For the independent repair shop trying to equip itself with automaker collision repair information, expenses can very quickly add up. Buying annual access to the OEM service and repair information websites is no small proposition, even if you forego access to the most expensive sites, such as those of BMW (at $2,500 per year), Mercedes-Benz ($2,950), Volvo ($2,700) and Porsche ($5,200).

Sign up for annual access to the repair information websites for just nine of the most common vehicle makes on America's highways – Chrysler, Ford, GM, Honda, Mazda, Nissan, Subaru, Toyota and Volkswagen – and you'll be plunking down an average of just shy of $1,000 per month.

The good news is that there are ways to get a lot of OEM collision repair information without spending the equivalent of a detailer's salary. Here are some suggestions for finding the information you need less expensively.

The websites

Kia vehicles are not likely a large part of your shop's business, but the company remains the only automaker to make access to its service and repair information website (www.kiatechinfo.com) absolutely free. The bad news is there's not a lot there for collision repairers: some dimension and frame specs, but not much on sectioning points, weld locations or metal types.

GM, however, is among the automakers providing the most comprehensive collision repair information – and like Kia, has made it available at no charge. The secret, however, is to bypass the $1,200-per-year ACDelco website and go to www.goodwrench.com. There you will find all the automaker's collision repair technical information, at no charge, organized by vehicle make and model.

Toyota has recently made its “Collision Repair Reference Guide” available for free through its wholesale parts website (www.ToyotaPartsAndService.com). By registering at the free site, you can check the searchable reference guide for high-strength steel locations, jacking and hoisting specs, wheel alignment specs, airbag component replacement information, vehicle identification charts and more.

Chrysler this past November unveiled a new website (www.installers-mopar.com) that will give collision repairers very low-cost access to Chrysler collision repair information. Doug Craig, collision repair manager for Chrysler, said the site requires only a one-time registration fee of $25.

For other information from any of the other automaker websites, you'll face more of a fee for access. At $350 per year, the Toyota/Scion and Honda sites are among the most reasonably priced. A number of others – Saab and Suzuki – are $500 per year. Most of the rest are $720 or more per year, but all offer daily, weekly or monthly options if you don't need ongoing access.

A chart on the National Automotive Service Task Force's website (http://www.nastf.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=3291) summarizes the subscription options and charges, and provides links to the websites. And a matrix showing what collision repair information is included at each automaker's website is also available from the NASTF website (http://www.nastf.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=3450).

Another option for finding links to the information websites is www.OEM1stop.com, which automakers created to give shops a 1-page link to all the OEM information websites.

Other options

I-CAR classes have the disadvantage of only being available at certain times. But I-CAR also offers online training (www.i-car.com) that may help you get the vehicle-specific repair information you need for a car in your shop without the full expense of the OEM website access. Need to replace a front frame rail in a Lexus IS300, Dodge Caliber, Cadillac DTS or Ford F-150? Replacing Boron steel panels on a Volvo XC90, or a roof on a Mazda 626? These are among the topics covered by the more than three dozen I-CAR online classes. Each 30- to 60-minute class is available 24/7, costs $45, and earns you a quarter-point toward your Gold Class requirement (provided you pass the online post-test).

A relatively new option for access to OEM collision repair information is ALLDATA's “CollisionConnect,” a subscription service from a company more familiar as a source of OEM information on the mechanical repair market, where it has more than 70,000 customers.

ALLDATA essentially has agreements with the automakers that allow it to access OEM repair information, repackage into some standardized formats across the manufacturers to make it easier for users to locate what they are looking for, and sell monthly subscriptions to access this online information.

The product includes whatever mechanical and collision information is available from the automakers for 2000 and newer vehicles: sectioning procedures, restraint system, opening and frame dimensions, weld locations, wiring diagrams, recalls and technical service bulletins, aluminum and alternative metals usage, etc.

Subscribers who are unable to locate needed information can call ALLDATA, and its support staff will try to locate the information and get back to the shop within three hours. Such calls, a company spokesman said, helps ALLDATA prioritize what types of information it adds first to the system as it arrives from the automakers.

The company says the product can help shops get OEM information for many automakers' vehicles for less than it costs to subscribe to just one or two OEM websites. The information, ALLDATA says, can help shops create or “justify” more complete estimates and help demonstrate its interest in completing repairs according to OEM recommendations.

Take your pick

Whether it's to improve your shop's productivity, reduce your liability, better match OEM quality and safety, or justify your repair estimates and pricing, access to OEM information is likely to become increasingly important in the years ahead.

The cost of getting that information will not be insignificant, but there are options that can help keep it from becoming prohibitive.

John Yoswick, a freelance writer based in Portland, Oregon, who has been writing about the automotive industry since 1988, is also the editor of the weekly CRASH Network (www.CrashNetwork.com). He can be contacted by email at jyoswick@SpiritOne.com.