceramic coating — at the point of vehicle delivery converts a customer who is already on-site and emotionally invested in their vehicle's condition into an upsell opportunity with strong margins.

These services require minimal additional capital investment if the collision center already has wash bays, compressed air, and climate-controlled space. Staffing them with a dedicated detailer — or training existing staff — can generate meaningful revenue per vehicle without increasing throughput demands on the repair bays.

6. Mechanical Repair Handoffs and Partnerships

Collision repairs frequently uncover mechanical issues — damaged suspension components, misaligned steering, compromised safety systems. For shops that don't perform mechanical work in-house, those discoveries represent lost revenue. Building a formal referral relationship with a dealership service department or independent mechanical shop — with documented handoff protocols and a revenue-sharing arrangement where appropriate — captures value that would otherwise walk out the door.

Masano Auto Group built exactly this kind of arrangement into its partnership with Driving Force Collision: the collision center sends mechanical work to Masano's service department, and Masano's team handles heavy mechanical work as needed. The relationship is structured to benefit both parties and keep the customer within a trusted network.

Managing Costs Is Revenue Too

Larry Daugherty, director of fixed operations for Victory Automotive Group, offered a candid assessment of what it takes to run a profitable body shop in today's environment:

"You're gonna be very diligent on how much you're buying, how much you're spending ... making sure there's no waste. Just good business practices. Other than that, there's not a special sauce."

That discipline — monitoring paint and materials usage, managing staffing levels, tracking expenses by category — is itself a form of revenue protection. Shops that allow waste to accumulate in consumables, or that carry labor costs beyond what their throughput supports, are eroding the margin that should be funding growth and equipment reinvestment.

Equipment condition plays a direct role here. Aging lifts, outdated frame straightening equipment, and underperforming paint booths don't just affect quality — they affect cycle time, technician productivity, and ultimately the number of repair orders a shop can complete in a billing period. Shops that treat equipment as a cost to defer rather than an asset to manage are compounding their margin problem, not addressing it.

What the Winning Shops Have in Common

Hendrick Automotive, which continues to grow its collision business with 21 locations and plans for two new large-format facilities, frames its retention strategy simply: "If you buy from us, we want to take care of you no matter what happens." That customer lifecycle mindset — treating collision as an extension of the sales and service relationship, not a standalone business — is what separates shops that are scaling from those that are exiting.

Victory Automotive's growth wasn't accidental either. It came from a combination of OEM parts discipline, active insurance relationships, tight cost management, and a customer retention advantage that independent consolidators can't replicate: the loyalty of a buyer who wants to bring their car back to the dealer they purchased it from.

The collision centers that will outperform over the next five years aren't necessarily the ones with the most bays. They're the ones that understand what they're actually selling — trust, quality, and convenience — and build every revenue stream around reinforcing that value.