<strong>By: Lightstone</strong>

At the <strong>SAMBRA (South African Motor Body Repair Association) conference</strong>, Lighstone revealed the top panel beaters across several categories. For the second year in a row, Park Panel Beaters from Vanderbijlpark received the coveted number one spot as the overall Best Panel Beater in the Country.  Lightstone the leading provider of data and analytics to the automotive industry, has been measuring consumer satisfaction with Motor Body Repairers (Panel Beaters) for the last 16 years using the EchoMBR platform.

<h3>The Winners named in each category are:</h3>

<strong>Top 10 National - Overall Best</strong>

<ol>

<li>Park Panelbeaters - Gauteng<u></u><u></u></li><li>CBS Body Works - Western Cape</li><li>Hillcrest Panel Beaters Trust - Kwa-Zulu Natal</li><li>Ernies Panel Shop CC - Kwa-Zulu Natal</li><li>Quantum Coachworks - Western Cape</li><li>JFD Panelbeaters - Western Cape</li><li>Freds Auto Body CC - Gauteng</li><li>Shalom Auto Body Repair - Kwa-Zulu Natal</li><li>Auto Trust Body Repairs - Eastern Cape</li><li>Classic Panel Beaters - Kwa-Zulu Natal</li>

</ol>

[caption id="attachment_140345" align="aligncenter" width="600"]<img class="wp-image-140345 size-large" src="https://www.cover.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/First-Place-Winner-–-Park-Panel-Beaters-from-Kwazulu-Natal-600x401.jpg" alt="" width="600" height="401" /> <strong>First Place Winner – Park Panel Beaters from Kwazulu Natal</strong>[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_140346" align="aligncenter" width="600"]<img class="wp-image-140346 size-large" src="https://www.cover.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Third-Place-Winners-–-CBS-Body-Works-Western-Cape-600x408.jpg" alt="" width="600" height="408" /> <strong>Second Place Winners – CBS Body Works : Western Cape</strong>[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_140347" align="aligncenter" width="600"]<img class="wp-image-140347 size-large" src="https://www.cover.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Second-Place-Winners-–-Hillcrest-Panel-Beaters-Trust-Kwazulu-Natal-600x398.jpg" alt="" width="600" height="398" /> <strong>Third Place Winners – Hillcrest Panel Beaters Trust: Kwazulu Natal</strong>[/caption]

<strong>Most Likely To Fix It Right The First Time</strong>

Brighton Body & Spray - Western Cape

<strong>Most Likely To Fix It On Time</strong>

WesKaap Bakwerke - Western Cape

<strong>Most Likely To Be Recommended</strong>

Classic Panel Beaters - Kwa-Zulu Natal

<strong>Most Likely To Keep You Informed (Consultant Rating)</strong>

Steimar Automotive - Gauteng

<strong>Most Likely To Have The Friendliest Staff</strong>

Quality Panelbeaters - Mpumalanga

<strong>Most Likely To Provide Quality Repair</strong>

Modern Collision Repair Centre - Mpumalanga

“Being a trusted source of analytics for the automotive industry, Lighstone uses advanced Bayesian statistical analyses for their product and service review ratings.  These methods are remarkably accurate, reliable and robust, says Mark Groch from Lightstone. “They allow for optimal estimation even with smaller sample sizes and throughput by “borrowing strength” from the wider population.”  Lightstone has applied these methods to the data gathered over many years in the South African Motor Body Repairer Industry to determine who is the best of the best.

“The data extracted from the the EchoMBR platform indicates the most important factors determining consumer loyalty are the quality of the repair and staff friendliness,” says Groch. Almost all the top-level panel beaters in South Africa make use of Lightstone’s EchoMBR platform to ensure that their customers are getting the best service possible.  The EchoMBR platform measures, on an ongoing basis, issues such as was the car <em>‘fixed right first time?’</em>; was it <em>‘ready on time’</em>; the <em>‘quality of the repair work’</em>, the MBRs staff’s ‘<em>friendliness’</em> to name a few.